In ear phones/monitors - educate me

Roland · September 2022

Which version you choose is going to depend on what you need them for. Whilst I was having my moulds made Cosmic Ears let me listen to each of their drivers. My first thought was that I’d get high quality drivers which would enhance my experience of listening to music. Then I realised that for playing with a band I need less information, not more.

On stage I don’t need any low end, and I can’t hear much above 4.5kHz, so the expensive drivers aren’t much use to me. Instead I need three things. Where the beat is, regardless of which drum or cymbal the drummer is using to keep time; whether anyone has mis-counted or lost their place, and I need to hear the guitar. Even for transcribing I’m listening to guitar notes which lie in the mid-range.

Lestratcaster said:

Just trying to decide which driver I want out of the CE3/4/6P. The 6 is meant to be the best of the best, never listened to music with 2 dual drivers for bass/mid/treble before. The 3 driver one is good, but I wonder if the CE4P would be the happy medium without having to spend more than I need? Or should I just go with the 6 and make sure I get the best possible IEM's.

Lestratcaster said:

I've read that more drivers don't necessarily mean better sound, so would 6 be necessary? There would be 2 for low/mid/high. I notice alot of the studio musicians and YouTube guitarists use the 6 driver one. Drummers more the 4 one as they need more bass response.

I don’t think the CE4s are necessarily a middle option. All three models have different characteristics.
The 3s were the best fit for my purpose. If I use them to listen to music on Spotify then I boost the EQ.

Lestratcaster · September 2022

I'm a guitar tutor and often do live stream stuff (i.e lessons online). I wanna hear the beat to keep time like yourself to keep in time and my guitar in the band mix clearly. And for transcribing and stuff its always good to get a bit more detail.

I also record a little bit and do those video cover things on YouTube, where the video is edited to show different angles etc. I play a variety of styles but its mostly rock and metalcore genres, so lots of lower end from the kick drum and bass. If I'm listening to music in general its not always going to be on these.

3's are based of 6's I was told, there's £360 difference between the two.

PolarityMan · September 2022

For non live use I jsut go with cans tbh.

Lestratcaster · September 2022

They're uncomfortable to wear and don't block out background noise very well for me.

PolarityMan · September 2022

Lestratcaster said:

They're uncomfortable to wear and don't block out background noise very well for me.

Just looked back in the thread we basically repeated ourselves from march 2021 lol.

Lestratcaster · September 2022

Lol I never realised. I'm enjoying the triple drivers from the SE535's though so maybe that's all I need.

Musicwolf · September 2022

Lestratcaster said:

Lol I never realised. I'm enjoying the triple drivers from the SE535's though so maybe that's all I need.

As a starting point - what, if anything, do you feel is missing from the 535's?

It's always a problems with IEMs knowing what you need as custom moulds aren't something that you can try first. I have a pair of ACS single driver custom moulds which I used for several years but then I took advantage of a special offer and bought a pair of 535's direct from Sennheiser. Having found a suitable tip I much prefer the 535's as it would seem that, for me at least, multiple drivers are more important than a custom fit – but we’re all different.

Lestratcaster · September 2022

I meant that all I'd need from the new CIEM is a triple driver, no more.

But yeah the Snugs Pro custom sleeves for the SE535's aren't good enough, there's not enough sound isolation and the bass response is poor, partly due to the way they fit. There's no faceplate on these so there's a gap in the seal. My guitar can sound horrible when I play through my Kemper. Have to open my jaw a bit to get it sitting right after pushing them in.

Lestratcaster · September 2022

I've just come back from seeing Cosmic Ears' recommended audiologist - Gisele, to take new impressions for some CE6P's I decided to go for.

We compared my current sleeves and she noticed straight away the right ear canal doesn't extend fully past the 2nd bend and is too fat and short to go deep enough. So a bad impression resulting in a poor fit. We took 2 impressions, and used the bite block for both. When I had to sit there for the gooey gunk stuff to set I literally couldn't hear anything which is a sign. I could also see from her impressions they go deeper and you can see my canals narrow towards the end as well. So more detailed.

I'm glad I got it done properly and now face an anxious 4 week wait for the new CIEM's. Gisele also said to come back and see her with them if the final fit isn't quite bang on, which is kind of her.

Lestratcaster · November 2022

After a long long wait the CE6P's arrived this morning. They look great and quite classy.

So for the fit...the left side slots in perfectly, very comfortable. The right is a bit fiddly to get in, have to turn and really push to get that tight seal but it gets there eventually.

@mike257 I think you have the same set having spoken in a different thread, did you find you had this too? Shall I give it a few days for it settle in a bit and the ear to get used to it?

Sound quality is great, very clear and you can really feel the music when playing along. Glad I went for the 6 driver model.

lincolnblue · November 2022

I guess it all comes down to budget. My budget was limited when I got mine and I ended up with the Mee Audio M6 Pros. I can't compare to more expensive IEMs but I've been very impressed with them

Lestratcaster · November 2022

Should probably change the title of the thread, or do I need to? I'm still learning about them lol.

Used the new ones for a bit, the right side just needs to be inserted a bit differently (more rotating and a push) but the fit is nice and tight once in. I probably have different length ear canals in each ear or something.

mike257 · November 2022

Lestratcaster said:

After a long long wait the CE6P's arrived this morning. They look great and quite classy.

So for the fit...the left side slots in perfectly, very comfortable. The right is a bit fiddly to get in, have to turn and really push to get that tight seal but it gets there eventually.

@mike257 I think you have the same set having spoken in a different thread, did you find you had this too? Shall I give it a few days for it settle in a bit and the ear to get used to it?

Sound quality is great, very clear and you can really feel the music when playing along. Glad I went for the 6 driver model.

Hello mate! Mine were actually exactly like this, to the point that for the first week I found the right ear very uncomfortable to wear. It's definitely a bit more of a twist to get it in there.

I dropped them a line at the time, and said I'd live with it for a bit and come back to them. They'd been delivered the day before I left for a month of touring so I had to just crack on with it. After a week of wearing them daily, they didn't hurt my right ear any more. Did a month of it and absolutely fine. Still a tighter squeeze than the left one to put it in, but they seal brilliantly and sound fantastic.

Lestratcaster · November 2022

mike257 said:

Lestratcaster said:

After a long long wait the CE6P's arrived this morning. They look great and quite classy.

So for the fit...the left side slots in perfectly, very comfortable. The right is a bit fiddly to get in, have to turn and really push to get that tight seal but it gets there eventually.

@mike257 I think you have the same set having spoken in a different thread, did you find you had this too? Shall I give it a few days for it settle in a bit and the ear to get used to it?

Sound quality is great, very clear and you can really feel the music when playing along. Glad I went for the 6 driver model.

Hello mate! Mine were actually exactly like this, to the point that for the first week I found the right ear very uncomfortable to wear. It's definitely a bit more of a twist to get it in there.

I dropped them a line at the time, and said I'd live with it for a bit and come back to them. They'd been delivered the day before I left for a month of touring so I had to just crack on with it. After a week of wearing them daily, they didn't hurt my right ear any more. Did a month of it and absolutely fine. Still a tighter squeeze than the left one to put it in, but they seal brilliantly and sound fantastic.

Yeah I just have to insert differently to the left. Initially I was worried that side wasn't taken properly. But now I've been using them for about 2 days its alright.

The only thing I've noticed is an intermittent cutting out of audio out of the left side, then the right, before returning in both, especially on live stream calls. It could just be the audio on that, as generally when I'm playing my guitar or listening to music its alright. I would be surprised if it was a fault as they go through expansive testing and quality assurance checks I would have thought before sending it out.

I do have dry wax buildup so it could be that, though I do clean the tips after every use and there's not much if any on there as they're brand new.

Lestratcaster · November 2022

Well this wasn't supposed to happen. After less than a week of owning these I'm experiencing cut outs of audio in the left earpiece. The right one still plays audio and then returns to both. Have tried swapping devices (usually plug into my interface) but same issue. Even swapped earpiece cables round and the cut out doesn't follow the same cable side. Changed to my old SE535's and didn't experience it so its definitely the earpiece.

Looks like I'll have to send them back already

Lestratcaster · November 2022

IEM's sent back on Monday, arrived there yesterday. Earlier today I get an email saying they found a fault with the socket in the T2 cable. So it wasn't any of my stuff, much to my relief. They've fixed this now so hopefully its resolved, they've also tested it and its working nicely. Very quick turnaround as I was expecting to be without them for at least 2 weeks. If they send it out tomorrow I could get them back with the space of a week of reporting the fault.

Lestratcaster · November 2022

Wow. IEM's returned to me all fixed yesterday, was without them for only 4 days. Class service and communication throughout, they know how to look after their customers. Monitors sounding great with no cut out issues.

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