[Furco]

  I found a good way to stretch tubing if you want to use 1 tube for 2 drivers.  If anyone knows those metal compression C rings that have to be compressed to be installed, you can use that tool to spread the tubing open. I will post a picture of it when I get a chance.

 
Or you could just re-purpose part of a broken hanger and bend it as such.  Cram a #13 or #12 tube onto it and gently heat it with a lighter or heat gun to set the tube:
 
 
 

 
Here's the Y-splitter I made for my CI and DTEC to share.  I recognize that it's probably not a great idea for a woofer and mid-range to share the same tube given for the potential of attenuation of frequencies but I was already committed at this point and wanted to do some testing to see what the frequency response was going to be.  

 
In other tube related endeavors, I took off the Y-splitter and glued on a 20mmx0.5mm tube using UV resin.  Here I'm using a needle point to position the resin:
 

 
Post curing.  Not too shabby!

 
So where did I find 0.5mm ID tubing?  As you can probably guess form looking at the tube, it's speaker wire insulation:
 

 
 
Until I can source some smooth 0.5 ID pliable acoustic tubing, I'll be using this stuff, assuming of course that I'll be putting this size in my cIEMs.
 
I'm going to try to let the DTEC have a full voice, shouting through a #13 tube.  Problem is that 1.93mm ID tube doesn't really hold itself onto the 1.5mm nozzle on the DTEC too well.  I fashioned a retaining ring to create something of a reducer between the DTEC nozzle and tubing:
 

 
I laid down a bead of Loctite GO2 using a pin head and clamped everything in my 3rd hands.  Trying to use UV resin in this instance didn't go so well; I tried -- TWICE!  The tube slips off the nozzle too quickly and also, the resin makes the surface of the nozzle and tube that much more slippery.  The glue should work out fairly well.  I can always go back in with resin once the Loctite sets:
 

 
 
 
One thing I would recommend people buy is a 10x jewelers loop.  They don't cost all that much but it makes working with these miniature components a breeze, especially if you're trying to fix broken solder pads  Though I will be honest, trying to solder with it on takes some practice as you don't have any depth perception with 1 loop and having your nose so damn close to the heating element on your soldering wand is a little nerve wracking.
 

 
I'm abandoning incorporating the Sony driver into my cIEMs.  I just don't have the experience to deal with this many drivers right now.
 
--Cheers!

 

[acain]

Great pictures thanks for all the information.

 

[CMOS1138]

Silverprout
How did you get 2 ED drivers and 2 dynamic drivers for $15?

 

[CMOS1138]

Problem is that 1.93mm ID tube doesn't really hold itself onto the 1.5mm nozzle on the DTEC too well.  I fashioned a retaining ring to create something of a reducer between the DTEC nozzle and tubing:
 
​Innovative solution. I have never even tried to get the tube to attach to the nozzle, instead I simply glue the tube to the body of the driver. It works well but I am exposing my hands to more UV light than I would like.
 
 
 
 
I'm abandoning incorporating the Sony driver into my cIEMs.  I just don't have the experience to deal with this many drivers right now.
 
Why give up on the sony? is it a tubing space issue? If that is the case than I have several ideas that may help.
1) switch to heat shrink tubing,  [HST from now on] the walls on HST are so thin that the OD and ID are nearly identical and you should be able to fit 2 or even 3 HST into the space of one #13 tube.
2) combine all 3 tubes into one, this is how most generic IEM's work after all, they fit a rubber boot over the drivers and they all fire into the same space, if it sounds good to shure and westones, you may be satisfied as well. 
3) make your tubing attachment point further away from the tip of the canal section, I have seen pictures of several pro CIEMS that do this in order to mix the sounds inside the shell before they get to your ear and in order to prevent wax from getting into the sound ports. You should be able to bring 2 or 3 acoustic tubes  part way into the canal section and make a seal around the end of the tubes with UV resin. Just make sure you have a nice clean path for the sound to travel after the end of the tubes.

 

[Furco]

 

 
The major reason for abandoning the Sony driver is that I fear it won't  survive a few more weeks of handling.  I'm even noticing the wires on the CI and DTEC I have are starting to fray, and that's with the strain relief I've setup.  I'm less concerned with the Knowles drivers since they have solder pads and if my leads break, soldering new ones onto the pads is a 5 minutes operation.  However, on the Sony, the damn ribbon cable just isn't built for weeks and weeks of handling that I'm doing with it.
 
I know I can get some decent sound out of the CI and DTEC so I'll continue here.  I need more experience with tuning the drivers, looking at the response curves, listening through a shell, and trying to identify:
* What's overpowering?  Why?
* What's veiled?  Why?
* What's missing?  Why?
 
And then answer the ultimate questions: How do I fix that?  Change my crossovers? Tube length? Tube diameter? Damper? Add another driver?
 
It's a lot to consider....
 
Thanks for bringing me back to reality with suggesting coalescing all the individual tubes into one.  I have a tendency to be a purest so it's good to get a slap in the face every once in a while telling me to "Snap out of it and keep it simple, Stupid!" 
 
I've been doing some heavy reading today about Flecher-Munson curves (a.k.a. equal-loudness contours).    Evidently, boosting bass and treble to some degree seems necessary with IEMs along with simulating the effect the outer ear has on frequencies in-and-around 2700Hz by boosting that frequency in IEMs.

 

[Dan Jarros]

  Hello all. I been making CIEMs and doing posts here for a while. I just had a fairly dangerous experience and wanted to pass it along as a public service announcement to all the builders here. I've made a good number of shells now using the mega-sil 2 part impression material as my positive ear mold. I never had a problem until yesterday. I had become pretty confident is using the material WITHOUT using the foam ear inserts with the string to do deeper casts. Yesterday I was doing new impressions on myself in the same manner as I have done many times but the 2 part mixture failed. After about a half an hour I tried to remove the impressions but it left the gooey silicone deep in both of my ears. No amount of mixing would activate the material I got out of my ears and it remains a gooey blob even now a day later. I sent a sleepless night trying to remove material from my ears in various ways and had to see an ear specialist today to "finish" the job. It was a scary and painful experience that I'll never go through again and hopefully I can keep you from doing the same. I was foolish to use the silicone without the foam inserts but even the specialist said he has had to do full surgeries where he had to cut out the foam because material went around it . 
  I'm really disappointed that a mega-sil could fail like that. I guess always do a small tester amount to make sure it catches before you use it. 
Good luck,
Dan

 

[CMOS1138]

Scary story Dan. I am glad it ends with you OK.

 

[acain]

Glad to hear you got all the material out of your ear. I finally started to put the drivers in the shell, trying to get 2  #13 tubes with dampers in a small canal isn't easy at all. I tried to go from #13 to #16 tubing but then the dampers would be set really high. I was going too just use heat shrink but then I would have to rig something for the dampers and then it was to bulky in the shell. Now I know why these are so expensive, it truly is an art form working with such small parts. A couple times I went to install the drivers the tube came off the BA port I finally got the 2 tubes with dampers in the ear canal, it really kicked my ass though. I guess for the first ones I am making I cant expect them to come out flawless. So for all the first timers don't beat yourself up on your first pair don't expect perfection, with practice quality will come.
 
 .

 

[acain]

I didnt know that knowles had different diameter dampers I would have solved all my fitting issues if I had bought the smaller dampers. I guess ill learn from my mistakes. #16 tubing fits perfect on to the BA port. I bought 10ft for .40 cents a foot.

 

[winternoir]

Hi all, I'm back.
 
I finally got a different kind of clay to mount my BA onto the housing I bought (got them at arts n craft/office supply store), and they works well.
One thing the store assistant told me that I'm a bit worried about is they are paper based. Eek! Let's home they will hold well in there.
 
Pics: (how long do I need before I can direct link pix from photobucket anyway?)
Only the clay: https://www.dropbox.com/s/kwfp52rskeoryum/CameraZOOM-20141116054326446.jpg?dl=0
With the BA installed: https://www.dropbox.com/s/a73fgksaf0i3e64/CameraZOOM-20141116054340345.jpg?dl=0
 
I finished them off with some glue and the housing stay together just fine.
I didn't use any filters or tubing at the end. I just use small(ish) straw (from Caprisonne) to mold the sound passage.
I currently am using silicone tips (from Razr XT910) and they sound acceptable to my ear (after some EQ-ing). Tried comply tips, but they killed the bass I think.
 
The sonions do have bass, and the mids and highs are okay (after EQ). But still not what I expected or wanted. I am curious to have them tested regarding their frequency response (the graph I often see when people are testing earphones/headphones). Wonder where can I get them done for free.
 
In other news, while I was playing a well known brand of playing bricks *cough*Lego*cough* with my son, I got this idea of using the bricks to house both the BA and DD. Their depth of 9mm and length of 3cm should provide plenty of room to accommodate the drivers, right? Have anyone tried it though? And did it work?

 

[Silverprout]

  Silverprout
How did you get 2 ED drivers and 2 dynamic drivers for $15?

Rab 32063 driver are only 10$, with a 5$ 13mm dynamic driver... 15$ per side.

 

[MuZo2]

    Hello all. I been making CIEMs and doing posts here for a while. I just had a fairly dangerous experience and wanted to pass it along as a public service announcement to all the builders here. I've made a good number of shells now using the mega-sil 2 part impression material as my positive ear mold. I never had a problem until yesterday. I had become pretty confident is using the material WITHOUT using the foam ear inserts with the string to do deeper casts. Yesterday I was doing new impressions on myself in the same manner as I have done many times but the 2 part mixture failed. After about a half an hour I tried to remove the impressions but it left the gooey silicone deep in both of my ears. No amount of mixing would activate the material I got out of my ears and it remains a gooey blob even now a day later. I sent a sleepless night trying to remove material from my ears in various ways and had to see an ear specialist today to "finish" the job. It was a scary and painful experience that I'll never go through again and hopefully I can keep you from doing the same. I was foolish to use the silicone without the foam inserts but even the specialist said he has had to do full surgeries where he had to cut out the foam because material went around it . 
  I'm really disappointed that a mega-sil could fail like that. I guess always do a small tester amount to make sure it catches before you use it. 
Good luck,
Dan

Sorry to hear about it. Hope you are doing fine now.
 
My first post on head-fi was about it
http://www.head-fi.org/t/581834/word-of-caution-custom-iem-ear-impressions
 
Thats why I always recommend to go to audiologist for ear impressions.

 

[Xymordos]

I was wondering, if I'm using the HODTEC driver for bass, would BK drivers (such as BK28507) be a good driver for mids? Planning to use SWFK/WBFK as tweeters, but they paired quite poorly with the ED29689 that I usually would like to use - a small change in positioning can cause a big change in phase cancelling. 

 

[AndroidVageta]

Perhaps someone here can help me! I just purchased a pair for JH16 Pro Freqphase (for $450 no less!) and was wondering if ANYONE knew ANYONE that could remold these into a UNIVERSAL shell. 
 
Why? Well for one, resale value on down the line if I choose to sell them (which I probably won't), no fitting issues and constant going back and forth, and just simply because I'd like it more and don't care about them being custom fitted. 
 
Any tips?

 

[CMOS1138]

Xymordos
I dont know of anyone who has used the BK driver but DTEC sounds very similar to ED in the mids only louder. perhaps you should try  SWFK/DTEC/HODTEC. ?
 
AndroidVageta
If you put JH16 into a universal shell it will not sound the same.