I just bought $45 QZ ZS10 Pro and they might be the best sounding and noise blocking headphones I’ve ever had. Perfect for drumming along to tracks. Haven’t gotten to try them plugged in on stage yet.
Are these leagues better in some respect?
As for why you'd buy CIEMs, its mostly about better isolation and comfort. Your average customs will have a quality on par with universals a bit below their price but will be more ergonomic and isolating. The benefits are generally more in line with professional musician rather than audiophile.
There is a danger with headphones that you will turn them up too loud (esp. in a loud environment) so you can hear the signal clearly. As a musical professional your hearing is vital to the quality of your performance so you should protect it.
The plug allows the sound to be more natural while providing good protection
I upgraded to the slightly more expensive Loop earplugs which were more comfortable.
Both give something like 12-15 db noise reduction.
A friend put together a group buy of these at least a decade ago and mine are still doing great. They’ve gotten completely disgusting but some isopropyl followed by a warm water wash cleaned them right up. It’s kind of weird that such a relatively niche product is so cheap… I am so happy with them that I would be a repeat customer but the best I can do is promote them a bit since I’ve got no reason to send them another $20 yet.
They're relatively inexpensive ($16-25 USD) and work like a charm. They're amazing at reducing the volume very evenly across the frequency range without distorting the sound quality or balance, useful for everyone not just professional performers. You can hold a normal conversation in a really loud environment without screaming, they're great.
You can go to an audiologist or look into ACS[0] (who will take your molds for free if you're in NYC).
I'm skeptical of anyone who claims they have zero effect on the music, but the reality is they are quite unobtrusive and the manipulation is minimal. I find they reduce the fuzziness and reverb of shows, whether that sound is intentional by the artist or not, leading to a crisper sound (again, sometimes maybe to the slight detriment of the experience). If a concert is very loud they will greatly improve your enjoyment of the music. If you see concerts regularly, do it yesterday.
[0] https://1of1custom.com/collections/acs-pro-series-custom-ear...
They usually have options regarding the level of attenuation you need, the ones with the highest attenuation tend to have the highest level of distorsion, but in all cases, it is way better than standard earplugs.
I also tried standard sized filtered earplugs (about $20) but without much success. Maybe my ear canals are weird but I couldn't get them to fit properly, so the sound mostly went around the filter, not through it, making them essentially useless in addition to being uncomfortable and not holding well. So if you are like me, save your $20 and get custom molded ones.
They fit your ear perfectly and block everything out. That's why most of the really popular touring musicians go custom-molded, usually with UE, Westone, or Jerry Harvey.
They are also VERY comfortable when molded properly. It's like a glove for your ears. You won't feel anything like it with silicone or foam. I can wear my custom plugs all night or for an entire concert, easy. Foam itches after 30 minutes.
Also, foam muddies audio by sacrificing some high end and bloating mids/low-end. If you care about audio reproduction, foam is usually a sacrifice for IEMs, and you usually have to EQ your gear to get the losses back.
The impressions have to be really good, though, and the turnaround time from the vendor needs to be fast. Custom molds are terrible when they don't fit right. I hate the turnaround time; waiting is the worst part. Ear impressioning is still kind-of stone age, IMO. The audiologist stuffs your ear with a curing paste, and you can't move for the five minutes it takes to cure. However, some people have really flexible ear canals that cause earplugs to lose their seal when you chew or smile, so you might need to do a block-bite impression to account for that. Moving your head at all can invalidate the entire impression. It's annoying. I wish audiologists did an impression panel so that manufacturers could send a sample of buds and have you trial them all within a return period (or charge you if you really want to keep them all). Oh well; a man can dream.
For most people, custom mold earbuds for music listening is way unnecessary, especially with IEMs getting incredibly good at noise cancelling. If you hate foam plugs or just want a set of buds that are really yours, custom is your only route though.
However, I will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS recommend custom earplugs for sleep and for loud environments, like hunting or concerts. They last forever, are super comfortable, and can make a loud environment tolerable (i.e. if your partner snores) and actually better-sounding, all while preserving your hearing (which from what I've heard SUCKS to lose).
I imagine that a ton has changed since then with respect to quality of consumer-grade earphones and I don't have a great frame of reference for that anymore. But I do know many live audio folks, drummers, and other touring professionals still using IEMs, that could be as much habit as utility though.
In the last five years the bottom end of the market went from 2s and 3s for $50 to 7s and 8s. That doesn't mean the 2s and 3s aren't still around...
If you were to consider $300 CIEMs to foam-tipped earbuds: the discussion is much different. Passive isolation is more than 20 dB higher, seal is guaranteed so bass response is much better, etc.