help with dust guards on Meze Ria Solo

[zero7404]

background:

had a set of these one month ago and was advised by Meze to use isopropyl alcohol on a swab to clean the wax guards and silicone ear tips. doing so in more or less a meticulous and gentle way, with minimal amount of dampness on the swabs .... resulted in one of the wax guards/mesh ungluing from the nozzle.

i returned that set, got a replacement and am now experiencing the same thing but this time with the opposite earpiece. on this second set, i completely avoided alcohol and only moistened a q-tip with water and minimized dampness to make sure i don't soak them when cleaning.

what's your thoughts on this ? i personally feel that they could have used a more durable mesh/guard, but this is what I'm stuck with and am also in process with having custom molds made for these. would like to keep them, but at this point on my second set i am seeing 100% failure rate with these meshes.

wondering if there is some sort of alternative/fix, or whether I should revisit the retailer again and request a replacement set.

in the pic, you can see the mesh is falling into the nozzle bore slightly.

any thoughts folks ?

 

[zero7404]

background:

had a set of these one month ago and was advised by Meze to use isopropyl alcohol on a swab to clean the wax guards and silicone ear tips. doing so in more or less a meticulous and gentle way, with minimal amount of dampness on the swabs .... resulted in one of the wax guards/mesh ungluing from the nozzle.

i returned that set, got a replacement and am now experiencing the same thing but this time with the opposite earpiece. on this second set, i completely avoided alcohol and only moistened a q-tip with water and minimized dampness to make sure i don't soak them when cleaning.

what's your thoughts on this ? i personally feel that they could have used a more durable mesh/guard, but this is what I'm stuck with and am also in process with having custom molds made for these. would like to keep them, but at this point on my second set i am seeing 100% failure rate with these meshes.

wondering if there is some sort of alternative/fix, or whether I should revisit the retailer again and request a replacement set.

in the pic, you can see the mesh is falling into the nozzle bore slightly.

any thoughts folks ?

anyone in the community have thoughts, ideas, what do you folks normally do with dust guards on IEM's ? Would be ok to run without them ?

 

[RikudouGoku]

anyone in the community have thoughts, ideas, what do you folks normally do with dust guards on IEM's ? Would be ok to run without them ?

Depending on the iem, the filter can be for tuning (affecting the sound) or it could just be used for wax/dirt protection.

Your iem looks like it uses a cloth mesh and that does affect the tuning.

In most cases using the iem without the filter isn't a problem. but it is a higher risk of getting wax/dirt inside your iem, which you obviously don't want to happen.

You can buy replacement filters that protect it from aliexpress for like 2 usd per 10 pairs. They are super cheap.
They are called "dust network".

 

[zero7404]

Depending on the iem, the filter can be for tuning (affecting the sound) or it could just be used for wax/dirt protection.

Your iem looks like it uses a cloth mesh and that does affect the tuning.

In most cases using the iem without the filter isn't a problem. but it is a higher risk of getting wax/dirt inside your iem, which you obviously don't want to happen.

You can buy replacement filters that protect it from aliexpress for like 2 usd per 10 pairs. They are super cheap.
They are called "dust network".

thank you for the advice on that. notified Meze about this issue recurring and they recommended I return and get a replacement.

can you tell me more about how sound is impacted if i switched to a steel mesh type of filter ?

i also have custom molds being made so perhaps it's not a good idea to switch to steel mesh filters. if i do another exchange then with the custom ear molds it's going to be much less likely to get any debris or ear wax on the nozzles, mostly that's going to be taken up by the molds.

which approach would be better at this point ?

 

[RikudouGoku]

thank you for the advice on that. notified Meze about this issue recurring and they recommended I return and get a replacement.

can you tell me more about how sound is impacted if i switched to a steel mesh type of filter ?

i also have custom molds being made so perhaps it's not a good idea to switch to steel mesh filters. if i do another exchange then with the custom ear molds it's going to be much less likely to get any debris or ear wax on the nozzles, mostly that's going to be taken up by the molds.

which approach would be better at this point ?

Steel mesh filters do protect against wax/dirt, its their only purpose lol.

Cloth mesh usually dampens the treble a bit more than without it.

Here is an example on how it could change an iem (with the blon 03):

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-257#post-15814248


Getting the steel mesh is probably the cheapest, but it will very likely change the sound which you might dislike. (although I loved it when I changed the stock cloth mesh into a regular metal mesh on the blon 03.)


By custom molds, do you mean a custom shell? That is that the entire iem body is changed to fit your ears? Or do you mean custom tips? In any case, getting anything custom is also likely to change to sound from the standard version.

 

[zero7404]

Steel mesh filters do protect against wax/dirt, its their only purpose lol.

Cloth mesh usually dampens the treble a bit more than without it.

Here is an example on how it could change an iem (with the blon 03):

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-257#post-15814248


Getting the steel mesh is probably the cheapest, but it will very likely change the sound which you might dislike. (although I loved it when I changed the stock cloth mesh into a regular metal mesh on the blon 03.)


By custom molds, do you mean a custom shell? That is that the entire iem body is changed to fit your ears? Or do you mean custom tips? In any case, getting anything custom is also likely to change to sound from the standard version.

For my use case which is not critical listening, i am going to give steel meshes a try. but will not touch the fabric cloths on the nozzles until I receive the custom tips. I'm having them made for the Ria Solo so they will not be all-inclusive custom IEM's.

I don't think that the changes in sound would actually bother me much, to be honest. I am more concerned about ingress of whatever can buildup inside the IEM over time.

I think heat may also be playing a role in this issue. I am able (with universal tips) to actually get a seal at my ear aperture, and that brings the nozzles right up to the ear canal, so heat may be contributing to this.

I do have the option still available to exchange these for another set and run them again with custom ear tips, or choose to 'mod' them with metallic dust guards. either way, they will be used with custom ear tips when I get them.

which option is better is what I am trying to figure out before the window of opportunity to exchange the IEM's with a replacement closes.

which way are they meant to be heard -- with or without filters ? how were they tuned ? does it make much difference to a non-critical listener ?

 

[RikudouGoku]

For my use case which is not critical listening, i am going to give steel meshes a try. but will not touch the fabric cloths on the nozzles until I receive the custom tips. I'm having them made for the Ria Solo so they will not be all-inclusive custom IEM's.

I don't think that the changes in sound would actually bother me much, to be honest. I am more concerned about ingress of whatever can buildup inside the IEM over time.

I think heat may also be playing a role in this issue. I am able (with universal tips) to actually get a seal at my ear aperture, and that brings the nozzles right up to the ear canal, so heat may be contributing to this.

I do have the option still available to exchange these for another set and run them again with custom ear tips, or choose to 'mod' them with metallic dust guards. either way, they will be used with custom ear tips when I get them.

which option is better is what I am trying to figure out before the window of opportunity to exchange the IEM's with a replacement closes.

which way are they meant to be heard -- with or without filters ? how were they tuned ? does it make much difference to a non-critical listener ?

If you can get a replacement for free, I would do that. But otherwise those steel mesh filters are dirt cheap.
If they came with cloth filters then thats obviously what they where intended to be used with. But that doesnt mean they wont sound better with some other mods (like in the case with the blon 03).

 

[tbrobison]

Another remedy might be to, like daily brushing of teeth, as least twice a day, clean your ears with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. As always, be careful when doing this!

 

[zero7404]

Another remedy might be to, like daily brushing of teeth, as least twice a day, clean your ears with a cotton swab soaked in alcohol. As always, be careful when doing this!

i swab ears typically at night and in morning .... but now more than a few times a day as a result of extended wear times (3 + hours) it seems heat and moisture is increased.

i have never used isopropyl alcohol on swabs, just water. what effect other than killing germs does it have ?

 

[tbrobison]

i swab ears typically at night and in morning .... but now more than a few times a day as a result of extended wear times (3 + hours) it seems heat and moisture is increased.

i have never used isopropyl alcohol on swabs, just water. what effect other than killing germs does it have ?

The alcohol will dissolve and remove wax/oil from your skin on the outside and inside of your ears. If there's any ear wax/oil residue on your skin, it will work its way into your ear tips.

 

[zero7404]

The alcohol will dissolve and remove wax/oil from your skin on the outside and inside of your ears. If there's any ear wax/oil residue on your skin, it will work its way into your ear tips.

extended periods of listening i have to clean ears this way periodically throughout the day ...

hopefully with custom tips, that procedure is less frequent and manageable ....

 

[zero7404]

Steel mesh filters do protect against wax/dirt, its their only purpose lol.

Cloth mesh usually dampens the treble a bit more than without it.

Here is an example on how it could change an iem (with the blon 03):

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/blo...ressions-thread.916702/page-257#post-15814248


Getting the steel mesh is probably the cheapest, but it will very likely change the sound which you might dislike. (although I loved it when I changed the stock cloth mesh into a regular metal mesh on the blon 03.)


By custom molds, do you mean a custom shell? That is that the entire iem body is changed to fit your ears? Or do you mean custom tips? In any case, getting anything custom is also likely to change to sound from the standard version.

had a moment just now to look over the link and more detail in the graphs, thanks very much for posting this it gives me more ideas and a better picture overall of how filters impact sound.

i wonder why Meze didn't opt for replaceable tuning filters the same way eytmotic does ... the nozzles are large enough to accommodate beefy filters.

in any case, will check out the metal meshes arriving tomorrow and consider installing them after i receive the ADV ear tips for my ears.

 

[zero7404]

You can buy replacement filters that protect it from aliexpress for like 2 usd per 10 pairs. They are super cheap.
They are called "dust network".

aliexpress is very cheap, yes. they also estimate some crazy shipping times of 30+ days ...

i figured to look on Amazon ... found these .... 5mm screens with adhesive only on the outer perimeter of the back part of the screen. Ordered yesterday and arrived today. the mesh quality is actually pretty good and they look more well made than the impression I got from the Amazon product page pictures:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JHMMRB7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the pack of 10 cost me $ 10. even though that's a huge markup compared to what you see on aliexpress, i can't say i was hurting that bad to save $8 and wait it out that long.

i carefully removed the stock screens and remaining adhesive which was actually stronger than i thought ... so i think the problem with the stock fabric screens was that of diameter mismatch rather than adhesive strength. either way, i put on these steel screens and am running with them to see how well they hold up to the in-ear environment with stock tips. i suppose they will do fine when i use the IEM's with the custom ear tips from ADV, should be slightly less hot at the nozzle when it's sitting in a custom ear mold.

 

[zero7404]

aliexpress is very cheap, yes. they also estimate some crazy shipping times of 30+ days ...

i figured to look on Amazon ... found these .... 5mm screens with adhesive only on the outer perimeter of the back part of the screen. Ordered yesterday and arrived today. the mesh quality is actually pretty good and they look more well made than the impression I got from the Amazon product page pictures:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08JHMMRB7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

the pack of 10 cost me $ 10. even though that's a huge markup compared to what you see on aliexpress, i can't say i was hurting that bad to save $8 and wait it out that long.

i carefully removed the stock screens and remaining adhesive which was actually stronger than i thought ... so i think the problem with the stock fabric screens was that of diameter mismatch rather than adhesive strength. either way, i put on these steel screens and am running with them to see how well they hold up to the in-ear environment with stock tips. i suppose they will do fine when i use the IEM's with the custom ear tips from ADV, should be slightly less hot at the nozzle when it's sitting in a custom ear mold.

here are the screens installed ...

 

[peterinvan]

background:

had a set of these one month ago and was advised by Meze to use isopropyl alcohol on a swab to clean the wax guards and silicone ear tips. doing so in more or less a meticulous and gentle way, with minimal amount of dampness on the swabs .... resulted in one of the wax guards/mesh ungluing from the nozzle.

i returned that set, got a replacement and am now experiencing the same thing but this time with the opposite earpiece. on this second set, i completely avoided alcohol and only moistened a q-tip with water and minimized dampness to make sure i don't soak them when cleaning.

what's your thoughts on this ? i personally feel that they could have used a more durable mesh/guard, but this is what I'm stuck with and am also in process with having custom molds made for these. would like to keep them, but at this point on my second set i am seeing 100% failure rate with these meshes.

wondering if there is some sort of alternative/fix, or whether I should revisit the retailer again and request a replacement set.

in the pic, you can see the mesh is falling into the nozzle bore slightly.

any thoughts folks ?

I have problems with dry skin and ear wax clogging my Rai Solo tips. I also got a reply from Meze about q-tips and alcohol, but I disloged the built in filter. I managed to glue it back with a tiny amount of silicone glue.

I tried inserting a 7mm steel filter in the soft single flange tips. This worked for a while, but as the tips softened with time, one mesh fell out deep in my ear canal… scary exploration with tweezers to extricate the filter. Be careful.

I am now using the Meze double flange tips, which provide a nice seal. I flick the tips (hole down) after every use. I also clean my ears daily, and flush them with warm water every couple of months. Again, be careful doing this yourself.