Best IEM tips?

[MudEnjoyer]

CP155, ended up returning them

By far the worst tips I’ve tried. Zero seal.

 

[bithalver]

CP155, ended up returning them

How interesting, CP155 is the best for me on Hidizs MP145. We are different.

 

[passie42]

How interesting, CP155 is the best for me on Hidizs MP145. We are different.

Hi have the cp 100 plus for my Hidizs MP145. Better than Whizzer, Dunu s&s and TRN T tips in my opinion.
Originally I bought the cp 100 plus for my Etymotic er2xr but the sounded terrible. Now I use Shure foam because Etymotic foam is nowhere to be found in Europe.
Anyway I use the cp 145 for my Hidizs MS2.

 

[ext23]

I got the Kbear 07 and prefer it to the Sednafit Max. To me, they sound the same, but the Kbear takes the edge in comfort. The Sednafit Max got slightly itchy after like 6 hours (still a pretty good effort lol) but so far no issues whatsoever with the Kbear, and they are a tiny bit taller too so they give me a better, deeper seal.

Also they cost 10% of the Sednafit Max.

Off to Aliexpress to buy a 5-pack and replace the tips on all my IEMs!

 

[Edric Li]

Happy holidays tip-rollers! I did some experiments on my ghetto measurement rig, trying to understand how different factors impact the sound of eartips in the most controlled environment possible, and to understand my own listening impressions. All using my Final E500; they are open-back, which is a plus for this experiment. The factors I'm interested in are:

1. Sound bore width.
   • For this experiment, I decided to go with Tanchjim T300T (wide) vs T300B (narrow), two tips that, to my bare eyes, are identical up to the bore diameter.
2. Sound bore glossy-ness / matte-ness.
   • For this experiment, I decided to go with Tennmak Whirlwind vs KZ Whirlwind. I might make post about how to differentiate them at some point, but for the purpose of this post, Tennmak Whirlwind visibly has a more glossy soundbore than KZ Whirlwind. Another candidate for this would be JVC SpiralDot FX9 vs FX10, but those two are more different in their materials than in their textures.
3. Sound bore length.
   • A natural candidate for this is Sedna (Original) vs Sedna Short, but for this purpose of being comparable to other results, I decided to go with the approach of adding a 1mm o-ring to the end of the E500 nozzle to shallow-fit the Tennmak Whirlwind and to simulate a longer sound bore length. Note that this effectively increases the eardrum-to-driver distance by adding extra length via eartip's sound bore.
4. Fit depth.
   • For this experiment, I vary the depth in which the E500/Tennmak Whirlwind is inserted onto my measurement rig. This would be equivalent to going a size up to shallow-fit or going a size down to deep-fit your IEM into your ear canal. Note that this effectively changes the eardrum-to-driver distance by adding/subtracting length via ear canal.

Here are the results. Surprisingly, they all agree with my listening impression.

1. The effect of sound bore width (unnormalized & normalized at 1kHz)
   • 
     
   • No surprise that the overall absolute volume are roughly the same between narrow bore and wide bore, although narrow bore can be perceived to be louder due to it being louder in the midrange. Narrowing the sound bore has two effect: boosting the upper-midrange and creating a dip in the treble. Depending on the depth in which you fit your IEM, this dip can happen at the mid-treble or upper-treble. In my case, it is the upper-treble and translates to a narrower soundstage and faster instrument decay. The boost in the upper-midrange is very noticeable too, but less so than the most extreme Final E tips. This translates to a more intimate presentation of images in the midrange.
2. The effect of sound bore glossy-ness / matte-ness (unnormalized & normalized at 1kHz)
   • 
     
   • A matte sound bore sounds like a treated room and a glossy sound bore sounds like an untreated one. That's basically it. Like in a two channel system, treatment or the lack thereof isn't always better. It depends on the speaker, the room and the bass response you are trying to achieve.
   • I have a theory that oddities inside the sound bore (e.g. the ridges in SpinFits and Spring Tip, the dots in SprialDots) sound like furniture in a room, but there isn't a pair of earips in my collection that enables me to do a controlled experiment on this. SpinFit fans, any suggestions?
3. The effect of sound bore length (unnormalized & normalized at 1kHz)
   • 
     
   • The "front o-ring" means deep fitting the eartip onto the nozzle (short sound bore) and the one without means shallow fiftting the eartip onto the nozzle (long sound bore). Sorry for the confusion. The shorter the sound bore, the darker the treble.
4. The effect of depth of fit (unnormalized & normalized at 1kHz)
   • 
   • The deeper the fit, the more absolute volume/energy you are getting in the midrange, especially upper-midrange, extending into lower treble. On the contrary, the shallower the fit, the more bass and treble extension you are getting. The increase in treble overwhelms the increase in bass. Depending on the smoothness of your IEM's treble response, this can translate to extra sibilance and/or a bigger soundstage, when combined with the more distant midrange.
5. Bonus: Tennmak Whirlwind vs T300T, two of my favs
   • 

 

[esn89]

I noticed with silicon tips, the seal is better than foam. But the problem I have is that when my jaw opens and closes, or even some movement triggers a popping sound or uncomfortable pressure build up in my ears.

Any recommendations on ear tips that don't do this?

 

[Carpet]

I noticed with silicon tips, the seal is better than foam. But the problem I have is that when my jaw opens and closes, or even some movement triggers a popping sound or uncomfortable pressure build up in my ears.

Any recommendations on ear tips that don't do this?

Assuming that wiring your jaw shut isn't practical...

Fiio HS18 or the new Tangzu textured tips might work. The HS18 are very thin and don't seem to be as prone to problems with pressure built up or driver flex. Also pretty comfortable. The Tangzu (Sancai?), are firmer but have a fine texture which also seems to help with pressure issues. Otherwise foams!

 

[esn89]

Thanks, will give those a shot!

 

[sicnesse]

Any of you has tried the velvet divinus tips? specifically for long listening sessions

 

[nraymond]

Any of you has tried the velvet divinus tips? specifically for long listening sessions

They didn't feel good in my ears just like the Radius Deep Mount, which have a very similar fit. Can't comment on the sound because the fit didn't work for my ear anatomy.

 

[kalibri]

Any of you has tried the velvet divinus tips? specifically for long listening sessions

They're ok but don't work great with longer nozzles and deeper insertion because of the shape and firmness.

 

[esn89]

If I order the Tangzu Sancai, how will I know that it will fit the nozzle of my IEM? (Hyla CE-5)?

 

[TheDecline01]

Any of you has tried the velvet divinus tips? specifically for long listening sessions

Tried with Spiralear SE6 Edge: great comfort, definitely feeling velvety in the ear canal. Great seal also to my ears. Sound is more on the relaxed side, but with great seal comes great sound generally. Even though I switched to Brass Coreir and Tangzu Sancai wide bore for these particular IEMs due to these tips being airier, and the SE6 Edge crave for air. And both also stick/seal even better in my ears (both in their own way, Brass Coreir being literally sticky, Tangzu Sancai more on the "pop seal" side).

Tried with Final Audio A8000: NO. Just cannot find the seal whether be the size MS, M or ML.

 

[passie42]

I had my eye on the Brass Coreir but I do find them a bit expensive. Anyway your post made me interested in the Spiralear SE6. I see some good reviews but not one place where I can buy them. Where did you got yours from?

 

[TheDecline01]

On the one and only official site of course: www.spiralear.com

By the way, you won't find them anywhere else since Gregorz keeps a tight lash on his creations.