[janikishin]

Good evening, 
I would like to ask experts of this forum which one is better. Music are listened on ipod classic ( yes, I know this it is awful but.....). The price about 300-500$. 
So I am in deep thoughts about iem. And is there reason for buying such iems for iPod classic? The very important factor is isolation and the sounstage. Westone 4r sounds perfect, but I have know opportunity listen to customs. 
Many thanks for your answers. 

 

[EveTan]

Personally, i would go with the customs because i really just find them more comfortable. 1964 ears really does give nice budget phones for its price.

As with source, IEM don't need much amping. Tbh, i have not heard much differences between good and poor sources. As long as i don't hear hissing, its fine for me. The biggest and most important change is switching to a good earphone.

 

[MusicalChillies]

I would love to hear the difference a custom could offer over the W4 or W4r. If I could hear the difference I would scrub universal IEMS and whatever it cost, I would purchase.

 

[SoundFreaq]

Quote:

Good evening, 
I would like to ask experts of this forum which one is better. Music are listened on ipod classic ( yes, I know this it is awful but.....). The price about 300-500$. 
So I am in deep thoughts about iem. And is there reason for buying such iems for iPod classic? The very important factor is isolation and the sounstage. Westone 4r sounds perfect, but I have know opportunity listen to customs. 
Many thanks for your answers. 

 
Having owned many universals, and then jumping into a few customs, I have gone back to universals. 
 
Comfort on customs is a personal preference you won't know until you drop the cash on it. It might work for you or it might not. I find many universals more comfortable than shoving giant chunks of acrylic up your ears. But that's just me. Hopefully you nail the fit the first time too. 
 
I think there are many universals that are just as good or better than the best customs. 
 
The W4 has a great soundstage, and great isolation. To top the quality, you're going to need to spend quite a bit more. What's your budget for a custom?
 
I don't think customs necessarily have better soundstages. They might isolate a bit better, however. 

 

[kimvictor]

Budget for customs? Like SoundFreaq said, I find some universals(SE535)  more comfortable than my UERM. For top tier customs, you'll have to stretch your budget to around $1000 +/-$200.

 

[viveksaikia22]

Go for the best of both the worlds and buy the Westone and get it custom reshelled

 

[kimvictor]

Quote:

Go for the best of both the worlds and buy the Westone and get it custom reshelled

Just a question about reshells. Would companies doing reshell(like UM) use same cross over, sound tube, acoustic filter, nozzle size, and tuning as the original iem?

 

[janikishin]

Quote:

Go for the best of both the worlds and buy the Westone and get it custom reshelled

Brilliant idea!!!!! So I very needed isolation ( 25-40 in under the 80 decibel) and with the custom reshell would be isolation equal to the custom iem ( sorry for stupid question)

 

[ostewart]

But for a budget CIEM that's hard to beat for the price and hands down is much better than Shure SE535 for a lower price, the Alclair reference monitor ($399) very natural spacious sound. You can't go wrong with them, also they are a great family run company who care about their customers (refit free even after 3 months, standard is 30 days) and I bet they would make it universal if the custom is not working for you.

 

[SoundFreaq]

Quote:

Just a question about reshells. Would companies doing reshell(like UM) use same cross over, sound tube, acoustic filter, nozzle size, and tuning as the original iem?

 
They should use all original electronics. Only thing that should be different is the acrylic. Tuning? Supposedly they get it right, but sometimes it's not exactly the same. Either way it sounds good. 
 
Oh, and selling my ES5 if anyone is interested. 

 

[janikishin]

Quote:

To me, if you do like a custom fit, there easily are comparable IEMs for sound in the price range of the expensive universals. Also, if you like the custom you buy, then you will stop fussing over what to buy next. You can just focus on the music. With universals, there is tendency to never be satisfied, grass is greener, etc. Not saying that can't happen with customs, but less likely if they are a signature you really like. That happened to me. I stopped looking (at least at anything expensive). Each to his/her own though. THere are several relatively low-cost CIEMs that perform very well in comparison to "top tier" universals. You don't have to spend $1,000 on a CIEM.

 Thank you for your answer. I think I would buy a custom one, due to the isolation. Can you give advise on the customs one? I'm looking for 1964ears but I haven't heard it with Ipod classic. Could you give an example of ciem playing with Ipod classic/ The budget about 400-600$

 

[MusicalChillies]

Quote:

 
Having owned many universals, and then jumping into a few customs, I have gone back to universals. 
 
Comfort on customs is a personal preference you won't know until you drop the cash on it. It might work for you or it might not. I find many universals more comfortable than shoving giant chunks of acrylic up your ears. But that's just me. Hopefully you nail the fit the first time too. 
 
I think there are many universals that are just as good or better than the best customs. 
 
The W4 has a great soundstage, and great isolation. To top the quality, you're going to need to spend quite a bit more. What's your budget for a custom?
 
I don't think customs necessarily have better soundstages. They might isolate a bit better, however. 

 
Very interesting. Great post, thanks.

 

[Ivabign]

Quote:

Just a question about reshells. Would companies doing reshell(like UM) use same cross over, sound tube, acoustic filter, nozzle size, and tuning as the original iem?

I am getting an 8A and a 4A reshelled by Heir Audio - On their website they state they replace the sound tubes, dampers, sockets - then wiring and resisitors/caps as necessary. Essentially a complete rebuild. Plus they warranty it for another year. With other companies I an unsure.

 

[kimvictor]

Quote:

I am getting an 8A and a 4A reshelled by Heir Audio - On their website they state they replace the sound tubes, dampers, sockets - then wiring and resisitors/caps as necessary. Essentially a complete rebuild. Plus they warranty it for another year. With other companies I an unsure.

Won't that change the sound?

 

[ostewart]

Let me repeat myself as my post has been overlooked. Alclair Reference monitors for $399, you cannot beat them for the price. Average_joe rates them highly and so do I and everyone who has a pair.