Best IEM tips?

[Cthulhu2104]

Yup. As someone whose ears are picky about fit, I am very grateful that there is such a wide range of fits, sizes, and materials. I've now got close to 50 different tips to choose from, and none fits the same way on any given IEM.

But the marketing BS around tips is just that: marketing BS. The same can be said of IEMs themselves.

I feel you, closing in on 44 and damn choosy ears myself. Especially because someone has to explain to me where most of the eartip makers, OEM or otherwise, got the uncanny idea that a 13mm diameter eartip is anything close to a "Large".. They HAVE to know that their overseas customers might be larger guys with bigger earholes, right?!

 

[Hypops]

I feel you, closing in on 44 and damn choosy ears myself. Especially because someone has to explain to me where most of the eartip makers, OEM or otherwise, got the uncanny idea that a 13mm diameter eartip is anything close to a "Large".. They HAVE to know that their overseas customers might be larger guys with bigger earholes, right?!

No doubt. My ears usually don't like anything smaller than 14mm. And even then, fit can vary so widely from IEM to IEM that I occasionally find a medium that fits perfectly. With few exceptions, I now only buy tips that come in a full range of sizes.

 

[TheDecline01]

Does anyone have any experience with custom eartips (ie. ADV)? Do they allow for the iem to sit more flush with the ear similar to CIEMs, or would the eartip shroud cause the IEM to jut out even more from the ears as compared to normal silicone tips?

I unfortunately have. Why unfortunately? Because I would have loved to hear the Final Audio A8000 unhinged by this god damn fit issue, but no matter what, I've tried like 15+ pairs, sizes, shapes, matter etc... None prevailed. Talking about finicky...

Hence the custom eartips, from Custom Arts though they've told me they recently stopped that activity. Anyway, that does or does not make th IEM protude any less
Actually, it'll depend on your IEM and the length of the custom eartip. But generally speaking, it does protrude more than regular tips... So you can imagine compared to fully custom IEMs.

 

[originalsnuffy]

I unfortunately have. Why unfortunately? Because I would have loved to hear the Final Audio A8000 unhinged by this god damn fit issue, but no matter what, I've tried like 15+ pairs, sizes, shapes, matter etc... None prevailed. Talking about finicky...

Hence the custom eartips, from Custom Arts though they've told me they recently stopped that activity. Anyway, that does or does not make th IEM protude any less
Actually, it'll depend on your IEM and the length of the custom eartip. But generally speaking, it does protrude more than regular tips... So you can imagine compared to fully custom IEMs.

The idea of custom eartips brings back memories. At one time my primary IEM was a Shure of some sort. At a shopping mall, Starkey (a hearing aid company) had a booth and was testing the idea of making custom eartips. I had those made for my Shures; but unfortunately they never really worked all that well. I tried sealing them and what have you but got nowhere. But I always liked the general idea.

With the wide variety of eartips on the market, with some trial and error (more error than anything else) one can probably find something that works for them. Lately I am digging the idea of wide bore eartips (Divinus Velvet). Those are a winner for my ears. It is so situational as to what works or won't work. I would love it if somebody could compile some kind of simple chart so by analyzing what tips are winners for a listener, it can draw observations about the ear itself and suggest other tips that might work for certain situations.

I know in my case, for example, that the Dunu S&S simply does not ergonomically work. They just don't expand enough into my ear canal to create a seal. That also probably imparts information about what could or could not work for my ears. I also recognize that the IEMs themselves play into this, but lately all my IEMs seem to have a similar presentation. Maybe there are ergonomic configurations that are becoming the industry standard?

 

[Cthulhu2104]

The idea of custom eartips brings back memories. At one time my primary IEM was a Shure of some sort. At a shopping mall, Starkey (a hearing aid company) had a booth and was testing the idea of making custom eartips. I had those made for my Shures; but unfortunately they never really worked all that well. I tried sealing them and what have you but got nowhere. But I always liked the general idea.

With the wide variety of eartips on the market, with some trial and error (more error than anything else) one can probably find something that works for them. Lately I am digging the idea of wide bore eartips (Divinus Velvet). Those are a winner for my ears. It is so situational as to what works or won't work. I would love it if somebody could compile some kind of simple chart so by analyzing what tips are winners for a listener, it can draw observations about the ear itself and suggest other tips that might work for certain situations.

I know in my case, for example, that the Dunu S&S simply does not ergonomically work. They just don't expand enough into my ear canal to create a seal. That also probably imparts information about what could or could not work for my ears. I also recognize that the IEMs themselves play into this, but lately all my IEMs seem to have a similar presentation. Maybe there are ergonomic configurations that are becoming the industry standard?

The problem with universal eartips I think lies with the anatomy itself of most ear canals: it's usually more oval than round, at the depth most peoples set their iems and tips.
That's why I was curious about those newish KBEAR KT02 tips, oval and in liquid silicone, only to see that the "Large" is something like 14mm on the "long side", not even close to big enough, ugh.

 

[LFC_SL]

My ears usually don't like anything smaller than 14mm

The problem with universal eartips I think lies with the anatomy itself of most ear canals: it's usually more oval than round

Check out the Ucotech Ucofit tips in my previous post!

Anecdotally, I how much of a correlation there is with the high numbers of SEA brands being harder to fit for those with larger ear canals. Something like the Final Audio A8k is instant fit (size S/MS tips). Full customs are still the best for comfort and fitting though.

 

[Cthulhu2104]

Check out the Ucotech Ucofit tips in my previous post!

Ah yes! I was really curious about these!
Have you tried them? If you did, how are they? What's the silicone feel? Rubbery or "solidy"? Firm or softish? Sticky, or smoother?
And by chance, do you know where I could source them (I'm in Italy) without spending a small fortune in delivery fees?

 

[Sebasistan]

So I have finally accepted that my ear canals are just too damn small for most eartips. I went and got the SymbioW hybrids in XS and now those do work without causing me pain, even after some longer listening sessions. An issue that I'm not sure CAN really be solved meaningfully is that even though now my IEMs fit better than with almost any other tip, they still shift and will slide when I move too much, yawn, or chew. And moving them back into place too many times causes friction, causes aches. Maybe my earwax is too gooey... Not sure if that can be dealt with meaningfully.

I also got these Infiter TPE tips in XS that mold into the ear canal through body heat - but the problem there is that they're too wide for the nozzle of my TRI I3 (which is weird given that those are already pretty wide). So after listening to those for a bit, the tips got stuck in my ears when removing the IEMs... So I'll have to see if there's a future IEM with even wider nozzles those can fit on to. They fit my EARS well...

 

[Cthulhu2104]

So I have finally accepted that my ear canals are just too damn small for most eartips. I went and got the SymbioW hybrids in XS and now those do work without causing me pain, even after some longer listening sessions. An issue that I'm not sure CAN really be solved meaningfully is that even though now my IEMs fit better than with almost any other tip, they still shift and will slide when I move too much, yawn, or chew. And moving them back into place too many times causes friction, causes aches. Maybe my earwax is too gooey... Not sure if that can be dealt with meaningfully.

I also got these Infiter TPE tips in XS that mold into the ear canal through body heat - but the problem there is that they're too wide for the nozzle of my TRI I3 (which is weird given that those are already pretty wide). So after listening to those for a bit, the tips got stuck in my ears when removing the IEMs... So I'll have to see if there's a future IEM with even wider nozzles those can fit on to. They fit my EARS well...

Did you try Azla Xelastecs 2 or Crystals 2?