[james444]

This is short tutorial by request of Mr Pink.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Pink57 /img/forum/go_quote.gif James I know you make a insert about the foam underneath, but you show us how you set this up? And does it work for all sizes of the foams and tips? And is it pretty secure? pink

This is an easy one:
Use some spare foamies of approximately the right size. They can be slightly larger than the Soft Tips, because once compressed they will/can only expand to the size of the Soft Tips. In my case I had to rip out the foamies inner plastic tube to fit them, you have to experiment...

Reverse the Soft Tip.

Now put the foamie over the stem of the Soft Tip.

This is the delicate part: compress the foamie so you can see the end of the Soft Tips stem, put your fingertip inside the reversed Soft Tip and push the stem *gently* onto the earpiece. You can also do slight twisting motions while pushing.

When the stem is aligned to the earpiece you're almost done.

Finally reverse the Soft Tip over the foamie. The foam will expand and completely fill the inside of the tip.

Regarding security, one can easily see this is the same as using the Soft Tips without foamies.
Hope this helps!

 

[toughnut]

This method has been posted before...

 

[bossnass15]

does this change the sound sig of the tip?

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bossnass15 /img/forum/go_quote.gif does this change the sound sig of the tip?

Due to additional support from the foamies one might achieve a better seal than before. This can enhance bass, because bass largely relies on seal. Other than that I noticed no change in sound sig.

 

[Mr Pink57]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toughnut /img/forum/go_quote.gif This method has been posted before...

This topic was mainly started due to an off topic comment by me from the IE8 thread James started earlier.

Thank you James.

pink

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toughnut /img/forum/go_quote.gif This method has been posted before...

You're right and as always, using search would have spared me work.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Pink57 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thank you James.

You're welcome!

 

[forsberg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif You're right and as always, using search would have spared me work. You're welcome!

Actually this is the first time I've seen this, and it was only from your post that I found the other one as well. So good work!

But I've tried it last night with the complies and shure foamies into my large silicons - and it didn't work for me. The stuffed silicon didn't give me that suction seal that only a hollow silicon can provide, so it felt like I didn't get a good seal.

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by forsberg /img/forum/go_quote.gif But I've tried it last night with the complies and shure foamies into my large silicons - and it didn't work for me. The stuffed silicon didn't give me that suction seal that only a hollow silicon can provide, so it felt like I didn't get a good seal.

To some degree I noticed this, too. I believe that when the profile of your ear canal is not a true circle, the hollow silicon can better adapt to the shape than the stuffed one.

IMO this effect is related to the pressure that the foam builds up inside the silicon. High pressure forces the silicon to a round shape and therefore you won't achieve suction seal inside an oval ear canal. Thus the solution would be using right sized foamies that just about fill the silicon without adding too much pressure.

 

[forsberg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 /img/forum/go_quote.gif To some degree I noticed this, too. I believe that when the profile of your ear canal is not a true circle, the hollow silicon can better adapt to the shape than the stuffed one. IMO this effect is related to the pressure that the foam builds up inside the silicon. High pressure forces the silicon to a round shape and therefore you won't achieve suction seal inside an oval ear canal. Thus the solution would be using right sized foamies that just about fill the silicon without adding too much pressure.

Yup that's what I thought at first too. But when I tried the complies inside the large silicon, it doesn't fill it completely. There is maybe about 2 - 3 mm or space between the foam and the silicon. Once I put that in my ear though, that space eliminates and I still feel the "roundness" of the foam, so the silicon didn't warp enough to contour my super oval ear canals!

No complaints though. I get a perfect seal from just my silicons. I was just playing around with some foams I can never use. (I can easily push the entire large complies into my ear and pull out with ease!)

 

[james444]

Quote:

Originally Posted by forsberg /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yup that's what I thought at first too. But when I tried the complies inside the large silicon, it doesn't fill it completely. There is maybe about 2 - 3 mm or space between the foam and the silicon. Once I put that in my ear though, that space eliminates and I still feel the "roundness" of the foam, so the silicon didn't warp enough to contour my super oval ear canals!

That's interesting. I don't have complies, but looking at pics they seem to have smaller pores than the foamies I used. Maybe they are somewhat firmer and less deformable.

 

[james444]

Update: during the last days I did some real life tests with the SE530 and IE8 commuting on the bus/subway. While the SE530 does not really need foam filled tips (because it already isolates well with hollow tips and the foam is just icing on the cake) it turned out that filling IE8s tips made a crucial difference. The unmodded IE8 did not isolate as well as the SE530 and I could hear surrounding noise at a distracting level. However, with foam filled tips isolation was noticably better and surrounding noise - while still perceivable - no more distracting.

Conclusion: I know these results are vague at best, and if you have *super oval* ear canals like forsberg this won't work for you. But if you have the IE8 and think they lack isolation I recommend you try "stuffing" those tips.

 

[nsx_23]

Hmm, I've been trialing this for the last month or so with my SF5pro, and didn't like the result at all.

It really ruined the rich, lively treble that I enjoyed with my SF5pro, and was hugely uncomfortable for me. Also, the foam made it impossible to insert the SF5pro into my ears properly, thus making them slip out all the time and ruin the seal for me.

One of the positives was slightly better bass, but the sacrifices were too much for me to live with. Removing the foam reminded me why I chose SF5pro in the first place.

I used foam from some old ear plugs, and also tried foams from my ruined ER6. I used the default medium plastic tips that came with my SF5pro.

 

[Eddy Flycatcher]

.

 

[ZenErik]

I put the foam sleeves behind the 2nd flange on my triple flanged tips. Seems fairly effective to me, but I guess not everyone is comfortable with triple flanged.

 

[ZenErik]

Hmm. Just tried something new. The medium foam olive tip Shures behind the 3rd flange. Tons of bass even on my SCL4s with the iPod EQ on flat. Wow.