average_joe
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2008
- Posts
- 5,394
- Likes
- 299
Let me start saying that none of the stock tips give me a seal. Luckily I had some T-400s on hand that work great. I don't have anything against the T-400s other than squeezing them every time (not bad, and I found out I can get a decent seal without squeezing them), the short lifespan (although per dfkt's suggestion in the PFE thread, they can be cleaned in hydrogen peroxide), and their cost. They give a great seal and are very comfortable, not to mention the only tip I have that works for me.
I did contact Sennheiser to see if they are aware of the issue with fit, and if there was anything they could do to help me. It resulted in them telling me I should get custom molds, tooling costs for new tips, etc. Not an ideal answer in my opinion.
So, I tried all my silicon tips, and none gave me a good seal, they all sit too far down on the nozzle. OK, how about the LL Sony tips for $40 ($14.95 each plus tax and shipping). So I ordered a pair. Sony sends me 1 (the other one is back-ordered). The IE8 nozzle is much bigger than the Sony tip hole. It does stretch on, but to me seems to somewhat lower the treble quantity, but hard to tell with 1 tip.
OK, now what? Am I going to use T-400s from now on? I like just being able to shove a silicon tip in, especially when I have a lot of interruptions. I decided to customize my included large silicon tips. I actually have better silicon tips on my NE-7 (these here), but wanted to try with the included tips.
So, here is what I did:
- Took a used T-400 and cut the foam off the center piece with an x-acto
- Cleaned as much of the remaining foam off with IPA and a q-tip
- Inverted the silicon tip
- Put the T-400 core in the silicon tip, with some of the core sticking out of the bottom (I actually did this twice, as the first time they stuck out too much)
- I made sure they both lined up and tried to get them where I thought they would give me a seal
- Applied super glue at the joint and waited for it to completely dry (I used epoxy first, as I didn't have superglue available. The epoxy didn't work.)
- Colored the exposed core with a sharpie and let the ink dry
- Stuck them on the IE8
OK, I got a seal, yeah! They sounded good, and wow, hello treble (reminded me of the PFE with the black filters for quantity). Note: The IE8 does not lack treble quantity, extension, or quality with the T-400, the quantity is just increased with the silicon.
But where did the isolation of the T-400s go?
So I cut the foam from the dissected tips in half and put it inside the silicon tip. Now the isolation is back to about where it was, I don't have to compress the tips, and there is more treble (better overall balance in my opinion). Now I just have to see if they are as comfortable as the T-400s. I am thinking of doing this with the double flange also, just to see what results I can get.
I did contact Sennheiser to see if they are aware of the issue with fit, and if there was anything they could do to help me. It resulted in them telling me I should get custom molds, tooling costs for new tips, etc. Not an ideal answer in my opinion.
So, I tried all my silicon tips, and none gave me a good seal, they all sit too far down on the nozzle. OK, how about the LL Sony tips for $40 ($14.95 each plus tax and shipping). So I ordered a pair. Sony sends me 1 (the other one is back-ordered). The IE8 nozzle is much bigger than the Sony tip hole. It does stretch on, but to me seems to somewhat lower the treble quantity, but hard to tell with 1 tip.
OK, now what? Am I going to use T-400s from now on? I like just being able to shove a silicon tip in, especially when I have a lot of interruptions. I decided to customize my included large silicon tips. I actually have better silicon tips on my NE-7 (these here), but wanted to try with the included tips.
So, here is what I did:
- Took a used T-400 and cut the foam off the center piece with an x-acto
- Cleaned as much of the remaining foam off with IPA and a q-tip
- Inverted the silicon tip
- Put the T-400 core in the silicon tip, with some of the core sticking out of the bottom (I actually did this twice, as the first time they stuck out too much)
- I made sure they both lined up and tried to get them where I thought they would give me a seal
- Applied super glue at the joint and waited for it to completely dry (I used epoxy first, as I didn't have superglue available. The epoxy didn't work.)
- Colored the exposed core with a sharpie and let the ink dry
- Stuck them on the IE8
OK, I got a seal, yeah! They sounded good, and wow, hello treble (reminded me of the PFE with the black filters for quantity). Note: The IE8 does not lack treble quantity, extension, or quality with the T-400, the quantity is just increased with the silicon.
But where did the isolation of the T-400s go?
So I cut the foam from the dissected tips in half and put it inside the silicon tip. Now the isolation is back to about where it was, I don't have to compress the tips, and there is more treble (better overall balance in my opinion). Now I just have to see if they are as comfortable as the T-400s. I am thinking of doing this with the double flange also, just to see what results I can get.