[bassb]

Seriously considering a pair of Custom FIBAE Black's. Have been having issues with all universal IEM's I tried in my life (always seem to fall out).
Just wondering, how would those compare to a Sony 1000X NC headphones when it comes to filtering out noise? I suspect soundwise / musically, the CIEM's will rule over the NC hp?

Some part of me is also hoping those CIEM's would be able to replace my current closed-back for home use (Meze 99 Classic).. But probably, soundstage wise it wouldn't?

Happy to take on any advises you might have regarding the purchase of those CIEMs or not?

 

[rantng]

Most CIEMs provide about -26db of noise isolation. The exceptions would be those using ADEL/APEX modules.

 

[buonassi]

I'd say that's conservative A weighting too. Other Unis I've used claim 26db and don't come anywhere near the real life performance of customs for isolation. I think CIEMs will get the sub 200hz material blocked better, which is where the majority of transportation related drone noises come from.

I only have fibae black as a CIEM and can't speak to others, but the isolation is so good, I took it on 2 plane trips the past month and was shocked at how low I could play the music and still not hear the drone of the airplane. I'd use them over ANC sony or bose ANY DAY OF THE WEEK.

 

[piotrus-g]

Seriously considering a pair of Custom FIBAE Black's. Have been having issues with all universal IEM's I tried in my life (always seem to fall out).
Just wondering, how would those compare to a Sony 1000X NC headphones when it comes to filtering out noise? I suspect soundwise / musically, the CIEM's will rule over the NC hp?

Some part of me is also hoping those CIEM's would be able to replace my current closed-back for home use (Meze 99 Classic).. But probably, soundstage wise it wouldn't?

Happy to take on any advises you might have regarding the purchase of those CIEMs or not?

In my personal opinion The PNC (passive noise cancelling) is better than ANC, the ANC will always introduce flaws to the music and in talks with my customers I noticed that some reported suffering form pressure created from ANC - you can't hear the noise but the sound pressure is still created. Custom IEMs isolate a lot and easily on par if not better than ANC, there's really no downside to PNC if the IEM fits correctly and the shell is not vented (ADEL/APEX etc).

 

[annasoh323]

I'll add my concurring opinion (actually, I was intending to make a post about this anyway). I just got back from the US east coast. I got there via connecting flights totalling about 10 to 11 hours in the air each way (about 9 and 2 hours respectively). The Blacks served me marvelously. Departing was a red-eye overnight flight so I basically used my Blacks as expensive earplugs (forgive me, Piotr). In that role, they served fine (though, I can more or less confirm that my suspicions that my right ear fits looser than my left ear. Probably because of inconsistencies in the audiologist's office). I slept about as well as I do on an airplane but not for the noise. On the way back, I intended to mostly stay up and play games or watch movies. The Blacks did a fine job of that as well. They don't fully get rid of the background noise and watching on a phone screen isn't ideal but I don't feel like I missed anything too extreme. I was utterly engrossed in the movie Silence which makes prodigious use of minimalism in its sound design. Would it have been better to see it in a silenced theater room with surround sound? Probably but then again, such rooms make most things better.

One thing that really elevates passive noise cancelling over active beyond sound quality is battery life. It was really nice only having to worry about one battery, that being my phone. Plus, earphones are so compact compared to my Bose QC-25s.

In a non-airplane environment, like my office or home, people will often sneak up on me while I'm engrossed in something and I've "missed" phone calls (or was I avoiding them... sorry if any of my coworkers are on this board). Having used both the QC-25s and Blacks in the office more extensively than on the plane, I prefer the Blacks for sure with respect to noise cancellation (sound quality is just... "no competition" doesn't even begin to go there).

 

[bassb]

I'll add my concurring opinion ....

Thanks for the elaborate reply!
Do you mean sound quality goes out to the blacks as well, I hope?

 

[davidcotton]

, people will often sneak up on me while I'm engrossed in something and I've "missed" phone calls (or was I avoiding them... sorry if any of my coworkers are on this board). Having used both the QC-25s and Blacks in the office more extensively than on the plane, I prefer the Blacks for sure with respect to noise cancellation (sound quality is just... "no competition" doesn't even begin to go there).

Ha, think you have problems? I'm blind in my right eye (football accident when I was 4 ) . When I have my blacks (or any other decent isolating iem that I can get my right ear to fit) I'm unaware of anyone on my right side trying to get my attention. Slightly embarrassing at work when I've had my supervisor stand on my right side waving at me trying to get my attention and I've ignored them totally

These are certainly the best fitting ciems I've had in a long time of trying, Putting that down to a) the impressions and b) the 3-d printing. I have a sneaky suspicion that I didn't really need to get these adjusted in the first place either

 

[davidcotton]

Seriously considering a pair of Custom FIBAE Black's. Have been having issues with all universal IEM's I tried in my life (always seem to fall out).
Just wondering, how would those compare to a Sony 1000X NC headphones when it comes to filtering out noise? I suspect soundwise / musically, the CIEM's will rule over the NC hp?

Some part of me is also hoping those CIEM's would be able to replace my current closed-back for home use (Meze 99 Classic).. But probably, soundstage wise it wouldn't?

Happy to take on any advises you might have regarding the purchase of those CIEMs or not?

A lot of the time you are paying for the tech of the noise cancellation rather than the sound itself. That said there is something to be said for picking up a pair. Maybe get both to complement each other?

 

[annasoh323]

Thanks for the elaborate reply!
Do you mean sound quality goes out to the blacks as well, I hope?

Well now I feel bad for insinuating otherwise... Please, Piotr, forgive me. <subjects myself to 100 lashes>

A lot of the time you are paying for the tech of the noise cancellation rather than the sound itself. That said there is something to be said for picking up a pair. Maybe get both to complement each other?

Too bad about your sight . I'm sure you've found your ways to cope since age four. One of my best friends from college is legally blind. The first day I met him in class, I thought to myself, "Who is this scrub staring at his computer screen from half an inch away?" When I found out, I felt bad. Still, he had fun with it too. One day, our prof was telling us about a program we were to use which takes can run calcs for us. "However," he solemnly warned us, "you must watch your units. If you put Watts in for Kilowatts, it won't help you. It's just a blind solver," to which my friend whips his head around to me and, gazing in my general direction as he usually does, exclaimed, "Hey! I'm a blind solver!" That's probably my favorite college story.

Speaking of college (and apropos of your comment I quoted), I had a crackpot idea, the kind of idea only someone who has gone to college can have. I actually did bring my ANC headphones with me on the trip in case the CIEMs weren't isolating enough. My idea was I could put the headphones on over my IEMs and use a splitter to pump sound through the ANC headphones for maximum ANC effectiveness. I didn't actually try it. I know that the power would drop significantly and my phone likely wouldn't have been able to handle that load. Also, I suspect that there would be some sound leakage from the headphones past the IEMs which could cause some kind of wonky phasing issues. Again, not my best idea but probably not my worst.

 

[davidcotton]

Sure I've read somewhere on headfi (well only on headfi) that people do actually just use the nc function over the ciems. Not sure I get why, but there you go.

 

[annasoh323]

Sure I've read somewhere on headfi (well only on headfi) that people do actually just use the nc function over the ciems. Not sure I get why, but there you go.

Personally, it was just a backup option in case there was still a lot of noise or I didn't want to end up wearing them for all 8 hours. Everything was fine for me with just the Blacks, a testament to the Custom Art fit.

 

[Dobrescu George]

BTW My dudes, seems that Fibae Black gets a totally different sound, for the better when you go with the double flanged tips included in the package

 

[subguy812]

The Black pairs really well with the 8-wire Eros II. Enjoy that cable moreso than the 8-wire Ares II, at least with the Black

 

[piotrus-g]

BTW My dudes, seems that Fibae Black gets a totally different sound, for the better when you go with the double flanged tips included in the package

Well... yeah! our bi-flange is the main recommended tip for Blacks, it creates the most even response with most extension on both ends.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Well... yeah! our bi-flange is the main recommended tip for Blacks, it creates the most even response with most extension on both ends.

But I had no idea it would make this large of a difference, it is amazing!

Exactly as you said, it creates a very well extended sound, both ends now are as impressive as the very fluid nature of Fibae Black