When In Manila, you would often notice and be curious on what those skin toned ear plugs attached to singers, instrumentalists, band members, musicians in general and also some on-stage and TV hosts ears are. Well most of us know that they are monitors to hear themselves clearly over all the noise around them. But did you ever know that these are custom made to the mold of your own ears? and did you know that they protect hearing due to their incredible noise isolation? and did you even know that they are probably the best in-ear monitors/earphones to reproduce music and sound? Each earpiece can have up to 6 or 8 balanced armatures, double and almost triple to other in-ear earphone brand’s flagship model’s balanced armature configuration. This is made possible due to the bigger space the drivers could be placed at. The extreme isolation also adds to the sonic capability of the in-ear monitors. Just imagine how resolving and incredibly detailed and spacious the sound could be.
When I got mine, I was blown away with how my playlist have suddenly sounded so detailed. I have never heard my playlist sound so engaging and so beautiful compared to any other in-ear monitor/earphone that I have tried and owned.
Let me walk you through my experience in getting my own custom in-ear monitors from Unique Melody which now has a hand in the Philippines! First, I had to pick the colors I want the shells to look like. Unique Melody has a lot of varieties for the colors and I opted to go smoked black for the whole shell. I also chose to have a Titanium metal insert on both faces of my custom monitors, along with a small metal insert with “Unique Melody” written on it for both faces as well. You have an option of having 2 different colors per shell and a different set of colors on each shell. There is also a wide range of choices for the face inserts such as Titanium which is similar to mine, Carbon Fiber, Wood, etc. You can also opt for having your own monochrome design or HD design on the face of the monitors for maximum customization. The small name inserts can also be customized with whatever words or letters you want. All in all, Unique Melody has a vast customization option for your very own custom in-ear monitors. Hey, it won’t be called custom if you can’t fully customize it right?
So I contacted Dr. RJ Adan who is one of the heads for Unique Melody Philippines and also a fellow audiophile, and was instructed to head-off to Manila Hearing Aid at SM Megamall to have my ear impressions (molds) done. I met Dr. RJ Adan at Manila Hearing Aid, after a few good minutes, it was already my turn. So quick! So I’ll just let the photos speak for themselves. Oh and by the way, I chose the Unique Melody Miracle which is the flagship model of Unique Melody, and is fitted with 6 balanced armatures per ear. 2 x Highs, 2 x Mids, 2 x Lows.
My ears were examined first.
Some cotton with strings were placed inside my ears prior to the molds so that my ear drums won’t be reached
There was no bite block available, so I just bit my handkerchief.
After around 3 minutes, the substance hardens and becomes the mold of my ears. The personnel of Manila Hearing Aid had to redo my left ear around 4 times due to the oddity of the shape of my left ear. I saw that coming since I had some issues with other in-ear monitors/earphones with my left ear. My right ear was pretty quick with just 2 tries, having the 2nd one just for safety.
So there goes my ear impressions.
All orders are done through their website which is linked at the bottom of my article. There is a form at the site where you fill-up your details and an order form will be sent right back to you. The Unique Melody Miracle which I got, had a starting price of P44,000. It is the flagship model. The base model which is the Unique Melody Marvel that has dual balanced armatures, starts at P22,000. There are other available models and there is even a hybrid model which has quad balanced armature drivers (2 x Highs, 2 x Mids) and 1 dynamic driver for the bass/lows. That one is the Unique Melody Merlin, which boasts bass power and is priced starting at P37,000. They all are pretty expensive, but they are definitely more worth than the price. Some features such as HD design or inserts are subject to additional expenses over the base price of each model.
So there you have it, quick and easy process for the ear impressions. After having my ear impressions done, Dr. RJ Adan took the impressions and had it shipped out to the Unique Melody lab at the same time with others who have ordered around the time I had my impressions done. Waiting time for the Custom in-ear monitors to be with you is around 4-7 weeks. Yes it feels quite lengthy, but when they do arrive, oh boy! It’s such a wonderful feeling when you see how beautiful they look and how gorgeous they sound. Watch out for my next article which will be the full review and feature of the Unique Melody Miracle Custom In-Ear Monitors! Stay tuned! It’s something big!
Just a little teaser of my Unique Melody Miracle 😉
Like Unique Melody Philippines’ Facebook page at: Unique Melody Philippines on Facebook
Unique Melody Philippines’ Official Website
Unique Melody Custom In-Ear Monitors: A teaser on how they are molded to your ears, now locally!
