[chinmie]

I have. It has the same effect: fantastic seal for a minute, then it dislodged slightly and becomes just an above average seal. Sound doesn’t change but isolation does.

Is there a specific point when I should stop insertion, or a specific sensation I should feel for a good seal? I’ve noticed that sometimes I can insert it very very deep and it has a good seal, sometimes I insert it very very deep and the seal really isn’t good at all.

it depends on the eartips dome: if it is expanded and touch the ear canal all around, it would make a seal, even in shallow insertion. no matter how deep we insert it, if the dome collapsed a bit, it would still not create a seal..so we basically only poking the ears with a stick.

 

[manthisis]

it depends on the eartips dome: if it is expanded and touch the ear canal all around, it would make a seal, even in shallow insertion. no matter how deep we insert it, if the dome collapsed a bit, it would still not create a seal..so we basically only poking the ears with a stick.

Right. One thing I can’t tell is if it’s a fault in the inner seal (the bony part of the ear canal) or if it’s a problem with the outer part of my ear sealing.

 

[manthisis]

I think I may have found a solution! After all this searching, I happened to find this picture earlier in the thread that modifies the tips by putting a ring of the included foam on the nozzle, and then tucking it under the large flange. Like this:

I tried it out and, at least for the past 30 minutes, it's been perfect! It has that "optimal" seal that I've been looking for (isolated like 95% of what the foams isolate anyway), is super comfortable, and retains the same sound as the silicone tips.

 

[betula]

23 Ohm is the magic number:

Thanks, that's interesting. Those graphs are literally identical. I can only find 20 ohm adapters though, I assume that's what I need.

 

[435279]

I tried it out and, at least for the past 30 minutes, it's been perfect! It has that "optimal" seal that I've been looking for (isolated like 95% of what the foams isolate anyway), is super comfortable, and retains the same sound as the silicone tips.

Good idea that, glad you found something that works for you, time will tell if it works long term. I too struggle with silicone tips and usually use the Shure olive tips. I will give this a try.

I have a large quantity of 3M E.A.R classic ear plugs, the yellow foam ones so I cut one of those up.

 

[manthisis]

Good idea that, glad you found something that works for you, time will tell if it works long term. I too struggle with silicone tips and usually use the Shure olive tips. I will give this a try.

I have a large quantity of 3M E.A.R classic ear plugs, the yellow foam ones so I cut one of those up.

Yeah. I was feeling some discomfort after a little while in the left ear but I’ll try again tomorrow. I’m interested in the Shure olives though. What size do you use, and do they ruin the sound at all? Are they comfortable/isolate well?

 

[435279]

Yeah. I was feeling some discomfort after a little while in the left ear but I’ll try again tomorrow. I’m interested in the Shure olives though. What size do you use, and do they ruin the sound at all? Are they comfortable/isolate well?

I'm using the small ones at the moment but I have used the medium too. Perhaps try the trial pack with S, M and L first. Insertion technique is the usual, "jam them in as far as they will go" after squishing the tips a bit and pull them out a bit for best bass and seal.

Isolation and comfort for me is superb. I get more bass with foam tips but I they certainly don't ruin the sound, just a slightly different sound signature that I can enjoy for hours and hours if I choose too. The sound signature can be tuned a bit too by changing the insertion depth a little, obviously at the expense of isolation.

The only downside of the foam tips is that if there are frequent interruptions then its a bit of malarkey taking them in and out all the time.

The Shure olives are my favourite foam tips and I've tried a few. JVC spiral dot tips are the only silicone tips I get on with for the other IEM's I own.

 

[manthisis]

I'm using the small ones at the moment but I have used the medium too. Perhaps try the trial pack with S, M and L first. Insertion technique is the usual, "jam them in as far as they will go" after squishing the tips a bit and pull them out a bit for best bass and seal.

Isolation and comfort for me is superb. I get more bass with foam tips but I they certainly don't ruin the sound, just a slightly different sound signature that I can enjoy for hours and hours if I choose too. The sound signature can be tuned a bit too by changing the insertion depth a little, obviously at the expense of isolation.

The only downside of the foam tips is that if there are frequent interruptions then its a bit of malarkey taking them in and out all the time.

The Shure olives are my favourite foam tips and I've tried a few. JVC spiral dot tips are the only silicone tips I get on with for the other IEM's I own.

Where can I purchase the trial pack?

 

[435279]

Where can I purchase the trial pack?

I may well have been talking rubbish when I mentioned a trial pack. I just checked and I can't find a trial pack for sale anywhere, a bit strange as a lot of other foam tip manufacturers sell a trial pack.

My SE846 came with small medium and large set, that will be what confused me, oh well it won't be the first time I've been wrong, just ask the Mrs.

 

[manthisis]

I may well have been talking rubbish when I mentioned a trial pack. I just checked and I can't find a trial pack for sale anywhere, a bit strange as a lot of other foam tip manufacturers sell a trial pack.

My SE846 came with small medium and large set, that will be what confused me, oh well it won't be the first time I've been wrong, just ask the Mrs.

Hahah, got it. Thank you.

Considering the large tri flange tips aren't fitting me well, and i usually use medium shallow insertion tips, i just ordered the medium olives. So hopefully those will fix my problem.

 

[435279]

Hahah, got it. Thank you.

Considering the large tri flange tips aren't fitting me well, and i usually use medium shallow insertion tips, i just ordered the medium olives. So hopefully those will fix my problem.

I don't think you will be disappointed, please post back with your impressions.

 

[csglinux]

Thanks, that's interesting. Those graphs are literally identical. I can only find 20 ohm adapters though, I assume that's what I need.

20 Ohm should be fine. It'd be interesting to see whether you actually prefer the sound with those resistors in series. I actually quite like the signature of the ER2XR.

 

[manthisis]

@csglinux What are your thoughts on the Shure Olives? Do they sacrifice any technical ability/detail/treble in comparison to the stock triple flanges? I notice you do your measurements with foam.

 

[csglinux]

@csglinux What are your thoughts on the Shure Olives? Do they sacrifice any technical ability/detail/treble in comparison to the stock triple flanges? I notice you do your measurements with foam.

I like the Shure olives a lot. They have a slick coating which you can easily clean with a damp cloth and they pretty much last forever. Isolation isn't maybe quite as good as with some of the longer/thicker Comply foams (e.g. P-series), but it's close, and Comply foams need replacing fairly frequently and they're not cheap. About the wax guard in those Shure olives - you can always snip them out - carefully - using a small pair of scissors or an x-acto knife.

As for the sound, in my experience, foam (of any variety) always rolls off the treble somewhat. The effect is a bit more pronounced on IEMs with thin nozzles (like the Etys) because there's more wavefront area in contact with the foam. And those P-series foams that isolate so well... they also give more high-frequency damping than that of Shure's olives or smaller Complys, like T100.

If I'm not feeling lazy, I usually try to measure with both foam and silicone tips (those ER2XR measurements a couple of pages back had graphs for both silicone and foam tips). It's always important to know what type of tips were used in any measurement graph, because the differences between them are usually significant.

 

[manthisis]

I like the Shure olives a lot. They have a slick coating which you can easily clean with a damp cloth and they pretty much last forever. Isolation isn't maybe quite as good as with some of the longer/thicker Comply foams (e.g. P-series), but it's close, and Comply foams need replacing fairly frequently and they're not cheap. About the wax guard in those Shure olives - you can always snip them out - carefully - using a small pair of scissors or an x-acto knife.

As for the sound, in my experience, foam (of any variety) always rolls off the treble somewhat. The effect is a bit more pronounced on IEMs with thin nozzles (like the Etys) because there's more wavefront area in contact with the foam. And those P-series foams that isolate so well... they also give more high-frequency damping than that of Shure's olives or smaller Complys, like T100.

If I'm not feeling lazy, I usually try to measure with both foam and silicone tips (those ER2XR measurements a couple of pages back had graphs for both silicone and foam tips). It's always important to know what type of tips were used in any measurement graph, because the differences between them are usually significant.

Got it. Thank you!

Despite the rolled off treble from the Shure Olives in particular, would you say they still remain just as, or nearly as, detailed as the stock tips on the ER4? Do they reduce the treble as much as Comply do?