[Ref]

Etys STICKING OUT of your ears is a clear example of having a bad seal!

read this several times:

[size=small]How do you know if you have a good seal?[/size]
Look into the mirror, you should see only red and blue cable connectors and the cable, the black thing should be inserted in the ear and should NOT be seen in the mirror AT ALL.

[size=small]What are the effects of having a bad seal?[/size]
Etys sound harsh in treble (some people call this fake detail) and have less detail in comparison to proper seal. You get little bass.
There is less isolation. You may find them bright.

So, you should be looking like this :

and NOT like this:

[size=small]How can I get a good seal?[/size]
You need to insert them DEEPER, the best way for me is to open mouth, pull the earlobe down and insert Ety in 50° angle into the ear until i see only the red or blue thing.

Rule: even if you think you have a good seal, but suffer from treble harshness, little bass or too much treble, you are not having a right seal. Trying the other tips can help. If you are used to non-Etymotic IEMs, remember these should go DEEPER. If you have foamies you should not be able to touch them - they should be fully in your ear! Getting custom molds is THE BEST SOLUTION for comfort and quality.

[size=xx-large]WRONG!!!|RIGHT[/size]

 

[nightfire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ I'd say there is a bit of shrillness with the original tips, especially the triflanges -- that's why I made my own ones. But there's a trick: you could cut off the smallest flange, this will offer a fuller and less shrill characteristic, and the same applies to shortening of the foam tips to ~70%, which will be the even superior variant. So if you have a relatively short ear canal, all the more this mod will pay off. .

JaZZ, YOU ARE THE MAN!

I just tried your mod and this is the best my Etys have ever sounded!! Thank you so much!

Figures. Right after I ordered the custom sleeves (which still haven't arrived yet).

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thevelho You musn't be using them well, when I put them, I put the foamies (or the flanges) completely inside the ear canal (or less than 1mm can be touched by my fingers) so that they can't be seen.

Bingo

 

[drarthurwells]

I love the 4S with my BLAudio battey powered preamp.

Smooth and sweet.

ERs can get harsh due to their great treble detail, but can also do real well.

 

[smeggy]

Simple fix for the Triflanges, snick off the little flange at the end. Biflange works almost as well and are a lot more comfy to wear and get in your ears in the first place. I found the full Tripple a real pain, a double could well do the job for you.

 

[vorlon1]

There is a lot of good advice here. One thing I haven't noticed mentioned is that you have to compress the foamies before you insert them so they expand once they are in your ear, giving you a good seal. It doesn't sound like (from your description) that you have compressed them before inserting them. I have trouble with the flanges also, but the foamies work fine, but the best sound I get is when I use the short comply tips that are made for UM 2's and cut about 1/8 " off the ends. They are softer and smaller than the yellow Ety foamies and give a very comfortable and excellent seal. I'm confident that when you get them properly in your ear the treble harshness will go away.

 

[Samgotit]

With the tri-flanges I have a little trick to getting a good seal. I reach around my head with the opposite arm of the ear I am sealing. I then pull my ear UP and BACK while putting the etys in my ear. I insert them slightly downward. When I release my ear I always have a good seal. I feel as if my ear has wrapped around the tri-flanges by doing this.

BTW, mine got quite a bit better with time.

Sam

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JaZZ I'd say there is a bit of shrillness with the original tips, especially the triflanges -- that's why I made my own ones. But there's a trick: you could cut off the smallest flange, this will offer a fuller and less shrill characteristic, and the same applies to shortening of the foam tips to ~70%, which will be the even superior variant. So if you have a relatively short ear canal, all the more this mod will pay off. .

Have you tried using the jumbo foamies? They sound great but hurt like crazy (for me at least)? I really want to try your mod also on the regular foamies. So I guess that brings the filters closer to your ears right?

 

[Echopac]

My primary tip is to invest in some Otoferm Comfort Creme, available where hearing aids are sold.

Does this creme dissipate like hand lotion?

 

[Win0ver]

I was also disappointed on the day I received my ER4Ps because the triflanges were way too big...

I also found the bi-flanges on the ER6 much easier to wear
I have to cut the little tip off the tri-flanges to be able to insert them ; try it.

They soften up after some time ; took me about 2 weeks of using them every day until they were comfortable.

If they're still too big, email etymotic support and they'll send you free samples of smaller bi-flanges tips. (I found those to be way too small ; tri-flanges with the tip cut off worked best)

EDIT: If you think the ER4P are too bright, consider getting the P>S adapter. You'll lose some bass impact, but the highs will definitely sound less bright/fatiguing.

 

[damayor521]

Well I'm Asian also and I have small ear canals ... I can only insert up to the second part of the tri-flange, even when I coat them with Otoease. They also irritate my canals. I use the small foamies ... don't have to compress them, I can stick them in with ease and I get a good seal with them and they feel nice and smooth against the canal wall.

 

[Roasty]

thanks for all the great advice guys. i guess there are a lot of ety lovers out there who really know how to enjoy their toys.

i realized that i was in fact inserting them the wrong way. the coloured ends were not pointing downwards as illustrated in the photo posted on the thread. i suddenly remembered from my anatomy classes that the ear canal actually points slightly forwards and is slightly downward sloping from outside in. pretty much the reason why they advise you to pull up the ear pinna upwards and backwards when inserting the IEMs. then it hit me, no wonder you guys say the wire should be pointing downwards.. doh!

this morning before my morning walk to work i was determined to get a good seal. instead of using the otoferm creme, i moistened my ear canal with a wet towel (making sure i didnt leave too much water in there) and lo and behold, i managed to get a really good seal. and i really enjoyed my walk to work.

the isolation provided by these iems is truly amazing. i was not able to hear anything other than the music playing. it still seems slightly bright at times, but considering the amount of detail and mids i am getting, i guess, win some lose some.

from what win0ver said, i am pretty sure i will get a P-S converter, or get a friend to make one for me. i think i'm glad i didnt go with the superfi 5pro, even though i've never listened to a pair before, if its anything less detailed than the ER4, i probably wouldnt enjoy it as much. but thats just me talking here.

by the way, thanks Ref and milkpowder for the great pics. i think a lot of people will benefit from this.

 

[Riordan]

another thing of note:
the triflanges soften over time, and like the foamies, adapt to your ear - to a lesser degree, but they do. there's a good reason why left and right are clearly indicated by the red/blue colors (or were until recently). after some weeks of use, you can't just swap them without detrimental effect.

when i recently had to change the triflanges after some months of good use the new ones were rather inflexible initially and didn't adapt to my ear canal as well as the well-used ones did. for some days i had the same seal-problems i remember from first using them: the seal was there but not really. as soon as they softened up, adapted (and yellowed...), the perfect seal was back again.

so if there's one audio device where the beneficial effects of "break-in" can't be questioned, this is it. (the reverse is true for the foamies, though)

 

[rincewind]

I just received my Ety's yesterday and am already having trouble. I find that the problem isn't how deep the plugs go but their diameter - I suffer from some pain after listening for about 20-30 minutes, mostly around the outer edge of the ear. I believe the third (the largest) flange is putting too much pressure on my ear. I've just cut 3 little 'snicks' into the outer edge of the outer most flange so is compresses slightly easier. Hopefully it won't detriment the sound, but I have two more sets of stock flanges to fall back on and I've just emailed Ety for the sample plugs (hopefully they aren't the foam ones just in different sizes.. I don't really like them).

I'll let you know if this east mod works. Feels better so far.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roasty today i went to the post office to pick up my ER4P. i couldnt wait to get home and try these out. spent a few minutes admiring the box it came in, then opened up the box and spent another few minutes looking at the beautiful braided wires, read the instruction manual from cover to cover, then took a shower to make sure my ears were nice and clean. listened to some of my favourite tracks with my trusty old ER6, hoping that the ER4P would blow them out of the water. truthfully, i was a bit dissapointed.. the triflanges are really hard to get a good seal with. maybe its because i'm Asian and perhaps have a slightly shorter ear canal then the rest of you guys.. ?!? anyway, the only way i can get a good seal is by really stuffing the triflanges way in, and because of that, it feels like the tip of the triflange is resting on my tympanic membrane (eardrum). move it a little and the seal is lost. it was way easier getting a great seal with the ER6 bi-flanges. they are a lot softer than the ER4 triflanges and they're shorter and so when inserted properly, there is definitely more space between the tip and my eardrum as compared to the ER4. is there anyway to soften up the ER4 tips? ok, proceeded to play some music. first thing i noticed is there is a lot more mid range than the ER6. i now understand what people say when they mention that the ER6 sound lean and thin. the ER4P has much nicer midrange, much 'fuller' in sound, filling up what previously sounded like gaps in the midrange on the ER6. bass is still as tight but now sounds much more impactful. what sounded a bit like 'tom tom tom' on the ER6 now sounds like 'DOM DOM DOM' which i am enjoying a lot. there is definitely a lot more bass than some people say. so far, mid range + bass = good. but the highs are a whole different story. this is where the ER4 lets me down a bit. i couldnt enjoy songs as much as i could with the ER6. i thought the Er6 were bright, but compared to the ER4, man, those are waaaay brighTER. to the point there is sibilance. i mentioned on my mini hornet review, i had a problem with some tinnitus in my left ear due to the ER6's brightness, which the Hornet subsequently solved beautifully, no more harsh highs and i could listen to songs without fatigue and fear of getting the tinnitus buzzing on some tracks. now the ER4P sound really bright, and its pretty annoying.. my left ear tinnitus is back. switched to the ER6 and although the mids are clearly inferior, i find listening much more managable. i thought, well maybe it because of the triflanges sitting so near my eardrum. so i swapped over to the supplied foamies. it seemed to do the trick initially, not as much sibilance and harshness as before, but on some songs, it really sticks out like a sore thumb. speaking of sticking out like a sore thumb, thats exactly how they look when u wear them for those of you who are really conscious about how you look on the street, these are not for you. with the triflanges they arent too bad looking, but with the foamies.. get ready to draw some attention on the streets. do the ER4P improve/tame down over time? i'm really enjoying the mids and bass, the soundstage is definitely an improvement over the ER6, but the highs are absolutely killing me. i think the only way i can enjoy these is if i use the foamies.. did i make the wrong choice? should i have gone with the SuperFi 5pro/Westone UM2? i really wanted a pair of detailed IEMs..

If you can see the foamies, then you're not wearing them correctly.