[Earwax]

Putting the earplug foam directly on the IEM sound tube works fine, but limits the length of the earplug that can be used before the foam closes in on the hole.

I've been looking for a way to make longer foamies, like the Comply "P" style. ( Comply P is a few mm longer than the standard size and I really like the pair of genuine "P" style I have on the SCL4, they are wearing out and I'm too cheap to spend $5 per pair on replacements) So I need to have at piece of tubing to keep the hole in the foamie open. (like what the commercial replacement tips have). The industrial tubing I tried to buy had walls that are too thick, so I was stumped for a while. I finally found good tubing material right under my nose!

For the narrow sound tubes like Shure E3c or SCL4, I used medical tubing. (Ok, not every one is going to have this laying around the house, but I had some from IV administration set that I had left over from caring for a sick cat.)

That left me still searching for the right tubing for the wide sound tubes on E2C or UE/Altec Lansing UHP336. I cut up a piece of Ethernet cable to use the wire for a project and as I was going to throw out the grey PVC casing, I took a second look and tried it on the IEMs. It stretches just enough to fit snuggly. The cable I cut up was Belden cat 5e 4pr 24AWG patch cable. Something similar should be easy and cheap to purchase. Just cut off a few inches and slide out the wires.

Slide the tubing on the stem and then slide the earplug on the tube. Viola! imitation Comply P-style eartips. I think the extra quarter inch of sound tube length improves the sound. The UHP336 sounds great with this mod.

If anyone cares, I might be presuaded to post photos (I might even include my super simple trick for mounting the earplug on the sound tube)

One more thing, my new favorite earplugs are the Moldex Sparkplugs, (ebay or earplugstore.com) the color variety lets me color code right and left earpieces.

 

[shigzeo]

i also use the method described by the op for small-hole iems, but have a harder time creating the perfect fit for large sound-tube iems. it is very comfortable and depending on the length of the foam, can house revealing details or boomy bass. a great way to tailor sound.

 

[pablo7]

Has anyone tried this with Apple IEM's....

 

[shrisha]

Be first.

 

[MisterControversy]

I realize this is a huge bump, but for those people (like me) who's local drugstores don't sell earplugs, you can get them at DealExtreme for a rather expensive $1.61 a pair. The only upside to these are that they're multi colour.

 

[Sayajin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisterControversy /img/forum/go_quote.gif I realize this is a huge bump, but for those people (like me) who's local drugstores don't sell earplugs, you can get them at DealExtreme for a rather expensive $1.61 a pair. The only upside to these are that they're multi colour.

You right. those just came in new arrival. Thanks for the tip.

 

[acegazda]

Imight give this a go with the maximo im-590s... they don't have great isolation atm and I would like a bit more

 

[billybob_jcv]

You can also buy earplugs at Home Depot, Lowes and other hardware stores. And, of course, here: White noise ear plugs and ear phones!

 

[Yamas]

Thanks for the Tutorial man! Took 3 plugs to make a pair for my Phonak PFEs. For me it was a pain in the ass to get them onto the sound tube.

 

[Sebastianbf]

man this is great! I was gonna get some shure olive tips for my e4 when I read this post. It's really a bliss the bass I'm getting using my Zune with my tip-modded e4! The good thing is that the mids and trebble are still here. The bass is totally better and this method took away some harshness on the trebble when listening to some albums with my e4.
Bought the foamies at a local hardware store for U$1,30 for 4 pairs, which compared to the shure olives price is a bargain. There were 3 models or so, some 3Ms and the other 2 were from another brand (local maybe). I chose the local brand because they had better isolation (SNR: 32dB) than the 3Ms (something like 30dB).
For people who wanna try this I made the holes with tootpicks and then tried a small screwdriver on other. Both methods worked, tough the holes made by the tootpicks were smaller so I have to make more pressure to get the foamies on the IEMs. The foamies feel great in my ears and are extremely comfortable to wear and to take off.
Will try to post some pics tomorrow.

 

[Opentoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tyrro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you so much, nice tutorial. You're very creative It's easy to follow and very affordable. I need to try this. Thanks again.

I've tried that before and the ones for sleeping or hearing aids fall apart very easily. They don't last long enough for me and got tired of playing around with them, plus if you notice the foam that is of a high quality they have a thin plastic insert inside of the foam.

 

[headfever]

nice job. I will try. could I stick the foam with glue to prevent it drop off?

 

[shrisha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by headfever /img/forum/go_quote.gif nice job. I will try. could I stick the foam with glue to prevent it drop off?

Well, I would not recommend. It will stay nicely if you will make small hole. Glue could cause a trouble in future when you'll decide to renovate tips.

 

[lnvisible]

Would this work well with Monster Turbines?

The stock tips hurt the crap out of my ears and I need some new tips badly.

 

[LoganT]

These look nice, Amazon.com: Hearos Xtreme Protection, 14-Pair Foam (Pack of 3): Health & Personal Care or these.