Introduction

Shortly after my review of the Lime Ears Pneuma earlier this year, I found myself looking further into the underrated Polish audio community—especially when it came to smaller brands making some of the best looking in-ear monitors (IEMs), that seemed to also get rave reviews from customers. Among these companies was Custom Art, founded in 2012 by a former audio reviewer who had seemingly realized there's only so much one could do reviewing IEMs before learning enough to make some himself based on his preferences. Indeed, this very approach has led to a few fascinating audio brands over the years across the world, and Custom Art soon made a name for itself by providing both universal-fit IEMs (UIEMs, which is the default these days) and custom-fit IEMs (CIEMs), with the latter made available not only in the usual resin but also silicone. Things were steadily going to plan as the company expanded in both manpower and a burgeoning product lineup—until 2015 came and FIBAE was born.


FIBAE stands for Flat Impedance Balanced Armature Earphone and was the world's first such technology, allowing for flat impedance and phase in IEMs that use balanced armature drivers. This helps address the issue of output impedance affecting the tonality of sensitive all-BA IEMs in particular, which we addressed previously with the 64 Audio U18t that does not have such tech implemented. Indeed, it took until last year for 64 Audio to release its own take on this with the U18s that also made its way into the 64 Audio Duo we covered earlier this year. Then came Symphonium Audio w/Subtonic Audio to showcase another flat impedance implementation in the highly successful Helios, and by now I was eager to find out how the OG FIBAE worked in practice. Custom Art had at this time come out with its latest and greatest release in the form of the FIBAE 7 Unlimited, and a few emails back and forth led to a set of custom-fit units being prepared for review! Thanks to Custom Art for helping with this coverage on TechPowerUp and we begin our examination of the FIBAE 7 Unlimited with a look at the product specifications in the table below.

Specifications

Packaging and Accessories

I have the CIEM version of the Custom Art FIBAE 7 Unlimited here and thus the packaging and accessories section will differ slightly with the universal fit version, which will come with ear tips in four different sizes as per the product page. Everything else seen here should be representative of either version, and this begins with a relatively simple product box in the form of a glossy blue cardboard sleeve that has the company logo on the front and more information about the company on the back. There is also a sticker here confirming the exact product inside down to the serial number of the unit. The inner cardboard box can be slid out from either direction to reveal a plain finish with only two branded stickers on the sides that help keep the contents in place during transit. Open the box to reveal more layers, and this time there is protective packaging over the carry case itself.


I like that Custom Art effectively makes a box out of the eventual carry/storage case itself. It's slightly larger than average and reminds me of the equivalent design used with the 7Hz Salnotes Dioko, to where I certainly would not mind seeing more companies adopt this ideology of allowing the end user to carry the IEMs along with all relevant accessories in the same box. This is a semi-hard EVA (ethyl vinyl acetate) case that is predominantly black in color, with a truncated Custom Art logo applique and two sturdy zippers keeping it closed. The case also has a hang tag to allow you to clip it to another bag using carabiners or even key chains.


I will admit now that I did open up the case prior to photos because I was simply too excited to see how the shells came out in person. As such, do be aware that the shells with pre-attached cables come more neatly packed in the thick foam lining with individual compartments, unlike the manner in which the photo above represents. The various accessories also come separated in the top compartment and here Custom Art provides a few stickers, in addition to a warning note on listening volume that doubles up as a handwritten note informing you when your specific IEMs were made. This also serves as a stealth QC card given the employee in charge had to hand-assemble and test everything prior to packing the box and filling out the form. Rounding off the accessories is a combo cleaning brush/earwax pick tool, and I will also mention the case is large enough to accommodate a portable DAC/amp or even a small DAP to pair with these IEMs.


The FIBAE 7 Unlimited comes with the cable preattached to the IEM shells to where you are good to go already with this CIEM version, or simply have to attach ear tips on the UIEM version. However, for a closer look at the cable and shells individually, I wanted to separate them and show you how simple it is courtesy the use of this 2-pin connector cable. You can also choose to get the FIBAE7 in MMCX connections, but either version involves you carefully pulling out the cable connectors on either side as demonstrated above.