I just sent a PM to Brannan. Even on just the suspicion that cable could be faulty, they are ready to send a replacement first thing on Monday (from US, since entire China is closed for CNY). That is what I wanted in the CIEM company - a great customer service that has not faltered so far
Here be answers
Does it supersede that magic EX1000 bass?
I don't think so. I have so far not heard any BA IEM that matches dynamics in bass. 4C sounds clean and detailed in the bass region, but the emotional connect was far better with EX1000, at least going by memory.
Have you only tried it with the Clip+?
Yes. My original plan was to try it for a while with Clip+ and then switch the sources and see how it sounds. I was also considering Laptop -> UHA6S to use as the source when writing down the above post. However, I ended up listening more to music, which is certainly not a bad thing.
Do both earpieces feel the same(fit)?
Yes! My ears are asymmetrical both in and out. When I saw the difference in face plate shapes in the photo, I looked in the mirror, but could not tell any difference. But, that close-up photo actually exaggerates the difference between the pointy end of my left and the rounded end of my right ears
. It is due to this difference in shape that I've found many flush sitting IEMs like SE535 or SM3 slightly difficult to fit in the left ear. I'd say that even though 4C takes a little more time than universals to insert, the actual maneuvering required to get that 'good fit and seal' is less than SE535 i.e., Most of the effort with 4C goes towards guiding the canals in, after that it's a simple twist, whereas SE535 required lot of twists to find that right combination of insertion depth and fit. May be, just may be, I should stick with customs (I only wish I was richer)
Not as shiny as you expected?
Yeah! I thought it would blow me away in person. The build quality (smooth finish), the translucent face plate that allows me a peek into those little things inside and the silver mystic swirl are all as I
asked them to be - Nothing shiny, something calm and quiet to look at. But, the combination of the wires and the silver mystic swirl in the photo made me think of something with a slight brownish tinge and rainbows inside. Turns out that it is just my eyes that were fooling me
What does acrylic feel like? How tough does it feel?
The first time you insert them into the ears, you are sure to feel them. I would say they are far more comfortable than SE535 (or SM3 v1 with it's edges) on the outside. I do not feel them at all once I manage to insert them. I did feel them slightly inside the canals even after an hour. It does not feel like some solid rocky, heavy thing inside the ears, more like an unwelcome intrusion that your ear canals are informing the brain about (still better than Etyrapic's tri-flanges deep fit). I am guessing in a few days, this slight feeling that there is something inside your ears will subside or fade away as the ear canals get 'burnt in' to the feeling.
Any long session fit fatigue?
No! By the 3rd or the 4th hour, most universals which are not straight barrels tend to feel burdensome. But, with 4C, I used it somewhere between 4-5 hours straight last night, but did not feel any fatigue. May be first day luck? I hope to figure out over the course of the next few days.
I usually get slight itch or irritation in the ears after prolonged use of universals, which I did not get this morning with the 4C.
Is the clarity that ear bleedingly spectacular?
If I have to take a chance and quote from memory (which you all know I am quite uncertain about), 4C feels like at least a tiny bit of a step up from CK10. I am still not certain how I can compare this CIEM with universals considering how long it takes to insert and remove them (enough time for audio memory to get a bit fogged). I will try that sometime later.
................ for a few weeks until we begin Operation Eswarus4CReview4us
Best of luck with your operation
