Introduction
Custom Art is the brainchild of Piotr Granicki, a hobbyist like so many of us that, in pursuit of his ideal sound, decided to make his own IEMs to get what he couldn’t find elsewhere. The result is a company now going 10-years strong, with an impressive and growing collection of IEMs that have found favour from as many performing artists as they have audiophile enthusiasts.
FIBAE 5 is the company’s first attempt at a tri-brid IEM, and in true Custom Art fashion, goes against the ‘norm’ with an unusual combination of dynamic driver bass, balanced armature midrange and planar treble. It also eschews the neutral reference-leaning sound of its higher-end IEMs, opting instead for a sound that’s fuller and warmer.
That said, FIBAE 5 is quite different from what I consider a ‘bass-first’ tuning, or even a V-shaped monitor (which it most certainly is not, to my ears). But before we get there, there’s plenty of other aspects of this fascinating IEM to consider, from the custom process and design, to the matter-of-fact accessories, and the relatively modest price.
Packaging, presentation and accessories
For a company that leads with artistry, FIBAE 5 arrived in a rather non-artistic, utilitarian case inside a nondescript cardboard box, though to be fair, there’s no real need for anything else. If corners need to be cut to hit a price point, I’d rather it be packaging than sound quality.
But I digress, everything you need is in the case, and there’s even a convenient foam block cutout to keep the IEMs from bumping into each other or getting scratched by the cable. In fact, the case is large enough to hold other small accessories in the mesh lid pocket, like the Bluetooth necklace cable that Custom Art sent me to try out alongside the stock 4.4mm cable.
Speaking of cables, I was supplied with what looks like an 8-wire silver-plated copper cable with a gold-plated 4.4mm connector and Custom Art branding. It’s soft, supple, not too thick, with no microphonics, and the metal hardware looks good and feels robust. I tried switching it out with a few different cables, some significantly more expensive, but I keep coming back to the stock cable as the most comfortable with the best sonic balance to my ears.
No doubt you can probably push performance higher with super fancy cables, but without getting too controversial, unless you’re buying a cable for better aesthetics or bling, I personally don’t see the sense in spending more than the value of the IEM on a cable when you can get equivalent performance for free with subtle EQ tweaks.
Custom Art also includes a small add-on tool in the box, designed to insert and remove a tiny filter that fits into the bass vent to drop the bass shelf by 3dB. I’m not sure why you’d want to neuter the bass, but I guess if your preference is for a more neutral, bright-leaning signature, the option is there.
Overall, this a very practical package of accessories, especially if you’re a touring artist who needs maximum protection for your gear and a bit of space to spare for select extras. And it’s not like you’re spending thousands of dollars for a fancy storage box that will likely get dumped in the cupboard anyway.
Design and fit
Even though it’s not a balanced armature-only IEM, FIBAE 5 still features Custom Art’s Flat Impedance Balanced Armature Earphone technology (it’s
literally in the name). The company claims it to be “the world’s first revolutionary IEM design providing flat impedance and phase”, which practically means the sound won’t go haywire when switching between sources with different output impedance, as often happens during live performances, and more rarely at home.
I only really mention this here because it explains the genealogy of the name, since I’ve seen this type of tech before from the likes of 64 Audio and FiR and it’s not really new to me. What
is new is the idea of using a combination of drivers that, on paper, you’d think would throw up all sort of coherence issues, but in practice, somehow don’t.
FIBAE 5 comprises three sets of drivers, five in total: a single 10mm dynamic driver for bass, dual balanced armatures for mids, a single planar for low-mid treble, and a single planar for ultra-highs. I assume it also features some sort of crossover, although I don’t have the details of its design or configuration, but I do know there’s a 3D printed waveguide somewhere in the mix, along with Pressure Optimizing Design (POD) that’s supposed to normalise the pressure in front of the dynamic driver for a smoother, wider soundfield.
Sensitivity is a modest 109dB at 2KHz with 0.1V input, and with a nominal 10-ohm impedance (give or take 2 ohms with the flat impedance tech doing its thing), FIBAE 5 is fairly easy to drive off any source without exhibiting hissing or background noise of any sort.
Tech aside, let’s get to the
best part of the experience: creating
custom art. In my opinion, if you’re buying a Custom Art IEM, you should really,
really get a custom art IEM. Yes, I know not everyone wants customs, and they’re nigh impossible to sell, and FIBAE 5 is indeed available as a universal option. But come on guys, why would you pass on the chance to create your own masterpiece from Custom Art, of all places?
The whole process of selecting a design was refreshingly new for me, and I must say quite intimidating at first. I chose Custom Art’s ‘famous’
nebula, which is not part of their standard price options and in fact needs to be hand-painted onto each IEM, so that no two nebula designs are ever the same.
To complicate matters, I asked for
my nebula to feature red motifs for the right earpiece and blue for the left, and to wrap the nebula artwork around the faceplate so it creates a seamless transition with the main body before fading away gradually into all-black nozzles. Lastly, I didn’t want the Custom Art logo, cool as it is, to interfere with the design, so asked for it to be placed somewhere less conspicuous.
Not only was Piotr most accommodating of my many tweaks and requests (including the logo move), the end result, as I’m sure you’ll agree, is simply spectacular.
The only (slight) disappointment was that the nebula appears quite dark and unassuming at first, and only really comes to life in direct light. But again, I digress. Fit-wise, FIBAE 5 is my first experience of a full-size custom IEM – my very first CIEM foray being Campfire Audio’s Supermoon in its shallower audiophile fit option, which I’ll incidentally be comparing to FIBAE 5 later in this review.
I must admit to being somewhat concerned about using a deep-fitting custom IEM, with my tendency to not really tolerate any foreign objects deep inside my ears for any length of time. But from first insert FIBAE 5 felt right at home in my ears. It was actually too much at home, and I found that the seal was not ideal, the sound lacking any meaningful bass impact without pressing the earpieces tighter to my ears.
Yet again Piotr has no issues with me returning the IEMs for a refit, and aside from the lengthy delays in getting them to and from Poland over the busy festive period, the fit and feel was appreciably better second time round.
I will say though, the fit isn’t anywhere near as tight as I expected it to be, and as such, while isolation is good, as is the seal, I get more isolation from universal IEMs with their silicone eartips (and noise canceling wireless IEMs, for that matter) than I do with the FIBAE 5 custom. Whether or not that’s how it’s supposed to be, I’m not sure, but if you expect total isolation (as in, not being able to hear any external sounds at all), you might be left wanting.
Sound impressions
I’ve been listening to FIBAE 5 for the better part of two months, although some of that time was spent sending the IEMs back for adjusting the custom fit. My impressions today are quite different to my initial, out the box impressions, and I can only put that down to the combination of a better seal and driver burn-in. I’ll mention of the changes I’ve experienced in the notes below.
All testing was done across a number of different sources, including HiBy’s RS8 and iBasso’s DX300 MAX using my full set of test tracks and casual listening with newly released music.
Tonality
Custom Art describes FIBAE 5’s sound as “energetic, visceral and powerful” and “energetic, bold and engaging”. This was maybe the case out the box, when the bass was a touch loose and treble was, for want of a better word, wild, but over the past few weeks the sound signature has settled down into something much more sedate, laid back, balanced and refined.
Tonally I hear FIBAE 5 to have a U-shaped sound, bass and treble sitting ever so slightly ahead of the midrange, but never distractingly so. The solid sub-bass foundation and smooth midbass transition gives notes a hint of warmth, and neither encroach on the open, clean and controlled midrange. Treble was peaky to start with, the planar drivers occasionally jumping their lane, but all that’s changed now, and treble plays a supportive rather than leading role along with the bass.
Bass is definitely more sub- than midbass focused. The sub-bass vibrations in Caroline Polachek’s
Hey Big Eyes (1:13) give my skull a deep massage, the rumble sustained and well extended, with excellent control, clearly showing off FIBAE 5’s sub-bass emphasis. Feist’s
Tout Doucement also exposes the deep, vibrant sub-bass notes from the upright bass that complement and contrast with the lighter parts of the arrangement, and never interfere with the vocal delivery, which is sweet and clear even when the bassline continues in the background.
Moving up the FR curve, it’s always good to round off a bass quality and quantity test with the kick drum, and they don’t come any more kicky than in the build-up to the Eagles live performance of
Hotel California. What you want here is a deep thud that’s felt more than heard, and the punch of mid-bass notes lingering slightly to emphasise the kick sensation. FIBAE 5 captures the size of the drums with good texture and a decay that doesn’t rush or linger more than it should, and sounds very natural if not as bold and authoritative as I’ve heard it.
The same goes for electric bass drum intro in A Fine Frenzy’s
Elements, which doesn’t quite hit as hard or deep as more bass-focused sets.
Overall, FIBAE 5’s bass response, while definitely muscular, is more honed than bulky. Bass plays a supportive role here, but unlike sets that use BA drivers as a bass foundation, the inclusion of a large dynamic driver gives the bass the realism, texture and timbre that, when called upon, will satisfy most bass lovers’ cravings. This is by no means a basshead tuning, however, so if you’re think FIBAE 5 can double as the bassy set in your collection, think again.
Midrange being the ‘star of the show’ is a cliché, but in the case of FIBAE 5, it’s true. That said, I don’t think it quite fits the profile of a mid-centric set, because the bass and treble make themselves known more often than not. That’s why, to my ears, FIBAE 5 is a refreshingly balanced set, but definitely one of the more accomplished I’ve heard when it comes to midrange fidelity.
The first thing I listen for in the midrange is female vocal purity, and what better way to do that than with the opening 30-second instrument-free intro to Fran’s
How Did We. Maria Jacobson must have one of the purest, most emotive vocal deliveries I’ve heard in a while, and it helps that the band’s latest album,
Leaving, records it almost perfectly. If there’s any sibilance, grain or haze in an IEM’s delivery, you’ll hear it. FIBAE 5’s delivery is literally pitch-perfect.
If well-recorded vocals are too easy, take it up a notch and try out a potentially pitchy recording. For all of Ethel Cain’s brilliance on her first full-length LP,
Preacher’s Daughter, the weakest part of the album is Ethel’s vocal recording, even on epic tracks like
Thoroughfare.
With an IEM that has too much upper midrange or lower treble emphasis, or that shows a lack of quality in these FRs, or that doesn’t have the low-end to balance out Ethel’s warmer low notes with her higher pitched trailing edges, this track will be a real challenge.
Thankfully FIBAE 5 doesn’t flinch, with as smooth a vocal delivery as I’ve heard with this track. It doesn’t quite have the reach and heft in the bass delivery to make the drums (3:14) reveal the cathedral-like stage of the recording and which provides such an important contrast to the vocals, but conversely it presents a very balanced, nuanced performance you can just close your eyes and sink into.
Switching to raspy male baritones, Neil Diamond’s warm and emotive vocal delivery form The Jazz Singer’s
Hello Again illustrates FIBAE 5’s ability as a vocal all-rounder. I’d like to say I’ve heard this track with more grit and gravitas, but here the delivery is every bit as emotive if a bit less upfront, more laid back than thickly laid. The bass notes play a supportive role, so you’ll hear more of Neil’s lower midrange emphasis than some of the bassy chestiness in the recording.
Moving away from vocals, FIBAE 5’s midrange strength lies in its accurate instrument timbre. Playing Daft Punk’s
Within is a great way to quickly check for piano timbre, one of the hardest instruments for an IEM to accurately reproduce. I’m no timbre expert, mind you, but I know when a piano, guitar or drum sound ‘right’, and the way FIBAE 5 presents the ‘live’ instruments in this hybrid electronic track is right on point.
Allen Touissant’s
The Bright Mississippi reaffirms my impression of FIBAE 5’s timbral strenghs. Not that I’m big on instrumental jazz, but this is another track I often turn to for checking instrument timbre, and also how well the different bass, midrange and treble notes play across a live performance. It’s also a great track to test for instrument separation and imaging, for the same reason, and FIBAE 5 scores high on both counts.
Overall, I find FIBAE 5’s midrange to be very lifelike, with smoothness and warmth overlaid on clarity and nuance. It’s not the most resolving midrange delivery I’ve heard, but I’m not missing any details either, and very often I find hyper-resolving sets don’t lend themselves to a relaxing listen. In that regard FIBAE 5 is more forgiving of poorer recordings than some, and to me that’s a strength that shouldn’t be underestimated.
Treble is where opinions of the FIBAE 5 will probably be split, depending on how sensitive you are to treble vibrancy. Initially, I feared that the set would be hamstrung by the planar driver’s propensity for sharpness – out the box, some treble notes cut like a knife, and threw off the balance of the entire presentation.
I’m glad to say that, for me, this is no longer the case. Whether it’s the 100-plus hours of burn-in, or the slight adjustment to the fit of my customs, treble now mostly keeps to its lane, complementing and highlighting the details in tracks where necessary, but otherwise staying out the way.
Nils Lofgren’s
Keith Don’t Go is a reference track if you want to find out how detailed, accurate, fast and clear an IEM’s treble delivery can be, or to test if you’re going to run into issues. It’ll also give you plenty of other information – male vocals, bass texture, resolution – but treble is what we’re here to hear.
When Nils plucks the high notes on his metal strings, they have every change of making you wince if not presented properly. Turn your attention to the sequence from 3:22 onward, and you should hear some extremely sharp and detailed high treble notes. There is a short sequence from 4:40 where FIBAE 5 comes really, really close to crossing the line, and teeters just over once or twice, so if there’s any weakness to its performance, this would be it.
This is an extreme example, but if your library comprises lots of steel guitars and high-pitched, bright arrangements, you might want to give the planar drivers at least 100 hours or more to settle like I did. Whether or not that will tame them enough for you, I can’t say.
Ilan Bluestone’s
Will We Remain is another high-energy, treble-dominant track, but switches pace completely. FIBAE 5 is probably too laid back for this type of music, but it’s still a good way to test out the treble extremes, especially as it approaches the crescendo at the 3:15 mark. Treble is certainly lively here, but never crosses over to hot or harsh, and is nowhere near as sharp as Nils Lofgren’s guitar strings.
Orchestral strings are where you really want your treble timbre and detail to be on point, and FIBAE 5 absolutely gets it right with Max Richter’s
Winter 1. There is just enough detail here to tell the difference between different string sections, and none ever come close to sounding strident. If anything, they’re quite mellow.
Overall, I’m very comfortable recommending FIBAE 5 for its treble performance, but caution that it did give me trouble in the past, and I’m not sure if what mitigated the issues on my set will happen with yours. I’m also about as far from a treblehead as you can get, and anything too bright or lively sends me reaching for different IEMs. FIBAE 5 is very well behaved in that regard, which is usually the best complement I can give this type of set.
Technical performance
There’s no denying that the higher the price, the more you’d expect from an IEM’s technical performance. To that end, FIBAE 5 doesn’t disappoint, but will most likely disappoint those who favour technicalities over tone. That’s because you’re not going to get envelope-pushing performance here, although for the asking price (which is still a very significant amount of money, to be sure) you’re not going to get short-changed either.
Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra’s binaural recording of
La Luna is a natural test for soundstage size, and reveals what I’ve been hearing consistently throughout my time with FIBAE 5. The stage is larger than average in terms of depth and height, but only moderately wide. It’s definitely not an intimate stage, and manages to spread out in all directions when the music, like this track, calls for it. But it’s not artificially expansive, and I probably wouldn’t call it holographic either. Sounds sit comfortably outside my head, but not so far away that they appear distant or diffused.
With its 50th anniversary coming up this week, Pink Floyd’s
On The Run from
Dark Side of the Moon is another great test for stage, but also resolution and imaging. It shows FIBAE 5 to be reasonably resolving, with imaging that won’t win any awards for pinpoint precision, but is more than acceptable at this price point.
Listen for the PA announcement that plays over the early part of this track. It fades quickly once the main effects start to play, so the IEMs aren’t squeezing the very last drops of information from what’s available in the file. Still, if you didn’t know what to listen for, you wouldn’t know anything was amiss either.
Pink Floyd’s
Time follows on from
On The Run, and reinforces what I picked up previously, in that resolution is very good but not outstanding, and imaging and separation are all at a very high standard too, but short of what you’d want for triple the price. For the record, this is another great treble and timbre test, and while some of the higher-pitched clock effects bordered on forward, none were so sharp that I needed to turn down the volume.
I specifically wanted to use Armin Van Buuren’s
Intense for this review to make the point that FIBAE 5 is
anything but what the title suggests. This is not a highly dynamic, in-your-face delivery; I can close my eyes and relax to music like this, which is probably not what the artist intended.
On the flipside, FIBAE 5 lets you revel in the beautiful tone of Miri Ben Ari’s electric violin, and while I did find myself head bobbing to Armin’s beat, I was drawn more to the composition and layering of the various effects in the track. If you’re someone wanting big notes with power and groove at full speed, this is not the IEM for you. If you prefer to focus on the melody, however, even in faster tracks like this one, FIBAE 5 is more likely your speed, as it is mine.
Overall, I really like what Piotr has achieved with the technical tuning of this set. You’re definitely a level or two up from mainstream, sub-$1,000 sets with stage size, depth, layering and separation, and there’s no shortage of resolving power either. It might not be the fastest and most dynamic sound at this level, but it’s not flat and uninspired, if that’s what you’re thinking.
Perhaps the best way to make the point is to compare and contrast FIBAE 5 with two other IEMs in the same ballpark price-wise to get a sense of where it sits technically, so I’ll do that next.
Select comparisons
HiBy Zeta ($1,299). HiBy’s 9-driver titanium body flagship is a relative newcomer to the IEM scene, with very little information actually out in the wild about it (
shameless plug – THL review coming soon). The most obvious and immediate difference to FIBAE 5 is its warmer tonality; Zeta has a visceral, powerful midbass response that colours all the remaining frequencies with warmth, far more so than the more neutrally-tuned FIBAE 5 midbass.
It also has a relatively forward upper midrange that requires some EQ tuning, and treble that’s smooth but lively when it needs to be, compared to FIBAE 5 which is far more balanced in these areas. As such there’s more dynamism and contrast in Zeta’s sound, more realism and tonal accuracy in FIBAE’s.
Technically the two are very close. FIBAE’s stage is actually wider and deeper than Zeta’s, which is hampered by its added warmth. Resolution is on par, which is to say very good but not quite summit. Being a custom, FIBAE 5 obviously wins out in comfort, but Zeta is on the more comfortable size as far as universals go, especially with softer silicone tips. Its titanium shell is skin smooth, with no hard edges, and even though the metal earpieces are slightly heavier than FIBAE’s resin, they’re quite a bit smaller.
Overall, the two IEMs complement each other well, FIBAE being more balanced and accurate, Zeta warmer and more powerful. Zeta’s more elaborate packaging and higher quality accessories explains its larger pricetag, but both IEMs can be said to perform at a level that justifies their ticket price.
Campfire Audio Supermoon ($1,500). Planar IEM drivers are still new, and have some way to go before they can match their full-size counterparts. That said, Supermoon is the most complete example yet of a high-end planar driver in IEM form, showing off the good (and bad) of the driver’s characteristics.
Tonally, Supermoon is brighter and lighter than FIBAE, and lacks some of the iridescent warmth from the dynamic driver bass. This affects midrange and treble presentation too, both of which are on the thinner side compared to FIBAE’s fuller notes. Timbre accuracy is where FIBAE eclipses Supermoon, especially with vocals and live instruments.
Where Supermoon shines is its technical performance. It resolves as well as any IEM I’ve heard, regardless of price, and is faster with a better-defined stage than most summit-fi IEMs in my opinion. On the flipside, it lacks dynamic energy, and its tonal ‘flaws’ – especially a metallic sheen to some upper midrange/lower treble transients – takes some of the polish off its exemplary technicalities.
Overall, Supermoon offers a stark contrast to FIBAE 5’s lifelike, natural and balanced sound, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your preferences and need for a variety of different-sounding IEMs in a ‘collection’.
Closing thoughts
There’s something to be said for IEMs that represent more than just devices for music listening. Custom Art’s FIBAE 5 is the embodiment of this ideal, an IEM that, initially at least, is more about creation and craftsmanship than it is utility.
The care, dedication and skill that went into making my set of custom IEMs is an experience I’d wish on anyone. To my mind, it’s the main reason someone would seek out a Custom Art work of art. The only downside is the crazy variety of choices you’re faced with when deciding on the look of your personal set, something that admittedly gave this minimalist reviewer choice paralysis for a while.
When you start off on such a high note, everything that follows is sometimes a letdown. Thankfully, FIBAE 5 performs as well as it looks. While I had my teething issues with the sound, more specifically the planar treble liveliness, time and patience (and a quick visit back to Poland) ensured all was well once the treble settled.
Confoundingly though, I don’t hear FIBAE 5 as the energetic, dynamic IEM it’s ‘supposed’ to be, but rather a more relaxed, refined version of that ideal. It has the quintessential qualities of a dynamic driver bass foundation, and an expertly-tuned midrange that, I’m lead to believe, is Piotr Granicki’s trademark tuning. I can only assume the planar treble decision was an attempt at doing something oddly different with this IEM, to separate it from its siblings, perhaps?
Ultimately, it’s an experiment that seems to have worked in FIBAE 5’s favour, because the sum of this IEM is definitely greater than its parts. On the whole I hear no coherence issues, which speaks to the skill with which it’s been tuned. That said, it’s not the most technically-proficient performer I’ve heard, nor did I expect it to be, but at the same time, unless you’re willing to pay significantly more for a technical upgrade, it’s not going to let you down.
For me, FIBAE 5 is the consummate kilobuck all-rounder. I haven’t personally experienced a better all-round performer at this price. Considering the price includes your own set of personalised ear jewelry, I believe FIBAE 5 stands alone as the most enjoyable, comfortable, showoff-able and, importantly,
affordable everyday listen I’ve come across in this hobby.
Highly recommended.
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This review first appeared on The Headphone List.