[hazmat]

I have been using the black Etymotic foam tips for a while now and find they seem to seal better and have a more even fit, since they expand to fit the ear canals. But the thing is that I find that the rubber tips just seem to sounds more open and detailed. I have been thinking a lot about this and noticed that besides the entire earphone sitting farther out of ear with the foam as opposed to the rubber, the end of the foam tips come out a lot father past the end of the earphone than the rubber. That would of course explain the earphones sitting farther out of my ears. I wonder if this is why the rubber tips make the music sound more detailed or whatever, the simple fact that they are closer to my eardrums.

So, has anyone here actually trimmed the foam and plastic inner tube to shorten them?

Thanks.


-Ken

 

[Dunbar]

I think the foam tips actually wear out quickly, I don't get more than a week out of them before the fullness in the music is gone. As soon as I put new foamies on, and the seal returns, the richness is back.

 

[Chris T]

Quote:

Originally posted by Dunbar I think the foam tips actually wear out quickly, I don't get more than a week out of them before the fullness in the music is gone. As soon as I put new foamies on, and the seal returns, the richness is back.

That sounds like it gets expensive, as well as inconvenient having to keep ordering new foamies (from a UK perspective)

 

[cscott23]

I've observed the opposite. Foamies have a bigger, more open sound because the canal is now a larger cavity. (I have to push the silicon tip *way* far into my ear to get a good seal.)

If you trim the plasitic tube and the surrounding foam, then the sound should remain largely unchanged with respect to before the trimming.

 

[RobertR]

the foam tips for me reveal alot more high end detail. with the rubber tips there is a muffling of high freq. like triangles etc. you have to increase the volume to hear them but not so with the foam.
the flange tips are easier to use but for the ultimate detail you need the foamies.

 

[cscott23]

Quote:

Originally posted by RobertR the foam tips for me reveal alot more high end detail. with the rubber tips there is a muffling of high freq. like triangles etc. you have to increase the volume to hear them but not so with the foam. the flange tips are easier to use but for the ultimate detail you need the foamies.

I agree. I believe that the silicon absorbs some of the higher frequencies before the sound wave can reach the tip of the silicon insert.

The foamy wave travels through the plastic tube straight into your ear. Hence, more detail.

 

[RobertR]

Quote:

Originally posted by cscott23 I agree. I believe that the silicon absorbs some of the higher frequencies before the sound wave can reach the tip of the silicon insert. The foamy wave travels through the plastic tube straight into your ear. Hence, more detail.

you can try an interesting experiment; take the plastic tube from a worn out foamie with foam removed and insert it into a rubber tip and then you have a flange with a clear audio path. I tried it and still did not get the amount of detail as with the foam tips. the flange tips must distort the ear canal whereas the foam expands and provides a more open path?