Custom IEM Fit Issues Thread.... Help! (with Pics)

[jay19]

Hey guys,
 
I've always been a universal IEM kinda guy but recently decided to venture into customs. Saw lots of hype in the InEar Customs thread and decided to pull the trigger on a reshell for my Triple Fi 10's. Wanted to do it right so got moulds done at the local audiologist and shipped everything off to Rob at In Ear Mid April. Fast forward to today (yes, it took about TEN weeks... alot longer than expected) I received my reshells back. Well... after a few hours listening I found myself having a few issues/questions I was hoping those with CIEM's could help me answer
 
First up, some pics:
 

 
 

 
 
1. How would you define a good "seal"? If someone were standing next to you and talking with your music at moderate low to moderate volume, could you still hear them? The reason i am asking is if i'm with the family in the living room listening to music i can still hear them talking in the background. For whatever reason, it seems as if my Shure SE535's isolate better (and tips fit deeper) than the customs. Also, how tight should the IEMs fit? I'm able to just pop them in easily. Is there supposed to be outward pressure so that it forms a good "seal"? THeres also a bit of wiggle room
 
2. How deep should the CIEM's go? The placement of the right cable doesnt seem close enough to the edge, causing me not to be able to place the CIEM as deep as I like. Most of my issues are regarding the left earpiece. The right side is decent but not great.
 

 
To show that, heres a pic of right side (fully inserted)
 

 
And left side:
 

 
Finally, heres a picture of the left earpiece next to the mould which was used to make it
 

 

 
That's all i can think of right now. But if anyone based on my pics/explanations can recommend whats wrong it would be greatly appreciated. If i decide to send for a refit, at this point i dont even know what to say to describe what needs to be changed. Also not even sure if i want to go thru another 10 week wait... Thanks in advance
 
EDIT: Sorry i'm not sure why its not letting me directly post the pics here

 

[jay19]

Anyone?

 

[dnullify]

Did you get your impressions done open mouthed with a bite block, slack jaw, or closed?

You should be getting an almost vacuum like seal with customs. How much they isolate may not be completely dependent on the fit I don't know to what thickness they cured the acrylic. They should definitely be isolating better than when your tf.10 were stock.

The depth of your CIEMs shouldn't be adjustable, if you get my meaning. They should "fit" and either you get a seal -with full contact of the custom mould, or you don't get a seal at all.

Do they feel too tight, or not tight at all?

 

[davidcotton]

Quote:

Hey guys,
 
I've always been a universal IEM kinda guy but recently decided to venture into customs. Saw lots of hype in the InEar Customs thread and decided to pull the trigger on a reshell for my Triple Fi 10's. Wanted to do it right so got moulds done at the local audiologist and shipped everything off to Rob at In Ear Mid April. Fast forward to today (yes, it took about TEN weeks... alot longer than expected) I received my reshells back. Well... after a few hours listening I found myself having a few issues/questions I was hoping those with CIEM's could help me answer
 
First up, some pics:
 

 
 

 
 
1. How would you define a good "seal"? If someone were standing next to you and talking with your music at moderate low to moderate volume, could you still hear them? The reason i am asking is if i'm with the family in the living room listening to music i can still hear them talking in the background. For whatever reason, it seems as if my Shure SE535's isolate better (and tips fit deeper) than the customs. Also, how tight should the IEMs fit? I'm able to just pop them in easily. Is there supposed to be outward pressure so that it forms a good "seal"? THeres also a bit of wiggle room
 
2. How deep should the CIEM's go? The placement of the right cable doesnt seem close enough to the edge, causing me not to be able to place the CIEM as deep as I like. Most of my issues are regarding the left earpiece. The right side is decent but not great.
 

 
To show that, heres a pic of right side (fully inserted)
 

 
And left side:
 

 
Finally, heres a picture of the left earpiece next to the mould which was used to make it
 

 

 
That's all i can think of right now. But if anyone based on my pics/explanations can recommend whats wrong it would be greatly appreciated. If i decide to send for a refit, at this point i dont even know what to say to describe what needs to be changed. Also not even sure if i want to go thru another 10 week wait... Thanks in advance
 
EDIT: Sorry i'm not sure why its not letting me directly post the pics here

Hi
 
As someone who's gone through hell trying to get customs (8 months with my current one, just to put the 10 weeks in perspective ) I sympathise, lets see...
 
First off go here :-
 
http://www.sensaphonics.com/?page_id=833
 
and download the files to test.  That should help eliminate whether you have a good seal or not.
 
How deep the ciems are will depend on how long the impressions were and how good the audiologist was.
 
Lastly are you sure your putting them in correctly?  Just to double check have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQ59keE-GxM  and should be able to see.  There are better ones on youtube but can't find them right now.  Take a look for how to wear custom iems or something like that.

That should get you started, but it would be best to fire an email off just to let them know that you might have problems and require a refit.
 
cheers
 
Edit to say just saw your left and I think (and am no expert) that it wasn't long enough to start with.  But take that with a pinch of salt.  You'll almost certainly have to get a left refit done but wait for someone else with more experience to chip in.
 
Cheers

 

[drssyoon]

I don' think you should be able to hear a person next to you at a moderate volume if the fit is good. You should have a bit of discomfort initially when inserted, but then that should go away after a while.
 
More importantly, the bass should be there. If you don't have good seal, you cannot have good bass. You used your stock IEMs before and should know what bass should sound like with good seal.

 

[jay19]

Hi guys, Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it. As for the initial impressions, I asked to do an open mouth impression but the audiologist insisted i do a closed-mouth stating that open mouth was only for those singing (I just use mine for listening), not sure if she is correct. As for the feel ofthe fit, they dont feel tight enough. Once inserted, there is a bit of wiggle room. I sense some sort of seal, but not one that's tight enough to block out much sound. David, thanks for the links, I will use them to test the seal when i get home from work tonight. And WOW that is a long time... i think i would go crazy lol. Have you finally got a pair that fits?

 

[jay19]

Also to note, the "fit" improves a bit after listening for long periods, perhaps the moisture/heat helps create a better seal? But i am still able to hear someone talking next to me. I am able to get some decent bass though....

 

[dnullify]

I can't really explain the poor isolation if you're getting a decent seal and hearing bass. It's a little weird.
 
Closed mouth is a tad bit more comfortable off the bat. I got mine done semi-open (2 notches on the bite block) and i get a bit more aggressive seal so when i'm breathing through my mouth i don't break seal.

 

[thegunner100]

As someone who just sent their UERMs off for a second refit, I know how you feel. When you have your ciems on and are listening to your music at moderate volumes, you should not be able to hear people talking next to you at all. I think I sort of understand that you can "adjust" the seal on them. I had an imperfect seal on my left ear and as a result, there was a channel imbalance and slight bass loss. I am able to move my left monitor a bit to get a better seal, but that didn't fix the channel imbalance for me. For reference, I got my impressions done with a bite block and my right side fit perfectly after the first refit. Though you may have to wait a while, I'd suggest getting a refit for long-term usage.
 
Try pushing them in and see if you get a better bass response from that.

 

[davidcotton]

Quote:

Hi guys, Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it. As for the initial impressions, I asked to do an open mouth impression but the audiologist insisted i do a closed-mouth stating that open mouth was only for those singing (I just use mine for listening), not sure if she is correct. As for the feel ofthe fit, they dont feel tight enough. Once inserted, there is a bit of wiggle room. I sense some sort of seal, but not one that's tight enough to block out much sound. David, thanks for the links, I will use them to test the seal when i get home from work tonight. And WOW that is a long time... i think i would go crazy lol. Have you finally got a pair that fits?

Hopefully tomorrow or friday (just in time for my fortnights holiday ) so fingers crossed.   The other thought occurs to me to try the nail varnish trick (read up on it with google search acryllic nail varnish, thickening) to see if it needs a simple thickening. The length might be ok, but just needs a little building up.  I needed this done on my right one so it went back.

 

[jay19]

So i did some more listening and what really stands out is that i am getting bass, but the midrange sounds veiled, or almost distant. I also tried the sensaphonics link as suggested above and i can hear the low rumble as well as the high pitch tone, although the high pitch tone is a bit louder. I am thinking that the reason for poor isolation is that the bores are thick enough as there is some wiggle room

 

[dnullify]

Well to be fair they're still going to be tf10s. V-shaped sound sig means less mids.

 

[Ivabign]

Quote:

Well to be fair they're still going to be tf10s. V-shaped sound sig means less mids.

If he is getting bass - he has a seal. There is so bass if the seal is poor. I wonder if the OP might have expectations of isolation that are not consistent with CIEMs - This is speculation, as it must be - but the sound he is describing is typical TF10 sound signature - good bass and veiled mids. 

 

[jay19]

Hmmm maybe i got too used to my 535's sound while waiting for the reshells haha. But there is definitely not enough isolation with the customs. I can easily hear conversations with them on, and they do not isolate much on the bus. From what i've heard customs should isolate more than universals

 

[joshaguirre]

Hi, I'm currently having similar problems with my JH 10x3 Pros. Got my impressions taken by a JH recommended audiologist in my area, sent them in and received the customs from JH. The left felt like it didn't sit as good as my right and didn't seal as good( loss of low end). Told JH and they said to send it back for a refit. I also made sure to send them a pic of the custom in my ear for help. Received it back a few days ago and the seal was even worse. Also felt like a pain in the ass to seat it in my ear because they shaved a portion of the canal off. Called JH and said I don't want to keep going back and forth of trying to figure out what the problem is and I offered just to send in a new impression. They told me policy is to try and do a 2nd refit first or I would have to pay because with a new impression they will have to make a new shell. At this point that needs to happen. Sent the IEM back off for a 2nd time and now I have to wait again