[seanwee]

After trying these three plus a few others, I found the comply to be the most comfortable with best isolation. The spin fit were uncomfortable for any long listening for myself and the sound was thin and definitely less bass response. The spiral dots were very comfortable but didn't isolate sound enough for an airplane or subway. My only complaint on the comply are that they don't last very long for their price, I probably replace them every two to three weeks. But for me it was worth the trade off for extra isolation over the spiral dot and the better sound quality over the spin fit. If your not listening in a noisy area the spiral dots are very comfortable and sound great, but I needed the extra isolation of the comply. Spin fit I can't leave in for more than 30-45 min without pain and sound was poor for me.

Get Shure olives then , they are like the comply tips but are MUCH more durable.

 

[pkcpga]

Get Shure olives then , they are like the comply tips but are MUCH more durable.

Thanks, Ive tried them though. The shure olives don't fit my ears well, the medium is too small and large is a bit too large, for some reason they're a little smaller than the comply mediums or the spiral dot mediums.

 

[Traveller]

I forgot to ask... can you please "translate" the sizes for us, meaning what is the (max) diameter of the different sized Dots you've tried? I would need 12mm (usually M) and 11MM (usually S). I can't find all the sizes locally and I'd rather avoid guessing too much considering these "Japanese export" tips command similar premiums to their editions of LPs / CDs I used to collect back in the 80s

 
FWIF, my SpinFits in action

 

 

[pkcpga]

I forgot to ask... can you please "translate" the sizes for us, meaning what is the (max) diameter of the different sized Dots you've tried? I would need 12mm (usually M) and 11MM (usually S). I can't find all the sizes locally and I'd rather avoid guessing too much considering these "Japanese export" tips command similar premiums to their editions of LPs / CDs I used to collect back in the 80s

FWIF, my SpinFits in action

 

Not sure since all the tips are only labeled S,M and L for all three brand and the shure olive as well. Couldn't find any measurements on any the package and not sure if I measured it would be accurate enough.

 

[myemaildw]

spinfits are good for outside use because everything gets quiet and dont need to crank volume that loud to hear music but it makes sound smaller. for home use any other tips are fine where you dont need quiet tips. inairs might be a good contender also

 

[STMusician]

Thanks for the informative review! I think you did a great job describing the differences between the different tips. I've been an avid comply user (used S size)  but recently purchased some M spiral dots for new iems. They feel fine though I was wondering how you like them to fit in your ear--a deeper fit or more "average"/external? I'm getting a good seal and sound but am not quite sure how to best seat them in my ear (lucky for me a small eartip accidentally got packaged in with the mediums so I can compare!).

 

[DJ The Rocket]

Has anyone done an SPL-matched comparison with the Spiral Dots? Subjectively they do make every IEM I've tried sound much better, but I can't tell if the improvement is simply a slight volume increase. And if it is "just" that, does it matter?

 

[tunes]

How do the RHA double silicone tips compare to the Spiral dots and will they fit the Empire ears Zeus XR Adel IEM? Do the spiral dots all fit the Zeus?? Please

Are the sizes of these similar to the other ear tips? They are also very inexpensive!

 

[willowbrook]

Spinfit sizes
L: 13mm
M: 12mm
S: 11mm
XS: 10mm
 
JVC Spiral Dot sizes
L:14mm
ML:13mm
M:12mm
MS:11mm
S:10mm
 
Just in case anyone was curious

 

[willowbrook]

Selling a brand new (worn once) pair of medium spiral dot tips because it's too big for me if anyone's interested. Same size as medium spinfits.

 

[vic2vic]

  Selling a brand new (worn once) pair of medium spiral dot tips because it's too big for me if anyone's interested. Same size as medium spinfits.

Interested (PM sent)

 

[pieman3141]

It's interesting - I just got my pair of Spiral Dots (M), and if the sizes that willowbrook lists are right, then they should be identical to the Spinfits (M) that I have. They're not - they seem a bit wider and push outward a bit more (and seal a bit better). It could be due to the shallower angle, or something. The sound is also a bit less mushy on the Dots.

 

[willowbrook]

It's interesting - I just got my pair of Spiral Dots (M), and if the sizes that willowbrook lists are right, then they should be identical to the Spinfits (M) that I have. They're not - they seem a bit wider and push outward a bit more (and seal a bit better). It could be due to the shallower angle, or something. The sound is also a bit less mushy on the Dots.

Spiral dot tips are just a tad bit smaller than spinfit tips size. The difference is not like another size difference, but it's there. The numbers above are just measurements provided by the manufacturers of the flange diameter so it's not wrong. The tips are just different. I could fit the medium sized spiral dot tip, but they were hurting and the medium small fits me pretty well. For the spinfit tips, I had a hard time fitting the medium and small is just slightly slightly large. If you can fit the medium spinfit tips, you can definitely fit the medium spiral dot tips without problem. They are different tips after all with different thickness and different bore size, so even if the diameter is exactly the same, it's impossible to get the same fit. Generally, the flange diameter is a good measurement to tell which size you need, but you can't really guarantee the same fit. I wish to tell you how the small spiral dot tips fit in my ear, but I can't find a pair locally to try out, but I'm guessing it will be too small for me. The xsml spinfit tips were definitely too small for me.
 
The information about size is stated by OP on his original post.

 

[Traveller]

@both: The SpinFits have a unique design in that they "flex" to fit deeper in the canal. What makes the Spiral Dots different from your average IEM-supplied silicon tip?

Spiral dot tips are just a tad bit smaller than spinfit tips size. The difference is not like another size difference, but it's there. The numbers above are just measurements provided by the manufacturers of the flange diameter so it's not wrong. The tips are just different. I could fit the medium sized spiral dot tip, but they were hurting and the medium small fits me pretty well. For the spinfit tips, I had a hard time fitting the medium and small is just slightly slightly large. If you can fit the medium spinfit tips, you can definitely fit the medium spiral dot tips without problem. They are different tips after all with different thickness and different bore size, so even if the diameter is exactly the same, it's impossible to get the same fit...

 
So now that I've finally got myself some Spiral Dots I have no idea what all the fuss is all about. 30$ for relatively standard silicon tips...

hmm.
And what's with the dots... ? They cant possibly contribute acoustically as they are hidden by the IEM's bore (at least in the case of the Angies). At best, they make for a better grip (or perhaps just the opposite, make it easier to remove)... .
 
------
 
While seal and comfort are key factors, the sonic characteristics of a given tip combined with a specific IEM will also play an important role. Here's my simple comparison. Treble is highly affected by how deep / shallow the bore of the IEM sits underneath the tip. I think material / material's thickness also plays a role.
 

 

 

[willowbrook]

   
So now that I've finally got myself some Spiral Dots I have no idea what all the fuss is all about. 30$ for relatively standard silicon tips...

hmm.
And what's with the dots... ? They cant possibly contribute acoustically as they are hidden by the IEM's bore (at least in the case of the Angies). At best, they make for a better grip (or perhaps just the opposite, make it easier to remove)... .
 
------
 
While seal and comfort are key factors, the sonic characteristics of a given tip combined with a specific IEM will also play an important role. Here's my simple comparison. Treble is highly affected by how deep / shallow the bore of the IEM sits underneath the tip. I think material / material's thickness also plays a role.
 

 

In addition to the depth of the bore, the size of the bore probably affects the sound a lot too. With the Andromeda, soundstage depth difference between spiral dot tips and spinfit tips is something that I found interesting. Had the same thing happen with the flc8s, spinfit tips tend to cause congestion.