If you get a good impression done, custom molds are superior to anything for a few reasons.
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).
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).