[carmatic]

so i've just ordered a new set of etymotic glider tips, i like them for how well they fit my ears and how much isolation they give
 
but lately the tips have been tearing up at the 'stalk' within days of me putting them on my ER4's ... some of them are already torn while they are still in the packet
 
i remember the quality of these tips when i first bought them back in 2008 and they would last months...  is something wrong with the latest batches?
 
if i have to move away from glider tips, what ER4-compatible tips would you suggest if i was looking for isolation?
 

 

[ClieOS]

I think the obvious recommendation is Shure olive.

 

[cardozo]

Comply Foam, for confort and isolation.
 
Perhaps the Shure´s olives provide a fuller sound that Comply, however, the latter are much more comfortable to me.
 
Cheers,
 
Peter

 

[tracyrick]

Yes, my last two batches have been tearing away from the stalk fairly quickly after starting a new pair. Ety sent me a free batch when I complained, but those are tearing too. Ety did NOT give me an explanation for the problem when I asked for root cause/failure analysis. I sent them a pair of my torn ones to examine, hoping it was just a poor quality lot. Twice now the tips have gotten stuck in my ear canals after pulling away from the stalks. I had to use a toothpick to pull one out the other day (was on an airplane with no tweezers). This is a bummer because the performance of these eartips is very good outside of this quality issue. Maybe I'll call Ety again and complain again and see what they say. I agree, this was NOT happening with the first batch or two I bought right after these came out. Maybe the adhesive was changed or the overall mfg. process somehow.

 

[pedxing]

I don't trust the ear glides either after sticking them on and seeing how they potentially flop/tear.

I noticed my pack of ear glides look like sorry mushrooms - deformed and ugly (ok the color is not that great to begin with). One of my coworkers has an old pack of gliders and they look more symmetrical than mine - the stalk is not crooked. I think Ety should seriously investigate this problem.

 

[BrianMB]

I agree with you guys, I've taken to using Ety gliders on my Klipsch Custom 3s, and the sound wasn't right from them today; I took a look and at the end they are splitting and separating from the core entirely. I have some Complys at home as well as olives, although I wasn't a fan of the olives on these. I'll try the Comply foams and see how they work! It's that or back to olives, unless I can find some triples...

 

[Bummrounde]

I thought it was just me.  I've always used over the ear cans in the past, Shure 880 or 7506's.  The Etymotic HF3 was the first in-ear I've tried in about a decade and I'm very pleased with the sound.  But three weeks in and the tips are failing badly; the gliders have split down the sides on the left ear and the other side is not far behind.  I really liked the foam tips but after the first week they stopped de-compressing.  I think my ear canals are much more narrow than most because they are all difficult to insert (the trip flange won't even go in).  How pliable are the Shure olives?
 

 

[bonhomie]

I'm so glad I found this thread. The same exact thing has been happening to me, and I think it's because the foam material just isn't as strong. Since Ety doesn't offer them,  what  non-foam material mushroom-shaped eartips could I use instead?

 

[yipcanjo]

I had a similar issue with the Ety gliders.  I simply contacted Etymotic and they sent me out a new pair.  They're still relatively fragile, though.