XBTed
100+ Head-Fier
Well, I finally got my new earmolds for the ER-4s.
The first pair I got were really hard, though the audiologist thought they were soft as far as hearing aid material goes; but I thought anything that clicks when you drop it on the table could be considered quite hard. As it turns out the lab where I had them prepared had taken the liberty to mold them out of a hard material to keep the tips of the ER-4s from breaking. Though I appreciated their engineering reasons behind using hard materials, and they were surprisingly comfortable, I had a couple problems with them. First, being hard, they didn't really seal very well. Secondly, the sound was very detached, I know there's a term for it, but I don't know it, when it sounds like sound is coming through a tunnel. And also, though comfortable, pusing them up into the ear canal to get a better seal was irritating becuase they were hard. It was kindof like pushing a pen up into your ear.
So I took them back, and the audiologist and mold lab were more than happy to fulfill my request for soft molds.
Well the difference is night and day. I can barely tell they're in my ears. The material they made them out of is squishy and softens with body heat a bit so the seal is good too. And when I get a good seal, the bass just booms, I didn't know it was possible with ER-4Ps to get that kind of bass, it's very rich and filling. (are those audiophile terms?) Some of the highs and mids sound a bit different though, and I assume it's from the angle the sound is exiting the drivers. The sound hits the upward angle of the molds going into the ear canal, so if has a slight attenuating effect. Tomorrow I'm visiting the audiologist again to see if maybe they can drill a little bit to make the output hold a bit bigger so more sound comes out. And I'm not quite sure if the seal is as good as I want, but I can eventually get the molds made bigger.
I'll post a link to where I have some pictures. I have the blue mold for the right ear and red for the left. I know it seems backwards, but I'm a Kansas alum, so now each ear has red and blue, Jayhawk colors, and I think it looks pretty nice.
So my initial conclusion of my second set of molds is that I'm pretty pleased with them. I'll post some more after I've had more time to listen, but so far I think they do the job.
Just in case anyone is wondering, I had them made through Mid-States Labs in Wichita, Kansas. The cost, through the audiologist (including having the casts of my ears made) is going to be $80. And they only took 3 days to get!
Ear Molds
The first pair I got were really hard, though the audiologist thought they were soft as far as hearing aid material goes; but I thought anything that clicks when you drop it on the table could be considered quite hard. As it turns out the lab where I had them prepared had taken the liberty to mold them out of a hard material to keep the tips of the ER-4s from breaking. Though I appreciated their engineering reasons behind using hard materials, and they were surprisingly comfortable, I had a couple problems with them. First, being hard, they didn't really seal very well. Secondly, the sound was very detached, I know there's a term for it, but I don't know it, when it sounds like sound is coming through a tunnel. And also, though comfortable, pusing them up into the ear canal to get a better seal was irritating becuase they were hard. It was kindof like pushing a pen up into your ear.
So I took them back, and the audiologist and mold lab were more than happy to fulfill my request for soft molds.
Well the difference is night and day. I can barely tell they're in my ears. The material they made them out of is squishy and softens with body heat a bit so the seal is good too. And when I get a good seal, the bass just booms, I didn't know it was possible with ER-4Ps to get that kind of bass, it's very rich and filling. (are those audiophile terms?) Some of the highs and mids sound a bit different though, and I assume it's from the angle the sound is exiting the drivers. The sound hits the upward angle of the molds going into the ear canal, so if has a slight attenuating effect. Tomorrow I'm visiting the audiologist again to see if maybe they can drill a little bit to make the output hold a bit bigger so more sound comes out. And I'm not quite sure if the seal is as good as I want, but I can eventually get the molds made bigger.
I'll post a link to where I have some pictures. I have the blue mold for the right ear and red for the left. I know it seems backwards, but I'm a Kansas alum, so now each ear has red and blue, Jayhawk colors, and I think it looks pretty nice.
So my initial conclusion of my second set of molds is that I'm pretty pleased with them. I'll post some more after I've had more time to listen, but so far I think they do the job.
Just in case anyone is wondering, I had them made through Mid-States Labs in Wichita, Kansas. The cost, through the audiologist (including having the casts of my ears made) is going to be $80. And they only took 3 days to get!
Ear Molds