[NuckinFutz]

Sorry for blurry images , they are from my camera.
After three weeks of listening and tweaking and three iterations this is final and works quiet well. TWFK for highs and mids and ie8 for bass.
It has recessed sound tubes to prevent wax from entering the sound tubes, on face plate there is bass port for IE8. I have used mmcx female plug on shell and right angled male on cable.

They are quite something Muzo! Some amazing efforts coming out of this thread....wish I had more time!!

 

[MuZo2]

Updated pictures from my last post.

 

[Fredrichs]

MuZo2, what material did you use for your shell material? So far, my only problem is finding a shell material that's not exceedingly hard to work with. I've tried acrylic/monomer mix and but it sets too quickly. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[ulogin]

Quote:

I don't think the angle of the drivers inside the shell really matter. 

 
Sorry for the noob question: I always thought that the advantages of custom is that they are "tuned" for individual ear (via driver placement, driver angle, etc.), which I thought was important because each ear is different anatomically. And I read that JH Audio "tune" each ear piece individually. Indeed, their Youtube shows how they use some computer software to do the fine-tuning. 
 
So if the angle of the drivers does not matter, what is the advantage of going custom? I have been thinking of going custom (not home-made, though) but am not sure if there's real benefit besides comfort and fit. 

 

[Greenbeast]

I'd like some info on how people are creating their negative molds and finished iem shells?
 
I guess the negative from an impression needs to be a soft flexible material (latex?) so as to let the impression and any subsequent hard shells out.
Are people then filling the negative void with their shell material and drilling out afterwards?
Or somehow creating a hollow shell?
Or embedding the drivers/tubes in the negative void before filling?
 
Hints and tips much appreciated.

 

[edba2000]

Quote:

 
Sorry for the noob question: I always thought that the advantages of custom is that they are "tuned" for individual ear (via driver placement, driver angle, etc.), which I thought was important because each ear is different anatomically. And I read that JH Audio "tune" each ear piece individually. Indeed, their Youtube shows how they use some computer software to do the fine-tuning. 
 
So if the angle of the drivers does not matter, what is the advantage of going custom? I have been thinking of going custom (not home-made, though) but am not sure if there's real benefit besides comfort and fit. 

 
The shape of the tubes and the endings are almost the same in every ear canals. The most personal part is the ear part. The tube endings are always parallel to the ear canal. I can't see how a "fine tuning"can improve the final result!
During my tests, I have rotated the drivers and the sound was always the same. The important it's to get the lowest tube lengths (mainly for the mids/highs)

 

[MuZo2]

More details 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/616728/ciem-digital-manufacturing-hybrid-iem
More pictures added of process
http://www.head-fi.org/gallery/album/view/id/661417/user_id/274175
 

 

[Greenbeast]

I'd love more details of your shell making process.
 
I've read through this thread 2+ times but there's a lot to absorb and i might have missed your process

 

[wz2000]

Quote:

I'd like some info on how people are creating their negative molds and finished iem shells?
 
I guess the negative from an impression needs to be a soft flexible material (latex?) so as to let the impression and any subsequent hard shells out.
Are people then filling the negative void with their shell material and drilling out afterwards?
Or somehow creating a hollow shell?
Or embedding the drivers/tubes in the negative void before filling?
 
Hints and tips much appreciated.

 
There are several types of soft silicone mould material you can use. Try looking at craft hobby stores.
I first cast solid shells and drilled them out. It's labour intensive, so casting hollow shell would be preferrable. I accomplished that by filling the hollowed shell with hot glue and placing the resulting "plug" into my moulds to cast hollow shells afterwards.
 
What you can do really depends on the shell material. Fast curing resins might be cast while rotating the mould, so it would form a thin layer on the sides of the mould, creating a hollow shell. I haven't done this, maybe others can share their experience.
 
 
Quote:

More details 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/616728/ciem-digital-manufacturing-hybrid-iem
More pictures added of process
http://www.head-fi.org/gallery/album/view/id/661417/user_id/274175
 

 
 
Really professional looking product. Nice job!
 
 

 

[Greenbeast]

Quote:

 
There are several types of soft silicone mould material you can use. Try looking at craft hobby stores.
I first cast solid shells and drilled them out. It's labour intensive, so casting hollow shell would be preferrable. I accomplished that by filling the hollowed shell with hot glue and placing the resulting "plug" into my moulds to cast hollow shells afterwards.
 
What you can do really depends on the shell material. Fast curing resins might be cast while rotating the mould, so it would form a thin layer on the sides of the mould, creating a hollow shell. I haven't done this, maybe others can share their experience.
 
 

Thankyou
I'm definitely keen not to ruin my professional impressions as i don't want to spend out on those again once done. So i don't want something that will adhere to the (i'm guessing) delicate impressions and then tearing them apart on removal.
 
I have polyester casting resin in my workshop already so i think i will use that for the actual iem shell.

 

[edba2000]

About the TWFK : Is it really the best tweeter available?
 
The highs on my DT880 are clearly better. The definition is superior. With the TWFK, some cymbals (from drums) seem distorted! 
Comments?

 

[wz2000]

Well, the TWFK seems to have to most pronounced highs of the knowles drivers. Whether thats a good thing is a matter of taste. My suggestion: experiment with the rear port on the TWFK. It has to be completely isolated from your ear canal, otherwise you'll get a very harsh sound in my experience.
 
I also own the DT880 'phones. Really fantastic, they are. I doubt iems can be made to sound quite as good.

 

[ulogin]

Quote:

 
The shape of the tubes and the endings are almost the same in every ear canals. The most personal part is the ear part. The tube endings are always parallel to the ear canal. I can't see how a "fine tuning"can improve the final result!
During my tests, I have rotated the drivers and the sound was always the same. The important it's to get the lowest tube lengths (mainly for the mids/highs)

 
So what JH Audio shows on YouTube about fine-tuning is simply marketing, which also means that custom does not offer anything on top of universal (besides comfort)?

 

[edba2000]

Quote:

 
So what JH Audio shows on YouTube about fine-tuning is simply marketing, which also means that custom does not offer anything on top of universal (besides comfort)?

 
From my experience the customs offer:
 
- Comfort (you can run and jump with your IEMs)
- Isolation (the outside noise is filtered)
- Protection (if you are in front of a really powerful audio speaker, the IEMs can protect your ears)
- Great sound quality (depending of the drivers/design)
 
Check the price of the Knowles/Sonion drivers!! Most of the $$$ you pay for the IEMs are for the hours of work spent with the shells, soldering, testing...

 

[Tyreso]

Wow, some great work been done on here, I also made some homemade ciems and was fairly happy with the result, it was a few years ago though.

I see the biggest challenge is still producing the shells, that is exactly the issue I encountered and realise that it was very difficult if not impossible to create some quality shells without all the fit equipment which ends up being costly. I eventually managed to find one of the commercial ciem manufacturers to produce just the shells for me including sending an impression kit. They were really good and helpful and the price for just shells and impression kit was pretty good.

Not sure if they still do this service because it would damage business for other guys and themselves but if anyone is interested send me a pm and I will give give you more details, contact info etc.