FAQs

So we established DCA to work differently, so we are proud to be the World's first independent 3D Impression specialists for the Music Industry. Run by professional Musicians & Sound engineers, we firmly believe in being 'Experts by Experience' and help other Music Industry professionals find the right Custom In Ear Monitors and Hearing Protection for them! Working exclusively with top worldwide Partner manufacturers, DCA was designed from the ground up to be a cutting edge, environmentally friendly and person-centred company that provides the best customer service for the UK Music Industry. For more on our ethos and why we do what we do, follow the link below.

So DCA HQ is in Birmingham and this is where we conduct most of our sessions, however we do travel all over the UK. Being in the midlands, we are perfectly located to be able to serve most areas with our Mobile Appointments for a reasonable travel cost. We have held sessions in: London, The Home Counties, Newcastle, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Bristol, South Wales, Portsmouth, Devon & Cornwall, Manchester, Leicestershire, the West Midlands, Shropshire & the Welsh Borders. So wherever you are, if you'd like us to come out to you, please feel free to get in touch! (We've not headed north of the border to Scotland yet - I hear Edinburgh is really nice, so feel free to invite us up!)

So as DCA is a bespoke service, we are appointment only. You can request a session with us easily online, or via email.

So at DCA we like to keep things simple and transparent - so here's our process. When you choose to work with us, your final quoted cost of your customs includes: 1. Your Demo session, 2. A set of 3D Impressions, 3. All insured postage & 4. A tree planted in your name through the HearForeverProject. In order to book in, we do ask for a £50 refundable deposit to reserve your session and make arrangements. This is usually just taken off your final price. The ONLY additional costs on top of your IEM price, are for mobile appointments and are agreed by you and DCA well in advance. They would be if: 1. We are travelling to you for our session, we usually ask for a minimal contribution towards our travel - usually just to cover our fuel expenses. 2. We need to hire a space to accommodate you, for example a rehearsal space to see you and your bandmates - we'll politely ask for a contribution towards this. These costs are normally pretty minimal and are just to help get us to you and be able to facilitate your session properly! If you have any questions about getting booked in, feel free to get in touch!

So there are several reasons why we chose to champion 3D Impressions and make these types of cutting edge impressions available to all Music Industry Pros in the UK. Here are our top 3: 1. Your Experience. As many of our clients will agree to, they are quicker, more accurate and less invasive than traditional moulds and therefore a much nicer experience than having your ear filled with silicone. With our 3D Impressions, there is only something in your ear canal for between 10 and 30 seconds (on average), as opposed to up to 5minutes with traditional silicone. This is means we can instantly download your 3D Impressions and email them to your manufacturer there are then. 2. A Modern Digital Workflow. All of our partners Custom In Ear Monitors now are modelled digitally and then 3D printed, so for us it makes sense to us to start with the best Digital image of your ear possible. This cuts out any chance of potential errors or imperfections with physical moulds when they are removed from your ear. With our process, there is nothing physically made until your IEM is printed and ready to receive it's drivers! 3. A Zero Waste Process. At DCA we want to be as environmentally conscious as possible, and our 3D Impressions embody that. We could have just done traditional impressions, however they generate a lot of single-use plastics which, in our opinion, is totally unnecessary. Sometimes, you may need several sets of impressions taking of you ear. Traditionally, this would generate a lot of plastic and silicone. With us, it's just one scanner and multiple digital files. Simple. For more information on our process check our page on 3D Impressions here.

So on average our 3D Impressions only take 2 minutes per ear, with only the first 10-30 seconds being actually inside your ear, when we scan your Ear canal. So unlike traditional impressions where you have a silicone compound hardening inside your ear, close to you eardrum, for around 4-5 minutes, our Scanner is only close to your eardrum for a matter of seconds and the majority of the Impression actually take place scanning the outside of your ear! It's for this reason (amongst others) we say our Impressions are quicker and less invasive than traditional impressions and chose to really champion 3D Impressions.

So what kind of Impression you require is totally personal and will also depend on what type of shell your final IEM will have. Here's the basic theory: So as your jaw moves it will change the shape of your ear canal, and this can affect how well your Custom In Ear Monitor seals in your ear, which is critical for noise isolation and the bass response of the In Ear Monitor. So, if you have a soft silicone shell (for example, an IEM by ACS Custom), the IEM tip is flexible. So more often than not, this means we will take a closed/relaxed jaw impression with you sitting normally, because even when you move your mouth and your ear changes shape slightly (e.g. if you're singing) your IEMs will move with your ear on stage and maintain the seal! Alternatively, if you go for a hard acrylic shell IEM, (for example a 64Audio IEM) we approach it slightly differently! We will use a small bite block to open your mouth half way during your 3D Impressions. This means we get a 'best fit' of your ear canal, so that the rigid ear tip of your Custom In Ear Monitors will still seal in your ear whether your mouth is open, or closed! At your appointment during our conversations we'll go through all the variables with you to make sure that we take the correct impression for you!

So at DCA, we don't send out copies of your ear impressions, instead the files will be kept safely on our encrypted servers for 5 years, so if you ever need replacements or additional In Ear Monitors or hearing protection, we can arrange that really easily!