[pcmike]

Good evening,
 
Tomorrow morning I'm scheduled to go get impressions made to be shipped off to Westone to make some custom artwork ES5s and I must say.. I'm starting to freak out over the artwork. For the last few years I always had this image in my mind as to what the monitors would look like when I order them and now that I'm actually a day away from ordering.. I'm not even sure my artwork is of a good enough quality to actually turn out good on the ES5s. The images below are exact copies (down to the size and everything) of what I was going to have sent into Westone.. do those in the know thing using these images will translate into good looking monitors? I can't find any images of "The Scream" at 300 dpi on Google and I most certainly can't make one on my own as I'm terrible at Photoshop in general. Please give me some guidance...
 

 

[b0ck3n]

I remember Variphone not including VAT in their price listing of the W4. Stefan Voortmans never mentioned VAT in our correspondence and spoke of the listed prices as absolute. Highly questionable behaviour if you ask me.
 
Warranty is just as valid when going through Earplug Superstore (US), though shipping time/costs are likely to increase. It would take quite a few trips across the ocean to reach the same total expense as going through Variphone.

 

[b0ck3n]

Quote:

 
-snip-
 
Please give me some guidance...
 
-snip-

 
Your pictures don't have alot of detail to them so I think they'll turn out fine. E-mail the guys at Westone and ask them about it, I'm sure they'll let you know if they think the low resolution will cause a problem.

 

[cooperpwc]

pcmike, when all else fails, use Photoshop to do bicubic resampling to 300dpi. I just did that and they look pretty good. If you PM me your email address, I will send them along.

 

[pcmike]

Thanks guys.
 
I did in fact already send an email off to Jeff at Westone. We had talked earlier in the day and he was going to have the art department take a look at the original image I had found (which was just a black and white gif). I updated the email tonight with the new blue/red copies for him to show the art department tomorrow and hopefully get some mockups made. I also emailed him with two additional images I just created from the above, which is the same images, but with the dark background removed all together as I'm thinking maybe if I went all clear and just had the face (bright areas) put on the monitors.. kind of like the image below, that it may be even cooler looking. What do you think?
 

 

[b0ck3n]

If it were me I'd get them printed on smoke (translucent black/grey) shells. They cut prints real nicely at Westone, not the jagged edges you see on JHA prints.

 

[cooperpwc]

I confirm that smoke is very nice.

 
(I also prefer it to clear but to each their own.)

 

[RockaRolla]

 
Quote:

Well I trust Moon Audio products enough to pull the trigger on the Silver Dragon so did so about an hour ago. Unfortunately they have a Paypal holding period of 4 days for international payments so mine won't ship straight away. I will try to justify the cost by scrutinising every last nuance of detail once it gets here. As I said previously, the Blue Dragon on my HD600's is a huge improvement over stock cable but I'm guessing the improvement of the ES5's with the Silver Dragon will be less noticeable, I only say that because well.... how much better can they really get?? I'll report my findings soon hopefully.

 

 
Quote:

Hey there!

I haven't tried ES5s with the silver dragon...
But I have tried Westone Um3x with Silver Dragon and isn't a really big improvement but it does make the bass a bit tighter and the highs more detailed but thats really about it.
Dunno about ES5s
Wait for a bit!
My ES5s should hopefully arrive soon so I'll give you some insight on that

 
eagerly anticipating both your reviews!
thanks in advance!

 
 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

So you would still recommend HM-602 or S:Flo2 for straight DAP?
I'm looking at the simplest setup [DAP>ES5] when mobile.

As long as their output impedance is <1 ohm.  Sure, absolutely doable.  I just think the ES5 scales well and begs for resolution and to a degree current.  I'm at the point where my ES5 is not the weak link in my chain so I'm trying to work out a better solution.
 

 

[pcmike]

Well, I got the impressions made this morning. I was very pleasantly surprised with the whole experience. First off, the guy who did them had to have been at least 75y/o, which in and of itself was interesting. He specializes in some sort of "Tinnitus Retraining Therapy." Not sure how effective it is, but whatever. According to Westone he's sent in orders for ES3Xs in the past. Anyhow, he checked my ears out and then proceeded to put the silicone in... however, he didn't have a bite block, so he had me bite down on my index finger. I asked him if thats the general height of a bite block or if I should use two fingers and he said two fingers would be too much. That brings me to my first question: should one index finger have be sufficient when it comes to impressions for the ES5s?
 
After taking the impressions we talked about my actual order and I explained to him that I'm in the process of working with Westone on custom artwork, but that I would email him the final images for him to email into Westone, he was all cool with that. Finally, I asked him if I could pay him a bit extra to overnight the impressions to Westone and he said "no need, let me pull out a Fedex form and I'll take care of it." I was shocked. He's going to overnight them and he's not charging me. At this point, I figured that I was going to end up paying more than the $1045 sticker price on the ES5s, but wait it gets better. It came time to pay and he said "that will be $1045 even!" I was in awe! He didn't charge me for the impressions at all, didn't charge me for the overnight shipping, didn't charge me any tax, nothing. Just a flat charge of $1045! Needlessly to say, I had a pretty good experience this morning and I will be thrilled if everything ends up turning out good.
 
One final thing though, for those who have been through this process before. Not only am I concerned with the "bite on your index finger," I'm also kind of worried that he may not have gotten enough of my outer ear on the impressions. Can someone take a look at the pictures below and let me know if he went deep enough and got enough of my outer ear? I'd appreciate it; I just want to put my mind at ease. Thanks guys!
 

 

[b0ck3n]

Those look good to me, certainly deep enough. The outer ear portion seems thick enough as I'm comparing to my set. I used a large bite block last time since I need to be able to sing on stage without them popping out. I honestly don't expect them to be perfectly comfortable though...

 

[ArrigoShred]

Hey there Pcmike.

I went to a audiologist in Hong Kong, in Widex Center of hearing and speech.
For my ear impressions I did have a biting block and it was roughly 1.5 fingers in size. It really depends on how big your fingers are tho. I'm pretty sure u'll be fine since your audiologist definitely seems experienced, definitely more experienced than mine

Cheers!
Quote:

Well, I got the impressions made this morning. I was very pleasantly surprised with the whole experience. First off, the guy who did them had to have been at least 75y/o, which in and of itself was interesting. He specializes in some sort of "Tinnitus Retraining Therapy." Not sure how effective it is, but whatever. According to Westone he's sent in orders for ES3Xs in the past. Anyhow, he checked my ears out and then proceeded to put the silicone in... however, he didn't have a bite block, so he had me bite down on my index finger. I asked him if thats the general height of a bite block or if I should use two fingers and he said two fingers would be too much. That brings me to my first question: should one index finger have be sufficient when it comes to impressions for the ES5s?
 
After taking the impressions we talked about my actual order and I explained to him that I'm in the process of working with Westone on custom artwork, but that I would email him the final images for him to email into Westone, he was all cool with that. Finally, I asked him if I could pay him a bit extra to overnight the impressions to Westone and he said "no need, let me pull out a Fedex form and I'll take care of it." I was shocked. He's going to overnight them and he's not charging me. At this point, I figured that I was going to end up paying more than the $1045 sticker price on the ES5s, but wait it gets better. It came time to pay and he said "that will be $1045 even!" I was in awe! He didn't charge me for the impressions at all, didn't charge me for the overnight shipping, didn't charge me any tax, nothing. Just a flat charge of $1045! Needlessly to say, I had a pretty good experience this morning and I will be thrilled if everything ends up turning out good.
 
One final thing though, for those who have been through this process before. Not only am I concerned with the "bite on your index finger," I'm also kind of worried that he may not have gotten enough of my outer ear on the impressions. Can someone take a look at the pictures below and let me know if he went deep enough and got enough of my outer ear? I'd appreciate it; I just want to put my mind at ease. Thanks guys!
 

 

 

[curitibanoez]

Hi all,
 
I think I have decided to pick up a pair of ES5's soon. 

  I had a question that maybe you guys can answer.  
 
I have noticed that most ES5 owners say to make sure that the fit is pretty tight and your ear canals will adjust/stretch and become accustomed to the customs over time.  Is the ear stretching permanent?  Would the stretching of the canals make my current customs (that fit well, but are not super tight) become loose?
 
Or am I over thinking this?  

 
 
Thanks!
 
 
Eric
 
 

 

[Mopshond]

Dear Curitibanoez,
 
You should be very careful with this, because it can have major influences. On the moment my left earpiece fits just normal whereas my right earpiece fits pretty tight. My right ear still needs to adjust to it and sometimes my right ear becomes warm or it starts to irritate. To be honest, in terms of sounds quality there is no difference and if I had to pick my favourite one I would ,without a doubt, go for the left one.
Quote:

Hi all,
 
I think I have decided to pick up a pair of ES5's soon. 

  I had a question that maybe you guys can answer.  
 
I have noticed that most ES5 owners say to make sure that the fit is pretty tight and your ear canals will adjust/stretch and become accustomed to the customs over time.  Is the ear stretching permanent?  Would the stretching of the canals make my current customs (that fit well, but are not super tight) become loose?
 
Or am I over thinking this?  

 
 
Thanks!
 
 
Eric
 
 

 

 

[Mopshond]

The impressions look good, I don't think you have to worry about anything. I am  quite sure they are covering your outer-ear good enough, and besides that they are certainly long enought. I even think that Westone will make your final in-ears a bid shorter.
 
Quote:

Well, I got the impressions made this morning. I was very pleasantly surprised with the whole experience. First off, the guy who did them had to have been at least 75y/o, which in and of itself was interesting. He specializes in some sort of "Tinnitus Retraining Therapy." Not sure how effective it is, but whatever. According to Westone he's sent in orders for ES3Xs in the past. Anyhow, he checked my ears out and then proceeded to put the silicone in... however, he didn't have a bite block, so he had me bite down on my index finger. I asked him if thats the general height of a bite block or if I should use two fingers and he said two fingers would be too much. That brings me to my first question: should one index finger have be sufficient when it comes to impressions for the ES5s?
 
After taking the impressions we talked about my actual order and I explained to him that I'm in the process of working with Westone on custom artwork, but that I would email him the final images for him to email into Westone, he was all cool with that. Finally, I asked him if I could pay him a bit extra to overnight the impressions to Westone and he said "no need, let me pull out a Fedex form and I'll take care of it." I was shocked. He's going to overnight them and he's not charging me. At this point, I figured that I was going to end up paying more than the $1045 sticker price on the ES5s, but wait it gets better. It came time to pay and he said "that will be $1045 even!" I was in awe! He didn't charge me for the impressions at all, didn't charge me for the overnight shipping, didn't charge me any tax, nothing. Just a flat charge of $1045! Needlessly to say, I had a pretty good experience this morning and I will be thrilled if everything ends up turning out good.
 
One final thing though, for those who have been through this process before. Not only am I concerned with the "bite on your index finger," I'm also kind of worried that he may not have gotten enough of my outer ear on the impressions. Can someone take a look at the pictures below and let me know if he went deep enough and got enough of my outer ear? I'd appreciate it; I just want to put my mind at ease. Thanks guys!