[shoeblade]

Is a custom ear mold for the ER4 worth it?
Where is the best place to get one?

 

[shoeblade]

^

 

[TheSloth]

I really wouldn't do it.

You might find better comfort, but the ER4 will be placed much further away from your eardrum, meaning it has to fight with a lot more air. Think less bass and fullness to the sound.

Also if you have a particularly convoluted ear canal, the shape and pressure of the mould has been known to crack the tube of the headphone.

If you need a custom, save and get a custom, and then sell your Ety's.

 

[shoeblade]

Interesting. I am thinking about it because I use them everyday, and the cost of foam inserts will add up. I figured they would go deeper because they are custom for your ear. Here is a pic I found:

 

[PiccoloNamek]

I put mine in until the red or blue part is touching my ear. I don't think it goes in that far with the custom mold.

 

[shoeblade]

Wow, I've never put them in that far. I usually put them in where the last flange is slightly out of the canal.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

I never use the triflanges, I use the foamies or comply tips, and I shove them in as deep as I can.

 

[TheSloth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoeblade Interesting. I am thinking about it because I use them everyday, and the cost of foam inserts will add up. I figured they would go deeper because they are custom for your ear. Here is a pic I found:

Right. The outermost part to the mould is the outer ear, so relative to a good insertion, it's significantly further out.

 

[JB.]

I shopped around for a long time for custom molds for my Ety's. After untold hours, $$, and several failures, I arrived at the Westone, full-soft #34, non-sound bore which I could not be happier with. I'm convinced that custom molds aren't the norm with Ety's simply because of the time and cost required to get them, combined with the fact that very few HeadFi members have experience enough to recommend options (no audiologists or hearing professionals were able to help me either when I was looking, aside from giving me phone numbers of customer service reps for the manufacturers). My Ety’s are now my favorite headphones, preferred over even the best open phones I’ve heard, of which I have listened to many. Custom mold benefits: isolation is improved, they are incredibly comfortable, easy to clean, way easier to insert/remove. I was never totally happy with bi- and tri-flanges, and foam was dirty, cumbersome and impracticle. Also, I can’t imagine how hard-bodied IEM’s could ever be comfortable. The ear canal is soft and very flexible (put your finger deep in your ear and open and close your mouth, you can feel it change dramatically in size and shape). How can an inflexible mold maintain a seal and still provide comfort? For me, my custom molds were worth every penny.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JB. I shopped around for a long time for custom molds for my Ety's. After untold hours, $$, and several failures, I arrived at the Westone, full-soft #34, non-sound bore which I could not be happier with. I'm convinced that custom molds aren't the norm with Ety's simply because of the time and cost required to get them, combined with the fact that very few HeadFi members have experience enough to recommend options (no audiologists or hearing professionals were able to help me either when I was looking, aside from giving me phone numbers of customer service reps for the manufacturers). My Ety’s are now my favorite headphones, preferred over even the best open phones I’ve heard, of which I have listened to many. Custom mold benefits: isolation is improved, they are incredibly comfortable, easy to clean, way easier to insert/remove. I was never totally happy with bi- and tri-flanges, and foam was dirty, cumbersome and impracticle. Also, I can’t imagine how hard-bodied IEM’s could ever be comfortable. The ear canal is soft and very flexible (put your finger deep in your ear and open and close your mouth, you can feel it change dramatically in size and shape). How can an inflexible mold maintain a seal and still provide comfort? For me, my custom molds were worth every penny.

thanks jb. good to hear from someone who knows what they are talking about.

 

[shoeblade]

You mean this one?:

Quote:

Description: (Thick shell) A custom-fit earmold designed for ER4™ headphones Attenuation: Not rated Applications: For use with Etymotic Research™ ER4 series headphone Available materials: Formula II, Formula II Clear, Rx, Superflex, Neon Colors, Vinyl Marble, W-1, W-1 DisappEar, OtoBlast, OtoBlast DisappEar, Cat Eyes Options/accessories: Colors, sound bore, Headroom Bore; designed in conjunction with Headroom Amplifiers

How much is the total cost for something like that?

 

[JB.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shoeblade You mean this one?:

Yes! Must be more info than back in the old days (2004). Just do NOT get the "sound bore" or "headroom bore." I made that mistake and it cost me. The bore changes the sound and completely negates the usefulness of the molds.

I actually had so many problems with impressions that toward the end I did them myself, though an audiologist may charge anywhere from $0 to $100. By calling Westone and arranging the shipment of impressions, the charge from Westone was $60.

 

[shoeblade]

Thanks for the advice, I was going to get the headroom bore.
For anyone that is looking for descriptions of the westone earmold styles:
http://www.westone.com/hhc/hhp_earmolds.html
I see that the filters are in the mold, do they get gummed up easier there?
How much did all that cost?

Thanks!

 

[JB.]

The filters don't get gummed up any worse than with flange tips or foam.

I should have posted this next bit of info a long time ago since I haven't seen anyone use this method, not even the resident audiologist at UE. It reliably produced better impressions than any of the professionals I paid.

For quality impressions, it's important to have a good relationship with your ear canals. First, one must determine the size and shape of the canal at rest. The best way to do this is to figure out how your jaw behaves at rest. For most people, the tongue rests at the TOP of the mouth and accompanies a slight opening of the jaw (for me, I can fit the tip of my first finger snugly between my upper and lower front teeth when at rest). If you’re consciously trying to determine the amount your mouth is open when at rest, you’re going to misjudge; you have to catch yourself at random a few times to get a good idea. This space will determine how far open your mouth should be when taking impressions. Try to find something to bite on that maintains the space comfortably WITHOUT MOTION. I used a small piece of wood with notches cut into it so it won’t slide around. Audiologists have foam for this, but it’s often too soft and so doesn’t prevent movement. It’s critical that your canal doesn’t move when taking impressions so keep still and DON’T TALK! Even swallowing hard changes the ear canal, so do it gently for the 10-15 minutes it takes for the impressions to set. After you’ve taken the impressions, get them to the mold manufacturer as quickly as possible. The mold material is not very stable and will change over as little as ten days. It also changes if subjected to extremes of cold or heat.
With soft molds, it seems that adding 50% to the size of the opening of your jaw at rest will improve the seal without producing any discomfort. Note: closed-mouth impressions most often fail to seal, while open-mouth impressions are too large and are often uncomfortable.

 

[shoeblade]

Got an email back from westone.
The Style#34 is about $144 for the vinyl material and $156 for the silicone material. This does not include shipping, or a visit to the Audiologist for impressions. Here is a link from our website to assist in finding a local Audiologist.
http://www.westone.com/cgi-local/muslookup.pl

Ill have to think about this carefully, its like buying a brand new headphone or 100 comply eartips.