[GillyOz]

Great to find this thread, as its something I have been debating with my fellow musician friends.
 
I currently use silicone attenuators for live performance, they are really comfy.  I have a couple of my friends have accrylic CIEM (1964, UM) and generally like them but do talk about some discomfort over time worn.
 
It may have been discussed before but I thought of replicating the idea of making my own molds with a top of the line universal fit ( SE846 seem like they have good reviews)  using an instant-set putty, eg Radian.   I have used the insta-set putty for basic attenuation and they are great.
 
One risk is of course if this would damage the headphones, but after watching a some demo videos I think it should be ok if I take care.     
 
Any input would be great, let me know if this sounds like a bad idea!
 
 

 

[JackKontney]

 
Any input would be great, let me know if this sounds like a bad idea!
 

 
This. ^
 
And you actually express worry about damage to the earphones, but not about your hearing... That's just wrong.
To quote the bard: "Think about your life; think about your choices."

 

[Letsgogo]

Guys, btw silicone and acrylic, which one is quicker in terms of insertion?
And, for those people in tropical countries, would ears develop heat more with the silicone CIEM?
Thanks guys!

 

[DrJohnOH]

Insertion: Acrylic will be easiest to insert in most cases and especially in the heat. New silicone earplugs require use of lubricating gel.

Comfort: Silicone will be more comfortable in most situations.

Heat: While earplugs are generally more comfortable than earmuffs, there is insufficient information concerning any difference between silicone and acrylic earplugs and heat.

 

[guisess93]

AFAIK, both white/clear acrylic and silicone housing turn yellowish over time. Can we prevent this by using colors such as black or blue? Please enlighten me and correct me if I said anything wrong

 

[Fungus]

Can it be possible for CIEM with silicone tips to also be a unibody design? I mean can't silicon be poured into the tip of the mold before filling it with acrylic? 
 
I optioned for soft canals from inearz and the silicon tips are far softer than the acrylic reactive tips from Westone. 
Also, I noticed the edge of the silicon sound bore walls from inearz is much thinner than the acrylic canals from Westone.
 
A previous Westone ciem owners said he had not issued with the soft tips after many uses of constant use.  
 
I sure hope it isn't sure for silicon tips to weaken and eventually detach from the acrylic shell.
 
Despite appearances, I always thought silicon was a good bonding material for sealing up hard and soft surfaces hence why it is the preferred application for sealing up gaps and leaks. Correct me if I'm wrong. 

 

[PatRamirez]

How do Silcone and Arcylic compare against impacts? For those who move around a lot.

 

[JackKontney]

Silicone acts like a shock absorber, protecting internal components.
Acrylic is strong, but it will crack with sufficient impact.

 

[PatRamirez]

Are there such CIEMs that have its internals completely filled with Acrylic? If yes, are the much better against shock compared to solid Silolicone?

 

[JackKontney]

I think there may be a couple small companies who do that, but I have no experience with them.

More thread-topic info...

Here's a link to a new isolation study on Sensaphonics proprietary soft silicone formulation:
http://www.sensaphonics.com/isolation

 

[tienbasse]

Are there such CIEMs that have its internals completely filled with Acrylic? If yes, are the much better against shock compared to solid Silolicone?

I don't really see the point of doing this.
As it was pointed earlier, silicone behaves like a shock absorber, and thus will protect your drivers against small shocks better than acrylic will ever do, by absorbing energy.
Acrylic, being very hard, will transmit energy (=shock and vibrations) directly to the drivers, which is not very desirable on the long run, unless you're very careful with your IEMs.

Hard acrylic shell with internal silicone is a VERY good built for long lasting protection.

 

[fzr100098]

I've been using Shure SE 846 with custom silicone sleeves for about 5 years (Sony WM1A with 4.4 balanced output and upgrade cable). Easy to clean and very comfortable. I don't know how acrylic could provide a better seal, anything more than about 1/2 volume is about as loud as you need

 

[fzr100098]

Still using them

 

[MTroy]

A question for specialists : fix me if i'm wrong, but, in term of purely musical sonic performances, a full silicon iem shell cannot perform when using at least 10mm DD transducer, hybrid or any tubeless multi transducer configuration ? i mean by that it could more difficult to design an acoustic chamber to take advantage of acoustic laws ?

 

[JackKontney]

Sensaphonics D2 is a dual dynamic design using proprietary Dynamic Resonance Chambers.
Here's a review from pro audio world: https://fohonline.com/articles/road-tests/sensaphonics-dual-dynamic-custom-iems/