Custom Mold Materials Benefits/Drawbacks

[Culverin]

This is a little odd, but i haven't been able to root out any info on which material for custom molds are good/bad.

just going through the westone site, i've see acrylic, vinyl, silicone, otoblast, medical grade silicone, aquanot.

so what it seems is that they list, tear strength, and firmness as some differing qualities of these materials. so i assume softer = more comfy? can anybody shine some light on this subject for me? thanks

 

[Culverin]

bump?

 

[silverrain]

I've used this stuff for many years, in many variations, and for many applications -- the material used in construction has not made any obvious difference to me, both in comfort and sound.
The MAIN thing is that the ear-mold fits properly -- then the comfort and sound follow naturally. If bad-fittng -- BOTH things go downhill fast.
If you have a choice -- get the softer mold material -- it will feel a smidge better, assuming proper fit.
But -- a bad-fiitng soft mold is not as good as a good-fittng mold of anything else.
And a flexible mold is less prone to breakage during handling (when dropped) -- in the ears, of course, strength is not really a concern.
Possible rough handling IS.

 

[episiarch]

I have ER-4 earmolds from Westone in both W1 silicone and Otoblast Water Clear. I've been meaning to write a comparative review with pictures, but in the meantime here's the summary: the W1 is sonically "not quite right" (pretty good though), while the sonically superior Otoblast mold is significantly more difficult to insert and remove.

The W1 is softer and more pliable, and the Otoblast significantly firmer. I believe this is the reason that the W1 earmold doesn't sound as good - there's a noticeable loss of bass support, which I think is caused by absorbtion of the sound waves into the W1 material itself. The Otoblast mold changes the sound much less if at all, and I find it musically far preferable. See the Westone Tech Tip comparing W1 and OtoBlast for more discussion that seems to give weight to the "sound passes into the W1 walls" hypothesis.

I find both molds about equally comfortable to wear. Insertion and removal, however, is another matter. The Otoblast Water Clear mold is very "grippy" and I basically cannot insert it at all without applying a fresh coating of Oto-Ease as lubricant each time. The W1 earmold isn't slippery either, but it's not super-grippy and it is at least possible (though not always easy) to insert it without getting it all lubed up. I put this down partly to the characteristics of the material itself and partly to the difference in finish: my W1 earmold is a matte "satin" finish, while the Otoblast Water Clear earmold is a glossy finish which maximizes surface contact.

Though I prefer the Otoblast mold overall, neither one is completely optimal. So over this past weekend I've pretty much convinced myself to go ahead and order another set or two of earmolds - one in hard acrylic, and possibly one in Otoblast but with a satin finish, though I'll defer my final choice until I've consulted with my earmold specialist.