[aidenn]

Maybe I should start with a little background... (TL; DR below)

I've been a long time anti-anything-in-the-ear guy. I have very sensitive earlobes and avoided the topic like fire. I read for a long time that IEMs are THE portable phones, but I was always afraid that I'll shell out more money than necessary for headphones I won't be able to use for more than, say, one hour. Of course, I always thought that IEMs are supported by earlobes. Ah well.

So I bought Sennheiser PX-100 and fell in love. That was 8 years ago and it was my first foray a bit outside of colored signatures. The PX-100s are also colored, but it's not $15-earbud UBERMEGABASS coloring.

Anyway, I loved my PX-100s and when they broke I came here to look for something even better. After a lot of consideration I picked up V-Jays. It really was even better. At first the different sound signature seemed weird, but I got used to the highs and completely embraced the mids.

And I still love my V-Jays. Only I'm now living in a place where I have to commute a lot and metro is definitely NOT compatible with open headphones. I tried some closed headphones, but there's simply nothing really good with the V-Jays form factor for me. Thus, only one option remained - IEMs.

I learned that most of them don't even touch the earlobes and started researching. After a lot of reading I decided on the DBA-02. It arrived today, I'm still getting used to them, however, I have a few questions.

TL; DR: start here.

1. The sound signature is great. It's a lot different than V-Jays and I was getting used to it for the past 7 hours. However, I have an issue with the highs. I was never a big fan of highs but the V-Jays changed my preferences a lot. This is miles away even from that and I'm very happy I can try something new again, especially since bass is also very punchy and I can't live without bass. Unfortunately, on some songs I hear a lot of sibilance. I can EQ it down, but then I lose that fantastic percussive treble punch I've just begun to like very much (I don't know if it has a proper name). Is there any way around this?

And some fairly stupid questions (there's no user manual with the DBA-02 other than standard safety tips):

2. What should I do with the triple tips? I figured out how to put in normal tips (using the middle-sized ones atm, they feel the best), but I'm completely at a loss with the triple one. I hear no bass whatsoever with it. I saw the picture here in the IEM guide, I think I'm putting it right... are my canals not compatible with the triple tips?

3. What the hell am I supposed to do with the over-the-ear guides? I doubt I'm supposed to squeeze the cable in that small valley on the outer rim...

4. There's also one other item in the pack - a black, rubber key-like something with holes. What's that for?
 
Thanks for reading and cheers!

 

[rangerid]

Are you getting an airtight seal with the tips provided? Try the shure Olives, they are my favourites and foams tend to tame sibilance somewhat. There is no need for the earguides, you can just wrap the cables around your ears. Caution though: they will stiffen up after a few months. The black key thing is a cable management thingy, pretty much pointless...

 

[aidenn]

Yeah, it took a while, but after a couple of tries with them falling out (and finally understanding that they're meant to go over the ear - at first I thought: "what morons, printing L and R upside down") I got it airtight. Bass is really kicking.
 
And that's exactly what I do - wrap them around. It's really comfortable, I hardly feel I wear them. Except when I need to scratch my earlobes.
 
Thanks for the tip on the foam. I'll order foam tips somewhere and check. From the description of how foam tips work I think I might prefer them anyway.
 
Cheers!

 

[LouisLoh]

Try to get Ety's tri-flanges as well. 
 
Superb isolation and treble/bass performance. 
 
I ditched my Comply's after discovering these tips. Comply's require regular replacing and they do reduce the treble sparkle a lil, unless you trim them.

 

[Redbeard65]

I've had these for a few months now. None of the supplied tips worked for me. I ended up using Comply tips and thought I was getting a good seal. Then on a whim a couple of weeks ago I tried out some Shure olives on them. Wow, what a difference compared to the Complys. I'm getting far better bass with the olives.
I have also tried the Ety triple flanges in them but that did not work well for me. They work great for me on my ER4s though.
I just wanted to mention this because I though they were good with the Comply tips and I was happy, then I tried the olives and it took the phones to another level for me. It's worth trying as many different tips as you can to get the one that works best for you.
 

 

[aidenn]

Ok, bumping time. Finally, I bought Shure olives. They're extremely comfy and they did reduce the highs, however they also muffled the sound a bit. I read about trimming the tips, so... where do I trim them? in line with their plastic core?
 
And another thing - how deep should I push them on the DBA's nozzles? So that their plastic core lines up with the nozzle? I'm afraid to push it that hard, since they fit quite tightly there so I didn't push them much in fear of breaking the nozzle.
 
Cheers!
 
-- edit --
 
Ok, so I tried to do it how I felt was right, trimmed right to the core. The trimming got rid of muffling, now it's crispy again. No sibilance right now either. However, sometimes I touch my ear with the core while inserting, which is not very pleasant. Should I trim the next pair a bit further from the core?
 
Anyway, I pushed them on the nozzle so that the foam almost touches the phone itself. Is this ok?
 
Also, since they are so hard to put on, I can only imagine what will happen if try to take them off. Sooo... I should clean them without taking them off, yes?

 

[ZimmerX]

The best tips I found for the DBA-02 are the Westone silicone and triple flange tips. The single flange grey ones are great, and I trimmed the triple flange to bi-flange and they sounded perfect. 
 
Yes, pushing it down to the earphone is how it's meant to sit. If you left it half way it wouldn't be as secure and they'd stick out of your ears, added to the fact that they would sound slightly different. 
 
You'll have to replace them from time to time, and taking them off shouldn't be a problem. Remember that these earphones are full body plastic, they aren't suddenly going to break because you twist off some Shure Olives. Just twist and tug and get them off. It should not cause any problems. With regards to cleaning - I've never cleaned Olives because if I feel they're getting worn out I bin them, and my ears are pretty clean most of the time. Not sure how you would go about cleaning them with them still on the nozzle.

 

[aidenn]

Thanks, I think I got it perfect now. I also pushed the right tip a bit more than the left, since it's quieter (I guess that's because my ear canals aren't identical) and now I don't have to touch the balance in the player. Yay.
 
This is much, much better than the stock tips. I'm still not sure if this is the perfect sound signature for me, I like it a lot, but I might venture to other IEM pastures in a couple of years to check how they sound. For now however, I am satisfied and, from time to time, amazed.