So... As someone who has really started to enjoy IEM's over the last few months, but have not spend much time tip rolling, I'm wondering where to start?
I guess it would make sense to try out vastly different tips, to get a rough idea of what works for me, yes?
Can you guys recommend 3-4 different tips that are very different? I'm not too concerned about price.
@BS5711 already told me a few weeks back that I should definitely try tip rolling, so I better get into it, especially now that I'm investing a bit more into IEM's (have the Mega 5EST on the way)
So any recommendation is welcome, thanks.
Eartips can literally make or break an IEM - see case in point with the BLON BL-03 with its too short nozzles, necessitating some consumers to buy aftermarket longer nozzle tips or do mods to salvage the fit.
Not only do eartips affect
comfort, but they affect
seal and
isolation (seal plays a part in sub-bass perception). Importantly, eartips also
influence the sound, as can be shown from the graphs below.
Here are how various silicone eartips tame or boost the treble and upper mids on the Moondrop Stellaris as an example:
Measurements above 10k are not accurate, but let's look at the 1.5 kHz to 8 kHz bands.
- The green graph is with the stock Softear Ultra Clear silicone tips - this is the baseline frequency response.
- A wide-bore eartip like the Tenmark Whirlwind gives the most treble boost - red graph.
- The narrow-bore Final E Black tips tames the treble the most - black graph.
In general, narrow-bore ones tame treble (and the ears take the whole frequency response as a whole and perceives a bass boost in a way). Narrow-bore ones may tend to compress soundstage though.
In general, wide-bore tips boost treble and may expand soundstage. Usually, foam tips tame treble and provide better isolation, but foam tips may be less durable than silicone ones in hot or humid climates.
Some audiophiles spend tons of money on kilobuck cables (which we can't get objective graphs to show tonal differences), but eartips are generally cheaper and have objective changes on graphs. But that's another story for another time regarding cables! Fitting a new eartip is also reversible, say compared to putting mesh filters (eg Tanya filter) or doing mods to salvage the sound.
Do take note that ear anatomy has a big part to play in eartip fit and sonics, so even if we can graph something on a standard coupler, that may not 100% translate to the exact FR we hear in the ears due to ear anatomy affecting pinna gain (upper mids) for example.
Anyways, IMHO eartips are a very important (but underrated) aspect of the audio chain to play with to tune the IEM to your preference. If an IEM sounds bad out of the box, it may not hurt to find a couple of aftermarket eartips to see if it can improve the fit or sound. I try not to give up on an IEM until at least trying 4 - 5 eartip variations.
