[gorman]

Hi to everybody. Tonight I decided about experimenting a little with the different sleeves. I've owned a pair of E3 for a week or so. And so far I've always used the gray flex sleeves (having discounted the clear transparent ones, as they are too hard for my ears).

Tonight, as I said, I experimented and, as many have obversed before, it appears to me that the foamies are the sleeves that actually provide the better listening experience. I'm not sure about long term use (I have this nagging feeling that they might be more prone to irritating my ear canal than the silicone gray sleeves) but as far as sound I'm pretty sure that they deliver.

Now, my question is: did anybody with similar experience switch over to triflange sleeves? They are the only ones not included in the standard package...

Basically, I would like to know whether to order a package of foamies or the triflange. Maybe you could help me in saving 20 or 10 bucks...

 

[bangraman]

I think that it's been established with the Etys and Shures that personal experience counts for a lot with tips. I certainly find the foam tips irritating after a while. The Ety long tips are the worst, while the Shure tips are just about bearable. Give me the greys any day... except for their sound.


The Triflanges fall somewhere inbetween. I don't find them as irritation free as the as the grey tips but they are better than the foam tips. Soundwise this will be the most variable of the tips as the Shure triflanges are a bit on the long side and will probably need cutting for best sonic results.


Either way, you're quite likely to waste at least one pair of triflange tips (4 in my case) experimenting with different stalk lengths and also different numbers of flanges. I would suggest that you only go ahead if you're prepared to do this.

 

[gorman]

4!?! Wow!

I don't know if I'm prepared to fork out another 40 dollars just for experimenting. And then maybe finding out that I was better off with foamies...

I knew coming on these forums would have meant spending a lot of money!

 

[bangraman]

Just a personal point of view but in terms of fit (i.e. staying in the ear) I find the triflange the least cooperative with the E3c. The combination of the triflange tip's non-rigidity and the design of the E3c body meant I had a hard time getting the tip to 'lock' in my ear. But once tuned for your ear it doesn't have the odd sonics of the clear or grey tips.

 

[gorman]

Another question. On average, what's the maximum lifespan of foamies. Meaning, how many compress/decompress cycles can they go through before losing their elastic properties?

I'm asking this because at $20 for every 10 pairs, I'd like to evaluate this decision on an economical base too...

 

[fur]

Quote:

Originally posted by gorman Another question. On average, what's the maximum lifespan of foamies. Meaning, how many compress/decompress cycles can they go through before losing their elastic properties? I'm asking this because at $20 for every 10 pairs, I'd like to evaluate this decision on an economical base too...

Shure says they are only for one time use actually

But that goes for use as live monitoring earphone in concerts imo. I'd use mine as long they don't stay too sticky or turn grey

 

[gorman]

Quote:

Originally posted by fur Shure says they are only for one time use actually But that goes for use as live monitoring earphone in concerts imo. I'd use mine as long they don't stay too sticky or turn grey

I think one is an extremely cautious number. But after 3 or 4 times I'm already starting to feel that they are less... responsive? Is it just an impression?

 

[Sugarfried]

fur: Who at Shure said that? Our message regarding the foam sleeves is that depending on what your activity is you will get anywhere from 20 to 50 uses out of them. If a person is exercising or performing on stage, the foams will lose their ability to expand sooner (closer to 20 uses) but if the user is stationary (on a bus, plane, train, at a desk, etc) the foam sleeves should last a while.

Of course, if the person's ears are very dirty, the foam will show the dirt (or wax) and the person will probably not want to use it again. We can't control this, we can only encourage good ear maintenance.

 

[austonia]

Maybe I'm the exception, but I find ety's tri-flange (large) and shure grey tips (medium) are equally comfortable. They go in and dissapear after a few minutes. Not much of a hassle, but I usually need to moisten the tri-flanges to get a good seating where I don't with the shure greys. With the E3c, I liked the sound of the foam tips best but it gets irritating if you have to remove them often.

 

[fur]

Sugarfried: It says so in the manual "one time foam tips" or in german (which i have) "einmal-schaumstoffmuffen". While instruction for the other tips says "reusable". So i guessed it was intended for one time use. Maybe you should change the manual to make it a little clearer

 

[Sugarfried]

The translation to German is not correct. The English version refers to the yellow foam as "disposable," not "one time." The people that did the translation must not have looked very hard for an equivalent statement in German. Our intent was to let people know that it's okay to throw them away when they get dirty.

I can't verify the translations, unfortunately. Our office in Germany does that. I'll talk with our tech writing department to see if we can update the guide during the next revision.

 

[gorman]

Sugarfried, thanks for clarifying. 50 times is a good figure. 20$ ought to be able to satisfy my needs for about a year and a half (probably more).

I'll do some more testing, but at least foamies are not economically *that* dangerous.

Thanks!

[size=xx-small]Edited 'cause I misspelled his name...[/size]