Oh shit LMFAO. I just finished reading the HF C4 thread

Quoted from the HF C4 thread

Purrin:
As an ancient saying goes: we must agree even if we do not understand.

I was drinking chocolate milk when I read that and I laughed so hard milk shot out of my nose and all over my keyboard

Yeah, I thought that was presumptuous, naive and sycophantic, and all in a single sentence! ...made me nauseous just reading it... 



On a lighter note, regarding ear impressions - I would strongly encourage you to get them done by a qualified audiologist rather than succumbing to the temptation to do them yourself. It's not rocket science but it is tricky and the stakes are high - there are tales of some poor unfortunates doing it themselves and silicone seeping past the ear dam and sticking to the eardrum, with gut-wrenching consequences when the silicone has set and is removed... I know my audiologist is very diligent about using an earscope to check very carefully that the foam dams are set correctly, before he mixes the silicone.


If you have them done and are concerned that they may not be up to scratch, I suggest you do what I did with UM, and take numerous hi-res close-up photos of the impressions, and e-mail them to David at Frogbeats before you consider shipping them.

There is an informative thread on H-F entitled 'Things to consider before getting your custom IEM impressions done', which I highly recommend you read before seeking out impressions. You may have to dig around a bit as it's quite an old thread.

...lets say I ordered and I had a fit problem can I send the CIEM with a different set of impressions and get them redone?

from: customs.frogbeats.com/faq

"Refund/Return policy

As this is a custom product uniquely fitted to your ear, we cannot offer any sort of refund or return policy on the Customs. We will of course offer a free refit within 30 days of receiving the product."

The above policy is basically the industry standard for CIEM vendors.

@ David (Frogbeats):

Would you please be kind enough to clarify exactly what your website means with the following terms, please? (please be detailed in your responses; cheers):

1) Faceplate colour - what exactly is meant by the option 'None' - does that mean clear/transparent?

2) Shell colour - why is there no clear/transparent option for this?

3) Clear canals - what does this mean? - do you mean A) the portion of the acrylic shell that inserts into the ear? Or do you mean B) the inner tubing which mates with the BA nozzles?

4) in any event, what colour is the 'non-clear' canal option?

5) Do you offer an option to have the canal portion of the acrylic exterior shell a different colour from the main body of the shell? (e.g. RED/BLUE for RH/LH hidden identification)

6) Personally, I would be looking to purchase an entirely clear C4 - literally everything purely clear - no artwork, no logo, no tint, nothing. Just plain transparent everything. Either that or transparent everything with just the canal tips different colours for hidden RH/LH identification. Can you cater for either of these scenarios?


I do appreciate that you've only just launched and are still refining the website but the above ambiguities in the ordering webpage are rather disorienting and don't do you or your potential customers any favours at the moment. I say that as someone who is a seasoned CIEM buyer. That's not meant as criticism, just constructive feedback; I welcome your presence in the UK marketplace and wish to see you succeed.

Thanks fellows, I googled the image earlier and saw the replaceable cables. I'm generally not familiar with CIEMs, as I've only recently attained human ears.

Any idea how much of an improvement these would be from a K701 or Triple.Fi 10? Feel Free to use nonsensical grandiose wording.

Thanks fellows, I googled the image earlier and saw the replaceable cables. I'm generally not familiar with CIEMs, as I've only recently attained human ears.

Any idea how much of an improvement these would be from a K701 or Triple.Fi 10? Feel Free to use nonsensical grandiose wording.

I can't comment upon the K701, other than to observe that the bass response of Balanced Armature drivers generally tends to differ in character from the bass response of a dynamic driver (as is obviously used in the K701 full-size headphone) but my experience of the T-F10 was of an outrageously uneven frequency response, even though the T-F10 has many ardent fans.

Therefore, my response would be that a properly-engineered Custom IEM should have a far more refined and coherent frequency response than the mass-market T-F10, with some potential for improved imaging, and, of course, greater comfort and isolation, provided the impressions were accurate moulds of your ears.

As I recall, the TF-10 has what I considered to be a rather 'bouncy', poorly-controlled, and somewhat emphasised bass response. The C4 is not engineered to have any undue emphasis in the bass response, although it will have very capable bass response when appropriate to the source material being listened to. If you are a fan of the T-F10s overall sound signature, and prefer a bit of emphasis on the bass response, then the C3 or C5 may be more your cup of tea, since they are designed with that in mind.

As far as treble is concerned, I found that to be the most unrefined aspect of the T-F10, and my experience of, for example, the Unique Melody Miracle, has been that it has infinitely more refined treble presentation than the T-F10. Not absolutely perfect, but still very considerably smoother and more refined than the T-F10. Just so you know, the UM Miracle uses a TWFK driver for the treble. I don't know what driver is used for the treble in the Frogbeats C4 or in the C3, but the C5 is quoted as using all Sonion drivers, which seem to be noted for good treble smoothness and extension.

HTH and I'm sure others will be able to offer more comparisons.