[Emon]

[I came up with an even easier and much more reliable method, read that at the bottom]

As many of you know, there are a few ways to increase isolation with these tips, the most popular probably being the foam mod where you remove the foam part of a Shure tip and slide it over the rubber tip on the inside. I present a new, more elegant and permanant solution.

The basic idea is to fill the "hollow" back area of the Shure flex sleeves with silicone. For my first experiment I used some silicone adhesive sealant - a product you can find in any hardware store. As far as I know, it's basically uncured silicone, that is silicone with a solvent mixed in to make it goop-like. Using a fine cone tip you can easily fill the backside of your flex sleeves with silicone. Here's a diagram:

First thing I did was set up a little jig with a peice of flat wood and some wood screws for holding the flex sleeves in place. I apologize for the fuzzy pictures, these were quickies in macro mode on a camera I'm not familiar with and it's late so I didn't bother with a tripod.

The next thing I did was use some aluminum tape (quite stiff and strong) which you can find at any hardware store, to create a makeshift cone for my tube of sealant. If you get a new tube, it'll probably have a fine application tip on it, although probably not fine enough, so you can use this method to make it finer. A disposable syringe is really the best idea though.

Then all I did was slowly squeeze the tube while rotating the tip around the screw on my jig to keep it centered. I pushed and squished the flex tip a little to move the silicone around inside and make it more even. Then I troweled off the remaining silicone that overflowed with an exacto knife. In the end it looked something like this:

I just completed this a little over an hour ago, so I'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how they turned out.

[New and improved method here]

The problem with this method is that you'll get air gaps and it can be quite messy. Just as I was typing this, I thought how easy it would be if you had some liquid silicone on hand and just let it flow in using a syringe. Remeber I said that I thought the silicone sealant was (basically) just silicone with a solvent to make it in a goop form? You can probably mix some adhesive sealent with acetone, mineral spirits or a number of other household solvents to create a liquid silicone. I'll guess acetone would be the best and easiest. If you read the fine print on your silicone tube (mine's all gnarled up, I can't read it) or do some googling you can probably find exactly what solvent these sealents typically use. However, that shouldn't be necessary unless you're trying to disolve already cured silicone. For just the goop, you should be able to mix it with some acetone until you get a liquid, and inject it with a disposable syringe. After it cures it might take a few more applications, since you'll loose volume from the solvent evaporating.

The bottom line:
If you read all the above and had a hard time understanding me, believe me when I say it's easier than it sounds. I'm going to try the new method on my large tips tomorrow. If it works, it should be incredibly easy for even a newbie DIYer with little fabrication skills to cook up some solid Shure ultra-soft flex sleeves. All you would need is some silicone adhesive sealant, acetone (nail polish remover, but the straight, unaltered stuff from a hardware store is best), a few disposable syringes and a nail or screw or something else for holding the tips in place while working and while the silicone cures.

More on the results tomorrow...I'm expecting good things from this! If the new method works out, you could apply the same thing to bi and triflanges! Imagine that, solid silicone tips which are very squishy, durable and isolate as well as foamies!

 

[setmenu]

I would recommend caution when using silicon sealants such as this that could
come in contact with the delicate ear canal linings.
Some of these silicons emit acetic acid when curing and are not designed
for prolonged skin contact.
Ideally you should search out some medical grade of silicon rubber for
this sort of purpose.
At the very least give the rubber a good long time to cure and throughly
wash it down before inserting in the ear.

On a more practical note, it may be worth trying to obtain a small amount
of the correct silicon from a company that specializes in moulding and
special effects products as they often supply the correct rubbers for human contact.
the added advantage is that the rubber is available in a variety of hardnesses and will be
pourable and less likely to trap air.
[I work professionally with rtv silicon rubbers on a regular basis]


Good luck, with what seems to be a useful modification.


Setmenu

 

[myself, aka me]

I used this method with my EX70 tips and found the result much too hard to fit in my ears properly. I assume this is because the tips compress a little to form to your ears. I was disappointed anyway. Getting the silicon out is difficult also. I think filling to around half way may lead to better results.

 

[Emon]

Thanks for the advice, setmenu. I wasn't planning on using these until they were completely cured anyway. The silicone doesn't make skin contact anyway.

You know, aquarium grade silicone would probably be pretty safe - if I recall it's designed to be very inert and not leech anything into the water.

myself, yeah, that's why most people would probably have to go down one size with the Shure tips. I can't see how anyone could fit the large tips, let alone a solid large tip!