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My iM616 came with BI-flanged eartips ??? AND they hurt

post #1 of 16
10/22/06 at 6:34pm
Thread Starter 
So I just received my iM616's yesterday, and kinda much to my surprise, they came with bi-flanged ear tips, as opposed to the tri-flanged advertised and discussed everywhere. Has anyone else seen this? It even says in the manual and on the box that "3-flanged" tips are included. And is there a reason I might prefer one to the other?

Seeing as this is my first pair of IEM's, I can't really compare what type of tips are best for my ears. I think I'm getting a good seal with the bi-flanged tips, but, honestly, the IEM's are kinda hurting my ears. My ears were sore after trying them out for about 10 minutes. Maybe I'm pushing them too far in my ear canal's to get a seal? I had to push them pretty damn far up in there to achieve that suction feeling. I also tried the supplied foam tips, but thus far have had lousy results.

At any rate, if I can't figure out a way to make them more comfortable for me, I'll probably have to send them back. Any answers, comments, suggestions are very appreciated. Thanks.
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post #2 of 16
10/22/06 at 6:58pm
You have to get used to having something in your ears - just a couple of days or so. Further, you are not shoving them in too far - it is practically impossible for them to go in too deep.......however, triflanges and biflanges do not tend to be the most comfortable tips on the planet, even though many people use them. Why did you have bad results with the supplied foamies? While those supplied are not the preferred urathane, they will seal. Personally, for daily use I prefer Shure Softflex tips (these are comfortable and much longer than foamies), and for planes, trains and other noisy conditions use Comply foamies. Calm down and persevere with your iM616. I have two pairs of the iM716 (besides Ety's) and their SQ surpasses much more costly models..................all of this is assuming you completely read your instructions.
Oh yeah, I forgot - it could also be that your ears need a good cleaning. It is possible the 616's are hitting up against a clump or two of wax.
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post #3 of 16
10/22/06 at 6:58pm
Yes, the first couple days they will make your ears feel like they're going to bleed , but after 2-3 days, they suddendly softened quite well. Either that or it's a combination of earwax and my ears toughening up, or the "tackiness" of the tri (n ur case, bi) flanges going away.
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post #4 of 16
10/22/06 at 7:14pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you.

If I'm going to try some Comply tips, am I safe ordering the standard size, or should I really get the trial pack? I'd say I probably have normal to larger sized ears. I'm 6'1" with proportionate head and ears to match.
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post #5 of 16
10/22/06 at 8:29pm
At your height and med. build or more, you probably are fine with std. size. However, if they don't seal adequately, remember the Etymotics standard urathane foamies are a bit larger than the std. Comply. My earcanals are different, so I use a Std. Ety in the left, and a Std Comply in the right. This via a process where having tried the Ety foam (on my first Ety's) my ears felt "overfull" and like many, I experienced a slight tickling after aprox. an hour......then eventually switched to std. Comply and more comfort.......but took a walk and found one ear seemed stuffy and not hearing the same as the other - that (stuffed) right ear was properly sealed and the left ear was not. Sometimes you've got to be sensitive and think about what is happening.
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post #6 of 16
10/31/06 at 3:43am
Ety sells 2 bi-flange tips, one a size small and the other large. The tri-flange, I suppose, is the medium.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i-acc.aspx

I don't know why you got bi-flanges. Was the package factory sealed?

If you have large ear canals (not ears ) and the bi-flanges are small, that could hurt.

Have you tried the supplied foamies? They appear to have a wider fit and comfort range.

Sound better too.
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post #7 of 16
10/31/06 at 11:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jSatch
Ety sells 2 bi-flange tips, one a size small and the other large. The tri-flange, I suppose, is the medium.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i-acc.aspx

I don't know why you got bi-flanges. Was the package factory sealed?

If you have large ear canals (not ears ) and the bi-flanges are small, that could hurt.

Have you tried the supplied foamies? They appear to have a wider fit and comfort range.

Sound better too.
After looking at the stock pictures I think the smaller biflanges are the first two flanges of the triflange, and the big biflanges are the last two flanges of the triflange.

to OP: if you are not sure what size to order, then order slightly larger foamy tips, foams won't hurt, and larger=last longer too since they get compressed after 1st use, you want them to be larger to get a good seal.
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post #8 of 16
10/31/06 at 12:18pm
I got the 3 flange to go with my IM716 but i got very little earhole so they hurt as hell and im having a hard time getting a good seal with them for a good time, after some time they just pop out from the pressure. I tried to build some custom, but i bought bad to soft plug from the drugstore and they didn't recover from the process, they don't expend at all when the tube is in. So im kinda disapointed with my IM716 up to date, i hope ill get to build good one, ore maybe ill go with the comply but these little bastard aren't cheap. As for the foamies they just expend to fast for me to put them in and they don't seem soft ennuf...
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post #9 of 16
10/31/06 at 3:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by luidge
I got the 3 flange to go with my IM716 but i got very little earhole so they hurt as hell and im having a hard time getting a good seal with them for a good time, after some time they just pop out from the pressure. I tried to build some custom, but i bought bad to soft plug from the drugstore and they didn't recover from the process, they don't expend at all when the tube is in. So im kinda disapointed with my IM716 up to date, i hope ill get to build good one, ore maybe ill go with the comply but these little bastard aren't cheap. As for the foamies they just expend to fast for me to put them in and they don't seem soft ennuf...

Luidge,

If you are sure you have small ear canals, I've read where some people have had good luck by trimming off the large, inner flange. This should allow the 2nd flange more room to flex back.

I'm surprised you had bad luck with the DIY foamies. In my experience, if you just try to skewer or drill them and force them on a tube, yeah, they can get all messed up. Especially the soft polyurethane ones. At least they did with me.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showp...0&postcount=28
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post #10 of 16
10/31/06 at 5:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jSatch
Luidge,

If you are sure you have small ear canals, I've read where some people have had good luck by trimming off the large, inner flange. This should allow the 2nd flange more room to flex back.

I'm surprised you had bad luck with the DIY foamies. In my experience, if you just try to skewer or drill them and force them on a tube, yeah, they can get all messed up. Especially the soft polyurethane ones. At least they did with me.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showp...0&postcount=28
That's exactly what happen to me, i used the needle in the eraser method then try to put the original foamy rubber tube in it but it didn't work out this good sadly. Ill try the bi-flange mode. Then if it's not working properly ill buy complys or custom from someone who can build good ones.
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post #11 of 16
10/31/06 at 8:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by luidge
That's exactly what happen to me, i used the needle in the eraser method then try to put the original foamy rubber tube in it but it didn't work out this good sadly. Ill try the bi-flange mode. Then if it's not working properly ill buy complys or custom from someone who can build good ones.
If the bi-flanges don't work, the small bi-flanges from Ety for the ER6i's (NOT ER6, sans "i") will fit these phones.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i-acc.aspx

As for the DIY foamies, don't give up so fast. I still use the 1st method on that thread, and very successfully. This freeze technique was suggested by Sugarfried, from the Shure Corp. Simple actually, a frozen solid foam plug is a lot easier to cut and drill than a squishy one. I suggest cut first, then drill, as it will be a smaller section to drill through.

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showp...79&postcount=1
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post #12 of 16
10/31/06 at 8:42pm
The problem is that i don't have a drill or anything that could do this job other than screwdriver or something like that
Ill try with my other pair.
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post #13 of 16
11/1/06 at 1:25am
Quote:
Originally Posted by luidge
The problem is that i don't have a drill or anything that could do this job other than screwdriver or something like that
Ill try with my other pair.

No drill? Interesting problem.

Once frozen, cut them to length and then a nail and hammer might do the trick.

Just try one at a time. Keep the other frozen until ready to serve. They thaw quickly.
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post #14 of 16
11/1/06 at 2:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jSatch
If the bi-flanges don't work, the small bi-flanges from Ety for the ER6i's (NOT ER6, sans "i") will fit these phones.

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i-acc.aspx
Is that just the top two flanges in the triflange(i.e. the two smaller flanges)? I'm asking because from the picture it looks like that, but I've never seen it with my own eyes.
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post #15 of 16
11/1/06 at 2:12am
Quote:
Originally Posted by derek8555
Is that just the top two flanges in the triflange(i.e. the two smaller flanges)? I'm asking because from the picture it looks like that, but I've never seen it with my own eyes.
I'm not sure. I don't think the pictures are to scale, relative to one another. But I believe you might be correct, or at least close in your assessment.

You might try the ER6i threads. I believe there is also some info regarding these tips on the iM716 threads when everyone was wondering what replacement tips could be used, prior to Altec offering replacements on their web site.
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Head-Fi.org › Forums › Equipment Forums › Headphones (full-size) › My iM616 came with BI-flanged eartips ??? AND they hurt