does sweating with earphones in damage them?

[wildeone]

I asked this question on another topic, but thought I'd broaden it to *all* canal phones -- not just my Etys.

I was at the gym this morning and had a really good long sweaty session. (I have longish thick hair, too, which I'm sure doesn't help.) Anyways, I was using my ER-4P with the Shure yellow foamies. I put them on this afternoon and they sound a bit murky.
Can you actually wet the filters with your sweat? If so, do you have to replace them or will they dry on their own? Has this happened to anyone else? Has it ever happened with anybody's Shures (or do they not have filters?)?

Thank you in advance. I'm really confused....

 

[Zathras]

I can't remember where I saw it off hand, but I'm shure one of the two big brands had something on their site about that.

The comment was along the lines of, we recommend you don't get them wet but if you do they may stop working, this should be only temporary however once dry again they will be ok.

I'll see if I can find the actual text.

 

[pedxing]

Sweat can ruin the filters on the Ety's and in turn ruin its performance until the filters are replaced. With ety's, the normal rule is not to use them right after a shower until the ear canals are completely dry. The same might be applied to exercising for some people.

Another thing - do not put the Ety's on a dirty dusty surface. Just upsetting a little dust can also clog the filters. Ety's require special attention.

As for some of the Shure products, I think only the E2 has removable filters. I think the rest of their ear canalphone products use a special tool to remove the yucky stuff. Do people save money with the E5 and E3 because they have no filter or is there another equivalent part that requires replacement?

 

[Tim D]

I've wet filters before with water and had it dry without complications. However sweat is not just water.

 

[wildeone]

Okay, now I'm officially upset....

If anybody (Sugarfried? Yoo hoo?) knows if the Shures (E3, E5) can be swat (my word) upon without damage, I would greatly appreciate it. In the meanwhile, I guess I have to change my filters and use my B&O's at the gym. Expletive deletive!!! I truly need the isolation. My favourite machine is right above the basketball court and the songs played on the PA are hideous (when you can actually hear them).

Or if one of you that owns a pair of Shures and would like to go out and really sweat for me....

 

[Tim D]

Get a pair of phones that are cheap. There is no audiophile 100% sweat resisting phone. Even the Ety's would work if you really wanted to buy filters all the time. Same for shures (unless part of the cost of the E5 is from nanite technology that automatically cleans all the sweat and grime from all parts of the earphone for you).

But this is about working out at the gym, not audiophile listening.
Phones advertised as sweat resistant typically have no cushion/padding, and is just a pair of cheap plastic verticals with small holes for audio output (which still can be eventually ruined I'd imagine from sweat). The real problem is the phone will probably be grossly unhygienic over time, not that it will "break" actually.

Even your B&O's are not sweat resistant...I'd imagine them to eventually get pretty nasty.

I'd imagine the Bone-Phone to be sweat resistant...it works by bone-conduction...doubtful on isolation tho.

The key to work out phones is them being disposable. Drivers are meant to push air, not sweat.

Me I just use bad gym music as a distraction from the pain of working out or have it feed adrenaline rage.

The PX200's might be close...and affordable enough to not wince too bad at the need of replacement.

 

[wildeone]

Quote:

Originally posted by Tim D Get a pair of phones that are cheap.... But this is about working out at the gym, not audiophile listening.... Even your B&O's are not sweat resistant...I'd imagine them to eventually get pretty nasty.... Me I just use bad gym music as a distraction from the pain of working out or have it feed adrenaline rage.... The PX200's might be close...and affordable enough to not wince too bad at the need of replacement.

Tim,

Thank you.... Sigh. It may sound stupid, but I have a 40 minute music set that my body is trained to move to on the stair-stepper. I could be unconscious and still I would step.... My boyfriend made the mistake of leaving music on while we were going to sleep and one of my exercise songs came on. I immediately started bopping in bed. He wasn't amused. I told him I just couldn't help it. He grunted and turned the music off.

I know it's not audiophile listening, but I've truly grown to depend on the isolation. Do the PX200's offer a decent amount?

As for my dear B&O's, I change the pad on them frequently and have a headband just above them to try and catch most of the sweat. They're not *in* the ear so you can control the flow somewhat. I got them mostly for rock climbing, if I'm bouldering or training. I've worn them in 100 plus in the desert with no degredation of sound (but then again, these are not really audioplhile, simply enjoyable). I've learned to flip them against a rock and back again if I need to hear somebody and don't have any hands.

I'm pretty much amazed that no one's really mentioned this drawback to the canal phones as it seems many people do use them for gym use. Doesn't anybody else sweat???

 

[pedxing]

I don't think most people who browse this forum sweat much because they just sit in front of the computer all day waiting for the next new posting.

 

[wildeone]

Quote:

Originally posted by pedxing I don't think most people who browse this forum sweat much because they just sit in front of the computer all day waiting for the next new posting.

LOL!!!

 

[Music Fanatic]

Does one actually sweat in the ear canal? If not, it would seem one would be safe wearing the triflange, since they would isolate the unit from outer ear sweat.

 

[pspivak]

I work out with the Etymotic Er-6's daily for about 30 minutes or so. My head gets sweaty and have yet to have an issue with them. The biggest problem with the etymotics getting clogged is ear wax. I replace the filters approximately quarterly or when I notice that one channel is down in level compared to the other. I have not noticed any degradation in the sound as a result of using them at the gym.

-me