[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chef8489 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The custom companies charge a small fee to redo your customs again. For example. Ue charges only 50.00 to creat new ones from new molds.

Thanks, I didn't know that. I emailed UE about the fact that my customs don't fit anymore, and asked them what the possibilities were, and never heard back. I guess I'll give them a call.

 

[what?]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks, I didn't know that. I emailed UE about the fact that my customs don't fit anymore, and asked them what the possibilities were, and never heard back. I guess I'll give them a call.

id be all over that idea, be polite but persistent, e mail/call/ knock on their door.

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chef8489 /img/forum/go_quote.gif The custom companies charge a small fee to redo your customs again. For example. UE charges only 50.00 to create new ones from new molds.

I called UE today and checked into this. They were very helpful. The good news is that they do offer this service. The bad news is that it generally only works if you UE's are not too old.

Mine are 4 years old, and they said that I would have to get another impression done, and then send in the impressions with my UE5c's, to see whether they could refit them (which would cost only $50) or whether I need a whole new set, and they can't tell me what will work until I send them in the impressions, etc. So I've got to pay $50 to $75 to see if it will work. And since I would not buy a whole new set of UE's if they can't refit, it's somewhat of a gamble. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet.

The one thing in my favor is that I work about 5 minutes from UE so I could go there in person and have them fit me and check everything.

 

[what?]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilS /img/forum/go_quote.gif I called UE today and checked into this. They were very helpful. The good news is that they do offer this service. The bad news is that it generally only works if you UE's are not too old. Mine are 4 years old, and they said that I would have to get another impression done, and then send in the impressions with my UE5c's, to see whether they could refit them (which would cost only $50) or whether I need a whole new set, and they can't tell me what will work until I send them in the impressions, etc. So I've got to pay $50 to $75 to see if it will work. And since I would not buy a whole new set of UE's if they can't refit, it's somewhat of a gamble. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. The one thing in my favor is that I work about 5 minutes from UE so I could go there in person and have them fit me and check everything.

$5 sais you can get it done. srysly, how much have human ears changed in the last 4 years?

they will probly try and get xtra money from you, as i bet they dont stand to make ANY money by tearing apart your old iems and building you new ones FOR $50. if i were in your shoes, and i could get my $400.00 iems back working again for another 4 years for $50- $120 id do it (theyre already burned in right

.)

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by what? /img/forum/go_quote.gif if i were in your shoes, and i could get my $400.00 iems back working again for another 4 years for $50- $120 id do it (theyre already burned in right.

Yeah, there's something to be said for that, but on the other hand, the IE8's sound as good as custom IEM's ever sounded. It's just that the custom IEM's are more practical (e.g., easier to clean, tougher) and the fit issues are better.

I think I'll A/B my customs with the IE8's to see how much I really want to get the customs working again. If I hold them a certain way in my ears, I can get a pretty good idea of what they would sound like if they fit right again.

 

[GTL]

anyone here has customs that sounds nearly right just that one ear feels very different in terms of snugness? my ue-11 has this problem and it really bugs the hell out of me.

 

[xcluded]

i thought when one reached the adult stage , the ear canal stop its change?

anyone care to shed some light on this ?

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xcluded /img/forum/go_quote.gif i thought when one reached the adult stage , the ear canal stop its change? anyone care to shed some light on this ?

No, it's pretty clear from my own personal experience, and from talking to the UE folks, that your ear shape and canal can change as you age, no matter what age you are. And it doesn't take much of a change to cause a fit issue, when you think about how these are fitted in the first place, i.e., with a poured mold of your own ear. No doubt this is why UE charges only a small fee to refit if your ears change (provided they don't change too much).

Maybe one of our M.D.'s or audiologists could comment.

 

[Tomikans]

i always thought your nose and ears never stop growing :O

 

[pdupiano]

Dunno about the nose one, but I've noticed my ears change from constant use of IEM tips. I started with small tips but then went to medium tips (primarily cuz of shoving in those triple flanges from the etys). Now I dont' have a problem using UE's larger sized barrels (as opposed to the shures and westones).

 

[ethan961]

If you need super-small tips i know that Jays makes some really small ones. I don't know about fitting them on anything else though.

 

[Surferp]

customs are definitely the way to go as far as sound quality, comfort, and isolation. a HIGH END custom is almost guaranteed to outperform a universal. if they weren't then you'd see professionals with Universal IEM's on stage right? a buddy of mine has a set of UE7 customs and he says its changed the way he experiences music. He says that the most beneficial aspect of the customs is that you just forget that they are in your ear due to the isolation and great fit allowing you to really concentrate on the music. I've never had a big issue with universals but decided it was time to take the plunge on an entry level set of customs like the LiveWires and see if i like them. The general consensus seems to be that once you go custom you never go back to universal and probably for good reason.

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surferp /img/forum/go_quote.gif customs are definitely the way to go as far as sound quality, comfort, and isolation. a HIGH END custom is almost guaranteed to outperform a universal. if they weren't then you'd see professionals with Universal IEM's on stage right? a buddy of mine has a set of UE7 customs and he says its changed the way he experiences music. He says that the most beneficial aspect of the customs is that you just forget that they are in your ear due to the isolation and great fit allowing you to really concentrate on the music. I've never had a big issue with universals but decided it was time to take the plunge on an entry level set of customs like the LiveWires and see if i like them. The general consensus seems to be that once you go custom you never go back to universal and probably for good reason.

What professionals who make bazillions of dollars, or who have special requirements for performing, do is not necessarily the best guide for the average user, or even the average audiophile, for that matter, for several reasons.

In any event, I also think universal IEM's have come a long way in the past year, and the gap in SQ between a universal IEM's and custom IEM's has narrowed quite a bit.

And as far as "never going back," I'm going back. I think the Senn IE8 sounds as good as or better than my custom UE5c, which cost double. And my custom IEM doesn't fit anymore. You also can return a universal IEM if you don't like the sound; can't do that with a custom IEM. And as someone pointed out earlier, universals also have a resale value.

Personally, I don't think I'll ever buy a custom IEM again, and I can easily afford a good one. Of course, that doesn't mean customs don't have some advantages and that they aren't the right choice for a lot of people. But when I first bought customs, I did so because there was no universal IEM that really fit me well and that sounded good. Nowadays, there's a lot more universal IEM's that offer high SQ, and there are lots of options in terms of tips to get a good fit.

 

[Surferp]

So you reiterate my point then when you said "What professionals who make bazillions of dollars.." by affirming that if money is no object then custom IEM perform better. Not to knock you but your UE 5 customs aren't exactly HIGH END customs since they are the same platform as the SuperFi5Pro's, which are definitely good prosumer level IEM's but not great. A HIGH END custom like a UE 11 or FutureSonics set that artists and engineers use will almost always outperform a high end universal. I also love how people point out that you can't resell your customs. Maybe this is just me but i've NEVER sold a good pair of headphones whether they were custom or not. They either hang around as a backup set or the reason i'm getting new ones is because the old ones either are lost or broken! As for returns, all custom IEM companys that i know of will allow you to return if you are not pleased with the product within a certain period of time be it 15 or 30 days. Many also allow you to ship them your old customs to get transplanted/refitted into a new mold if necessary so the fit issue is pretty much null as well. HIGH END customs are the way to go if you can afford it when it comes to IEM. Note: HIGH END

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surferp /img/forum/go_quote.gif So you reiterate my point then when you said "What professionals who make bazillions of dollars.." by affirming that if money is no object then custom IEM perform better.

I was really focusing on the SQ issue, which is what is most important to me (and to some extent what I would label as a "convenience" factor). If you consider the other aspects of a custom IEM, such as comfort, looks, how much easier they are to conceal on stage, then I would agree that, overall custom IEM's would perform better or might be a better choice IF money or value for the dollar is no object.
Quote:

Originally Posted by Surferp /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not to knock you but your UE 5 customs aren't exactly HIGH END customs since they are the same platform as the SuperFi5Pro's, which are definitely good prosumer level IEM's but not great. A HIGH END custom like a UE 11 or FutureSonics set that artists and engineers use will almost always outperform a high end universal.

Perhaps, but the UE11 costs almost four times what the IE8 costs. I think quite a few folks who have the money to buy an UE11 would conclude it's not worth four times the IE8 (or the Westone 3 or whatever), based not only on SQ but on the other factors.

This is really the point I was trying to make in my last post, I think. Basically, I disagree that once you go custom, you never go back, or that high end customs are "the way to go" if you can afford it. There are quite a few folks on this forum that can afford it and have made another choice. No big deal, though. Different strokes for different folks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Surferp /img/forum/go_quote.gif END customs are the way to go if you can afford it when it comes to IEM. Note: HIGH END

Again, you're entitled to your opinion. Everyone's got one.