[stereoscopic]

Hi all,
 
I've been browsing this forum for a few months on and off, and thought it was about time I registered and said "Hi" and "Thank you" for the masses of excellent stuff that I've read over the past weeks.
 
I didn't really know what section to make my first post in, but as I have a question about custom tips I thought it best to start in here.
 
Thanks to this site, I now have the following kit :
 

1. Sansa Clip+ (Rockboxed, of course)
2. Etymotic HF-5
3. Fiio E11

 
This set-up gives me exactly what I am looking for in my music - clarity & clinical accuracy - but I have found that I can't wear the Ety's for more than 30 minutes without them becoming uncomfortable. I appear to have very small ear canals (ironically, I have inherited my late Grandfather's enormous pinnas to go with them!) and I've found that the small smoky triple flange tips give me the best fit, just not for long.
 
I think I am going to get a set of custom ACS tips made to go with the HF-5s, but if I later upgrade my IEMs to a set of ER-4s, will the custom tips fit ? The Etymotic tips appear to be inter-changeable between these two models, but are custom tips ?
 
 
Cheers in advance...
 
Daniel.
 
 

 

[davidcotton]

Best bet is to give acs an email and see what they say.
 
If your after an audiologist I can reccomend leightons in poole incidentally.  £30.00 (or at least it was) and not too long a waiting list. 
 
Cheers

 

[fatcat28037]

I have the comfort fit tips on my ER4P. They seal very well and I find them more comfortable than any other tip I've used with my IEMs. I usually wear them for no more than an hour at a time so I can't testify to comfort for longer periods.
 

 

[Trinity]

While I don't have any particular comfort issues with triple flanges, I do have a set of the custom tips on my Ety HF2s...have worn them comfortably on numerous 12+ hour international flights and only take them out when eating. (And yes, the custom tips will also fit the ER4-P.)
 
For added comfort when using any silicone IEM for long periods, I highly recommend an ear canal lubricant product called "Oto-ease" http://www.amazon.com/Oto-Ease-Hearing-Aid-Lubricant/dp/B000AMK300  

 

[stereoscopic]

 
Quote:

While I don't have any particular comfort issues with triple flanges, I do have a set of the custom tips on my Ety HF2s...have worn them comfortably on numerous 12+ hour international flights and only take them out when eating. (And yes, the custom tips will also fit the ER4-P.)
 
For added comfort when using any silicone IEM for long periods, I highly recommend an ear canal lubricant product called "Oto-ease" http://www.amazon.com/Oto-Ease-Hearing-Aid-Lubricant/dp/B000AMK300  

 
Thanks for the info chaps
 
Just wanted to check that I could re-use the tips if I ever feel the need to upgrade to the ER4.
 
 

 

[XDT]

Have you tried foam tips like Comply's? I have small ear canals as well. Basically all the Etymotic earphones use the smallest Comply foams, which seem to do the trick for me.

 

[AuralHygiene]

Do you feel like you are losing isolation using the custom tips compared to a deeply inserted triple flange or double flange? 
 
I just realized that with my current custom tips, that I use with my UE 700 it provides good comfort, but the isolation is definitely not as good. Using complys or a klipsch oval double flange, they both insert deeper and provide stronger isolation than my customs (at the cost of discomfort over longer periods of wear). I actually use the same klipsch tips for my HF3s and they provide amazing isolation (on par and more comfortable than the grey triple flange).
 
I was interested in potentially getting custom tips as well for the HF 3s but I think that my main concern is that I ONLY wear my HF3s when I need complete utter isolation from the world (like studying at coffee shops) and before I spend any money on this, I wanted to make sure that these were as good at isolating as the triple flange tips.