General info
Spiral Ear specializes in hand-crafting In-Ear Monitors and it is with this belief and focus that has allowed us to perfect them for quite some time now. The sole lab experiments on refining the crafting method from top to bottom have been carried out and conducted for far more than a decade.
It is not only sound quality, which is by far the most important in the work we do and what we personally regard as the most important, but also enhanced durability of the cable, the wiring, the crossover system, as well as experience in crafting even better and more comfortable earpieces.
Spiral Ear monitors are designed both for a demanding musician as well as hi-fidelity audio aficionados alike. The painstaking experiments we have been conducting for more than 10 years had only one goal in mind: to find the golden mean in reproducing audio signal in a way as neutral and flat-to-the-human-eardrum as possible. This results in very flat, realistic and perceivably linear sounding monitors and a very musical hi-end in-ear stereo system at the same time! The goal was not to concentrate on technical limitations which are inherent in most of the current DAP’s or other sources, but simply to create best sounding, flat, realistic and high-resolution IEM’s possible; to push the envelope even more, as subjective one’s sound perception might be. Therefore, sound signature and sonic potential that our monitors provide will be in a fully-fledged mode once coupled with a high-end sound source and proper amplification. These, on a larger scale, are available mostly among stationary Pro or audiophile equipment.
Though definitely harder to work with than any hard-shell acrylic customs, the soft silicone material that we use provides unique, organic sonic signature and the ability to absorb any inner resonance radiating from transducers. As a result, you will receive pure signal at the output, with no extra frequencies added to your music! And not only that; silicone is shock-absorbent, reducing the probability of a physical damage to electronic components when exposed to a physical shock.
Audiologist Information
It is very important for the impressions to be taken by a professional audiologist only in order to minimize the risk of poor fit at this stage of production and for your safety.
Spiral Ear manufactures full shell earpieces, therefore ear impressions should always include: the crus of helix, tragus and anti-tragus.
Impressions should be taken past the second bend of the ear canal and can only be made of high-viscosity silicone impression material.
While the impression material sets, the jaw and facial muscles should be kept in a relaxed position. Person should not talk during the procedure.
We generally require closed-mouth impressions.
If you have any further questions or doubts, please do not hesitate to contact us beforehand.
We strongly recommend that you have your hearing checked while at the audiologist!
Aftermarket Cable Compatibility
Our monitors are manufactured with clearly defined industry-standard specifications, as far as 2-pin IEM cable compatibility is concerned: 0.78mm pin diameter/3.43mm pin length. We use 2-pin/3,5 mm TRS and our standard recessed sockets solution.
Please take into account that some aftermarket cable manufacturers do not offer industry standard pin length and while the pin diameter is correct and industry standard, such cables are not compatible and should not be used with our monitors.
Therefore, if you decide to use an aftermarket cable of your choice with our monitors, please check with the manufacturer that they supply it with set industry standard specifications, i.e.: 0.78mm pin diameter/3.43mm pin length, but also with an appropriate, light plug housing (the smaller the better). Emerging recently, bulky, cylinder-shaped plug housings are especially not recommended due to the fact that they act as a long and heavy lever, which will logically hasten wear and tear of sockets in the long run, with much greater excess forces being exerted onto them.
Shorter pins offered by some aftermarket cable companies are not industry standard in terms of pin length and may damage the sockets, therefore they should not be used with our monitors, especially when combined with oversized plug housings, and such use is not covered by our warranty conditions.
Inserting / Removing
Colour coding for Custom IEM’s:
(R) Right monitor- transparent monitors: red cabling
opaque monitors: red dot
(L) Left monitor- transparent monitors: blue/green cabling
opaque monitors: blue dot
Colour coding for Universal IEM’s:
(R) Right monitor – „R”
(L) Left monitor – „L”
When inserting/removing universal IEM’s, please proceed analogically as with our custom monitors.
Spiral Ear custom monitors are entirely made of soft, bio-grade silicone. In order to achieve the desired sound, you need to insert the monitors deep into your ear canal so as to get the required isolation for this type of monitors. If there is no isolation, the quality and amount of bass degrade substantially. Therefore it is crucial to use and insert the monitors the way they are supposed to be used.
At first, inserting your monitors may seem a bit difficult. With some time and practice, however, it can quickly become part of your second nature.
INSERTION
your ears in order to eliminate microphonic effect additionally.
depending if it is left or right ear. You may use the opposite hand to pull on the helix part of your ear.
is as deep as it is supposed to be. While doing so, it may be helpful to pull on your earlobe using
opposite hand.
REMOVAL
When removing your monitors you must never pull on the cable! Instead, just reach behind the monitor and gently twist/”unscrew” it.
IEM’s Care & Maintenance
Every time after having removed an earpiece from your ear, it is advised to make sure that each soundtube is thoroughly cleaned from any visible debris, with the provided cleaning tool. You should never allow any foreign matter or moisture to get deeper into the soundtubes.
It is recommended to delicately clean the surface of your monitors with microfibre cloth and use hearing aid cosmetics, such as cleaning sprays.
One should always pay special attention to the place where the cable enters the monitors and never to exert excessive pressure on that point.
When inserting or removing monitors, it is only possible to use the actual earpiece and never to pull on the cable itself. Silicone part should not be exceedingly squeezed as well and one should handle the monitors with overall proper care.
After having cleaned the soundtubes and the surface of the earpieces, it is highly recommended to place the whole monitors in electronic moisture guard box. This way you can safely and effectively remove unwanted moisture from the monitors by applying gentle heat and keep them in an optimal performance and cosmetic condition.
Warranty
Spiral Ear custom products carry a warranty of 30 days on fit and 1 year against defects which were not caused by user’s misuse only. There is a 30 day remould/refit period, which is free of charge.
Spiral Ear universal products carry a 1 year warranty againts defects which were not caused by user’s misuse only.
Warranty does not cover:
Cable and sockets damage or modification of any kind, wax or moisture in the earpiece/soundtubes and thus improper function of the transducers and other components, any repair or modification of any part of the monitors carried out by anyone besides Spiral Ear technicians, loss and damage, problems caused by using aftermarket cables with non-compatible specifications, shipping, mishandling or any usage under conditions which the products are not intended for.
Customers are responsible for covering all shipping and customs duties, unless we ship the refitted/remoulded or repaired monitors back to the customer (only in that case the shipping costs are at company’s discretion).
It is not possible to reshell/remould SE monitors via third-party companies. Our anti-reverse engineering solution makes it impossible to have the monitors reshelled properly by anyone else. Any attempts at copyright infringement or other intellectual property rights misuse of our products will be prosecuted by law.
Please note that any attempts at reshelling SE monitors are so far incompetent, making them no longer Spiral Ear products! Any such modification voids warranty.
Our monitors are compatible with industry-standard 0.78mm pin diameter and 3.43mm pin length cables only (2-pin/3.5 mm TRS) and our standard recessed sockets solution.
Non-compatible shorter pins offered by some aftermarket companies are not industry standard and will damage the sockets, therefore they should not be used with our monitors and such use is not covered by our warranty.
Remould / Service
Remould for the original purchaser only:
SE3 NEBULA/SE 4-way Ultimate/SE 5-way Reference/SE 5- way Ultimate/SE5 NEBULA:
- 435 EUR + shipping – (0% VAT; export outside EU)
- 535 EUR + shipping – (incl. 23% VAT; export within EU)
SE6 EDGE/SE6 NEBULA:
- 869 EUR + shipping – (0% VAT; export outside EU)
- 1069 EUR + shipping – (incl. 23% VAT; export within EU)
New set of detachable cables:
Advanced Onyx cable
- 80 EUR (0% VAT; export outside EU)
- 99 EUR (incl. 23% VAT; export within EU)
Termination: 0.78mm pin diameter/3.43mm pin length; 3,5mm TRS
Remoulding service includes a new set of connectors and does not include a cable.
We DO NOT remould third-party custom monitors and/or universal IEM’s.
Please contact us prior to shipment.