I've been experimenting with the four different sets of eartips that come with these little wonders. I'm just wondering if there is a consensus as to which are best.
I'm having a hard time getting the small tri-flanges in deep enough, but I am new to canalphones so maybe it just takes practice
Of those that come with the phone, I feel that the mushroom foam tips are the most comfortable. The cylindrical ones are by far the best for noise isolation for me, though they are even more of a pain to clean than the mushrooms.
Something that I feel is a good balance between isolation, cleanability, and comfort. is the Monster Supertip. The foam ones are coated to prevent wax from depositing on them, and a really good all purpose tips. Start out with the sampler pack, and then use the foam one that fits you best.
Also, I don't have huge ear canals by any means and yet the small triflanges are just too small for me to get a seal (and the attempt to get one was downright painful)- don't assume that they'll work better just because they're smaller.
There's both a learning curve (for quick, correct insertion) and an adjustment period with triflanges. Few if any people are going to be comfortable with them right away; it may be a week or more before you're so used to them that you can happily wear them for hours. But most people, I think, CAN learn to be quite comfortable with them if they stick it out. The reward is the best sound the earphones are capable of (barring ACS custom tips, anyway), and excellent isolation, from a tip that's longer lasting and easier to keep clean than foams. There is also less risk of damage to the sound tube when replacing them because there's no hard core in the tip.
I have smalller canals, too, and with the MC5 I had several years ago, I started with smaller blue-gray-clear tips, but like you, could not get a good seal, pushing them in so as to cause pain. I eventually tried the larger gray-cream 3-flange and patiently got used to a deeper and deeper insertion.
Now, with the larger gray-cream tips on my ER4, I don't have to go so deep because I do get a good seal at a just moderate depth. And they get softer as a little ear wax gets on them.
And, BTW, a little bit of saliva on the exterior of the tips helps them going in. (somehow said with a straight face)
I think the creamy grey mushroom tips are the best eartips I've used... If only they would coat them with something cleanable. Comply tips are annoying because they have to be compressed like most other foam tips, but the Etymotic mushrooms are perfect because they are comfortable and soft (softer than supertips) and don't have to be compressed like comply. I wonder if they could be sprayed with plastidip to make a thin cleanable layer over the foam.
I think the creamy grey mushroom tips are the best eartips I've used... If only they would coat them with something cleanable. Comply tips are annoying because they have to be compressed like most other foam tips, but the Etymotic mushrooms are perfect because they are comfortable and soft (softer than supertips) and don't have to be compressed like comply. I wonder if they could be sprayed with plastidip to make a thin cleanable layer over the foam.
I think the creamy grey mushroom tips are the best eartips I've used... If only they would coat them with something cleanable. Comply tips are annoying because they have to be compressed like most other foam tips, but the Etymotic mushrooms are perfect because they are comfortable and soft (softer than supertips) and don't have to be compressed like comply. I wonder if they could be sprayed with plastidip to make a thin cleanable layer over the foam.
I've read a review to that effect too, but Etymotic measures their earphones, and I trust that the eartips do little to nothing to affect the sound. They are all silicone at the core where the sound would be affected. Insertion would change the sound, as would a larger or smaller opening. Because the materials are the same, as well as the openings on the end, I think it may be one or a few cases of insertion problems, or a particular song listening experience after changing the tips.
I wonder if we could get eartips measured with the InnerFidelity head? It would probably be very slightly more influential than cables...
I've read a review to that effect too, but Etymotic measures their earphones, and I trust that the eartips do little to nothing to affect the sound. They are all silicone at the core where the sound would be affected. Insertion would change the sound, as would a larger or smaller opening. Because the materials are the same, as well as the openings on the end, I think it may be one or a few cases of insertion problems, or a particular song listening experience after changing the tips.
I wonder if we could get eartips measured with the InnerFidelity head? It would probably be very slightly more influential than cables...
It may well be that I never got them inserted properly and they would have sounded fine if I had. I certainly wouldn't want to discourage anybody from trying any and all tips until they find some that work for them.
^Do Shure earphones have the same size of sound tubes as the Etymotic earphones? I didn't think they would fit, as I haven't seen any other earphones that have thin sound tubes.
^Do Shure earphones have the same size of sound tubes as the Etymotic earphones? I didn't think they would fit, as I haven't seen any other earphones that have thin sound tubes.
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