Shure E500 with Westone UM56 custom ear mold tips
Jun 5, 2007 at 3:48 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 22
elnero

elnero

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Ok, my curiousity towards the UM56's has increased dramatically in recent days. I've actually been pretty happy with the sound of the yellow foamies but also find I have a hard time with fit in one ear. Plus the yellows don't last very long so using these on a regular basis can become a costly endeavor, especially if one is not in the US. I had been holding out hope that the new Shure black foamies would be the ticket for me but alas, while they do most things better than the yellow foamies they seem to exaggerate sibilance too much for my liking. In addition I can't seem to find a proper fit and they cause a burning sensation.

These factors have caused me to do some more experimentation recently which led to my recent use of bi-flanges (modified tri-flange). These sound pretty good overall and have the bonus of not needing to be replaced every couple of weeks but I'm also finding them a bit finicky to insert and get a properly sealed, sometimes they go in without a hitch, other times they don't seem to seal quite right and yet other times they cause an amount of pain.

I started thinking about just going back to the yellow foamies but then I started to think that given the costs for replacement tips maybe I'd be better off going the UM56 custom mold route with the E500's. Problem is I've not really read much about them at all. I'm particularly interested in how they sound especially in comparison to the other available tip options and what kind of fit issues people have had. My biggest fear would be to spend all that money only to find that like the new Shure black foamies, they exaggerate sibilance or the high-end as a whole too much.

So for those of you who have made the plunge, give us your impressions (no pun intended
tongue.gif
).
 
Jun 5, 2007 at 4:08 PM Post #2 of 22
Some listeners have made bombastic claims on how sound quality changed after the change to customs. In my experience, sound quality doesn't change notably, but isolation doubles or triples. I achieved isolation from around 65% of outside noise with Westone customs - but it's just enough to make the music predominate in even the noisiest conditions. Realistically, customs all the isolation you'll need.

Bass increases somewhat with customs. With the E500, you may have to consider carefully whether you already have too much bass. Presume that there will be a slight roll-off in the higher register of the E500 with customs. Nothing huge.

Westone now has customs in a variety of colors and designs. I have interchanged Westone customs with the Shure E4C, and it fits well, but let your audiologist know which IEM you're using. When treated with care, the earpieces will probably outlast your IEM. Given that Shure cables have such a checkered history, that will be a minimum of two years, likely more.
 
Jun 5, 2007 at 4:14 PM Post #3 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by spinali /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Some listeners have bombastic claims on how sound quality changed after the change to customs. In my experience, sound quality doesn't change notably, but isolation doubles or triples. I achieved isolation from around 65% of outside noise with Westone customs - but it's just enough to make the music predominate in even the noisiest conditions.

Westone now has customs in a variety of colors and designs. When treated with care, the earpieces will probably outlast your IEM - given that Shure cables have such a checkered history.


First, I looked in your profile but you don't have anything listed so I have to ask, are you using E500's with UM56's?

Second you say sound quality doesn't change notably, what tips were you using before? I've found there's a fairly significant difference just between the universal tip choices so I'm curious to see where the UM56's fit in sonically.
 
Jun 5, 2007 at 4:49 PM Post #4 of 22
I've sold my Shures for portables. My evaluation, as such, is based on using the Westone customs with the UM2 and Shure E4C - not the E500. My experiences were consisitent between the two IEMs, using the UM56 customs.

You bring up a really good point I'd failed to mention. My ear canals are quite a bit bigger than average, so the only universal tip that really fit satisfactorily was the triple-flange, unmodified, and they sound very nice. (The soft plastic tips let in too much treble.) This probably accounts for our different impressions, soundwise.

In other words, presuming SQ is satisfactory in the first place, the central advantage to the IEM for me is comfort, since IEMs are very sensitive to issues of "fit".
 
Jun 5, 2007 at 5:21 PM Post #5 of 22
Speaking of the UM56 customs, is there any way to get these in Europe (or more specificly, Sweden)? Checked out the link to Variphone which is the European distributor, but I can't find anything on the custom tips there. Would be nice if there was a way to get some custom made tips for my Shure e4c's.

As elnero said, it's quite expensive getting new yellow foamies for those not in the US
tongue.gif
 
Jun 12, 2007 at 12:19 PM Post #8 of 22
I know there are more people out there with UM56's, please feel free to post.
wink.gif
 
Jun 12, 2007 at 3:54 PM Post #9 of 22
Quote:

Originally Posted by Ahobaka /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Speaking of the UM56 customs, is there any way to get these in Europe (or more specificly, Sweden)? Checked out the link to Variphone which is the European distributor, but I can't find anything on the custom tips there. Would be nice if there was a way to get some custom made tips for my Shure e4c's.

As elnero said, it's quite expensive getting new yellow foamies for those not in the US
tongue.gif



I have wondered about that too, I have an idea that those places that produces hearing-aids might do the job...

There is a company in Norway called Starkey, but that can easily be quite far away also, it would be nice to have a provider inside of 100 KM or so if they need fitting..
 
Jun 12, 2007 at 4:22 PM Post #10 of 22
Yeah, where would you get the tips made?
 
Jun 12, 2007 at 4:31 PM Post #11 of 22
We can make them in Poland and I don't know if it's specified on Variphone. You should e-mail them and maybe you get an answer.
 
Jun 12, 2007 at 7:42 PM Post #12 of 22
i asked this about a week ago. and another week before that.
seems like the thread always gets burried before anybody finds it.

but i'm going with a non-um56 route. i'm just going to the audiologist's lab and getting them done. way cheaper and save on shipping.
i'm just hoping they are good.

since they already fit for Shure e5's, i know they can do my um2s as well
 
Jun 12, 2007 at 10:10 PM Post #14 of 22
I have hearing protection that are molded, so I figure that it is a small problem to make a hole that fits the stalk, because there allready is a hole through the plug that are used to regulate how much sound get through the plug...

I know that "siemens" make such a product at least in Denmark, but there is a lot of companies that makes such things..

Just google "hearing protection or earplugs and molded" and it schould be a pice of cake finding a vendor...(I hope)

danish vendors:
http://www.tego.dk/group.asp?group=1...FQrolAodIGrmDw

http://www.rexton.dk/dk/hoerevaern/01-musik/musik.jsp

http://www.phonak.dk/ccdk/company/me...eddelelser.htm

http://www.aku.dk/pro1.htm

Thats four vendors just in my small country (6 mill inhabitants)..

The price in Denmark is apr. 135 $
 
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