Driver flex and porting

[gtfernandezm]

I just bought a pair of brainwavz m5 IEMs, and they are amazing. More crisp than the wonderful m1 pair that I lost and much kinder to my ears than the harsh m4 that I still have. 
 
I didn't know about driver flex till recently, I thought the click I was hearing when I put my headphones in was the silicone tips sealing. Now that I know, I am a bit paranoid. The m5 IEMs seem to suffer from driver flex more than my m1s did, and I am looking for some solutions.
 
The m5 have a vent on the back and a small hole right below the neck of the shaft that the silicone tips connect to. On both sides that hole seems to be filled with glue, is that a problem? Should I return these and ask for one without a filled up hole? Also, is there a good way to tell when you have good isolation? Maybe I am pushing these in too far . . . I am a pretty new IEM user and just don't really know. Head-fi always seems like lots of help, so I thought there was no better place to ask.

 

[Techno Kid]

The driver flex shouldn't be a problem and as for know if you have a good seal it comes down to the bass.  If you have a good amount of bass impact and can hear the deep bass then you should have a good seal.  If you don't the bass will sound really light and the highs might also sound brighter than they normally would as well as vocals plus they would have a very thin sound to them.

 

[gtfernandezm]

Driver flex shouldn't be a problem? I am a bit confused about driver flex, does it damage the driver, or is it just a very specific thing that doesn't effect anything else?

 

[Techno Kid]

I've never really heard of it damaging the drivers but I guess over a long period of time maybe there could be problems but I doubt it.  There's a lot of IEM's with driver flex and I've never heard of any being damaged because of it, the ones I've had that had driver flex all work fine.

 

[H20Fidelity]

My Turbines right side has driver flex.

What I've heard happen over time is the flex gradually get's worse (looser) and occurs easier on insertion. If a driver flexes too much the sound goes quieter because the diaphragm isn't seated properly. What you end up with is an earpiece that cut's out partially on insertion requiring readjustment. And in extreme cases like my Turbines once you go past a certain volume the driver pops out again requiring you to readjust. It needs to be fairly loud though and only when amp driven.

I can't sell my Turbines because of this reason, so they lay dormant for most parts, because only I know how to correct their temperamental problem.

I don't think flex is a major concern, an IEM should last many months before it starts playing up like my pair.

 

[gtfernandezm]

Thank you for your help guys! As the M5 pair burns in a little bit I am getting better bass response with the comply tips than I did at first, and there is no driver flex with the complys.  I am really loving these guys, although they aren't quite as warm as the M1 and I think I prefer that warmth, but they blow the Brainwavz m4 out of the water.

 

[FSNDET]

Quote:

Thank you for your help guys! As the M5 pair burns in a little bit I am getting better bass response with the comply tips than I did at first, and there is no driver flex with the complys.  I am really loving these guys, although they aren't quite as warm as the M1 and I think I prefer that warmth, but they blow the Brainwavz m4 out of the water.

 
I guess it's a matter of preference but not to me they don't.. I prefer the M4 sound to my M5 especially for classic rock. The guitars with classic rock sound much crisper to me on the M4's than what they do on the M5's. To me the M4 as better clarity and vocals sound better on the M4's also. When I switch from the M4 to the M5 it sounds like there's a veil over everything muffling the entire sound compared to the M4. Again this is just my own personal preference but I prefer both the M1 and M4 over the M5.