[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenback Wouldn't it be cheaper in the long run just to get custom molds instead of buying new foam pieces all the time?

Sure, I thought so until I heard a few horror stories about custom molds. I think I really should pursue that again. I think I'm going to be making some calls tomorrow.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raisin It's not a good idea to stock up on this item, as they begin to oxidize and stiffen the minute they are manufactured. The Ety foam formula drys out faster than the Shure foamies. Two or three months is the maximum time you would want to hold onto these, if you really cherish that new foam fit!

Excellent point! I had no idea. Do you know if I can use Shure yellow foamies on the ER4 by any chance?

Those have two advantages in that they are priced better in 20 packs and they have better retail availability. I've always wondered if I can run to B&H or J&R and pick up Ety foamies but their catalogs never list Ety foamies despite the fact that they sell Ety phones in their retail store. Their catalogs do however, list Shure yellow foamies.

 

[setmenu]

I purchased a pack of 50 pairs of the standard ETY foamies a while back.
A considerable saving over the 7pair packs.
Recently when inquiring about purchasing another bulk pack I was informed
that Etymotic no longer supplied them!

This was confirmed by Etymotic themselves.
But they also offered me 10x7pair packs at $7.50 per pack.
I still have quite a few left so have not followed this up as yet.
I would imagine that etymotic would offer such a pricing to anyone else who
required such a quantity.
On the subject of their cost,I would of course be happier to pay less for them
as with everything else.
But it would make paying roughly £2 a pair far less painful if the foamies were
assembled with more consistency of build quality!
It is kind of annoying having to spend time properly gluing the tubes to the
foam before using, or rummaging about in a bag in the hope of finding a
matched pair when in a hurry.
That said, if only all of life's worries were so trivial!


.

 

[JeffS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sxr71 Sure, I thought so until I heard a few horror stories about custom molds. I think I really should pursue that again. I think I'm going to be making some calls tomorrow.

I've got a friend with customs, and he loves them. I'm probably going to call
Sensaphonics in the next week or so, and set up an appointment. The only
odd part is, I'll be spending more on my ear tips than I did on my head phones.
Though when weighed against the cost of the consumables, I'm kind of kicking
myself now, for not getting this done when I first got them.

Oh well.

-Jeff

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffS I've got a friend with customs, and he loves them. I'm probably going to call Sensaphonics in the next week or so, and set up an appointment. The only odd part is, I'll be spending more on my ear tips than I did on my head phones. Though when weighed against the cost of the consumables, I'm kind of kicking myself now, for not getting this done when I first got them. Oh well. -Jeff

You mean the cost of customs exceeds the $220 street price of the ER-4s? I always thought custom ear tips were around $100 including impressions and professional fees.

If you are paying over $200 for those tips, I would seriously just get Sensa 2XS's.

 

[sxr71]

Quote:

Originally Posted by setmenu I purchased a pack of 50 pairs of the standard ETY foamies a while back. A considerable saving over the 7pair packs. Recently when inquiring about purchasing another bulk pack I was informed that Etymotic no longer supplied them! This was confirmed by Etymotic themselves. But they also offered me 10x7pair packs at $7.50 per pack. I still have quite a few left so have not followed this up as yet. I would imagine that etymotic would offer such a pricing to anyone else who required such a quantity. On the subject of their cost,I would of course be happier to pay less for them as with everything else. But it would make paying roughly £2 a pair far less painful if the foamies were assembled with more consistency of build quality! It is kind of annoying having to spend time properly gluing the tubes to the foam before using, or rummaging about in a bag in the hope of finding a matched pair when in a hurry. That said, if only all of life's worries were so trivial! .

Thanks for the information, that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

I find the inconsistency in build very annoying considering how much they cost. The bad specimens last one or two uses before becoming painful due to an exposed plastic tube and good specimens can go for a even three weeks if cared for.

I am considering going with custom ear tips more and more these days. If they cost $200+, I will just sell the Etys and go with Sensas.

 

[angler31337]

Okay, lets look at it this way: foamies are basically your run-o-the-mill foam ear plugs with a plastic tube rammed through them. I guess there's some glue involved, but from the stock of foamies I'm looking at, you wouldn't think it. Here's how the do-it-yerself approach breaks down:

+ Foam Ear Plugs. . . . . . . $9.99/50
+ Eartip Tubes. . . . . . . . $21.00/50
-----------------------------------
+ SUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . $30.99/50

Thus, if you feel like doing it yourself, you have a foamie-unit cost of about $0.62 and a set-unit cost of about $1.24 (excluding the implicit cost of labor).

As far as pre-mades go, iDealSound sells foamies for $12.00/14. That sets the foamie-unit cost at about $0.86, and the set-unit cost at about $1.72.

So looking at this with regard to budgetary efficiency, you should make your own foamies, provided that the time you spend in production is worth less to you than $0.24 per foamie; else, it makes more sense to just buy the darn things. Huh... that's really not at all what I had hoped to show.

Sounds like (unless fabrication proves to be trivial) the pre-made price isn't too bad. Dang.

-Angler

List of caveats: (ignore this unless you were planning on complaining)
1. For simplicity, I'm ignoring shipping costs.
2. The value of pre-made and fabricated foamies is held constant. This is a potentially weak assumption in either direction.
3. I'm assuming all foam is the same. In reality, I would guess that some foam probably out-lasts other foam.

 

[sxr71]

Well you could argue that those eartip tubes are priced way over cost and another source might have for cheaper. I think the 10 bags of 7 pairs for $7.50 a bag is the best price I have have heard of. You pay only $75 for 140 foamies. That actually beats my target of $70 for 100.

That was good info from setmenu.

 

[jSatch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sxr71 I did a search here and I found a couple of post alluding to a source where they are sold in bulk and through some internet research I found that Etymotic used to sell them in a pack of 100 for around $90 (not that much of a savings if you ask me). I also found a company that sells these: http://www.e-a-r.com/e-a-r.com/audit...um=420-2032001 However they come in OEM packs of 10,000 only. Their other sizes come in much smaller packs. I'm desperately looking for a source to get my foamie fix, the best so far is the usual idealsound/discountheadphones place (at $12 for 14). I mean, do these things really have to cost a dollar each? I hate running low and having to conserve the last few pairs and then getting around to ordering them. Actually I wouldn't mind paying a full dollar each if I could buy them retail in NYC and not have to plan these purchases. I wouldn't mind some kind of bulk discount maybe $70 for 100. Has anyone had any luck with maybe a local audiologist or any website selling these in 100 packs?

Please see thread-

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...hure+foam+tips

These folks have been pretty successful in generating tips from the same EAR company you mention in your link- except without the hole. Need to DIY.

Good luck!

 

[jSatch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jSatch Please see thread- http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...hure+foam+tips These folks have been pretty successful in generating tips from the same EAR company you mention in your link- except without the hole. Need to DIY. Good luck!

PS- You can purchase the foam blanks (ie, ear plugs) at the Ear Plug Store (a sponser of head-fi, see sponsers at top of page next to Head-fi logo) for $14 per 50 pairs, or 14 cents per foamie. For the Shures (and probably the ER6is) each foam earplug is cut in half bringing this to 7 cents per foamie. Ety ER4s would probably use most or all of the earplug. The foam of choice thus far appears to be the E-A-R Classic (yellow). These are available in different sizes.

Tubing at less than 1/2 an inch per foamie should also be dirt-cheap. One suggestion on this from the DIY thread (see last post, or above quote) said that it is available from pet stores as aquarium tubing. Another suggestion is a laboratory supply store.

The cost per foamie would be significantly less than purchasing pre-made. I would guesstimate less than 25 cents per foamie (not cut in half). Of course sound quality is essential, and some that experimented with size claim that they were able to get better sound quality than with their original eartips.

Obstacles include getting the hole down the middle of the plug. Suggestions for doing this, and gluing, are offered by a representative from Shure. How cool is that!

So, if you appreciate a little DIY project, and might want to make some extra ‘disposable’ tips so you can WOW your friends at how good your phones really sound (rather than them having to take your word for it, ho-hum, again), you might consider this little experiment. You'd also be supporting a sponser of Head-fi. Of course, if DIY is not your thing, $1 a pop per foamie is really not so bad.

My earplugs from the Ear Plug Store are on their way.