[portmaster1000]

I'm new here and apologize if this has been posted before...

I love the comfort of my E2C phones with the new soft flex sleeves but to me the isolation was lacking when compared to the other sleeves. I had this idea to increase the isolation.

I took my medium soft flex sleeves which fit well and get a good seal and combined them with the small foamies. Here are the steps I took:

1) Remove the foam from it's plastic connection tube. I carefully used an exacto knife. It's best to start from the bottom and slowly cut close to the plastic. Once the foam was half way off, I found it could "forced" the rest of the way off.

2) Push the soft flex sleeve away from it's tube. It's "opens up" and looks like a small black flower.

3) Put the foam ring around the soft flex tube push the sleeve back down - "closing it".

4) The soft flex/foam combo sleeves can then be put on the E2C.

The small foamies were too small for my ears but within the medium soft flex sleeves they work excellently. The combo's isolation is much better than the soft flex and even better than foamies by themselves. The soft flex provides protection for the foam so I hope it will last indefinitely.

enjoy
PM1K

 

[mtbaird5687]

is there anyway you can post pics of this?

im having trouble getting a good seal with the soft flex and its a hassle to work with the foam so this may help me a lot

 

[mtbaird5687]

ga, i just realized why im not getting isolation, there is a tiny rip in part of one of my sleeves

does anyone have a small pair of soft sleeves i could buy

 

[portmaster1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mtbaird5687 is there anyway you can post pics of this?

The quality is low (PDA camera)

Here is a pic with the soft flex sleeves pushed out -



Here is a pic with the sleeves back over the foam -



enjoy
PM1K

 

[CRS401]

Oh wow that's pretty neat. I'll think about giving it a try. I only got med foamies and small soft sleeves.

 

[Spiritboxer]

Wondering if this would work with the E3's as well. I've been using foamies but the soft flex sleeves are way too comfortable to toss and combining the two seems like the best of both worlds. Great idea regardless, portmaster!

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spiritboxer Wondering if this would work with the E3's as well. I've been using foamies but the soft flex sleeves are way too comfortable to toss and combining the two seems like the best of both worlds. Great idea regardless, portmaster!

I've used this mod on the Ety ER4, so I don't see why it wouldn't work on the E3. Give it a shot.

 

[skitlets]

I may have to try this. The isolation on the soft sleeves are quite poor relative to the foamies.

 

[Sinbios]

i did this one, and the isolation is indeed improved. however, i found that the foamies tend to slip back on the stem, leaving the top hollow. is there a way around this, beyond superglue?

 

[mattb]

I also did this the day I got my soft sleeves. Without it they felt like they were resonating with the music. I'm using the large sleeves loaded with small foamies cut in half. I tried using a whole foamie at first but it was too uncomforable. I guess there's lots of room for experimenting to suit individual ears. It definitely creates better isolation than the foamies

 

[portmaster1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinbios i did this one, and the isolation is indeed improved. however, i found that the foamies tend to slip back on the stem, leaving the top hollow. is there a way around this, beyond superglue?

I noticed the same problem as a few insertions. I added a little strip of double-sided tape to the soft flex tube. It seems to be holding the foamie in place but I'm not sure how long it will last. I'll keep you informed as I "road test" more.

PM1K

 

[portmaster1000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by portmaster1000 I'll keep you informed as I "road test" more.

Save your time and DON'T try tape. Doesn't stick for very long to the soft flex material... back to the drawing board.

PM1K

 

[joelongwood]

WOW! I just did this mod to the Sharp MD-33, and not only did the isolation improve dramatically, but the fit is much better, and the bass is incredible. Kinda like the EX71, except the Sharp has a nice midrange and fairly smooth top end (no screechiness).
I guess the ultra soft tip material is deformed too easily inside the ear canal, and the foam actually expands to fill the void. Fantastic!!

BTW, I'm using the gray foamies from my Ety ER4. After removing the plastic tube, I inserted a pencil tip until it stretched the opening large enough to fit the rubber tube of the MD-33 tip.........the fit is VERY snug and has not slipped one bit.

 

[mr.karmalicious]

So you're taking off the foam from the foamies, and putting it on the outer part of the tubes of the soft-flex sleeves?

/me is confused

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mr.karmalicious So you're taking off the foam from the foamies, and putting it on the outer part of the tubes of the soft-flex sleeves? /me is confused

You got it right. The pics are posted at the beginning.