[Olisim]

You can email Ted Allen himself on headphonelounge.com (scroll down on home page to get his email) to receive answers directly from him.

I approached it the other way around:

I ordered a Silver balanced cable and Ted quoted USD60 for creating a custom 2.5mm balanced to 3.5mm single ended adapter, which means you can use the same cable still for either balanced or single ended.

Thanks for your thoughts, I do like the idea of the balanced cable with the adapter.... Hmm.
I'll shoot Ted an email tomorrow.

 

[moedawg140]

Thanks for your thoughts, I do like the idea of the balanced cable with the adapter.... Hmm.
I'll shoot Ted an email tomorrow.

 
No worries, Olisim.  Sounds like a plan.  Looks like you have options, if you want to re-terminate your cable, or keep your cable and connect it to the custom made adapter for a nominal fee.  Hope you like it, and looking forward to your impressions on how it sounds compared to the stock cable, as I'm waiting for mine as well.

 

[Loquah]

I bought a set of Klipsch oval silicone tips today. The range of sizes is insane with a tiny XXS which I've never seen before. I'll report back on fit and include some pics soon.

 

[Jensenchua]

I bought a set of Klipsch oval silicone tips today. The range of sizes is insane with a tiny XXS which I've never seen before. I'll report back on fit and include some pics soon.

I'm waiting~~~~~~~~~~~LOL

 

[moedawg140]

I bought a set of Klipsch oval silicone tips today. The range of sizes is insane with a tiny XXS which I've never seen before. I'll report back on fit and include some pics soon.

 
Excuse me if you've mentioned this before, as this thread moves at a blinding rate thanks to us... but when you report on the fit, will you also be comparing the Klipsch tips to the Westone STAR and Tru-Fit 'sample platter'?

 

[frankrondaniel]

Thanks for your thoughts, I do like the idea of the balanced cable with the adapter.... Hmm.
I'll shoot Ted an email tomorrow.

 
That's exactly what I have from Ted - silver litz terminated balanced 2.5mm with balanced 3.5mm and single-ended 3.5mm adapters.  Works well.

 

[Olisim]

On the topic of ear tips, I spent the last week or so trying as many as I could get my hands on. Although I agree with many of you that the westone start tips are excellent I still find that for me, the shure yellow foamies still edge ahead slightly in terms of comfort, isolation and sound quality (IMO). The westone stars are still the close second though and I will keep them around. Obviously, the main drawback of the yellow foamies is how fast they wear out (I found I could get about two weeks out of the initial pair) so I went ahead and ordered a 100 count (50 pairs) bulk bag. I figured that should last me about 2 years..... Good enough for me!

P.S. For anyone wondering, the bag costed me just under $100 CAD (I live in canada) after tax and I ordered it from AVshop.ca

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Threw in the yellows again. They ARE dang solid. Not sure why I've been so loathe to use them in the past. I feel like they might be absorbing some of the bass maybe? Not sure.
 
EDIT: yeah holy crap they absorb bass. Compared to the Westone Star tips it's crazy.

 

[Olisim]

^ I did find that I got a fair bit stronger bass response with either the Shure Silicone tips (which I really didn't like all that much) and the Westone Star tips...... whether that is a good thing is ultimately up to you, for me, I didn't really think so.

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Very true. Once again, nice thing about these, swapping tips and filters can really help tune the sound to one's liking. 
 
The Shure silicons are terrible by the way, LOL. Westone has the first that I really like. 

 

[LFC_SL]

  The Shure silicons are terrible by the way, LOL. Westone has the first that I really like. 

 
The Shure silicone have always been poor sounding and that is from a position of owning a Shure on and off last 10-years.
 
With the exception of the triple flange (fit-permitting). Even then I have purchased third-party versions at fraction of cost of Shure triple-flange and cannot tell any difference other than in feel. The only thing Shure seem to be doing is toying around with wax-guards for bundled tips, yet they do not even release wax-guarded tips separately. Glacial...
 
It is tempting to write an email to cs to feedback how much better sounding Westone tips are and see what response comes back...

 

[SomeGuyDude]

Not a bad idea. I never understand how a company could release headphones with lackluster tips considering that's the stopgap between you and the sound. 

 

[hedphonz]

  ^ I did find that I got a fair bit stronger bass response with either the Shure Silicone tips (which I really didn't like all that much) and the Westone Star tips...... whether that is a good thing is ultimately up to you, for me, I didn't really think so.

yeah me too - i switched to the silicons and find the bass too much and it negated the effect of the filters - they all sounded similar to me

 

[elindil]

I've tried the westone sillicon tips (bought the whole set). Unfortunately I could not find a size that fits me. So far the sillicon tips from shure provided the best fit. However it did take me longer then a  month to get accustomed to it. 
 
Btw are there any more views on which smart phone serves as a better DAP? For now, based on 2 fellow head-fiers, the LG G3 is the more soncially capable device. However the review provided by whathifi.com had a different opinion (http://www.whathifi.com/lg/g3/review-0).It would be nice to hear a unbiased review for these 2 phones based on music played on similar applications (eg, Poweramp).

 

[GoSUV]

I made a startling discovery today and found that the triple-flange sleeves actually fitted me and sound the best. I've struggled with fit for the past few months, going back and forth between the silicone, foam, yellow foam and other 3rd party stuff like the monster gels and foams, and the Westone star tips and true fits, and they all either did not fit outright, or felt too uncomfortable.
 
I found the root cause of all this fuss was, the sleeves were not inserting deep enough, due to the angle of the wire makes in relation with the housing and outlet. I never had such a problem with the SE530 because the angle of the wire in relation to the housing is more like 90 degrees or an L shape, but the SE846's (and same as the SE535's, which I never owned) were more like V shaped. I've always just used the medium sized black foams on the SE530 and they fit me fine and can wear them for hours. Upon getting the SE846's I kept getting leaks from the medium foams. I tried to insert them deeper but the bend of the wire is always running against the side of my head, despite my dumping of the stock cables (with the memory wires) and going with after market ones (without memory wires). This improved somewhat but with some slight movements it was too easy to lose seal. I settled with the large black foams but they never seemed to sound right because I was mostly wearing them with shallow insertion and the sleeves never went past the bend in my ear canals.
 
I was almost ready to either sell the SE846's or go to an audiologist for some custom molds, but thought what the heck, maybe I should give the triple-flange sleeves a try. And this was a revelation. I think the sole reason for the triple-flanges being a good fit was because of the longer stem, which makes the sealing part of the sleeve further away from the housing, and in result a much deeper insertion. After a few trials, I found that by cutting off the top most part of the sleeve, which makes it a double-flange, is the most comfortable. I think I just couldn't stand having some foreign object inserted so deeply inside my ears. I knew I was getting a good seal as I can finally hear and feel the tremendous bass the SE846 has on offer. The double-flange does have a slight drawback though, as it is not as good isolating as the black foams, because I can still hear the outside sounds quite clearly, though not as bad as when I did not have the right seal.
 
Maybe I'll still go to an audiologist for a custom mold, but during occasions where I need to quickly take off the IEM's in case somebody wants to talk to me or I need to answer a call, the double-flange is now an acceptable alternative for me. During times when I can sit idle for hours (such as on a long transpacific flight) and listen to music without interruption, I look forward to having my own custom sleeves for the seal, isolation and comfort.