[gorman]

Hi guys. Just wanted to report on this, to understand whether it's normal or not.

Ten days ago, more or less, I received tri-flanges from Shure, that I promptly mounted on my E3 phones. I cut the stem about 3mm as suggested in different threads, and that helped in making the highs less piercing and the bass a little warmer.

Now, after ten days or so, yesterday I was having serious problems in getting a good seal with them. I walked to the office with a non perfect seal but tried to enjoy the music nonetheless (it's funny how good headphones make you picky about music quality).

When I took them out, I inspected them to see what could cause the problem and...

it appears that my ear canals are 0 shaped, not O shaped. The silicone tips got the 0 shape and they were not sealing on the "squezed" side. This morning, before inserting them, I turned them around making the narrow side occupy the high and low position, instead of left and right. And seal came back, as good as ever (listening to Radiohead's Hail To The Thief I revelled on how good bass was sounding).

So... is this behaviour normal?

 

[lindrone]

No... that doesn't sound normal at all, how did you clip the tri-flange? Did you notice if they were like that when they first arrived?

 

[gorman]

I trimmed the stem with a scalpel we use to cut print films. It's a very sharp and precise instrument. As I mentioned, I cut 3mm off the stem.

The three flanges were left completely untouched.

Btw, it's only the outer flange (largest) that appeared a little bit deformed, more a 0 than an O as I said before.

After rotating them, they appear normal (a 15 minutes walk was apparently enough for them to regain the original shape).

 

[lindrone]

Hmm.. funny enough, before I left the house this morning, I swore I've never seen such a thing happen.

Last night I left my E5 in the little round case, and it was scrunched a bit... this morning when I took them out, I noticed the largest flange on the tri-flange has been "squared-off" on one edge because it was pushed up against the case the whole night.

So I guess it's not something abnormal after all.

 

[gorman]

Ok, as long as rotating them from time to time fixes it, I have no problem with it. If they become as disposable as foamies... well, then it would be a whole different story. As I would rate sound quality on par with foamies, not better (even though it's really tough to compare them, given the time needed between mounting, insertion, remounting, reinsertion).

 

[Music Fanatic]

I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned that your ear canal is not round shaped. If people have slightly differently shaped canals, they naturally will tend to resphape the triflange tip over time.

 

[MD1032]

This is normal behavior. My suggestion is to puch those suckers in farther so the third flange reaches the ear and seals (this is hard, at least for me and my small ear canals).

 

[gorman]

Pushing them further in does nothing good for me. It's actually more likely to make things worst, as the largest flange will inevitably bend itself at strange angles...

 

[wildeone]

I think somebody (lindrone maybe?) said you can use the Ety tri-flanges on the Shures. If so, they are definitely stiffer and don't seem to lose their shape. They meld into your ear after a bit of wearing, but each time you start anew....

Perhaps it's worth a try?

 

[gorman]

Hmmm... I have read they are substantially... harder... than Shure's. How would you compare their material to that of Shure Flex sleeves (the clear plastic ones)?

 

[lindrone]

Actually, Ety's flange is only shorter by default (the stalk length is shorter)... but not any 'stiffer' by default.

Ety's 'stiffness' comes from the length of the ER-4's tube itself, not from the tri-flange. If you took a Shure tri-flange and cut it down to length, it'll be the same thing.

If your ear canal has a sharp bend in it, ER-4's are not comfortable at at all. E5c is more comfortable, but there are people with such a sharp bend where the tri-flange actually gets pinched, and no sound gets through. ER-4 doesn't have that problem, since it's so stiff, it doesn't really conform to your ear, but forces your ear to conform to it.

How many times did I use the word 'stiff'?.. hmm...

 

[wildeone]

Quote:

Originally posted by lindrone How many times did I use the word 'stiff'?.. hmm...

LOL!!!

Now we know how you *really* feel about the Etys.

I wasn't trying to convert him to the Etys, lindrone, I was just wondering about interchanging sleeves.... My left ear (yes -- only one ear) is very 0 rather than O like gorman's and I haven't had that problem with my Ety tri-flange, so I thought it might be an option....

 

[hms624]

this is normal. it has happened to me many time. However, it is not the shape of your ear that is the problem. If that were the case, then even if it molded to an "0", it would still fit in you ear, because that it is now molded to fit. The problem is that sometimes when you store them in the case, the body of the ear piece leans against the soft tri-flange and compresses it.

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally posted by wildeone LOL!!! Now we know how you *really* feel about the Etys.

For some reason I'm not quite clear on if that's a good or bad thing...

Anyway, just wanted to clarify there's no difference in the material of the tri-flange for either Ety or Shure's.. they're practically the same thing with different stalk length.

 

[bangraman]

Since there's no supporting structure like the Etys, the performance of Shure triflanges are hugely dependent on the earcanal shape. The best solution in this case with awkward ear shapes is to make the tip as short as possible... That means cutting the first or last flange. Time to butcher some tips!