As most of you know from my other thread on the topic, “Pulled the trigger! Shure SE846 - in BLUE!,” I went completely insane and a few months ago purchased a pair of Shure SE846 IEM earphones in a cool metallic blue finish. I have always been a huge fan of the Shure IEM sound. I find all of their IEMs to sound very smooth, natural, uncolored, and basically, realistic as all get-out.
I like that uncolored sound for many reasons including:
The first few months have been amazing and unlike anything I have ever experienced before. While I don’t think they are worth the price, as I am capable of enjoying my content just as much with my Shure SE535 IEMs which cost half the price, I do believe the improved performance is amazing and I am very glad I paid the price to get them.
Get On With It!
Now for the purpose of this post: I made an appointment with a local Austin audiologists’ office where, being the live music capital of the world, they specialize in musical listening services, including making custom molds for IEMs and hearing protection. The story is one of frustration as it took a long time to coordinate with the office to find a date for an appointment which worked with my crazy travel schedule to Arlington, VA, and back. But after a few false starts and a couple of rescheduled appointments, I finally met a really nice audiologist who knew exactly what I wanted and knew how to make it happen.
After a brief chat, she took molds of each of my ear canals, a process consisting of inserting a small cotton ball with a string attached into my ear canal then injecting a soft molding material into my ears. She was careful to completely fill the entire ear. The entire time I had a piece of hard foam between my teeth to ensure a better fit as the molds turn out better if made with the patient’s jaw slightly open. Once the rubbery material had cured she took the molds out of my ears and we discussed options.
She recommended a different brand of custom sleeves from Westone which are smaller because they only go into the ear canal, much like the foam or rubber sleeves that come with the IEMs. They also offer a really handy soft textured coating which makes them more comfortable for sweaty conditions and easier to insert and remove. I liked that as the other custom sleeves are what we are all familiar with and are huge and fill both the canal and the outer ear. I had my choice of colors, so I chose clear with a red tip for the right and a blue tip for the left (they also print a small “L” and “R” on them).
After I paid about $230 for the work (there wasn’t a visit fee, she gets all the proceeds from the sleeve production markup), I went on my way knowing that in about 2 weeks I would have new sleeves for my fancy new IEMs.
And I waited…
About two and a half weeks later I finally got the email telling me they were ready to be fitted and I again went through the insane process of trying to schedule an appointment. I don’t blame the office because the days I was available to visit were quite limited, but what a total pain it was before we settled on a good date and time.
The Odyssey Begins
I arrived early, hoping the doctor would be free early to get me on my way, and instead I ended up waiting for over 90 minutes because they had a couple of emergencies with proper patients, one who had a serious ear infection and another whose hearing aide was causing killer headaches. I was very frustrated with the wait and even had to reschedule an important conference call as I didn’t when I could come back given my crazy schedule. But, finally, about ten before I was going to give up and leave, they got to me.
The audiologist took out the custom sleeves and they were smaller than I imagined, given that I had never seen this style in person. But I liked the look and imagined they would be comfortable. We slipped them onto the IEMs and she explained the process of inserting and removing the sleeves (there’s a little thread of the material sticking out with a ball on the end you pull them out of your ear with, pretty cool) and she put them in my ears.
The left ear was perfect, tight acoustic seal and quite comfortable. I was getting excited. But after she put the right IEM in my ear I discovered I could not get a tight seal regardless of any adjustments I made to the positioning or my mouth position. Dang! She, too, was very disappointed.
She gave me the option to try again or get the other style of sleeves, but either way she was going to take new molds of my ears. I decided to try again with these, as I liked how the left one fit and felt. She, again, took molds of both my ears, being even more careful to make them perfect than the first time, and sent me on my way.
While I waited, wallowing in disappointment, I started to question my decision to get custom molds made. After all, I loved the performance of the SE846 IEMs with the standard large foam expanding sleeves and paying an additional $230 was starting to seem extravagant. But when I got the email telling me the sleeves had arrived and to schedule an appointment, I became very excited again – the term “cautiously optimistic” was appropriate for my feelings.
At Last! I get to Ithaca!!!
After the expected insanity of making an appointment, I finally arrived to get the second attempt at audio nirvana. Both of the sleeves fit properly this time, which was thrilling. I noticed in the office that the acoustic seal was slightly less than with the expanding foam sleeves, but I believe that will be a good thing. The doctor walked me through the care and maintenance process (there isn’t much of a process: wipe them off and you can run water over them if necessary. No solvents or detergents.).
While I was there, the doctor also did a hearing test, which I will get to in another thread as it was a little surprising.
Finally, the Review!
So, what do I think of the new sleeves? I love them!
While I thought the bass and treble performance of the Shure SE846 was amazing and natural with the foam sleeves, the custom sleeves made the bass and treble even more natural – effortless and clear. The slightly lower STC (sound blocking) of the custom sleeves is nice as I can hear the noises I need to hear when something requires my attention, like when a flight attendant asks me which single-malt scotch I prefer and whether I want two bottles or three.
And while I have yet to experience a marathon day of flights with the sleeves, after a few hours of wearing them I find my ears are very comfortable and I forget I am wearing anything in my ears. I will know better after my next international flight.
Conclusion
I am very happy with these and while a bit extravagant, this is my primary listening system these days and worth a little investment.
Would I recommend custom sleeves to you guys? Absolutely!
As most of you know, I am a huge proponent of getting the acoustics right when it comes to audio reproduction. With IEMs, the sleeve is the single most important variable aspect of the performance of the earphone. If the sleeve isn't right, the performance will be hindered. If the sleeve isn't comfortable, the enjoyment of the audio will suffer and you will not bother to wear them. In terms of what point I would justify getting sleeves? Well, unless you are a musician getting IEMs for their originally intended purpose (live music monitors on stage), I would not spend more on sleeves than on the IEM. But, I would consider custom sleeves before buying an amp to improve the performance of the IEMs. If the IEMs are not performing at the high possible level, what's the point of an amp to overcome an acoustical problem? (sound familiar?)
Please your questions and comments below.
I like that uncolored sound for many reasons including:
- My analytically trained ear experience from over a decade of living in recording studios where I needed to hear exactly what is in the recording without any form of alteration (though it is impossible to achieve, I push to get as close as possible to a direct link from source recording to my brain).
- The necessity of lack of auditory hype in the treble and bass ranges which, while often initially pleasing, will inherently lead to listening-fatigue and headaches, defeating the whole point of wanting to listen to music or a movie. Considering I use the IEMs both as earplugs and as a means to listen to the music on my phone or video content on my table while on long airplane flights, I need IEMs which are not only comfortable, but I will forget I am wearing on those long 12 hour flights across the Pacific Ocean. I even use them to listen to the poor sounding content the airlines sometimes offer in their in-flight entertainment systems.
- I love to get completely lost in the music I listen to, often to the point that I forget where I am and what I am doing. I can enter an ethereal world where I am the music and my music loving brain takes over from my analytical, stress-out, process-oriented, strategically-thinking brain and I enter the moment of the music – right now, no future or past. Music does that to me. Likewise a well written movie or TV show can take me into the world of the characters I am watching and I don’t need a distraction such as a sharply piercing metallic ringing from a treble boosted headphone or an incomprehensibly powerful bass thud from a bass boosted headphone.
The first few months have been amazing and unlike anything I have ever experienced before. While I don’t think they are worth the price, as I am capable of enjoying my content just as much with my Shure SE535 IEMs which cost half the price, I do believe the improved performance is amazing and I am very glad I paid the price to get them.
Get On With It!
Now for the purpose of this post: I made an appointment with a local Austin audiologists’ office where, being the live music capital of the world, they specialize in musical listening services, including making custom molds for IEMs and hearing protection. The story is one of frustration as it took a long time to coordinate with the office to find a date for an appointment which worked with my crazy travel schedule to Arlington, VA, and back. But after a few false starts and a couple of rescheduled appointments, I finally met a really nice audiologist who knew exactly what I wanted and knew how to make it happen.
After a brief chat, she took molds of each of my ear canals, a process consisting of inserting a small cotton ball with a string attached into my ear canal then injecting a soft molding material into my ears. She was careful to completely fill the entire ear. The entire time I had a piece of hard foam between my teeth to ensure a better fit as the molds turn out better if made with the patient’s jaw slightly open. Once the rubbery material had cured she took the molds out of my ears and we discussed options.
She recommended a different brand of custom sleeves from Westone which are smaller because they only go into the ear canal, much like the foam or rubber sleeves that come with the IEMs. They also offer a really handy soft textured coating which makes them more comfortable for sweaty conditions and easier to insert and remove. I liked that as the other custom sleeves are what we are all familiar with and are huge and fill both the canal and the outer ear. I had my choice of colors, so I chose clear with a red tip for the right and a blue tip for the left (they also print a small “L” and “R” on them).
After I paid about $230 for the work (there wasn’t a visit fee, she gets all the proceeds from the sleeve production markup), I went on my way knowing that in about 2 weeks I would have new sleeves for my fancy new IEMs.
And I waited…
About two and a half weeks later I finally got the email telling me they were ready to be fitted and I again went through the insane process of trying to schedule an appointment. I don’t blame the office because the days I was available to visit were quite limited, but what a total pain it was before we settled on a good date and time.
The Odyssey Begins
I arrived early, hoping the doctor would be free early to get me on my way, and instead I ended up waiting for over 90 minutes because they had a couple of emergencies with proper patients, one who had a serious ear infection and another whose hearing aide was causing killer headaches. I was very frustrated with the wait and even had to reschedule an important conference call as I didn’t when I could come back given my crazy schedule. But, finally, about ten before I was going to give up and leave, they got to me.
The audiologist took out the custom sleeves and they were smaller than I imagined, given that I had never seen this style in person. But I liked the look and imagined they would be comfortable. We slipped them onto the IEMs and she explained the process of inserting and removing the sleeves (there’s a little thread of the material sticking out with a ball on the end you pull them out of your ear with, pretty cool) and she put them in my ears.
The left ear was perfect, tight acoustic seal and quite comfortable. I was getting excited. But after she put the right IEM in my ear I discovered I could not get a tight seal regardless of any adjustments I made to the positioning or my mouth position. Dang! She, too, was very disappointed.
She gave me the option to try again or get the other style of sleeves, but either way she was going to take new molds of my ears. I decided to try again with these, as I liked how the left one fit and felt. She, again, took molds of both my ears, being even more careful to make them perfect than the first time, and sent me on my way.
While I waited, wallowing in disappointment, I started to question my decision to get custom molds made. After all, I loved the performance of the SE846 IEMs with the standard large foam expanding sleeves and paying an additional $230 was starting to seem extravagant. But when I got the email telling me the sleeves had arrived and to schedule an appointment, I became very excited again – the term “cautiously optimistic” was appropriate for my feelings.
At Last! I get to Ithaca!!!
After the expected insanity of making an appointment, I finally arrived to get the second attempt at audio nirvana. Both of the sleeves fit properly this time, which was thrilling. I noticed in the office that the acoustic seal was slightly less than with the expanding foam sleeves, but I believe that will be a good thing. The doctor walked me through the care and maintenance process (there isn’t much of a process: wipe them off and you can run water over them if necessary. No solvents or detergents.).
While I was there, the doctor also did a hearing test, which I will get to in another thread as it was a little surprising.
Finally, the Review!
So, what do I think of the new sleeves? I love them!
While I thought the bass and treble performance of the Shure SE846 was amazing and natural with the foam sleeves, the custom sleeves made the bass and treble even more natural – effortless and clear. The slightly lower STC (sound blocking) of the custom sleeves is nice as I can hear the noises I need to hear when something requires my attention, like when a flight attendant asks me which single-malt scotch I prefer and whether I want two bottles or three.
And while I have yet to experience a marathon day of flights with the sleeves, after a few hours of wearing them I find my ears are very comfortable and I forget I am wearing anything in my ears. I will know better after my next international flight.
Conclusion
I am very happy with these and while a bit extravagant, this is my primary listening system these days and worth a little investment.
Would I recommend custom sleeves to you guys? Absolutely!
As most of you know, I am a huge proponent of getting the acoustics right when it comes to audio reproduction. With IEMs, the sleeve is the single most important variable aspect of the performance of the earphone. If the sleeve isn't right, the performance will be hindered. If the sleeve isn't comfortable, the enjoyment of the audio will suffer and you will not bother to wear them. In terms of what point I would justify getting sleeves? Well, unless you are a musician getting IEMs for their originally intended purpose (live music monitors on stage), I would not spend more on sleeves than on the IEM. But, I would consider custom sleeves before buying an amp to improve the performance of the IEMs. If the IEMs are not performing at the high possible level, what's the point of an amp to overcome an acoustical problem? (sound familiar?)
Please your questions and comments below.
