[limathy]

anyone have any ideas how to do it with like more common items?
i read someone recommended using a leather hole puncher or something, but i dont have access to anything like that,

i've tried cutting some, they do the job but dont look all that flash,
wondering if anyone had any good ideas, cause i really like the donut foamies but a few of mine ripped n i need to make replacements

 

[Fungi]

Maybe a paper hole punch?

 

[Pangaea]

All you really need to do is get a hole in both sides. Use the uneven hole that you cut to surround the earbud. The manufactured hole (prior existing) can now be the facing towards your ear and is the one visible. This has worked for me.

 

[tstarn06]

I'm the guy who suggested the leather punch. They are like $8 online. Just get the cheapest one. They apply even pressure on the spot (using the biggest setting) and you just pull the foam around the peg and voila, you have a hole. Pangea's idea is good too. I just bought a dozen decent full pads on ebay for $3 shipped, FYI. Same quality as the Yuin pads, and a lot less than the Radioshack replacements (though not nearly as thick, from what I have read).

 

[Low Fidelity]

Roll your own foamies?

I did this for my e2s and my e4s until Shure offered up the black olives.

You'll need the following stuff:

Industrial Ear Plugs. I used Howard Leight Laser Lites. I also tried the foam ear plugs from Wallyworld and found little difference in the sound.

A precision straight blade screwdriver with a Little smaller diameter head and shaft than the shaft of your IEMs. (come'on all you guys, break out those calipers!)

2 small lengths of Silicone Hose. I used fuel line from a R/C hobby shop. You'll want the Inside Diameter of the silicone tubing to be slightly smaller, not a lot smaller than the outside diameter of the shaft of your IEM. Friction is what keeps the silicon hose onto the shaft. Pressure from the foam squeezing the hose onto the shaft helps as well. Length shouldn't be much longer than the shaft of the IEM.

A razor blade, the sharper the better. I always used brand new utility knife blades.


This is how I did it.

Lay an ear plug on its side so you can use the razor blade to cut off the "flared" or Fat end. The more plumb the cut in relation to the plug the easier it is to stab. I "sawed" the razor blade back and forth. I found it easier to slice the ear plug without compressing it.

Now, Stand the foamie on its end.

Then "drill" down the center of the ear plug with the screwdriver, spinning the screwdriver in my fingers. This cuts a way through the foam as well as smashes the center.

With the foamie now in doughnut shape, I push the screwdriver through the earplug so its on the shaft.

Now slide a length of silicone hose down the shaft the screwdriver.

Now, squeeze, mash, swear and try to pull the foamie away from the shaft far enough to slide up over the outside of the silicone tube.

now slide off the silicone tube with the foamie and viola!

Just a note, I never glued the foam to the silicone and I never had them come off the IEM or off the silicone tube and I used them A LOT.

So pick the size of the screwdriver carefully, as well as the size of the silicone tube.

 

[limathy]

buying that leather punch sounds like a good idea, ummm what kind of shops should i go to, to look for one? prefer to buy local as the shipping internationally will probably double the cost.

and ummm who did you buy the foamies from on ebay? i'm in need of a whole lot of them

 

[tstarn06]

Wow, you live in Perth. I spent 10 days there in 2004, visiting friends (they live on Mundaring Road). We had a great time, and went down to Margaret River for 3 days. Wonderful place.

Here's the punch I bought...
http://www.onestopcandle.com/Merchan.../PROD/LE322000

And here's the pad ebay site
http://cgi.ebay.com/12-BLACK-Ear-pad...QQcmdZViewItem

 

[limathy]

cheers for that

 

[tstarn06]

As an aside, how do you like the MiniboxE? I have one on order, to use with my PK1s.

 

[dancekat59]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fungi /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe a paper hole punch?

Has anyone tried using a paper hole punch? It's certainly less expensive and easier to obtain than a leather punch but is the diameter too large?

 

[limathy]

i cant get the foamie into the paper hole punch being the main problem. its sitting on my desk,

as for the minibox E, i couldnt be happier, battry life is soso, but this comming from the pa2v2 which lasted 100hours on a charge.
the amp sounds wonderful, its balanced, detailed and, even makes the ksc75's sound magical.

 

[mikey]

hi, if youre trying to create the kind of doughnut foamies that come with the yuins, try this. the moment i wore out the foamies that came with the yuins, i had to find a way to make some. i tried hole punchers but i could not get a clean and perfect cut. but the following method did.

take the foamie - overturn it so that the side with the hole faces upwards.
take a chopstick - or anything that has the same dimensions as the narrower end of the chopstick.
stick the narrow end exactly in the centre of foamie, through the hole that is facing up.
gently gather the rest of the foamie that is now pinned down by the narrow end of the chopstick - gather the sides up against the chopstick - but be gentle as you dont want to expand the foamie too much.
once you have done that, lift up the chopstick - you now have the chopstick protruding but not tearing through the foamie on the other end.
take a sharp pair of scissors - place just that part where the chopstick can be felt at the very end where the pivot is - once you have the scissors secured against the chopstick - gently turn it around as you cut - if the scissors is sharp and if you have applied sufficient pressure - you will get a perfect cut. remove the cut out piece of foamie.
slide the foamie with the the newly cut end in first and adjust over the earbud so that the original hole which would be larger that the hole just cut rests over the earbud.
with the smaller hole behind, the foamie fits tighter and lasts longer before it gets all loose.

since getting the yuin pk2s, i have made about a dozen doughnut foamies using the above method -and it has never failed.

best of luck.

 

[dancekat59]

I figured it was worth the $1 investment at Office Depot to buy a single hole puncher and try it. I had to work it a bit to get the cushion in the right spot in the puncher. I also had to punch it a few times for it to cut, but it works.

Now that I'm trying the donut foamie on my PK3 for the 1st time, I do think there's an improved SQ over the standard foamies. 2x

 

[limathy]

mikey, thanks sounds interesting. ummm if its not too much trouble could you post a pic or 2 in the process? i'm trying really hard 2 visualise what you mean (in terms of the cutting part after u gather the foamie around the chopstick)

thanks.

with the paper punch, how did you all get the foamie into the space to holepunch? i find it far too tight to squeeze it in

 

[dancekat59]

This is the $1 hole puncher I used.

As I wrote earlier, it does take a bit of work to get the foamie (push, pull, compress, etc.) in the hole puncher where the cutting part (die?) goes through the existing hole of the foamie.