[LaBreaHead]

"I got three sizes of bi-flanges and only two sizes of foam. Did I miss a size of foam?

I find I can hardly fit the large bi-flanges in my ears, and the small ones nearly fall right out. So the medium is what I need seemingly. But with the foam, I find the large ones seal better."

________________________


The confusion is that there are three sizes of Shure black foamies, and two sizes only of the Future Sonics foamies.

I too like the seal and sound using the large Future Sonics foams (I just ordered replacements ... I'd rather go with what I know and like, rather than learn the hard way about the Shures with the M5's ... the post above mentions the Shures' compression vs. the FS foams' compression -- that will be good to know the next time I need foamies).

 

[bindibadgi]

OK thanks guys. I think I'll pull the trigger on the medium Shure olives in that case. I will probably be using them back-to-front anyway and somebody mentioned this makes them fill the ear a bit more, so I guess it should work.

 

[tstarn06]

Just to clarify, the soft custom sleeves I have were for the EM3, so the newer ones may work better. FS offered to try and "fix" the sleeves if I sent them in, but that was just to make them sit firmer on the M5s stems, which isn't the problem.

I was just disappointed that I spent so much and they were not viable with the M5s because they detract from the M5s sound IMO. On the other hand, I really love the M5s with foamies. I only wish FS made their barrel-shaped foamies in black, cause the tan ones really do get disgusting fast. I tried using the Ety black foamies with the M5s, but they are a tad too large. The solution? Make the foamies the color of earwax. Disgusting? Of course, but sensible, yes. Maybe dark brown is right. Tan certainly isn't.


Quote:

Originally Posted by mark6.190059 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I share the same pain as you. I definitely prefer the sound/balance of the Atrios with their own large foam sleeves versus their silicone sleeves, the Shure foams and the Westone Complys, which aren't wide enough for me. I had just received word from Future Sonics that I would still be able to orient the wires over my ears when using the Softwear sleeves, but tstarn06 may have confirmed my fears that these might place the drivers further out of my head, sort of like the silicone sleeves do. For now, I guess that I'll be stuck buying the large foams in bulk. Hopefully some of the guys at FS will respond to our feedback and possibly improve the durability of their foams, or maybe improve the custom sleeves if needed. A cheaper price would be nice too .

 

[allioxyzzy]

They arrived! At first I was extremely underwhelmed, but finally realised I'd only inserted the plug halfway into my front headphone jack. THERE'S the bass, good lord. I've never heard bass go so deep without pulling the rest of the song down into the mud with it...

Already I can tell those olives are going to be necessary, the biflanges are just too big to be practical (and keep digging out earwax, gross) but the supplied foams are a bit fragile. In fact I destroyed one just putting it on

Damn do they sound great though.

Edit: I love the case

 

[tstarn06]

Congrats on the M5s. As I noted, to me they seem to get better with age too. I really love their sound sig, and have absolutely no regrets dumping my ER4P/S phones (no slackers) for them. And best of all, amping them really isn't necessary (unlike the PK1s, which are also great but require an amp). Get a pink noise file and let it run overnight a couple of times. Might help even more.

 

[LaBreaHead]

allioxyzzy -- bass without mud, details without fatigue ... pretty nice, right?
Glad you like yours.

I was using the M5s to listen to an iPod Nano (not known for their massive sound) last night, unamped as usual, and I found that there was a really big bass and bass drum presence, but not at the expense of detail.

I was playing on "random," and I noticed one bass-driven track in particular, "No Ordinary Love" by Sade, sounded really "big" without muddiness. I've heard "Star Star" by the Rolling Stones hundreds of times, but it wasn't until last night that I realized that there was saxophone in it, playing behind the chorus ... not prominent, but there.

I'm not sure I would recommend the M5s to people with really tiny ears, and I wish Future Sonics would use M5s/M8s with foamies in their promotional art -- with the flanges, they look strikingly different, but I fear that might turn off some potential buyers. All in all, I'm very happy with them after my first week or so with them.

 

[Caribou679]

Hi!
I just want to let you know I have found the following and ordered a set of these today. Will need about a week for shipping to arrive and figure why not let YOU also have fun in deciding if these will be adequate in sealing qualities!

Assuming the M5/M8 fit the Shure E2C, E3C, E4C and the E5C earphones, and assuming the "olives" foam looks like an item for many users, but the size might be questionnable, as large or medium, the following might be of interest:

"6 pairs of custom made sleeves for your Shure earphones. You will get 3 pairs of my red white and blue sleeves, for medium to large size ears and 3 pairs of my smaller, softer sleeves for small to medium size ears. The smaller sleeves come in different colors and you will be getting a mix of these colors. Both of these sleeves are awesome and fit very well and are excellent at providing a tight seal so you can get the most out of your Shure earphones."


For the price this looks promising.$8 to $10.

The full adress at ebay is:
http://cgi.ebay.ca/The-Best-Foam-Sle...QQcmdZViewItem

The seller has 3 items, small size , large size and a combo of both.

regards,

 

[tstarn06]

Let us know how they work out. I already have Complys, Shure Olives and FS original foamies on hand, not sure I need any more tips. But of course, for $10, if these work, I'll give them a try.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caribou679 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi! I just want to let you know I have found the following and ordered a set of these today. Will need about a week for shipping to arrive and figure why not let YOU also have fun in deciding if these will be adequate in sealing qualities! Assuming the M5/M8 fit the Shure E2C, E3C, E4C and the E5C earphones, and assuming the "olives" foam looks like an item for many users, but the size might be questionnable, as large or medium, the following might be of interest: "6 pairs of custom made sleeves for your Shure earphones. You will get 3 pairs of my red white and blue sleeves, for medium to large size ears and 3 pairs of my smaller, softer sleeves for small to medium size ears. The smaller sleeves come in different colors and you will be getting a mix of these colors. Both of these sleeves are awesome and fit very well and are excellent at providing a tight seal so you can get the most out of your Shure earphones." For the price this looks promising.$8 to $10. The full adress at ebay is: http://cgi.ebay.ca/The-Best-Foam-Sle...QQcmdZViewItem The seller has 3 items, small size , large size and a combo of both. regards,

 

[Caribou679]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstarn06 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Let us know how they work out. I already have Complys, Shure Olives and FS original foamies on hand, not sure I need any more tips. But of course, for $10, if these work, I'll give them a try.

I might have missed a few posts in this thread but can you tell me what "Complys" are ?

thanks

By the way, in between those you have, which do you use more?

regards,

 

[meusickfrek]

Hello all, first post and thanks for all of the great info. Started off wanting some cx300, paid 140 (w/shipping

) for some atrios on monday, my poor wallet. I have spent many hours of reading on htis site and though many talk of good iem's or dap's, very rarely do you hear about combos (i know you do hear about some). So now that I'm in the market for a dap (200 max) what should I get for the m5s? I would like a flash player and I have narrowed it down to yp-t9, meizu, or a cowon. Don't know which cowon or meizu but I listen to lots (almost all) live and audience recorded music and just want good full sounding, not bright, music (sorry still learning the audiophile lingo), I feel the m5's will fit this need. I was thinking of getting a 4 gb meizu to have something to compare my tastes to. If I don't like it I can sell it or give it to my girlfriend. OH. and because the recording quality of bootleg shows are so hit and miss, I need something with a good EQ. I would also like a dap that does not need an amp. Thanks in advance, I love this site.

PS Do these really take 6 days to deliver from the shipping date?, I can't wait!

 

[tstarn06]

Comply is a brand of foamie, and they come in narrow, short and regular (I use the latter). They are good quality, and offer a tight fit on Etys, UMs and M5s. Here's a site that sells them http://earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/cofotipeco1p.html

I am using the FS large right now, and like the seal, but they look disgusting. I think the Shure Olives sound good too. As do the Complys, which are a bit stiffer than the other two brands.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Caribou679 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I might have missed a few posts in this thread but can you tell me what "Complys" are ? thanks By the way, in between those you have, which do you use more? regards,

 

[LaBreaHead]

meusickfrek -- welcome to Head-Fi. You're off to a better start than I was (see my post count and the earphones/headphones listed below). You got right in the game! Way to go!

By avoiding tentative upgrades, sidegrades, and backtracking, you saved a lot more money than you might think. Glad you went with the M5's. In some ways, they're going to spoil you when it comes to other brands. Hope you enjoy them.


__________________________
Phones (in order of purchase):
Sony MDR71, Sony MDR51, Etymotic ER6, Panasonic RP-HJ50, Shure E3C, Koss PortaPro 2, Creative EP630, Etymotic ER6i, Sennheiser PX-100, Sennheiser HD555, Future Sonics Atrio M5

Sources (in order of purchase):
2nd Generation 10GB iPod for Windows (retired)
Creative Muvo 256MB
Creative Muvo 1GB (out on loan)
Rio Carbon 5GB
Cowon iAudio 5 1GB (out on loan)
Rio Karma 20GB (low-mileage collector’s item)
Creative Zen Nano 1GB
Samsung YP-U2 512MB
4th Generation 40GB iPod (monochrome; used as home jukebox)
2nd Generation iPod Nano 4GB
Creative Zen Stone 1GB
iRiver T60 2GB

 

[allioxyzzy]

I remembered I had a pack of silicon Shure E1/E3/E5 flex sleeves I accidentally bought from idealsound when trying to get replacements for my EP-630s... I was going to sell them off but fortunately I never got around to it because they fit like a charm on the M5. As you'd expect the seal isn't quite as good as foams but it's still damn good, and I find them a lot easier to insert/remove. So they'll tide me over until the olives arrive and make a good set up of backups

Quote:

Originally Posted by meusickfrek /img/forum/go_quote.gif PS Do these really take 6 days to deliver from the shipping date?, I can't wait!

I think they took about five days to get to my doorstep in New Zealand so 6 days is probably a pretty conservative estimate.

 

[ftt]

Can someone please post a link to the Shure Olives? Thanks! I'm just about to order a set of M5's to replace my 1st gen Vibes. Oh, and my iAudio 7 should be here Monday

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ftt /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can someone please post a link to the Shure Olives? Thanks! I'm just about to order a set of M5's to replace my 1st gen Vibes. Oh, and my iAudio 7 should be here Monday

http://stores.ebay.com/iDealSound

You might want to try the large FS foamies first, before you spend any money. You might like them, and can get them direct from Futuresonics. I think they sound as good as the Shures, and I like the fit too. Just an idea.