[SuryA]

Maybe you guys can help me.
I've got a pair of livewires (dual drivers), and one of the drivers has disconnected from the acoustic tubing, its rattling in there.
This has already happened to both earphones and I had sent them back to the manufacturer as they were under warranty, but I'm overseas and shipping fees are ridiculous.
Now theyre not under warranty any more so I'd like to open it out and just pop it back in place.
I have no idea how to open them up. They're not full though and there has to be a way since they've already been repaired once without being remolded.
Theres a face plate but it seems pretty flush with the rest of the piece.
Any ideas on how to get it to come off?

 

[FYJX]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marozie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks! Keep in mind, part of the expense was due to trial and error -- if you don't screw up it should cost more like $300. But then again, I went with a WBFK ($40 x 2) - DTEC ($50 x 2) - CI ($25 x 2) set up. As was discussed a ways back TWFK is a dual driver that consists of WBFK (tweeter) and FK (woofer) and only costs $10 more that WBFK alone. I would imagine a simpler TWFK ($50 x 2) - CI ($25 x 2) set up, which would still be a 3 way design, would sound quite good as well, and would probably only cost $200. If you think about it, the biggest expense (i.e. that which provides the smallest value per cost) are the materials needed to make the shells. The Smooth On rubber urethane was $20, but it's probably enough to make a couple dozen molds; and the Smooth On plastic urethane was $35 and is probably enough to make a few dozen shells. So the actual cost of making one set of molds and one set up shells is about $1 each, but of course you can't buy just enough material to make one set. So it would be ideal to find a few people who want to do this and purchase the materials together to spread around the cost.

If you plan to make a lot of pairs and buy drivers along with someone else who's wanting to buy them. You'll save money on the drivers as well, so each pair will be cheaper as well.

 

[pdupiano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marozie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Um, well, because Lifecast is for making casts. EDIT: Sorry, that was kind of dick-ish. I think the Lifecast material is for making a cast of a body part, like a hand. You then use that cast as a negative that you would pour plaster or something in to make the positive, which is the reproduction. Since your hand is a positive space and your ear canal is a negative space it's a bit confusing, but making a cast of your hand (a negative) is analogous to making an impression of your ear canal (a positive). The other confusing bit is that the end product of reproducing the shape of your hand, a positive space, is also a positive space - hence the term reproduction. The end product of making an IEM is not a reproduction of your ear canal, it is a positive space designed to fill a negative space, so there's an extra step involved: making an impression of your ear canal (a positive), molding the impression (a negative), casting the IEM (a positive). An additional point of confusion might be that the product or process of using a cast -- the cast is the mold -- is sometimes denoted by the word cast, i.e. cast-iron. The shape made out of iron (postive) is not the cast, the mold (negative) used to make the iron is the cast. But again, that process is for making a reproduction of a positive space, which is not what we're doing here.

You already have your negative space (the current mold that you're using). I'm suggesting using the body double silicone as the material you use for the actual custom iem since it is known to be safe on the skin.

 

[piotrus-g]

Wow these look pretty amazing! Great job once again.

Looking forward to your impressions.

Meanwhile I've finished my custom cable. Well it is very, I mean very, microphonic and a bit stiff ( only a bit) but the sound...

all I can say is trrific. I am not/wasn't "cable freak" and I didn't hear much differences between cables. However this silver solid core swept me of my feet. Stock super.fi ultimate ears cable was muddy and somehow bass lacking. My cable get me totally different sound, very clear and super detailed yet dynamic with lushy mids and puchy bass. Now I feel like listen to good hifi not just earphones.
I'll post pics later.

 

[SuryA]

Ok I've been through most of this thread, at least what you guys have been doin and screw the livewires, my seal isn't as good as it used to be and this look like the ultimate diy project.
Sorry to ask you probably said this somewhere but with all the discussion I've seemed to missed it, marozie, what kind of internal cabling/crossover did you do finally?

 

[SilverCans]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuryA /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok I've been through most of this thread, at least what you guys have been doin and screw the livewires, my seal isn't as good as it used to be and this look like the ultimate diy project. Sorry to ask you probably said this somewhere but with all the discussion I've seemed to missed it, marozie, what kind of internal cabling/crossover did you do finally?

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f6/hom...ml#post6489544

 

[SilverCans]

marozie what was your motivation behind the DTEC? I remember looking at the response and it had a series of peaks one after the other instead of being flat.

 

[piotrus-g]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverCans /img/forum/go_quote.gif marozie what was your motivation behind the DTEC? I remember looking at the response and it had a series of peaks one after the other instead of being flat.

DTEC driver has very nice powerful output. Especially when it comes to bass and midrange. The peaks are easily smoothable with dampers so the final performance is much better and flater than that from the KA's graph. Since it's dual driver it has reduced vibrations and better output than single TEC driver.

 

[marozie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdupiano /img/forum/go_quote.gif You already have your negative space (the current mold that you're using). I'm suggesting using the body double silicone as the material you use for the actual custom iem since it is known to be safe on the skin.

Yeah, I suppose you could do that. I guess in my mind the idea of having a latex IEM seems dubious -- because it would be so flexible it would mean that the internals could move around, terminals could become detached, you could have shorts, etc.

 

[marozie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverCans /img/forum/go_quote.gif marozie what was your motivation behind the DTEC? I remember looking at the response and it had a series of peaks one after the other instead of being flat.

In addition to piotrus' response, I went with DTEC based on comments made by a few in this thread touting it as being the premier mid range driver. Well, actually that's not even true. Initially I was going to try and use DTEC at a TWFK substitute and was talked out of it by others who said that it was more of a mid/low driver. And the fact that people said it was one of the best mid range drivers lead me to keep it and add WBFK as the tweeter. I would be really interested to hear a TWFK - CI setup with the WFBK and FK components of TWFK wired seperately. Is DTEC really worth the extra $100? Since the "FK component" of TWFK isn't specified it's hard to know how it stacks up against DTEC, but I would imagine that DTEC being a dual driver with the input signal being split between both elements is what leads to lower distortion. And since most music is in the midrange it makes sense that you wouldn't want to skimp in that area.

Some initial impressions after maybe 10 hours of listening time via Cowon S9 to Mini^3: They are incredibly well balanced. Again, I think the resistors on DTEC and CI put them in perfect accord with the output level of WBFK. The highs are superbly lush and detailed, not even a hint of harshness or sibilance. The low end is powerful and full. I wouldn't describe it as punchy per se, it actually seems to have more of the warmth you would expect from a coil driver. I'm wondering if this can be influenced by the material of the IEM. It kind of makes sense to me that a rigid but elastic material (like the one I used) would color the resonance in the low frequency. This being the first set of custom molded IEMs I've ever had, it's also amazing how well they isolate and how comfortable they are. They isolate better than any earplugs I've ever used, and although I haven't had them in for more than a couple hours at a time, there's absolutely no fatigue. I honestly don't even notice them being in my ears after a while. Again, having never heard high end custom molded IEMs it's hard to say how these stack up against comparable commericially available three way designs, but they sound pretty damn good, and I could imagine them being on par with a model costing two- to three-times as much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by piotrus-g /img/forum/go_quote.gif Meanwhile I've finished my custom cable. Well it is very, I mean very, microphonic and a bit stiff.

Haha. This is exactly the case with the cable that I made. I broke down an ordered one from Westone.

 

[pdupiano]

Quote:

Originally Posted by marozie /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yeah, I suppose you could do that. I guess in my mind the idea of having a latex IEM seems dubious -- because it would be so flexible it would mean that the internals could move around, terminals could become detached, you could have shorts, etc.

Remember how you used epoxy to hold the tubes together? Why not do something similar by creating an epoxy blob to hold all of the drivers and circuitry together and then simply use that as the "base." I'm pretty sure its silicone and not latex, only reason that would matter is if the lifecast material was latex, I wouldn't use it for fear of creating a perfect seal (no air could go in and out at all). Silicone on the other hand might be a bit more breathable but would still create a very strong seal. The plus side is that silicone maybe more comfortable to use because it is a softer material.

 

[SuryA]

Wouldn't a majority of soft materials also deteriorate considerably quickly? I mean even if you have the materials to remold them every so often, its not the most practical. I'm not too sure of the point of doing this other than a little extra comfort (but considering that hard molded iems are generally comfy enough..) and a better seal, but once again with a hard shell thats not too much of a problem.
I'd be scared actually for "everyday" use, as a soft material is going to adhere more to your ear on the way in and out, won't slip in as easily as smooth epoxy.

 

[FYJX]

Can someone figure out how to make shells from Polycarbonate...

 

[jrubins]

B-e-a-u-tiful work, Marozie!

I wonder, though, if you'd be willing to write a short post, a 'recipe' as it were for those of us having trouble reading through this *epic* thread.
I'd like to know what you used to obtain your final results:
What drivers/configuration
cable
crossover components (electric and acoustic)
and what materials/methods to put it all together.

I'm especially curious on the tubing you used, I didn't see that referenced anywhere.

Again, that is truly impressive work. You are a pioneer and deserve a beer

cheers, mate!

James

 

[marozie]

Come on man, I know this thread is long, but everything I've done is in the last 6 pages, and I provided information that will answer all of your questions. I don't mean to be a dick, but every time a new person joins the thread they ask for a summary of everything that's been discussed. I'll put together a photo album at some point so that the steps of my build are condensed, but I don't have time to do it now.

In other news, I'm sad to report that I woke up this morning with incredibly itchy ears.

Hopefully ear cancer is not to follow. Remember that guy Drew who coated his in clear nail polish? That strikes me as a really good idea. Nail polish has to be not only safe but non irritating since there's the possibility of prolonged or repeated contact with your skin. I'm thinking that if I buy a few jars of it, pour it into a shot glass lined with plastic wrap, and make a pool deep enough to submerge an IEM I could put on a perfectly smooth coating that would protect my skin from being irritated by the urethane. In reference to pdupiano's suggestion of using the Lifecast material, you could conceivably do the same kind of thing with that stuff. The plus side is that it would be a softer coating which might increase comfort, the down side is that they would no longer be translucent and I'm guessing it would peel off over time.