Custom Ear Molds... Pics of course!

Note to mods: Wasn't sure whether it belonged here or in the DIY forum. You guys can obviously move this if it is inappropriate. Thanks for your understanding.



Preliminaries:

Well there was a thread a little while ago about this guy....

Here-----> Linky

There were mixed impressions, but I believe the general consensus was that this job should be left to the professionals. I, however, for one, thought it was a neat-o idea and ordered a small supply of the All Fix Epoxy almost immediately. The stuffs came yesterday, and you bet I've been a busy bee. Went to bed at about 4:30 this morning; woke up at 7:40. Not exactly sure how that one worked out lol. I just like popped up awake (my alarm is unplugged too because I need all the outlets for my bedside headphone rig ) and pulled out the second ear impression which was fully cured at the time. After a lot of cutting, sanding, drilling, fitting, waxing and gluing later, finally, I'm done.

Pics first, SQ impressions later.

In this one, you'll notice the hole is filled with wax. This was right after I had waxed the darn thing and I hadn't noticed. I took a needle, however, and got all the gunk out. All the purple stuff is the candle wax I melted over it.


You're probably wondering why it's a little blackish/grey. I took a lighter and burned the back side so I could tell the difference between right and left. (Yea, I had a retard lapse... Idk why I thought I'd get the two mixed up )


Here's a close up shot in my ear. My ear is a little red because I've been removing them and popping them in all morning. My ears are actually little sore from all the action that's been going on.



Profile shots from both sides...






Impressions:

So for the million dollar questions... What do they sound like?! How well do they isolate?! Comfort?!

Well, they feel awesome in my ear. I've had 'em in for about an hour and there's absolutely no discomfort. I'll have to do some major prolonged usage tests to see for sure if these will hold up in this regard, but I have high hopes. The wax you melt over them really help tighten up the seal, but it also helps them slide in and out a lot. At first I thought the wax idea was sort of gross, but after you do it, you see that the wax really isn't going anywhere. I was afraid of waxy remnants inside my ear, but that just isn't the case. Once I take 'em out, I can hardly notice anything had been in there.

Isolation is pretty good. I'd have to say it's on par with my ear plug modded JVC Marshmallows, if not a tiny bit better. I'm going to be melting a whole bunch of wax so I can entirely dip the molds into some time. After I get around to this, and if there's any interest, I'll be sure to post updates. As of now, I'm content with how much they isolate and keep the music to yourself. I couldn't really imagine it being any better, but I'm sure a UE 10 Pro would just blow my mind away, so I'll keep the superlatives to myself...

As you can see form the pics, I hot glued my JVC HA-FX33's (aka Marshmallows) into the molds after drilling. At first, I was rather disappointed. They sounded really bright, almost shrill and the bass was almost nonexistent. I then took a look at the EQ, and whamo. There lied the problem. I had EQ'ed the hell out of my Rockboxed H320 to suit the earplugs. After fixing it a bit, I got a really nice, punchy sound that I like a bit more than the stock or my previously modded JVC's! With this mod, they are actually always just a tad brighter than usual, but when electric guitar solos start rolling out, you really appreciate this. I busted out Dream Theatre's Awake album to hear the opening "bup bup bup boom!'s" of the drum's in the beginning of the first track. I'm definitely satisfied with how it knocked my head around as if my head were the drums...


All in all, for about $20 shipped, this stuff is a steal, imo. I really enjoyed making them, and I'm really reaping form their results right now. We'll see how many people laugh at me when I get back to school. I'm aware of their outward appearance, yes...

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Notes to people thinking about doing this (Yea, I'm just about the best guinea pig EVER! I seriously found just about everything you shouldn't do:

There's two parts to the epoxy putty. The part with the higher viscosity has a fairly thick layer on the very top that is basically unusable. I didn't know this, lol. (It's good I can laugh about it now at least) I mixed the stuff up, jammed it in my ear, and it NEVER CURED! I had to remove it, but at that time the stuff was sticking to my ear and ear canal pretty well, and it wasn't pulling out in one chunk. I ended up having to be VERY careful with a couple tooth picks (yea a few broke on me... that's hard it was to get the stuff out!) to fish it all out of my ear canal. I'm fairly surprised I went back for round two after that.

In the tutorial it says use water, oil, or petroleum jelly to lubricate your ear so the mold is easier to remove and it doesn't pull out as many hairs. I used vegetable oil, which for some reason, didn't allow the darn stuff to cure AGAIN! Round three.

Mixed the stuff together, jammed into my ear (no lube of any sort)... Seemingly no hassle. It cures like it's sposed to, finally. I go to remove it, and it hurts like a biawtch! I swear it pulled out every little peach fuzz piece of hair I had! But it's all good. I shaved most of those off with an x-acto knife and then went over it with the wax. You can't even see them anymore.

That said, you might want to find a different kind of lube. I would think petroleum jelly (Vaseline) would cause the mold to not be as tight. You could potentially fix this with a few coats of wax, but the choice is up to you.

Later possible tweaks:

I'm thinking about making a second set of molds (I can't believe I am after all I went through) and instead of using wax, going to Home Depot to find some sort of glossy clear coat (spray paint) to go over them to make it a better fit. I just need something that won't necessarily be tacky and make hard to (un)insert.

If I do make another set of molds, I'll try to go a little deeper into my left ear canal. Unfortunately it look like I have one of those "hooked" ear canals on my right side. It was pretty difficult to drill the holes for this one... (Actually really hard) It was also a little difficult to remove for the first time, but now it's a cinch.


Well that's all folks. I hope you enjoyed my mini review of these guys, and perhaps it'll spark some interest for some other people to make themselves a pair. It'd be cool to see some of the ideas other people would come up with.

Good luck if you choose to try and tackle this project.

khbaur

Lol, thanks. Yea, these cost me $40 roughly. The JVC's I got from Musician's Friend. (idk why I bought them there, they are more expensive) I had the drill, sand paper and hot glue, so it was pretty easy to slop it all together after the molds were made, just a little time consuming.

I'm looking back at the pics, and they look pretty gross, lol. They aren't nearly as bad as the pics make them out to be.

That looks like a really great idea. I'm wondering, however, how exactly does it work? I just can't see how the gel could conform exactly to the in's and out's of the plug, yet still allow the plug to be removed w/o destroying the mold. Idk if that makes any sense. Perhaps I'm missing something, especially judging from what the molds of the hand and foot look like. What about drilling for the driver? The molds almost look like glass and you said they are really hard. How hard would you think it would be to drill?

Could you please explain the process a little more in depth? It's a very interesting idea to say the least.


Lol. Are you referring to the black (burned) and purple (waxed) ear plug or the redness of my ear? (Or both? )

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Edit: Well I decided to patch up the hole I made on the "hooked" ear mold and redrill further up on the ear canal to make a bigger hole. I also tried to make the hole bigger on the other ear and successfully broke part of the tip off so that's being "patched" up as well. I did a pretty good job on both it looks like, so now I just have to wait 'till 2marrow for them to cure, see how they fit and sand down accordingly.

I've already started my new mold for the right ear. (the harder/hooked one) I'm trying to make a perfect, unaltered set so I can either use them for konish's idea, or glaze them over with something I find at home depot. I'm also going to see if I can try and fit the JVC's almost entirely within the mold to reduce their profile, and possibly implement them so the chord goes up and around my ear. When they are done, I should go out and buy another pair of the Marshmallows and keep them stock to A/B the two sets with.

This is proving to be a rather fun little project!

Thanks for the kind words. I can't take credit for the idea though. Got it straight off the site I linked to at the beginning. If you go there, underneath all the comments, they've actually already linked this thread.

Just fooling around with stuff now. After you mix it, if you add a bit of a water it becomes almost a spreadable paste (or maybe more comparable to wet clay). I sanded down the back of the yucky black plug I made and spread some new mix over it. We'll see how it turns out 2marrow. If this works well enough, you could potentially apply a very thin layer of this stuff over the plug you've already made and let cure to give yourself a tighter seal. (a few coats could be applied if you don't get it quite right the first try) This would be a really great alternative to those still apprehensive to shove a candle wax lacquered ear mold down their canal. I personally don't mind all that much, but people would without doubt show interest in wth I had in my ear. When I would take it out they'd obviously ask what all the purple gunk was melted around it. I wouldn't want to say "Well that's wax, silly!" because ears and wax don't really mix all that well. I'd be bound to get looks, you know? I'd also much rather have something extremely durable and more permanent. I'm really hoping for those acrylic molds to work out. I think that would be so sweet, but for now, the wax will have to make due.

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Edit for Update:

Both of the new molds are finished and curing... I continue to be the "king of guinea pigs."




I figured that since my left ear canal wasn't hooked, I might try to go a bit deeper. Omg... too far! Do you see how long that thing is?! It hurt so much taking it out. I'll let it cure fully and cut a bit off (seeing as when it was getting near ready to take out I could feel it touching my ear drum). Moral of the story: Don't push too hard on the putty kids.

I sort of want to see what the isolation is like with it a bit longer, however, so I'll cut off a little bit at a time, sand down the rough edges and see how things go. I like how these turned out so much I might not have the self control to leave them alone. Regardless, I think I'll be trying my idea of applying the wet epoxy putty/paste to make it fit a bit more snug. I probably won't have the desired fit and finish 'till Christmas...

Enjoy, and you guys have a happy holiday.

khbaur

When I get some time I think I might head down to the local Hobby Lobby and see if I can get my hands on one of those acrylic kits. That's sounding really promising. My only worry is that the mold I make isn't a tight enough seal. Before I make the acrylic molds, I want everything to be absolutely perfect on my epoxy plug. I'm extremely happy with how the right plug turned out I made last night. It fits absolutely perfectly and is a bit better fit than even the first one I made. We'll see about the second. Regardless, I'm probably going to get some sort of clear coat I can brush or spray onto them to give them a tiny bit (1/4-1/3 mm) better seal.

Concerning the crystal material. Would this stuff ever get sticky at all? What I'm thinking of doing is making a mold of my HA-FX33's in the gel. Making an exact replica with the crystal mix. Then, when I'm making the mold for my ears, inserting the replica Marshmallow into it while it's curing. If I'd be able to remove the replica at any time in the process, or actually after it's fully cure, it'd be a God send. Then I could simply drill a small hole from the canal to this concavity I made. Then I could install the actual Marshmallows and simply apply a little but of glue or normal epoxy to keep them in place/seal it all up.
Edit: New idea. I could take the replica mold of my Marshmallows and coat it with wax. Insert into curing mold or my ear, remove when cured. I'll be able to easily remove the replica Marshmallow because 1. The stuff probably won't stick to the wax and 2. I'll be able to pull the replica out of the wax even if the acrylic is stuck to the wax.

Thanks a lot konish, your ideas are golden.

Ugh. I'm disappointed. Hobby Lobby's closed on Sunday I guess. I, however, sort of memorized the listed suppliers off the website, so I had backups. Walmart carries some of their products, but not the thing I was looking for. Target didn't have anything. Neither did the Jo Ann I went to, nor the Jo Ann Super Store they directed me to. I'm tired from all that driving around, and a bit bummed. I think I'll just be ordering it and waiting the darn week or whatever it'll take to get to me. The plug I made for my right ear is perfect and ready to be dipped in the gel. The left/super duper long one is really good, but not perfect like the right (My sister kept making me laugh when I told her not to! I'm sure this is what messed up the gosh darn mold!). I'll be trying it again tonight (the hag's at work right now, so I'll get a head start on her) to see how things go. Wish me luck.
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Edit for update:
Ordered the Crystal Memories Kit. Should be at my house within 4-8 business days! I should have done this earlier and stuck around on head-fi... That's what I get for leaving the house.