[Mr Iriver]

Are the triflanges, as isolating, comfortable, and easy to wear as are the foam sleeves? Will movement ruin the seal with the flanges, as it occurs to me with the flex sleeves? Based on all this factors which is the better buy, the bag of 20 pairs of foams, or a pair of the durable triflanges?

Will this mod be better option?
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=66021
If this is better where can I get sony's sleeves.

Thanks in advance!

 

[uncle b]

Personally, and I stress that, Mr. Iriver, until I purchased the triple flanges from shure.com, I thought those e3c's were the biggest pieces of over-priced, over-hyped junk my credit card had ever met. Now, I love those things. The tri-flanges seal out SO much, and they become very comfortable over time. They do wear out though, and this is how you know: basically the tri-flanges will stay in your ear when you pull the 'phones out, a very disturbing thing to happen when you're say, in the gym, and you have this plug in your ear, and you have to leave and go down the street and buy a set of tweezers and pull it out of your ear. I also think the tri-flanges are a bit of a rip-off at 10.60/pair, like maybe they could have been included in the $179 tariff, but they do last a long time, and I've never really gotten into those foamies. iRiver players do rule, my iHP-120 has been an absolute joy to own over the past year.

 

[mbk]

I used the Ety tri-flanges with my E3c. They're cheaper, and I used one set for about 10 months. I never experienced them getting stuck in my ear, either.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Are the Ety trifalnges the better deal, or they don't last as long as the shure's, nor isolate as well? Or anybody think the bag of foams is a better deal?

 

[Pov]

Quote:

Originally Posted by uncle b Personally, and I stress that, Mr. Iriver, until I purchased the triple flanges from shure.com, I thought those e3c's were the biggest pieces of over-priced, over-hyped junk my credit card had ever met. Now, I love those things. The tri-flanges seal out SO much, and they become very comfortable over time. They do wear out though, and this is how you know: basically the tri-flanges will stay in your ear when you pull the 'phones out, a very disturbing thing to happen when you're say, in the gym, and you have this plug in your ear, and you have to leave and go down the street and buy a set of tweezers and pull it out of your ear. I also think the tri-flanges are a bit of a rip-off at 10.60/pair, like maybe they could have been included in the $179 tariff, but they do last a long time, and I've never really gotten into those foamies. iRiver players do rule, my iHP-120 has been an absolute joy to own over the past year.

Funny how subjective this all is. I think the tri-flanges provide the best isolation out of all the tips, but to me they have a signficant, adverse effect on the sound of the E3C's. To my ear they added an annoying nasal quality, which I took to be a result of the fact that the tips of the flanges stick out a bit from the tips of the earpieces themselves.

 

[raisin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Iriver Are the Ety trifalnges the better deal, or they don't last as long as the shure's, nor isolate as well? Or anybody think the bag of foams is a better deal?

It's real easy to go thru a pair of foamies every week or two, so that bag might only last a few months. As long as you don"t start cutting up your tri-flanges (in an attempt to tune the fit or the sound), you might get close to a year on a pair.
However, I think most people here are more interested in the most pleasant sounding tips rather than the cost.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Thanks for all the help.

I tried cleaning my foam sleeves and now they look like new, and seal like new too. Does anybody know if by cleaning the foam sleeves monthly, will they loose sound quality, and isolation after a few months? Also how does the sound from the flanges compare with the foam, and soft flex sleeves (Both foam and soft flex sound great except that the soft flexes isolation is poor)?

 

[raisin]

My experience was that the foamies oxidized and became less flexible in less than two weeks. Since maximum expansion was necessary to get a good seal in my ear canals, I ended up changing my tips frequently.

 

[BRBJackson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pov I think the tri-flanges provide the best isolation out of all the tips, but to me they have a signficant, adverse effect on the sound of the E3C's. To my ear they added an annoying nasal quality, which I took to be a result of the fact that the tips of the flanges stick out a bit from the tips of the earpieces themselves.

You might try MODDING your triple flanges. Worked for me.

 

[hackeron]

Once I shortened the step on my triflange, they no longer hold seal when I eat. I also tried to snip the top flange off which improved comfort quite a bit, but they still dont hold the isolation as well as before but again, only if chewing.

I ordered the etymotic black foam tips which are absolutely *AMAZING* -- best isolation I ever experienced, EVER! and best comfort as well! -- but then again they do wear out, so may not be what you're looking for.

I also ordered a pair of etymotic triflange and the stem is extremely short compared to the shures which means they dont hold the isolation if I eat on the E5

-- I think that isnt the case with the E3 because they dont block the bottom flange as the E5, but still.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hackeron Once I shortened the step on my triflange, they no longer hold seal when I eat. I also tried to snip the top flange off which improved comfort quite a bit, but they still dont hold the isolation as well as before but again, only if chewing. I ordered the etymotic black foam tips which are absolutely *AMAZING* -- best isolation I ever experienced, EVER! and best comfort as well! -- but then again they do wear out, so may not be what you're looking for. I also ordered a pair of etymotic triflange and the stem is extremely short compared to the shures which means they dont hold the isolation if I eat on the E5 -- I think that isnt the case with the E3 because they dont block the bottom flange as the E5, but still.

Now I am interested in etymotic's black foams. Do they sound good with the E3's? Do they last as long as shure's yellow foams? Are these the best sounding?

 

[hackeron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Iriver Now I am interested in etymotic's black foams. Do they sound good with the E3's? Do they last as long as shure's yellow foams? Are these the best sounding?

The etymotic tips return to their natural size and shape pretty darn well compared to the shures tips so they seem more durable to me. Concidering their far bigger size though, I would imagine they would be harder to clean? -- cant talk about long term durability, only used them for around 8 hours so far and they are as good as new

Also, no idea how well they'll work with the E3c concidering I could use the small clear flex tips with the E3c but they dont fit me on the E5 -- On the E5 for me, the etymotic foamies definitely provide the best fit, isolation and the sound is compareable to the shure foamies -- so pretty darn good. Cant imagine why they wouldnt sound good with the E3, but they may be a little too big in length -- but then again you can just snip them.

Also, if the large grey tips fit you, you would probably want the even bigger etymotic yellow foam tips -- they even fit me, but since they are bigger, the foam pushes against the inside of my ear which isnt too comfortable. Lastly, make sure you get ER4-14* not the ER6-14* tips -- It says they arent interchangeable.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Alright thanks!
So if I use the small soft flex, will the ety small foams be the same fit size?

 

[hackeron]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Iriver Alright thanks! So if I use the small soft flex, will the ety small foams be the same fit size?

Not sure, I found tjhe beige foams very, very small -- I think they are smaller than the small soft flex tips.

The black foam ones are a good medium size and since its foam, you can compress them. Try both if unsure.