Hoppergrass
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- Nov 18, 2006
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i have been asked to post some pics of my sensaphonics silicon custom molds for my Shure E4c. i'll try to cover all questions you might ask but if i don't address something you'd like to know post it here and i'll continue to check in for a day or two. here goes:
the process: after i made a few phone calls to sensaphonics with basic questions about comfort and durability and such, i made an appointment with an audiologist to have impressions made. you can find many posts going into detail about that process so i'll leave it out of this one, but it was not a bad experience.
cost: (my quotes are as of spring '05 and are in U.S. the dollar. not sure if the prices are still the same) $100 for sensaphonics to make the molds. they came with a small pouch to keep them in, a smaller zip lock bag inside of that to keep them in complete with a set of instructions for insertion and cleaning. the trip to the audiologist was $80 for me, but i also had my hearing tested while i was there and i'm not sure how the price was broken down. my guess is that having imressions taken would be somewhere between $30 and $50. and sensaphonics sent them back to the audiologist and i went back (no charge this time) and did a fit test there. they fit fine the first time.
my experience: the reason i got these is that i was having a little trouble keeping my E4Cs in my right ear. i used all tips and all sizes and just couldn't get them to stay in my right ear unless i was absolutely still. my audiologist told me it is shaped a little differently than the left. they are very comfortable and offer great isolation, but it took me about a week to get used to putting them in. it's not as easy as putting in ultimate ears custom molds i later bought. and it's worth mentioning that they are made of silicon, and when talking with UE about my purchase with them they said they stopped making molds in silicon because some people were having allergic reactions from them. so if it's possible you are allergic to silicon i'd go another route, or spend more $$$ and get UE acrylic molds. i'm pretty sure they offer a variety of colors though i don't remember how many or in which colors. mine are the "clear" model which are actually a pink flesh color.
pros: great isolation. very comfortable. great customer service with sensaphonics. very durable. and are removable and washable. (warm soapy water.)
cons: the IEMs don't fit in as snuggly today as they did when the molds were new. they're not loose, and they certainly don't fall out, but they just don't fit so tight anymore. my suggestion to anyone who might buy these is to be very careful to remove them by grabbing the silicon only and without tugging on the wires at all. i also remove and wash mine more often than is probably necessary. my guess is these are possible causes to the less tight fit. and so without further ado, here are some pics. hope i've been helpful.
the process: after i made a few phone calls to sensaphonics with basic questions about comfort and durability and such, i made an appointment with an audiologist to have impressions made. you can find many posts going into detail about that process so i'll leave it out of this one, but it was not a bad experience.
cost: (my quotes are as of spring '05 and are in U.S. the dollar. not sure if the prices are still the same) $100 for sensaphonics to make the molds. they came with a small pouch to keep them in, a smaller zip lock bag inside of that to keep them in complete with a set of instructions for insertion and cleaning. the trip to the audiologist was $80 for me, but i also had my hearing tested while i was there and i'm not sure how the price was broken down. my guess is that having imressions taken would be somewhere between $30 and $50. and sensaphonics sent them back to the audiologist and i went back (no charge this time) and did a fit test there. they fit fine the first time.
my experience: the reason i got these is that i was having a little trouble keeping my E4Cs in my right ear. i used all tips and all sizes and just couldn't get them to stay in my right ear unless i was absolutely still. my audiologist told me it is shaped a little differently than the left. they are very comfortable and offer great isolation, but it took me about a week to get used to putting them in. it's not as easy as putting in ultimate ears custom molds i later bought. and it's worth mentioning that they are made of silicon, and when talking with UE about my purchase with them they said they stopped making molds in silicon because some people were having allergic reactions from them. so if it's possible you are allergic to silicon i'd go another route, or spend more $$$ and get UE acrylic molds. i'm pretty sure they offer a variety of colors though i don't remember how many or in which colors. mine are the "clear" model which are actually a pink flesh color.
pros: great isolation. very comfortable. great customer service with sensaphonics. very durable. and are removable and washable. (warm soapy water.)
cons: the IEMs don't fit in as snuggly today as they did when the molds were new. they're not loose, and they certainly don't fall out, but they just don't fit so tight anymore. my suggestion to anyone who might buy these is to be very careful to remove them by grabbing the silicon only and without tugging on the wires at all. i also remove and wash mine more often than is probably necessary. my guess is these are possible causes to the less tight fit. and so without further ado, here are some pics. hope i've been helpful.
