[zane]

I purchased a pair of Etymotics ER-4Ps earlier this week. I listened to the advice of many of the members of this site because they seemed very knowledgeable. I am extremely pleased with the headphones and I appreciate all of the advice I got from this forum. The only thing that has me confused is the fact that I seem to have a better listening experience with the foam earplugs that came with the ER-4Ps. I purchased the headphones in New York City from Customearmolds.com. I believe their laboratory is called Scientific Plastics. They offer a pair of custom earmolds for $30 if you purchase the Etymotics from them for $279. I took advantage of the offer and they did the custom earmolds for me. I didn't do one of those mail order things; they did everything in the lab. Therefore, I know I didn't screw up the mold. I picked up the custom molds from the lab today and was dissappointed to find out that they don't give me as good a seal as the foam earplugs that came with the headphones. Sorry to ramble on, but I wanted to know if this has happened to anyone else. I found it very odd that the customs were so ineffective. Could it be that my ears are deformed??!! I noticed that I can't push the customs into my ear canals as far as I could push the foam earlplugs in. I'm hoping that I might not be placing the customs into my ears correctly. Or perhaps I was pushing the foam earplugs too deep because I was pretty much unable to hear ANYTHING but the music. I loved not hearing anything else, but I found that the foam plugs would get a bit uncomfortable after a couple of hours. I was hoping that the custom molds would be more comfortable and give me the same listening experience, but that wasn' t the case. Anyway, I'll shut up now because I don't want to get banned from this forum for all of the whining I'm doing! I love the headphones! I guess I should be satisfied but the whole custom earmold issue has gotten me pretty irritated. Thanks again for putting all of your valuable opinions and tips into this forum. Happy holidays all!

 

[Tim D]

I don't know if this question is actually headroom specific since it seems like you didn't buy from headroom...and headroom is not Etymotic.

However I am neither headroom, nor a moderator so its not my place to question placement of your post. I'm sure Headroom would still offer you good advice regardless of where you bought them.

My personal advice however would be to question return policy...a custom job that is poorer than the default tips is certainly not exceptable to me as an Ety lover.

Another good venue for very definitive answers would be Etymotic themselves! Their contact information should be known to you...and d_wilson is the designer of the phones and is on the board now and then.

 

[chych]

Quite possibly you are not putting them in far enough, because from the other people who have custom earmolds, they say that the etys go in much deeper. Or its a bad job, I dunno...

 

[Tim D]

Oh yah, it does seem like a somewhat risky proposition to get custom molds so early when you need to get used to fitting them in the first place.

I've had my Ety's for a LONG time and I bide by the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" motto since I have such good fits by default I haven't YET made the next leap into custom earmolds. Still not something I would want to immediately rush into. Price regardless...as it is much more important that the procedures are done right than just getting custom earmolds done wrong but cheap. That said I have no idea if they were done wrong or right, but Etymotic might now.

Getting custom earmolds, and Ety's all within a short time period seems like a bit of a rush, but hopefully things will work out.

 

[zane]

Thank you for the information. I really appreciate it.

 

[Peddler]

Hi Zane

I guess I was lucky with my earmoulds - they do improve the sound and fit well. I have to say though that I'm nearly always aware that I'm wearing them and they certainly did take some getting used to as well.

Try different insertion methods while opening your mouth wide, try a little water, check your filters, try to relax.

The last statement may sound a little strange but I have found that the sound improves considerable when I'm relaxed - it's almost as if I can tense my inner ear!

I hope this helps.

 

[jim]

It could be that your molds are a little shallow. Either that, or they are not sitting in your ears correctly. The molds, I've found, are highly variable in quality. Also, keep in mind that it is not uncommon for custom earmolds to have an improper seal. Ever hear someone's hearing aid whistling? It's because it's not sealed properly and there's feedback.

I sent my molds back for a remake of the left mold because it was a little too fat, this time with the etys so my audiologist won't mess up the installation like last time.

Which is also why I haven't said anything about these recent questions about molds...I haven't had etys for three weeks now!

BTW, for anyone thinking about doing the mail order do it yourself molds, don't. When the audiologist stuffed the foam block into my ear she jabbed it down so far I felt like she was going to poke through my ear drum. There is no way I would have done that myself! She also had a special gun to inject the impression material, which supposedly injects the stuff at a very even rate. So, it's not really practical to do it yourself, IMO.

 

[zane]

I'm now sure that the custom molds are way too shallow. When I use either the foam plugs or the white rubber ones, I'm able to push them very deeply into my ear canals without any pain at all. I figured I'd spend the extra money to have the customs made because the foam/white rubber plugs both get a little uncomfortable after long periods of time. I also thought that the customs would give me even more isolation, but they allow much more outside noise in than either of the plugs that came with the etys. Looking back, I realize that the audiologist definitely didn't go far enough into my canals. I thought about telling him at the time, but I didn't realize how deep the plugs can actually go. Once I got home and fiddled around with the foam/white rubber plugs, I realized that the customs need to go a lot deeper. I know a lot of people that have been happy with his work, I guess I just should of spoken up! I'm going to call him first thing tomorrow. Thanks again for pointing out the "shallowness" issue. I wish your audiologist was in New York!

 

[dgs]

zane,

Thanks for the commentary on Customearmolds.com in NYC. That's where I got my etys last year (from "Steve"), and I have been thinking of getting the custom molds. Let me know if they repair them for you properly please. It will decide whether I go back there for a try with the molds. -dgs

 

[zane]

dgs

I just got off the phone with Steve at customearmolds.com. He told me to come right in and he'd redo the molds right away. Like I said, I know a bunch of people that had custom molds done over there and they had nothing but good experiences. Since I'm so knew to this whole process, I didn't realize that the molds/plugs can go so far into the ear canal. If I'd come to this forum sooner and done my research, I would have known to tell Steve that I didn't think the molds were going deep enough. So the mistake was mine, not customearmolds.com. Anyhow, I'll post when I get the new ones back. Take care.

 

[dgs]

thanks zane.

 

[Twin]

I'll be in New York over the Christmas holiday and I'd like to get some earmolds for my Etys.
Do you have an address and phone number for Customearmolds?
I couldn't find anything on the web.
Thanks in advance.

 

[zane]

To Twin

I'm sorry, I must have mistyped. The website is: www.customearsets.com.

Their address is 243 West 30th. Street (between 7th. and 8th. Avenues).

Phone #'s: 800-321-3364 or 212-967-7628


Good luck and sorry about the misinformation.

 

[Twin]

Wow! Thanks for the quick response!

It's funny. About 5 minutes before I read your reply, I found the company on the Ety web page.

Does Customearsets do their own molds or are they sent out? Also, how long does it take to get a set made?

Thanks again. And I'm looking forward to hearing how your new molds work out. Good luck!

 

[zane]

To Twin

The first time, they took the molds on a Tuesday and I picked the completed molds up on the following Friday. I went back on Monday of this week and I'll be picking up the finished molds tomorrow (Friday). They don't send the molds out, they do them there. Also, they're very accomodating so I'll bet if you tell them you're only going to be in town briefly, they'll speed up the process for you. I'll post tomorrow after I pick up my new molds. Thanks.