[righteousball]

Hey all,
 
I'm looking for a way to obtain the maximum degree of isolation offered by an IEM as cheaply as possible. This is not for me but for my mom: we share a very intense need to just block out the misbehaving vehicles, crying babies and tasteless street live music that populate our world. Yep, our ears are sensitive enough to cross the road safely even with very good isolation, no preachy safety posts please...
 
Mom listens to spoken word only, virtually no music. This is the only reason I have a cost caveat on my search.
 
Mom has been through two pairs of hand-me-downs from me: The Philips 9850 and the ADDIEM, in both cases using Comply to achieve a (otherwise impossible) good seal. However the ADDIEM failed in just over a year, and the 9850 cable is clearly not going to hang on for much longer. An annoying Japanese critic apparently said on ITMedia or summat, that the difference between $100 and $300 phones is durability -- I certainly wasn't expecting that drunken speech to be true, HA!
 
Anyhoo, Mom has also done The Plug and Spark Plug, while they work okay for her purpose, a little more refinement would be nice.
 
Based on what I know, I got her to try the HF5 and the UE700 at a local retailer, the tri-flange is always a bit of a problem, but the latter worked very well for her and she asked if she can use those tips on other cheaper IEMs. So that's my question to you too: are the UE700 tips used on anything else in the UE line? Are the recently announced lower-end UEs using those tips as well?
 
I considered grabbing the cheapest closed-back Japanese earbuds and stick Comply on them, but the T400 is a little too big, and she can never get her fit right with the stem or housing size of these phones, so this will have to be a side project for my own ears instead... the XB20EX with foam, ahhhhhhh...must be like the inside of a car trunk
 
I have used the search feature aplenty (and Japanese review blogs to boot), but I'm kinda at my wit's end on this, and I'd like to pick your brains on this quest. Any IEM/tip combo you'd suggest? Is the FXC50 worth trying?
 
Thanks in advance!

 

[superduperme]

The um56 may be the best shot. But anyway, as far as I know, the ue700 tips are only available for ue700. You may want to get her to try the one that metrofi has. 

 

[sushibowl]

Just find the smallest-barreled IEM you can get. Then shove them deep in your ear.
 
The only one i know of is the Meelec M11+ earphones. They are really small and they isolate quite well. Treble is quite good and voice only i dont see much of a problem.
 
Basically what you need to do is find really really small straight barreled IEMS that can go deep into the ear. The only trouble is getting it out but thats not important.
 
Then again i see its for your mom.
 
I think it would be much easier to do this mod. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfeWfnFCy-Y
 
Its cheap and i think it would isolate very well.

 

[righteousball]

Ty for the help everyone

 

[Trysaeder]

Shure SE115. If you're really strapped for cash, get one of comply's advertised isolating phones.

 

[ETYHeadMark]

Rightousball,
 
The Etymotic mc-5 is very affordable and the selection of ear tips is remarkable.  You can choose the new glider tip, high isolation foam or the standard, small or large triple flanges.  The price is about $79USD and it comes with 5 different ear tip designs.  If you want to go all out try the new custom fit upgrade program.
 
Best regards,
 
EtyHeadMark

 

[yliu]

Quote:

Rightousball,
 
The Etymotic mc-5 is very affordable and the selection of ear tips is remarkable.  You can choose the new glider tip, high isolation foam or the standard, small or large triple flanges.  The price is about $79USD and it comes with 5 different ear tip designs.  If you want to go all out try the new custom fit upgrade program.
 
Best regards,
 
EtyHeadMark

Yeah Etymotics are great in isolation.