[Butterfly]

fotoplast should be good in the container until the expiration date even if i opened it right?

After opening it went sour (hard) within 4 weeks. But maybe I made a mistake not closing it good enough and some air got to it. I just bought a 600ml botlle. So I was a bit disappointed that this happened.

 

[Butterfly]

Hi all, I'm new around here, but I've been reading and learning from all the information on here for a while.

I have an issue, where I think my ear may be the problem, and not the CIEMS I've made.
I use mine for singing on stage, and even with a good fit (I made sure I used a bite block when getting ear impressions done), I always get a swoosh/phasey thing happening in my left ear. Right ear seems ok.
If I use them for anything other than singing, they're great.

I also have a pair of ACS in ears, and they also do the same thing on my left ear, which makes me wonder if my ear is the problem. I understand there is movement in the ear canal, but I can't really perform when the frequency response is shifting all over the place dependant on how open my mouth is.

I'm really enjoying the process of learning how to making these, but wonder if my time is better used making some universal fits. I've currently gone back to using KZ's with comply tips on stage, because as much as I don't like the peaky sound signature, I can EQ them a bit, and never have the swooshy/phasey problems.

Has anyone come across a situation, where CIEMs just don't work for you, or a client? Regardless of how well everything fits and how well it's made?

I have made many CIEM's over the last 6 years and came across 2 things that can be related to your problem. One person had such small ear canals that I couldn't even get one 2mm tube in. So a CIEM didn't work for her. And with another person one side of the CIEM's started to come out of her ear when she started moving and perspire.
What's happening to your left ear could have to do with a bad fit. It could be that with taking the impressions something went wrong. Maybe you moved your jaw or head while the hardening proces was in progress or the audicien didnt do his job well. Mostly I have to join my customers to the audicien to check if they take a good impression. While doing so they have to keep the gun centered and not move it around in the ear. Some just have no idea what they are doing. But there are more things that can go wrong by taking the impressions. What also could have happend is that you have made the shell to small. I always use a minum of 2 layers of wax on the impression to make the CIEM fit tight. If it can move around in your ear you'll have what they call leakage. Sound can escape or sound from outside can enter, causing especially the bass to lose power. You'll loose pressure. This might sound as frequency shifting.

 

[Butterfly]

I have never made ciems for anyone other than myself and have only used them for casual listening but certain jaw movements do squeeze your ear canal try to push it out. I guess that a sweaty ear is more prone to this, and maybe the sweat gets in the seal and things start sliding about.

One thing that varies with different people and makers is how deep they design their ciems. Some go just round the second bend and others make them quite shallow. A deeper canal is probably more likely to stay in place but may be less comfortable to some. Might be worth looking into some options of varying depths to see if anything works better...

@stegeoc. You are right abouth the depth. Make them as deep as possible without them hurting the inside of your ear. It will prevent leaking a lot.

 

[BadgerMcBadger]

After opening it went sour (hard) within 4 weeks. But maybe I made a mistake not closing it good enough and some air got to it. I just bought a 600ml botlle. So I was a bit disappointed that this happened.

i really hope that doesnt happen to me, can someone else please share their exprience?

 

[BadgerMcBadger]

how important it is for the rab-p to use 1.2mm id tubes? i cant find any 1.2 id with a 2mm od so im planning to use a 1mm id instead. will such a small change noticable affect the sound?

 

[ForceMajeure]

fotoplast should be good in the container until the expiration date even if i opened it right?

Yes, It will be ok, as long as the resin is not in contact with UV light. The older it gets the slightly longer it will take to cure usually.

Also keeping a bottle in a static position will get parts of the photoinitiator particles sinking to the bottom so you'll have less photoinitiators that will promote the curing process. So shaking the bottle before usage will mix things together again, BUT the annoying part is that it will create air bubbles and you'll have to wait a few hours before you can use it.

Technically you could be ok even without shaking it. Plenty of shells have worked out great even having a 1yr old bottle sitting in one place.

how important it is for the rab-p to use 1.2mm id tubes? i cant find any 1.2 id with a 2mm od so im planning to use a 1mm id instead. will such a small change noticable affect the sound?

The diameter is important and will play a role, even a difference of 0.2mm. The upper region and treble will be affected.
Depending on the type of builds you are doing this is something to consider.

 

[talyak]

how important it is for the rab-p to use 1.2mm id tubes? i cant find any 1.2 id with a 2mm od so im planning to use a 1mm id instead. will such a small change noticable affect the sound?

if you are struggling with the 1.3mm id 1.8mm od tubes you found, you could wrap them in take or something. give them an extra .2mm of thickness so they go in a 2mm id tube well?

 

[BadgerMcBadger]

if you are struggling with the 1.3mm id 1.8mm od tubes you found, you could wrap them in take or something. give them an extra .2mm of thickness so they go in a 2mm id tube well?

thats a good idea, but i managed to find a 1.2mm id 2mm od tube in the end.
does the shape of the shell affect the sound much when using a vented driver (rab32257). i was thinking of squeezing a small electrolytic capacitor (5x11mm) in the shell for the zobel circuit but im afraid it will change the sound as it will probably be in the way of the vents

 

[citiesandshapes]

Can anyone provide some input on if these impressions will be sufficient? Self done, and have trimmed them down some

 

[mattmatt]

Can anyone provide some input on if these impressions will be sufficient? Self done, and have trimmed them down some

Looks good. Shape them more a bit to make it look better. Not sure but I think you'll need to build it up a bit for the cable sockets.

 

[Butterfly]

Can anyone provide some input on if these impressions will be sufficient? Self done, and have trimmed them down some

You need to cut of more. Not at the bottom. But around the sides. Make a 90 degree edge with the material. Look at Robert Kaufmann YouTube film.

 

[Butterfly]

You need to cut of more. Not at the bottom. But around the sides. Make a 90 degree edge with the material. Look at Robert Kaufmann YouTube film.

 

[Butterfly]

Cut at the lines

 

[Butterfly]

Cut at the lines

 

[citiesandshapes]

Thank you-do the canals seem to be adequately long? I'm made a pair prior off different impressions, but the canals were longer and caused issues with comfort after prolonged wear.
Regarding trimming them down further-is there any harm in leaving them slightly bigger and sanding down the resin cast to my desired size? Getting good impressions out of my ears has been a pain in the ass, so I'm concerned about cutting down too much and having to start over