[darkarn]

As per title, how should I test if the tip is the best one for my ears? What tracks and testing methods I should use?

EDIT: I am asking here instead of the help forums as I will like a more systematic approach aside from the usual "try every tip until it sounds the best" approach as that didn't help me understand why some tips are worse than the other etc

 

[baskingshark]

As per title, how should I test if the tip is the best one for my ears? What tracks and testing methods I should use?

Generally if u can hear the bass and subbass well, it means a good seal is achieved.

You should familiarise yourself with a couple of songs to know them inside out in terms of dynamics and details and what instrument/voice plays at a certain time and use this test track to see if anything is lacking whenever u try a new tip.

In general wide bore silicone tips lower the bass, whereas narrow bore silicone tips are the opposite. And in general foam tips lower treble. But as we all have different ear anatomies, we may experience different outcomes with different tips.

 

[castleofargh]

As per title, how should I test if the tip is the best one for my ears? What tracks and testing methods I should use?

EDIT: I am asking here instead of the help forums as I will like a more systematic approach aside from the usual "try every tip until it sounds the best" approach as that didn't help me understand why some tips are worse than the other etc

Usually, you'll want a good seal, both to achieve good subs, and to isolate yourself better from outside noises. Comfort is also going to count obviously. But even that is subjective. There is no objective and universal answer for tips because there is hardly any universal target to aim for(not even for IEM frequency response). Tips are just part of a larger problem, anytime you put an IEM in your ear, you will insert it a certain way at a certain depth, and that will affect the response at your eardrum. There is no correct way to do it as we all have different ears, even my left and right ear canals aren't very similar. And we have no idea what the ideal response of a given IEM should be.
Different tips might affect the total volume inside the ear canal and have other more complicated acoustic impacts, but what's the best? Again, who knows. The best will be whatever sounds nicest or more neutral to you. That best result for you might not be my best result. Sorry but the quest for tip rapidly turns into "try every tip until it sounds the best". or my personal version: "try every tip until one feels comfy, then just EQ the sound to your liking".

 

[dazzerfong]

Unless it's a custom tip, it'll always be question mark. However, a somewhat easy way to gauge how well it seals is to test for the occlusion effect - basically, if you move around, does it sound like your footsteps are louder and from your head?

 

[darkarn]

Generally if u can hear the bass and subbass well, it means a good seal is achieved.

You should familiarise yourself with a couple of songs to know them inside out in terms of dynamics and details and what instrument/voice plays at a certain time and use this test track to see if anything is lacking whenever u try a new tip.

In general wide bore silicone tips lower the bass, whereas narrow bore silicone tips are the opposite. And in general foam tips lower treble. But as we all have different ear anatomies, we may experience different outcomes with different tips.

Thanks! Here's the thing about bass and subbass that confused me, if say I try the medium size of the tips, bass and subbass would lean to the left but if I try the large size of the tips, bass and subbass would lean to the right so now I am unsure if there's something wrong with my ear canals, testing tracks or even the IEMs themselves

Usually, you'll want a good seal, both to achieve good subs, and to isolate yourself better from outside noises. Comfort is also going to count obviously. But even that is subjective. There is no objective and universal answer for tips because there is hardly any universal target to aim for(not even for IEM frequency response). Tips are just part of a larger problem, anytime you put an IEM in your ear, you will insert it a certain way at a certain depth, and that will affect the response at your eardrum. There is no correct way to do it as we all have different ears, even my left and right ear canals aren't very similar. And we have no idea what the ideal response of a given IEM should be.
Different tips might affect the total volume inside the ear canal and have other more complicated acoustic impacts, but what's the best? Again, who knows. The best will be whatever sounds nicest or more neutral to you. That best result for you might not be my best result. Sorry but the quest for tip rapidly turns into "try every tip until it sounds the best". or my personal version: "try every tip until one feels comfy, then just EQ the sound to your liking".

Thanks, but uh oh I was hoping for a more efficient method to test tips as it would be a waste of money to keep ordering tips from say, Amazon to test for the correct shape and size. Which online shops are the most lenient in returns for tips in this case?

Unless it's a custom tip, it'll always be question mark. However, a somewhat easy way to gauge how well it seals is to test for the occlusion effect - basically, if you move around, does it sound like your footsteps are louder and from your head?

Thanks, I have heard about the occlusion effect but it did not occur to me that I have to move around to test for it since the audio shops I go to can get crowded at times. Would light humming or talking to myself and seeing if the occlusion effect get better/worse be a good substitute to this moving around method?

 

[dazzerfong]

Thanks! Here's the thing about bass and subbass that confused me, if say I try the medium size of the tips, bass and subbass would lean to the left but if I try the large size of the tips, bass and subbass would lean to the right so now I am unsure if there's something wrong with my ear canals, testing tracks or even the IEMs themselves



Thanks, but uh oh I was hoping for a more efficient method to test tips as it would be a waste of money to keep ordering tips from say, Amazon to test for the correct shape and size. Which online shops are the most lenient in returns for tips in this case?



Thanks, I have heard about the occlusion effect but it did not occur to me that I have to move around to test for it since the audio shops I go to can get crowded at times. Would light humming or talking to myself and seeing if the occlusion effect get better/worse be a good substitute to this moving around method?

I have the same problem with pretty much all IEMs - that's why I went with custom tips. Once that confirmed it for a relatively small price, I jumped onto customs.

There is no easy way out besides experimenting, nor a 'scientific' way of doing it considering your ears are different to everyone else's.

Forget it about returning tips - they're often in blister packs, so if you rip them open it's over.

If you know what to hear for with the occlusion effect, don't have to move around - it's just most obvious when you're moving around because you normally don't hear your footsteps that obviously.

 

[darkarn]

I have the same problem with pretty much all IEMs - that's why I went with custom tips. Once that confirmed it for a relatively small price, I jumped onto customs.

There is no easy way out besides experimenting, nor a 'scientific' way of doing it considering your ears are different to everyone else's.

Forget it about returning tips - they're often in blister packs, so if you rip them open it's over.

If you know what to hear for with the occlusion effect, don't have to move around - it's just most obvious when you're moving around because you normally don't hear your footsteps that obviously.

Thanks! I did consider custom tips but they looked like they are harder to store and bring around. Is this true?

Also, it seems that I will need two different sets of custom tips due to my two pairs of IEMs/earplugs having different bore size, which won't help things unless there's a way to use the same custom tips on different bore sizes?

That's what I don't like about testing for tips, if it turns out you got the wrong size, it's money wasted

Will stamping my feet on the ground be a good substitute to moving around?

 

[dazzerfong]

Thanks! I did consider custom tips but they looked like they are harder to store and bring around. Is this true?

Also, it seems that I will need two different sets of custom tips due to my two pairs of IEMs/earplugs having different bore size, which won't help things unless there's a way to use the same custom tips on different bore sizes?

That's what I don't like about testing for tips, if it turns out you got the wrong size, it's money wasted

Will stamping my feet on the ground be a good substitute to moving around?

Indeed, they are what the millenials will call thicc.

It depends on what kind of custom tips you get. I got ones which are literally moulded around my earphones, so they will only fit that one earphone.

Tips (the normal kind) aren't that expensive anyway, unless you're going for the budget route? In which case, Aliexpress!

 

[darkarn]

Indeed, they are what the millenials will call thicc.

It depends on what kind of custom tips you get. I got ones which are literally moulded around my earphones, so they will only fit that one earphone.

Tips (the normal kind) aren't that expensive anyway, unless you're going for the budget route? In which case, Aliexpress!

Looks like I'll have to ask custom tip makers if theirs can accomodate more than one type of earphone, or bite the bullet and get two pairs

I heard Aliexpress can be slow and don't always sell the actual tips (i.e. just replicas)?

 

[Redcarmoose]

Knowing you have the best fit can be discovered by placing your index finger on the back of the IEM and rotating in a circular fashion while listening. The music should not change in any way. Though some will actually prefer partial fit, which in turn acts to reduce bass. Of course having the IEM at a stance away from your ear is at times the ultimate fit. It can actually occur where the IEM itself being too close will create an issue of the air-tight fit being lost, also not letting the IEM stay in place. Such a predicament will get the idea of having great fit when in reality a longer tip with extension of the IEM will drastically create a more stable sound. So in cases the tips need to actually hold the IEM. In this regard many get better results from thicker more substantial tip build.

Though it’s a one instance by once instance situation, as your asking an intermediary rubber/foam/silicone device to (at times hold the IEM in place) and other times to simply just keep it from moving as a big part of the IEM is resting on part of the outer ear.

The next process to concern with after airtight fit is sound. Obviously everyone has their own subjective sound preferences and taste. Tip opening size and shape/material will affect tone. So it’s safe to say some tips are going to be adding correction closer to that desired tone. Then at other times the personality of the tip can be going the wrong direction.

 

[dazzerfong]

Looks like I'll have to ask custom tip makers if theirs can accomodate more than one type of earphone, or bite the bullet and get two pairs

I heard Aliexpress can be slow and don't always sell the actual tips (i.e. just replicas)?

It'll be hard, especially considering that different earphones have different bore sizes. Not to mention, the nozzle entry angle is wildly different.

For anything in life, pick two: cheap, fast and quality. If it bothers you that much, get the 'replica' then, once you're happy with it, get the real thing.

What IEMs do you currently have? I really only bothered to go with custom tips once the cost of the tips paled in comparison to the IEMs. No point shelling out a hundred or two for an IEM that costs a fraction of that. If you're in that camp, honestly just go with foam - those worked for me.

 

[montonen]

Knowing you have the best fit can be discovered by placing your index finger on the back of the IEM and rotating in a circular fashion while listening. The music should not change in any way. Though some will actually prefer partial fit, which in turn acts to reduce bass. Of course having the IEM at a stance away from your ear is at times the ultimate fit. It can actually occur where the IEM itself being too close will create an issue of the air-tight fit being lost, also not letting the IEM stay in place. Such a predicament will get the idea of having great fit when in reality a longer tip with extension of the IEM will drastically create a more stable sound. So in cases the tips need to actually hold the IEM. In this regard many get better results from thicker more substantial tip build.

Though it’s a one instance by once instance situation, as your asking an intermediary rubber/foam/silicone device to (at times hold the IEM in place) and other times to simply just keep it from moving as a big part of the IEM is resting on part of the outer ear.

The next process to concern with after airtight fit is sound. Obviously everyone has their own subjective sound preferences and taste. Tip opening size and shape/material will affect tone. So it’s safe to say some tips are going to be adding correction closer to that desired tone. Then at other times the personality of the tip can be going the wrong direction.

Bumping an old thread, but rotating IEM's while listening was actually very useful tip. I recently bought my first IEM's and was thinking about if the fit was right. I actually discovered this when I was listening to IEM's in bed and noticed noticeable boost in bass when I was laying my head on a pillow on one side as the pillow was putting more pressure to that side. After that I changed tip size and rotating IEM's did not affect the sound any more.

 

[Redcarmoose]

Bumping an old thread, but rotating IEM's while listening was actually very useful tip. I recently bought my first IEM's and was thinking about if the fit was right. I actually discovered this when I was listening to IEM's in bed and noticed noticeable boost in bass when I was laying my head on a pillow on one side as the pillow was putting more pressure to that side. After that I changed tip size and rotating IEM's did not affect the sound any more.

I learned all this stuff first hand.

 

[KinGensai]

Some observations from spending quite a lot of $ tip-rolling.

My standard now is comparing my custom tips to universal tips. Observations on sound changes are in that context.

Wide bore is preferable to narrow bore for 4mm to 6mm nozzles. Perceived imaging went down consistently across brands as bore size went down.

Stem length is important to consider first for comfort, then for sound. Each IEM wants to sit differently in your ear, so the sealing portion of the tip will need different stem lengths to reach your optimal seating position. The general principle I arrived at is the size of the IEM is directly correlated to required stem length for optimal fit.
The sound adds perceived dimension as the stem gets longer as a general observation. This also depends on the material, so take with a grain of salt.

Texture of the material matters. If you are going to put your IEMs on and leave them in, sticky and heavily textured materials work well to secure your fit. If you are going to wear your IEMs out and about, every little bit of texture causes stress and eventually pain as you don & doff them throughout the day. As a rule of thumb, the slicker the material is, the thicker you want the material to be. Slick and thin tends to deform too readily and fail to seal properly.

My current GOAT universals are the Azla sednaearfit light long stem and the Divinius Velvet tips due to the factors above. The Azlas have the most universally applicable dimensions of all the tips I tried, they seal the best with the widest variety of IEMs (at least that I own), and they are just textured enough to be secure without tearing my ear canals up over time. They also sound the closest to my custom tips, so they even win in the sound department too. The Divinius get a nod because they are just as nice, but are less compatible due to a shorter stem.

Hope this helps.

 

[Roseval]

I have the Jabra Evolve 2 buds.
They come with an app.
One option is to "measure" fit.
The app plays some weird noise. As it is ANC/Headset, I assume if the mics pickup this noise, a bad seal is reported.