[Michael Chan]

For my old E5C I could never got good sounding from triple flange even I heard many praise about it.

Now I really would like to give it a try again for my new e500 and hopfully can taste the merit of it. I could use some advice here because I heard from many about trimming the stalk or cutting the top part to make it a "bi-flange". Could anyone give me more details how to do it or photo would be most helpful.

Thanks in advance!

 

[feh1325]

i cut off both the stem and the smallest flange. just use a good pair of scissors and remember that there is no turning back to the triflange once you cut it off.

unless you buy a new pair.

 

[jerry1130]

One advice is to use the ety ones. The stems on thoes are a lot shorter also they are much cheaper than the Shure tri flange.

 

[Michael Chan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feh1325 i cut off both the stem and the smallest flange. just use a good pair of scissors and remember that there is no turning back to the triflange once you cut it off. unless you buy a new pair.

Thanks! Luckily I have 2 pairs (from E5C & E500). So I have backup! Do you feel this modified one CAN sound better than yellow foam?

 

[Michael Chan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerry1130 One advice is to use the ety ones. The stems on thoes are a lot shorter also they are much cheaper than the Shure tri flange.

Thanks for advice! interesting... I will buy one and try it. Oh man. Sometimes I feel like we IEM junkie are so picky like freak!! But I just can't help it. Searching for even 2% enchachment is really part of the fun!

 

[afobisme]

just modded my tri flange to a bi flange... i have small canals and all. i think it fits just fine, i'll post tomorrow. it goes in pretty deep, so far it's sorta uncomfortable (but bearable).

http://www.hidebehind.com/1D5AE140

 

[Tuarreg]

I couldn't get triple flange to work for me, even after snipping off the smallest tip. I'm sure it's not in my ears properly because I am getting no bass and thin sounding midrange and highs. Original grey default and yellow foamies work great.

I wonder why the default sleeve is the soft grey... anybody read anything regarding this from Shure's point of view? Do they think that the defaults are more universal for fit or are they endorsing the defaults as having best sonic qualities?

Tuarreg

 

[nfusion770]

I cut off the deepest flange- as it felt very uncomfortable. I left the "stem" though. I think it sounds very good like this.

Triple flanges are available in a 3 pack from Amazon for about $9 (peculiarly- singles are about the same price). Thats cheap enough to experiment a bit.

 

[Tuarreg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nfusion770 I cut off the deepest flange- as it felt very uncomfortable. I left the "stem" though. I think it sounds very good like this. Triple flanges are available in a 3 pack from Amazon for about $9 (peculiarly- singles are about the same price). Thats cheap enough to experiment a bit.

How does the sound compare to the grey defaults?

Tuarreg

 

[nfusion770]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tuarreg How does the sound compare to the grey defaults? Tuarreg

I have always preferred the tri flange. Cutting off the deepest doesnt seem to affect the sound all that much (but it keeps them from touching the inside of my ear). I haven't used any of the others in quite a while, but overall the tri flange has a much deeper, fuller, sound to my ears. Sorry- cant really answer your question I guess.

 

[Stoney]

I have written about how the E500 with standard tips (or silicone/clear versions too) sound splashy in the lower treble.

Trying the other tips, only the triflange fixed this, but it tipped the tonal balance down so much I needed the treble boost EQ in the iPod.

Now, I've tried modifying the triflange (I bought the three-pair pack for $9 from Amazon). First, I tried cutting off the last flange and its stem. This was good, but the mid treble was now emphasised too much and a bit forward in imaging (sign of a resonance).

Next, I cut off just the flange, leaving a bit more stem sticking out. Now the treble emphasis is so high in frequency that it doesn't bother me much. Adds a bit of sparkle. The sound is a bit dark and the top treble is mostly missing, though.

I think removing the last flange changes the aim of the exit of the tube, allowing it to aim more at my eardrums, hence no more treble rolloff. I had found that the tips of the triflange would contact skin and be blocked as I worked them into my canals, a sure sign that the tips were at an angle. Without the flange, the tips seem to aim true.

So, don't give up and keep trying those tips....

 

[afobisme]

blah, i think the flanges sound the best but they start to hurt my ears after 30 minutes or so.

 

[Stoney]

I am loving a yet newer mod I've made to the triple flanges. Since they are cheap at Amazon, I felt free to cut them up....

I posted above about how the lower treble sounds splashy and smeared with most tips, but not triflanges. It turns out this was because I wasn't burying the phones deep enough into my ear canal.

The shortest tips are the foamies. So I buried them deeply, and found the sound was the best of all the things I tried. I then went back to the stock gray ones, and this time I found that it was hard to maintain them deep enough. They are a bit longer than the foamies, longer than the black tube on each phone.

So, rather than cut up my only pair of small gray tips, I cut up the largest flange out of a triflange, cutting its tube just long enough to cover that of the phone. The black is now flush with the dome of the flange. This works great. Stays in, seals well, and has smooth treble and full bass.

No more triflange for me.

This also works using the second-largest flange. But in my ears, they don't seal as reliably. But, I may try to trim the two flanges to both fit but with the tube between them cut so that the overall length is again just as long as the black tube.

The sound changes so thoroughly with changing tips, even in nonlinear ways (such as this treble distortion, sort of a resonance or lack of damping), that it is hard to compare different phones at all until you find the optimum tips to use with each. This is probably why custom fit units are so satisfying... they fit where they were designed to fit.

 

[wsilvio]

I'm having a hard time getting the seal I want with the e-500's. I think my ety er4's seal and isolate better. Where is the 37db noise reduction they talk about? I e-mailed sensaphonics to see if they are going to make a custom sleeve for these, but have not heard back. I found that the largest clear tips work the best so far for me. I think I have a very large ear canal, which may be part of the problem. I am however really starting to enjoy these IEM's. I am awaiting a ALO cryo doc, and an RSA Hornet to complete the portable madness! I'm currently using them with a total airhead and 40g ipod. Seems really noisy to me.