Foam Tips vs Bi/Tri Flange Tips

[yeahman67]

I need to replace my silicon tips for my denon ah-c551k's. I was wondering whether to switch to foam tips or flange tips. I hear the foam tips are more comfortable, but sacrifice detail and durability. I also hear the flange tips give a better sound, but are also uncomfortable? Give me your advice! Thanks for your help

 

[hatethatgiraffe]

foams need to be pinched placed in ear and then let em expand to shape of ear

i use foams on se530 and silicons on my triple fi's

 

[synaesthetic]

Not all foams need to be pinched. The Shure black foams ("olives") can be put in like silicone tips, but have the form-fitting abilities of any foam.

They are by far my favorite, a nice compromise between the durability, ease of cleaning and simple insertion of silicone tips and the comfort and isolation of foams.

 

[hatethatgiraffe]

I pinch mine
Get better seal

 

[nickdawg]

It depends on your ears and what's comfortable to you. Foam tips expand to fit your ears and sillicone tips come in multiple sizes(small, medium, large).

For foam tips, pinch them before inserting them into your ears. They expand in your ears to seal. They also lead to the "stuffed" feeling.

Sillicone tips: you need to pick the right size. They just slide into your ears. They create a "suction" feeling in your ears when you have a good seal.

As far as sound, foam tips usually provide a warmer sound whereas sillicone usually has a punchier sound and a deeper bass.
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Personally, I prefer sillicon over foam. For me, the sillicone tips are moer comfortable and I can wear them for hours.

 

[yeahman67]

For some reason, whenever I wear the c551k's the silicon tips seem to come out of my ear, and I have to push the tips back into my ear. Could it be the size of the tips or what? I think the heavy cord may be the reason

 

[hatethatgiraffe]

tips come in multitude of sizes so yeah^^

 

[nickdawg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yeahman67 /img/forum/go_quote.gif For some reason, whenever I wear the c551k's the silicon tips seem to come out of my ear, and I have to push the tips back into my ear. Could it be the size of the tips or what? I think the heavy cord may be the reason

Try the different sizes. The small size is really small. Medium or large may work better. The medium works best for me. Small is way too small and large works OK, but not as good as the medium.

 

[Arjisme]

My experience: foam tips are indeed very comfortable. However, tri-flange tips give better sound, although they can be uncomfortable over time. But, I have also found that you can trim the tri-flange tips so that they are comfortable. With mine, I snipped off a bit of the tube end so that the tri-flanges would be closer to the IEM body. That made it possible to insert them into my ears w/o having to go in quite so deep and still have the IEM body flush against my ear. I find they get uncomfortable when inserted too deep and this trimming fixed that. This is with Shure tri-flanges, btw.

Edit: regarding silicon tips: I used those with E2Cs for a long time and liked them. But, they did tend to slip out on occasions. They seemed to stay in place best if my ear was very clean and had little wax in the opening. But, if there was wax or sweat to "lube" the tips, they tended to pop back out after a while.

 

[Mr Pink57]

I have small sensitive ears and have found flanges work better for me mainly bi flanges (cut down tri's or actual bi's).

pink

 

[younglee200]

Are shure olives universal? Meaning would they fit into Denon, Senns, UE, etc?

Or do you need to mod them?

 

[AgainstTheGrain]

Quote:

Originally Posted by younglee200 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are shure olives universal? Meaning would they fit into Denon, Senns, UE, etc? Or do you need to mod them?

nope, they sure are not *pun intended* lol.

 

[nickdawg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjisme /img/forum/go_quote.gif But, they did tend to slip out on occasions. They seemed to stay in place best if my ear was very clean and had little wax in the opening. But, if there was wax or sweat to "lube" the tips, they tended to pop back out after a while.

I've had that too with the single-flanged silicone tips. If I'm wearing them while working and it's hot they feel a bit slippery. Not to the point they come out of my ears but the seal did get not as tight in one ear. But even when they slip they still isolate well(well enough to drown loud lawn equipment). Just the SQ isn't as great. It's only happened once or twice so it wasn't that big of a problem. Plus I have slimey earwax sometimes and they can be a bit gross when I pull them out.

 

[GN85]

Silicon tips give a good seal................. until you move. Then you have to push them back into your ears. At least that's my experience with them.

 

[eth2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GN85 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Silicon tips give a good seal................. until you move. Then you have to push them back into your ears. At least that's my experience with them.

After experimenting for awhile, I have found the biflange modification (from triflange) provides the best sound and good comfort. As an added bonus, you do not have to shell out $20 for 5 tips every few months.

Having said this, it is always an individual decision based on your ear shape and sound preferences.