[TwinQY]

Share your various concoctions, modifications, and other sundries that make sticking those things in your ear all the more pleasurable!
 
Whether it be slicing those silicone tips up into origami, acoustic filters of various colours and composition, or perhaps playing around with vents and the likes, any and all ideas are welcome.
 
Everyone has their own set of ears, so what might work for some, might not work for others. In the same vein, what might sound great to some, others might not find to be the case.
 
 
Tip-rolling...
It is not neccessarily all about the "perfect" fit. Sound is a fickle thing, and you might come across an IEM that happens to sound awful when you have a nice, deep fit, but happens to sound spectacular if you just play around a little. Such is the delicate art of rolling tips.
 
Each IEM has their particular tip combo with their particular advocates documenting their tales on their particular dedicated thread. This is meant to be more of a place of exploration, for tip-rolling combinations that people find work well for them across many universals, or for IEMs that happen to not have their own dedicated thread.
 
General Modifications...
Playing around with dampers, sorting through all of the various acoustic impedances, adding that special something as a filter; for those who take pleasure out of these activities, this might be the thread for you.
 
Got a great-sounding IEM, but it happens to be afflicted by an unwieldy cable? Share your woes, and how you might have managed to solve it.
 
Perhaps you're a little more hardcore. Perhaps you enjoy stripping your earphones down to see what they can truly do. No matter how perverse, no matter how extreme, we welcome your harrowing tales.

 

[Hutnicks]

The infamous TEAC Z1000. Had a hard time getting these to stay in place as they are wide and short so as an experiment (and that's the name of the game isn't it?) I thought I'd try some leftover silicone tubing.
 

 

 
This was basically a "hail mary" attempt that worked out magnificently. All of a sudden we have well defined bass and sub bass at the expense of  a little roll off in the high end (not a bad thing where these IEMs are concerned IMHO).
What surprised the heck out of me is the fit. Isolation is incredible and the tubing felt like it wasn't there after about an hour. After 5 or 6 hours listening it was still comfortable and the only issue is that the bare tubing heats up and will push the iem out. So a small rubber O ring round the tip groove for friction or perhaps some adhesive is in order.
 
 I may play around with other diameter tubing as an insert and or filters just to see what happens. As it stands this has got to be the cheapest best fit solution I've stumbled across.

 

[TwinQY]

the tubing felt like it wasn't there after about an hour. After 5 or 6 hours listening it was still comfortable

I still find this to be unbelievable, even having seen the pictures last night.
 
Did you ever get to cracking them open and seeing if they were TWFKs?
 
I have to wait for the stock replacement cable for the VC02s to come back from warranty, but meanwhile I am trying to think of a way to make the angle of the connector less prominent. It's at 45 degrees right now, and feels terribly flimsy. Probably some heatshrink should do it. The FiiO cables feel much too stiff, so I'm not inclined to find the UE1 version at this point. I no longer have any UE pins and it's too much of an effort to buy some just for these anyways.

 

[Hutnicks]

  I still find this to be unbelievable, even having seen the pictures last night.
 
Did you ever get to cracking them open and seeing if they were TWFKs?
 
I have to wait for the stock replacement cable for the VC02s to come back from warranty, but meanwhile I am trying to think of a way to make the angle of the connector less prominent. It's at 45 degrees right now, and feels terribly flimsy. Probably some heatshrink should do it. The FiiO cables feel much too stiff, so I'm not inclined to find the UE1 version at this point. I no longer have any UE pins and it's too much of an effort to buy some just for these anyways.

I'm as shocked as anyone. Perhaps my ear canals are desensitized after being scraped out by the stock wafffle pad tips. Odd, as I find bi and triple flanges uncomfortable but the tube is completely comfortable.
 
IEM cabling boggles me. Why on eart no one uses the micro coax connectors found in walkies, cel phones etc is beyond me. They are cheap in quantity and rock solid.

 

[TwinQY]

Ah micro coaxial aka MMCX. Shure has been using them for quite sometime, so has Westone and UE. Earphones seem to be moving there (probably because they're so cheap) and I'm not sure that's the right thing considering some of the woes I've been having with those connectors recently. They also wear out far too fast so a nice locking mechanism should have been a must for all of these. The Senn two-pins seem pretty robust though. I believe FitEar uses them but they wire them oppositely so flipped polarity.
 

Sensorcom biflanges seem to also be an exception to the rule for me as well. Typicall tri-flanges will be a bust.​

But those tubes aren't even tapered at the entry point...

 

[Hutnicks]

  Ah micro coaxial aka MMCX. Shure has been using them for quite sometime, so has Westone and UE. Earphones seem to be moving there (probably because they're so cheap) and I'm not sure that's the right thing considering some of the woes I've been having with those connectors recently. They also wear out far too fast so a nice locking mechanism should have been a must for all of these. The Senn two-pins seem pretty robust though. I believe FitEar uses them but they wire them oppositely so flipped polarity.
 

Sensorcom biflanges seem to also be an exception to the rule for me as well. Typicall tri-flanges will be a bust.​

But those tubes aren't even tapered at the entry point...

No. I was expecting serious pain so I slid em in real sloooooooow. Not an issue at all, no sensation of scraping. I took them out an moistened them and man they just slid in like they had been there forever.  I would suggest that anyone trying this use a long piece to do a test fit first. See what the insertion feels like with enough in your hand to pull it out quick if you feel any discomfort at all. It still would probably be a good idea to round the edges, but like I said it was a spur of the moment thing and who knew it would work so well

 
 I have not popped these open to see what drive is in fact used. I'll wait till the housings wear out to find that out. I do seem to recall some other user we know of having one come apart so you may want to ask him.

 

[B9Scrambler]

What a convenient time for this thread to appear. My J+- Wooden Earbuds broke apart today, and I just so happened to mod them by turning a fake port into a real one using my patented "Stabby Pokey" technique :3


 


This served to greatly improve an already solid soundstage and kill the already really minimal driver flex when inserting them. Woot.


 
The original thread if interested: http://www.head-fi.org/t/716784/j-wooden-iem *shrug*

 

[TwinQY]

No. I was expecting serious pain so I slid em in real sloooooooow. Not an issue at all, no sensation of scraping. I took them out an moistened them and man they just slid in like they had been there forever.  I would suggest that anyone trying this use a long piece to do a test fit first. See what the insertion feels like with enough in your hand to pull it out quick if you feel any discomfort at all. It still would probably be a good idea to round the edges, but like I said it was a spur of the moment thing and who knew it would work so well

 
 I have not popped these open to see what drive is in fact used. I'll wait till the housings wear out to find that out. I do seem to recall some other user we know of having one come apart so you may want to ask him.

What do you find to be the best lube for these instances, in general?
 
Does this user have a permanently welded box on his head? If not then I might have to ask. If so then I'd be very afraid of the ensuing conversation there.
 

  What a convenient time for this thread to appear. My J+- Wooden Earbuds broke apart today, and I just so happened to mod them by turning a fake port into a real one using my patented "Stabby Pokey" technique :3

 


This served to greatly improve an already solid soundstage and kill any driver flex when inserting them. Woot.

 
The original thread if interested: http://www.head-fi.org/t/716784/j-wooden-iem *shrug*

The delicate art of Stabby Pokey should be well known by all here.
 
Nick was just telling us about these Superstore wonders. Curious how it's all been Canadians here as of late. Probably because we're bored out of our minds since it's not ice fishing or hockey season anymore.
 
I'd be worried about these housings "staying closed" after a driver transplant. Might have to go down and grab them to see how robust they can be.

 

[B9Scrambler]

  The delicate art of Stabby Pokey should be well known by all here.

 
Nick was just telling us about these Superstore wonders. Curious how it's all been Canadians here as of late. Probably because we're bored out of our minds since it's not ice fishing or hockey season anymore.

 
I'd be worried about these housings "staying closed" after a driver transplant. Might have to go down and grab them to see how robust they can be.

Well, from what I've seen most people use a more refined version of 'stabby pokey' to get the job done, lol.
 
Yeah...when winter comes, we Canadians will disappear back to our igloos and ice huts, haha.
 
I superglued the housing back on since I find them perfect now with this 'mod'. They feel pretty solid overall...plasti-wood for the housing with metal endings. It's just that crack in my original set that has me worried. They're dirt cheap so it won't hurt to pick up a set and mess around. Not losing out on much if you wreck em'...

 

[Hutnicks]

  What do you find to be the best lube for these instances, in general?
 
Does this user have a permanently welded box on his head? If not then I might have to ask. If so then I'd be very afraid of the ensuing conversation there.
 
The delicate art of Stabby Pokey should be well known by all here.
 
Nick was just telling us about these Superstore wonders. Curious how it's all been Canadians here as of late. Probably because we're bored out of our minds since it's not ice fishing or hockey season anymore.
 
I'd be worried about these housings "staying closed" after a driver transplant. Might have to go down and grab them to see how robust they can be.

You nailed him on the first try. Oooh a pun, goody. For lubrication (stop laughing kiddies) Wallyworld sells a tube of pure aloe vera gel for 4 or 5 bucks. It's perfectly clear and a minescule drop will do. No additives in it (so they say).
 
Stabby Pokey obviously the cousins of Punch and Crunch
 
I'm willing to let B9 and Nick ( who as we speak is probably at the check out counter with a CamelBack Motherlode full O the suckers, do the RD so we can enjoy the final product.
 
...........Although I do have myriad MH750's awaiting to donate their drivers to science. Really you can actually hear the drivers screaming to be let out of that pp enclosure Sony imprisoned them in. It's sad to hear really.

 

[TwinQY]

You nailed him on the first try. Oooh a pun, goody. For lubrication (stop laughing kiddies) Wallyworld sells a tube of pure aloe vera gel for 4 or 5 bucks. It's perfectly clear and a minescule drop will do. No additives in it (so they say).
 
Stabby Pokey obviously the cousins of Punch and Crunch
 
I'm willing to let B9 and Nick ( who as we speak is probably at the check out counter with a CamelBack Motherlode full O the suckers, do the RD so we can enjoy the final product.
 
...........Although I do have myriad MH750's awaiting to donate their drivers to science. Really you can actually hear the drivers screaming to be let out of that pp enclosure Sony imprisoned them in. It's sad to hear really.

Would that not sting/feel terribly minty?
 
The estranged in-laws of Pop and Crackle?
 
Fantastic. I expect a prototype of some reverse-engineered FX850s within the month.
 
I remember you talking about doing something with their tips, with some other IEMs? Maybe I'm remembering that wrong.
 

Well, from what I've seen most people use a more refined version of 'stabby pokey' to get the job done, lol.
 
Yeah...when winter comes, we Canadians will disappear back to our igloos and ice huts, haha.
 
I superglued the housing back on since I find them perfect now with this 'mod'. They feel pretty solid overall...plasti-wood for the housing with metal endings. It's just that crack in my original set that has me worried. They're dirt cheap so it won't hurt to pick up a set and mess around. Not losing out on much if you wreck em'...

We can't all be brain surgeons. Otherwise our health care reputation would go down the drain within a fortnight.
 
You'd be lucky to get an igloo these days, let alone afford one. What with the land bylaws and the state of the housing market due to that maple syrup spill back in '10. I've been renting out an ice burrow for the past couple of years. And not the good riverside ones. Damn beavers.
 
How large are the insides exactly? Got any dimensions? How thick's the plastic? Think there might be some resonance issues to hash out?

 

[Hutnicks]

 
Well, from what I've seen most people use a more refined version of 'stabby pokey' to get the job done, lol.
 
Yeah...when winter comes, we Canadians will disappear back to our igloos and ice huts, haha.
 
I superglued the housing back on since I find them perfect now with this 'mod'. They feel pretty solid overall...plasti-wood for the housing with metal endings. It's just that crack in my original set that has me worried. They're dirt cheap so it won't hurt to pick up a set and mess around. Not losing out on much if you wreck em'...

That superglue will work wonders on cracks in the wood. Get the gel stuff at your local dollarama.

 

[Hutnicks]

  Would that not sting/feel terribly minty?
 
The estranged in-laws of Pop and Crackle?
 
Fantastic. I expect a prototype of some reverse-engineered FX850s within the month.
 
I remember you talking about doing something with their tips, with some other IEMs? Maybe I'm remembering that wrong.
 
We can't all be brain surgeons. Otherwise our health care reputation would go down the drain within a fortnight.
 
You'd be lucky to get an igloo these days, let alone afford one. What with the land bylaws and the state of the housing market due to that maple syrup spill back in '10. I've been renting out an ice burrow for the past couple of years. And not the good riverside ones. Damn beavers.
 
How large are the insides exactly? Got any dimensions? How thick's the plastic? Think there might be some resonance issues to hash out?

 
Anything to do with homo cardboardicus stings. As for minty, I'll leave that to you to figure out.
With all other IEM's The tips are wicked supple and wide bore so they became a goto staple for testing out new IEM's. They made the Lethals into a whole new ballgame and a good one at that. The bore is about the same as the Beeemer C5's. They work well with the Slammhammer CX 270 and 300 as well. The price of the phones is well worth it just for the tips.

 

[TwinQY]

Right. Did you give out any pics? I think we might need some overall dimensions. If the stem is wider than 3mm....
 
And you're sure they're not MH1C tips? I've got enough of those....

 

[Hutnicks]

  Right. Did you give out any pics? I think we might need some overall dimensions. If the stem is wider than 3mm....
 
And you're sure they're not MH1C tips? I've got enough of those....

No they are much wider than the MH1 and a completely different texture. I'll see if I can shoot a few pic's for tomorrow. Seeing as this is the Tip Rolling thread.