[quadcom]

I have a pair of UE TF10's which I've had remolded by Fischer/Inearz. As time has gone by (less than a year) it appears as though the sensitivity of the drivers has dropped off considerably. Currently I have them hooked up to an Cowon i9 plugged into a Zio E11 both running full volume and it is just about loud enough. All of my tracks have been normalized to 0db so there's more than enough volume there. I would have thought that the E11 would have more than enough power to allow things to be run half way on both?
 
I also have a pair of Superfi 5Pro's and when I plug those in I am deafened beyond belief. Can these kind of drivers (balanced armature) degrade after a period and start to increase their impedance thus dropping the sensitivity and volume?

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Have you checked the filters of the remold? They might be filled with ear wax.

 

[quadcom]

I use the UE tool to keep the channels clear regularly. I can clearly see that there is a red and a green filter in place but I can't tell if the filter itself is clogged up. I do wear them at the gym so there is moisture which could I guess get into the core of the filter. Is there something that can be used that will dissolve any buildup?
 
 
Here's a pic...
 

 

[Rip N' Burn]

A 3% Hydrogen Peroxide solution would do the trick. Just don't let the drivers get exposed to it. Only the filters.  I would let it sit in a small container with the stem facing down and would do the same with uncooked rice to get rid of any moisture. Hope it helps.

 

[quadcom]

OK So I took the cleaning tool and started scraping the surface of the filters and there is a dramatic change. Everything's gotten a lot louder so that's a good thing. The bad thing is one of the filters (high end) ended up getting pushed into the canal. It was fairly loose so it didn't take much to push it in. Are the filters really needed? What do they do other than keep debris out of the canal? Is there any harm in removing them?
 
Thanks in advance for all your advice guys.
 
Q.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

The filters are also acoustic dampeners which will change the frequency response. Without filters, iems tend to sound grainy, harsh, and bright. The positioning of the filters also affects the sound but not nearly as bad without filters.