[Spie1904]

Human biology really do be mysterious sometimes.

The only suggestions I have left at this point are custom solutions. You have mentioned CIEMs, so the other one is custom sleeves that slot over off-the-shelf IEMs, which means you take advantage of the IEMs you already own or are familiar with.

I have no affiliation with any of these links. I merely know of the existence of these solutions.

(been sold out for a long time but most relevant to this thread) https://www.etymotic.com/product/custom-earphone-molds/

https://amp.earplugstore.com/cusfitearmol1.html

https://service.shure.com/s/article/custom-molds-for-earphones-how-to-what-and-where?language=en_US

There are very few Ety-style bullet-tip buds in the market. One is the Final Audio E-series, but based on my brief trials at stores, those have more low end presence than the ER4XR, which as you know have more low end than the SR.

The following, I only know they exist, and have zero firsthand experience.

There is a Chinese clone of the ER4B called the Yu9 U-554.

Shure updated its IEM lineup and introduced a bullet tip called the Aonic 4. No idea on tuning.

Tanchjim Darling. No idea on tuning.

That’s about it as far as I know.

If you’re willing to fork out more there is technics EAH-Tz700 but that’s also very bassy!

 

[Sinocelt]

If you’re willing to fork out more there is technics EAH-Tz700 but that’s also very bassy!

Ah, no, I need an IEM that can be used for sound engineering. For other purposes, I do have other IEMs.

 

[Sinocelt]

The only suggestions I have left at this point are custom solutions. You have mentioned CIEMs

I looked at the ACS Envoke2 Classic, recently. It's £250 pounds in the UK, but here I'd have to buy the Evoke through their "partner," which charges the equivalent of £450. A cool 80% markup, in a country whose VAT on electronics (5%) and average income are both a lot lower than in the UK. They make a lot more money per sale, but at the cost of more sales for ACS.

 

[riodgarp]

why not use an alternative filter?

 

[Sinocelt]

why not use an alternative filter?

Where will I find one that fits?

 

[WilcoRoger]

For my part since I've started to use the Comply Tx series foamies, which have the wax guard, I never had to change the filter.

 

[riodgarp]

Where will I find one that fits?

as far as I know, knowles make dampers too, but I don't know if they make etymotic's size, for my er3se I used a foam filter instead.

 

[Sinocelt]

as far as I know, knowles make dampers too, but I don't know if they make etymotic's size

Yeah, that's the problem.

For my part since I've started to use the Comply Tx series foamies, which have the wax guard, I never had to change the filter.

Even the largest Comply tips are too small for me. I wasted a lot of money on them, too. Blah.

I could try the Shure Olives with filters. I actually have two pairs of those that fit me. The filters have pretty wide holes, though.

What I'm currently trying is simply longer tips, that recess the barrel tip (and thus the filter). I'm going to spend the afternoon removing mouth clicks from audio files, which will be fun (not). Let's hope the filters will last for a few hours.

(Space Quest IV is my fav.)

 

[WilcoRoger]

as far as I know, knowles make dampers too, but I don't know if they make etymotic's size, for my er3se I used a foam filter instead.

IIRC Ety uses the knowles filters - some more enlightened members might chime in on this

 

[AnyDave]

as far as I know, knowles make dampers too, but I don't know if they make etymotic's size, for my er3se I used a foam filter instead.

The only real issue with the Knowles dampers is that they use a coined metal shell. The original ER4 used those dampers. Unfortunately, the outer diameter on those isn't incredibly well controlled (they were designed to be used in compliant tubing for hearing aids, where it doesn't matter). Because of this, we had issues with the hoop stress being too much on the plastic bodied ER4s and there were some stem cracking issues. We switched to the plastic bodied dampers specifically because they can compress a bit when inserted.

The Knowles dampers certainly won't crack the stem on the metal bodies of the current ER4 (or ER2/ER3). But metal-on-metal compression fitting is not ideal. Either it'll be loose and fall out, or so tight it's nearly impossible to remove. There is a small dimensional window that will work, and certainly there will be no problem acoustically, but using them is unfortunately a risk.

 

[riodgarp]

The only real issue with the Knowles dampers is that they use a coined metal shell. The original ER4 used those dampers. Unfortunately, the outer diameter on those isn't incredibly well controlled (they were designed to be used in compliant tubing for hearing aids, where it doesn't matter). Because of this, we had issues with the hoop stress being too much on the plastic bodied ER4s and there were some stem cracking issues. We switched to the plastic bodied dampers specifically because they can compress a bit when inserted.

The Knowles dampers certainly won't crack the stem on the metal bodies of the current ER4 (or ER2/ER3). But metal-on-metal compression fitting is not ideal. Either it'll be loose and fall out, or so tight it's nearly impossible to remove. There is a small dimensional window that will work, and certainly there will be no problem acoustically, but using them is unfortunately a risk.

yep, I remember seeing one of member's etymotic nozzle got snapped after using knowles damper

 

[Obizzz]

I have both variants of the ER2 and I can never make up my mind on which I like better. (got thing I got both then...)

I've been using the XR a lot but I recently went back to the SE using the dual flange tips. I've been using them with the large triple flanges and while the isolate a bit better (dual flange is still very good though) I can go deeper with the small dual flanges which seems to have killed some resonance effects. Ideally I would probably like something in between SE and XR with the bass shelf moved a little further down as I feel it sometimes affects the lower mids a bit much. (Well, there's always EQ)

For me the dual flanges are more comfortable, not that I found the triples that bad anyway but I feel like I can wear these all day. They're also a bit easier to take in and out which makes me more likely to reach for the Etys.

 

[Rackhour]

I have both variants of the ER2 and I can never make up my mind on which I like better. (got thing I got both then...)

I've been using the XR a lot but I recently went back to the SE using the dual flange tips. I've been using them with the large triple flanges and while the isolate a bit better (dual flange is still very good though) I can go deeper with the small dual flanges which seems to have killed some resonance effects. Ideally I would probably like something in between SE and XR with the bass shelf moved a little further down as I feel it sometimes affects the lower mids a bit much. (Well, there's always EQ)

For me the dual flanges are more comfortable, not that I found the triples that bad anyway but I feel like I can wear these all day. They're also a bit easier to take in and out which makes me more likely to reach for the Etys.

Not just the flanges, but also the bullet shape of the buds.

As much as I love my EVO, those aren’t the quickest to wear when I’m in bed and want some background music. I have found after fiddling with a variety of buds like the ER# are the way to go for both convenience and sound.

 

[zooey105]

I've been using the stock flange tip (the 3 tipped ones?) are these the deepest inserts possible? The foam tips I got don't insert nearly as far. I guess I'm not sure if I'm hitting my eardrum or if that's even accidentally possible

 

[Obizzz]

I've been using the stock flange tip (the 3 tipped ones?) are these the deepest inserts possible? The foam tips I got don't insert nearly as far. I guess I'm not sure if I'm hitting my eardrum or if that's even accidentally possible

How deep you can go with those depends very much on your personal ear anatomy. If you have very narrow ear canals that last flange might stop you from going deep enough but it might also be a non issue.