[Orpheus]

hi.

gonna buy my ety's today. i also wanted to get custom earmolds....

right now, it looks like i'm gonna buy from customearsets.com. looks like a good deal: $270 for the ety's, and $30 creating the earpieces from molds you make at home.

but i was wondering, anyone ever use their products?

are there even better molds than these?--do various companies' earpieces sound better than others?

thanks................

 

[uoods]

I would advise you to try the already very good eartips provided by Etymotic before you go out and spend extra on custom earmolds. Some people in the past have commented that their normal white flanged eartips provided a better seal and were sonically better than their only slightly more comfortable custom earmolds.

Try the foamies and the silicone flanged eartips first, you might surprise yourself in how comfortable they are.

 

[Orpheus]

yeah... i know what you mean.

i actually did try them at the CES show. and i'd have to say, they are not the most comfortable things to put in your ears. and when i really stuck them in for a good seal, it was hard to pull them out. i'm really worried about irritating my skin in my ear.

also, i might be able to get the ety's for $240 new. however, in order to get the earmolds for $30, you have to buy the ety's too from that company for $270, otherwise they are regularly $100! so... if i knew i wouldn't get the earmolds, i wouldn't buy from them.

...so, i'm pretty sure i want the earmolds done. i don't think i can stand using the normal ety plugs for a long time, though i admit they work quite well, and might actually perform better than the custom molds. you know, i can't even stand leaving the sony 888's i have in my ear for more than 1 hour. they start to irritate too much.

......hmm, so, buy from customearsets.com or elsewhere guys?

 

[clandestine]

Orpheus,
I'll second uoods' opinion that the foamies aren't all that bad. I suffered through the white silicone tips for the first three months of ownership without ever trying the foam tips. I didn't see how the foam tips could be anywhere as good sounding. After three months of irritating the hell out of my inner ears I broke down and tried them, and was pleasantly surprised. Barely different sound than from the silicone tips, and MUCH more comfortable.

As for the phones themselves, you can get any of the 4Ps off of ebay for $220 shipped, so you wouldn't be losing much by going this route. I find it hard to believe that there isn't someone out there that will make you a set of customs for less than $100.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Bob Pepin]

I have earmolds from Scientifiic (customearsets) and like them. I couldn't get a comfortable seal with either the foam or silicone tips. I had the impression made in Scientific's showroom. They seem to have a lot of experience (they make earmolds for newscast monitors, noise attenuation and hearing aids; lots of autographed pictures of newspeople and musicians on their walls) and because they sell Etys, are familiar with the phone/mold fit. They're also on Etys list of mold manufacturers.

After a break-in period (the vinyl material of the earmold softens some) and getting used to inserting and removing them, they become easy to use and the seal less tricky to accomplish than with either of the tips that come with Etys. Because much more surface contacts the ear canal, "hot spots" or pressure points are less likely and I think the isolation is probably greater than the Ety tips.

I assume you'd be getting Scientific's kit and making the impression at home. I'd recommend getting an audiologist to help. It's an added expense but making the impression involves inserting a dam to keep the impression-goo away from the ear drum and and you can't see what you're doing. Audiologists do this for patients routinely and know how far down the canal to insert the dam as well as being able to see what they're doing and how long to wait for the goo to cure.

For me the molds are much less obtrusive than the tips. They "disappear" in your ear and it's just you and the great Ety sound.

 

[hazmat]

As others have said, see first if you can get a good seal with the stock tips. Most people can. They are much more portable that way. But if you need the custom ones, Scientific Plastics (customearsets.com) are good guys. I bought my ER-4's from them in person since I live in NYC. They specialize in hearing aids and stuff.

 

[Orpheus]

well, i just got my finished earsets from www.customearsets.com

........and they provide even less isolation than the foam tips! the sound is also a little different... kinda hard to explain how though. just feels more distant i guess. the bass is worse than the foams too. they are a little more comfortable.... but....

i dunno. i'm quite dissappointed. could it be because i made bad impressions?

i think part of the reason why they don't sound as good is cause the pipe of the ety's points into the earset near the end. if you look closely, some of the opening is actually blocked off by the rubber of the earset. they don't really point straight into the ear canal.

...anyone else use the earsets?--anyone find their earsets offer less isolation than the stock rubber tips and foam tips?

basically, the only positives i see about the earsets are that they don't wiggle around when you move, causing noises in your ear, and that they are a little bit more comfortable than the foam tips. but they offer noticeably less isolation and less bass, and less detailed sound.