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I've tried to make some of 3M homemade foam too. Instead of drilling it, I use a hole puncher. It works perfectly and the foam's shape look great, it stick to my iem and doesn't come off easily. But if I insert a tube inside the foam, the tube touches my ear. Otherwise, the foam is too fluffy and I can't insert it deeply(maybe my ear's tubes are a bit small).What are your recommendation?.
Ps: beside m6, I also have a M9. Any isolation tips for that?
If the phone nozzle is long enough (think and long, like the ones in the SoundMAGIC PL50 or Meelec A151), don't punch a hole and cut the foam so it's a couple of millimeters longer than the nozzle. The hole must be very thin, made with a needle or a thin drill bit. That way, the foam will cover the nozzle entirely but won't protude and so if you insert it deeply it won't block the nozzle tip. Also, as the foam has a very thin hole, the foam surrounding the nozzle will be a bit more solid (less fluffy) and you won't need a deep insertion to get a good seal and noise isolation. And you won't need a tube
For the M9 I've always used the stock tips. They work good. Lately I've been using the fake Sony Hybrids with them. OK, it's a bit hard to put the tips, as the hole is a bit small, but with some patience you can do it, and the results are awesome.
BUT, I've used homemade foamies with M9, also. In this case, I cut the foam about 2mm longer than the nozzle, just like with any other nozzle, only this time you end up with a "disc" of foam, rather than a foam tip. Don't worry. Here you have to punch a hole or make a cross with a cutter, because the nozzle diameter is quite big. The result will be ugly as heck, but you will have an M9 with a foam disk ready to use. The isolation will be great, even though the insertion depth will be quite small. With short-nozzled phones I've used this with reasonable success. The M9 sounds better with silicone tips, though, at least it's what I think.
If you think I've went nuts with the foam disk idea, you have another alternative. With the M9 and M11+ I've used Comply tips, too, which means you can use some tubbing to allow for a longer homemade foam instead of just a disk. When my Comply tips die, I'm going to use the tube for homemade foamies, no doubt, because the diameter is perfect for the M9, M11+ and other phones with similar nozzles I have, and comfort is unbeatable.
Last but not least, with the M6 you can use SoundMAGIC foamies, de-cored or with the core intact. They are comfortable, but unfortunately they are tooooooo soft when warm and if you make sudden moves you can lose some seal. I'm now using my A151 with both SoundMAGIC foamies and homemade foamies and right now the clear winner are my blotched homemade foamies.
Sorry for the lack of photos: this thread would be much better with them, I know, but I just don't have the time right now, sorry.
Meanwhile, you may want to take a look here:
http://community.klipsch.com/forums/t/116584.aspx
That's more or less the method I use. I've noticed that 3M's foam is harder than other brands, which may be useful depending on the phone. Right now I'm not using 3M, but a generic brand with an amazing 37dB attenuation, reasonably cheap (but safe, they're from a shop specialized in work safety products, and they sell quality items), about 0.20 EUR per pair, and easy to work with. Anyway, I use what I have at hand whenever I need a new pair.
Last but not least: I don't always use foams, because for certain phones they affect sound, mainly making it muddy. At least, that's my experience, so I only foamies when silicone tips doesn't work, like with the A151, M6, PL50, etc.
The silicone is soft and sometimes I don't get a good seal without moving the tips a little and isolation is far from perfect.
