[AWS]

Point taken on the integration, lindrone. Also your earlier point about the 2Xs having their elements much deeper within your ear than the custom molds do.

In my case, sonically I just don't seem to find much of a difference between the flanges and the custom molds -- maybe just a slight "roundening" of the sound with the molds, but certainly no treble spike in my case.

Out of curiosity, how much did the 2Xs end up costing you?

 

[KenW]

Very cool and I'm sure comfy. Yet, the isolation drop would not be worth it to me as I really don't find the ety feel to be the least bit uncomfortable. Actually, I prefer it to the feel of the SR-60's sitting on my ears. Strange, huh?

 

[AWS]

KenW, regarding isolation drop between tri-flange and custom molds, I think i need to clarify my earlier remark. When I said "a couple of dB", I meant literally one or two, i.e. hardly perceptible, and that's WITHOUT any music playing.

If you were using IEMs mainly to guard against external noise such as on a factory floor or a ship's engine room, you might notice a difference. But if you use IEMs to listen to music, the drop in isolation becomes moot as soon as any sort of music is playing.

In other words, I don't think you would be able to tell the difference in terms of isolation loss unless you're merely using the Etys as silent earplugs (which would make them the most expensive earplugs on Earth)

.

Regards

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AWS Out of curiosity, how much did the 2Xs end up costing you?

The 2X-S is $750 + whatver the audiologist fee is, usually ~$50, and you can probably use the same audiologist you used for your Ety custom molds anyway.


Quote:

KenW, regarding isolation drop between tri-flange and custom molds, I think i need to clarify my earlier remark. When I said "a couple of dB", I meant literally one or two, i.e. hardly perceptible, and that's WITHOUT any music playing. If you were using IEMs mainly to guard against external noise such as on a factory floor or a ship's engine room, you might notice a difference. But if you use IEMs to listen to music, the drop in isolation becomes moot as soon as any sort of music is playing.

Indeed, I think an even clearer explanation is that the custom molds, due to its material, will isolate a different range of sound as opposed to Ety w/ tri-flange or foams. There are certain sound that will get through more easily, certain sound that will not have as easy of a time as getting through.

I think the estimated average isolation for custom molds are the same or maybe higher than Ety's own average isolation rating. Although you can probably pick a specific sound frequency where either will have some absurdly high rating.

 

[AWS]

Very good point lindrone -- it was overly simplistic of me to speak of isolation generally as if it were the same across all frequencies.

For the rest of our friends, the most basic evidence of the custom molds' ability to shut out sound (generally speaking as well as the Ety flanges) is that although I listen at very moderate levels, my son still needs to step into my visual field and wave when he has something he wants to say to me. He tells me he can stand right behind me and yell and I can't hear a thing.

(BTW, does anyone have any anecdotes about training family NEVER to touch you to get your attention while you're listening with eyes shut?)

 

[cellophane]

( Quote:

BTW, does anyone have any anecdotes about training family NEVER to touch you to get your attention while you're listening with eyes shut?)

Well, I never had my family scare me but once I wore my Shures at the bus stop. I closed my eyes and missed 3 buses! When I felt the wind from the buses I would open my eyes and be like . . .whoa, never heard that. Then, I closed my eyes again, and when I opened them I saw a friend from school staring at me. I pulled the triflanges out of my ears and she was like, are you deaf?

I was listening at 8 out of 30 volume level btw.

 

[Bobby C]

I've owned Ety 4Ps for a couple of years now, while I enjoyed them, I could never get 100% comfortable with them. The problem is my ear canals are slightly different in size. With the white flange, I had comfort problems with my left ear. After 1/2 hour or so the canal would get sore, it felt abrasive. I switched to foamies, but never liked the seal.

So a few weeks ago I went to my audiologist and had impressions made for Sensaphonics. They came in yeseterday so my review/impression isn't tempered by time, but....

What comfort! It takes a bit to get used to inserting them, but that's the case with anything new. They feel super-comforatble, after a bit I don't notice them at all. A while ago I fell asleep with them in for an hour. I love the seal (very good - very tight). As for sound degregation, I didn't notice any, but my previous reference was with the foamies, which didn't provide nearly the seal.

So a big thumbs up in my book, a nice $100 upgrade

.

 

[duetta]

I found that custom earmolds, because of their shape, were very hard on the plastic stems of the Etymotics. My ER-4s had to be returned twice for repairs due to use with the custom earmolds. I also had problems with the interaction between the plastic stems, and the metal band inside the foamies.

The odd thing, and it makes sense, is that our ear canals stretch with prolonged use of these phones. When I first bought the Etymotics (in 1998), I couldn't abide the white silicon tips in my ears at all. The foamies were all that I could use, and then the custom ear molds. Now, six years later, my ears are quite comfortable with the white silicon tips. Once inserted and set, the sensation of them in the ear canals pretty much disappears. And they appear to put the least amount of stress on the canal units themselves.

 

[N@Z]

In theory this should also work for the Shures (say E5)?

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by N@Z In theory this should also work for the Shures (say E5)?

Almost everything that's been said applies towards Shure E5 as well. There are a few differences.. E5's custom mold actually wraps around the entire headphone. If you look at my E5 review from a while ago, there's a picture of it. I think there isn't as much stress on the stem as the way Ety's are made. This just has to do with the shape of the E5. I think custom mold for E3 aren't straight through either.

Of course, the satisfaction rate is about the same, there are people who aren't happy with the sound of their E5/E3's after getting the custom mold attachment.

 

[Oink1]

Sorry for digging up an old thread but i thought it better than starting a fresh one and having to listen to all the cries of 'use the search'

As the post title suggests i'm very interested in this but alas i live in the UK - Has anyone resident in the UK had these made and if so where/how did you go about the whole process?Reccomendations as to peolpe/places to use?

Thanks!

 

[JohnRich]

Oink,

Essentially you need to get ear impressions done locally - hearing aid suppliers or audiology departments in local hospitals are the sort of places to try for this. Once you've got silicone ear impressions, you will need to send them off to have the custom molds made.

I got mine from www.earplugstore.com a couple of months ago ( have a look at http://store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/cusfitearmol1.html ) ; they took about 4 weeks and I got helpful emails to say when the impressions had arrived, and when the sleeves were on their way back to me. You could also go to sensaphonics or one of the other suppliers listed on Etymotics website.

Cheers

 

[Oink1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnRich Oink, Essentially you need to get ear impressions done locally - hearing aid suppliers or audiology departments in local hospitals are the sort of places to try for this. Once you've got silicone ear impressions, you will need to send them off to have the custom molds made. I got mine from www.earplugstore.com a couple of months ago ( have a look at http://store.yahoo.com/earplugstore/cusfitearmol1.html ) ; they took about 4 weeks and I got helpful emails to say when the impressions had arrived, and when the sleeves were on their way back to me. You could also go to sensaphonics or one of the other suppliers listed on Etymotics website. Cheers

Thanks for your reply John - having lived with them for a while now are you pleased with your investment?

 

[Enricht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AWS Here are the custom earmolds with Etys, in-ear. As you'll see, the only downside actually is that they make your ears look hairy when they're really not .

'HAHAHHAHAa..... thanks : )

 

[JohnRich]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oink1 Thanks for your reply John - having lived with them for a while now are you pleased with your investment?

Well they are comfortable and remain that way for hours of use at a time; they also improve the bass and placement of instruments a little. The main advantage (to me) is that they require no fiddling with once you get them in compared to the tri-flanges, which eventually slip and need adjusting to restore the 'perfect' seal.

But all-of-the-above is less relevant than it could be to me, as I wanted them more or less as a trial run for the sensaphonics X2s, which have reduced my ety usage to virtually nil over the past couple of weeks, although I'm still A/Bing sometimes.