[DrHouse]

 Hi I currently have sennheiser IE8 iems and am looking for some upgrades to the cheap tips that came with them.
Am leaning towards Sony tips as does not affect Sound and can be worn more easily, but the comply tips offer better isolation. From what ive heard the comply also dampen the treble, which is a bad thing for IE8s.
 
Any advice?
Others which are better?

 

[davidcotton]

acs custom tips, bit more expensive though

 

[sunspot]

ri
Quote:

 Hi I currently have sennheiser IE8 iems and am looking for some upgrades to the cheap tips that came with them.
Am leaning towards Sony tips as does not affect Sound and can be worn more easily, but the comply tips offer better isolation. From what ive heard the comply also dampen the treble, which is a bad thing for IE8s.
 
Any advice?
Others which are better?

My advice?  Get the cheap Sony Hybrid clones from ebay (seller name is lostearbuds) and see if you like 'em.  I use those on every IEM I have that fit well with single flanges (i.e., everything except the TD100, which really needs biflanges, and the RE-0, which I don't own...).
 
The Hybrids are slightly better, but much more expensive.  Plus, you get one of each size, which is pointless if you know what size you need...  The clones are nearly as good, very very cheap, and you select the sizes you want.

 

[DrHouse]

Great!
 
In that case I'll use my spare hybrids from my sony mdr ex300. 
 
And ACS custom tips look great, but are far too expensive for what i'm looking for. Will stick to standard tips for now.

 

[DrHouse]

@sunspot, Just recognized something. The hole/opening of the hybrid tips is much smaller (in diameter) than the stock senn tips. Ive read outside that this can reduce the soundstage? Might be a problem as IE8 has a wide nozzle.

 

[sunspot]

@sunspot, Just recognized something. The hole/opening of the hybrid tips is much smaller (in diameter) than the stock senn tips. Ive read outside that this can reduce the soundstage? Might be a problem as IE8 has a wide nozzle.

On my own large nozzle IEMs, I haven't noticed any degradation in soundstage. My other tips were so bad that they didn't seal properly, though, so it's hard to compare (I could barely listen to anything with the other tips, the sound was just totally degraded.. but that's Xears IEMs for you, they're like that).

I know however that I'm not alone to like the hybrids or the knock-offs. Since you have them on hand anyhow, just try them and see. Even though the hole is small, they will go on the large nozzle no problem; the silicon will stretch to the wider nozzle size. I use them on all my 5.5mm nozzle IEMs with good results, except larger ones where I need a biflange to prevent the whole thing from popping out all the time.

 

[DrHouse]

One last question, do you know of any brand that produces after market double flange tips? have found these excellent in the past.

 

[sunspot]

One last question, do you know of any brand that produces after market double flange tips? have found these excellent in the past.

Hmm, there's the generic ones on ebay, but I haven't tried those personally. Or you can get some off meelec.com. The best are supposedly the M9 balanced double flanges, but apparently they are out of stock. There's the M11 (not M11+) or M9 fit kit that's a reasonable price. You'll get tons of extra tips, but the price is OK especially if you're in the US (otherwise shipping is kinda expensive for a 5$ item).

I got the M11+ fit kit some time back because I had a hard time fitting my TD100, and ended up using the regular biflanges, but when you have fitting problems, you need lots of different tips since you don't know in advance what will actually work The quality of the tips is decent.

 

[QuietComfort]

sorry if this is an out-of-place question, but what makes the sony hybrid tips so special? I heard that Comply form tips are very sound isolating, so are the sony ones good for a non-form tip? Thanks in advance.

 

[sunspot]

Quote:

sorry if this is an out-of-place question, but what makes the sony hybrid tips so special? I heard that Comply form tips are very sound isolating, so are the sony ones good for a non-form tip? Thanks in advance.

 
Well, according to my friend nightfire (who unfortunately can't use IEMs for a long period at a time, so he doesn't post in the portable forum much anymore), for unknown reasons, the hybrids are the best tips after comply foams.  I tend to agree.  Complys are excellent, but they degrade (the hybrids do not for all practical purposes), and they're quite expensive, especially compared to the ebay hybrid knock-offs (you get 3 pairs of the size you want, international shipping included, for 5$).
 
I think it's because the external silicone of the hybrids is much softer than most other tips, but the inner part that grips the nozzle is still quite rigid (while still stretching enough to accommodate 5.5mm nozzles), which means it doesn't distort the sound too much.  Sort of like foamhybrid tips, but with soft silicon instead of the foam.
 
This means they're much easier to clean than foamies, and tend to be more user friendly IMHO.  Foam tips come in several variety, but my experience with those is:
 
1. Foamhybrids: don't seal that well, somewhat itchy.
2. Olives: seal well, pretty comfortable, but they itch after some time.
3. Complys: ideal seal and comfort, but too darn expensive, and have a limited lifespan which makes the price even worse.
 
Well, anyhow, that's just my 2c (canadian, at that--though that seems to be worth a lot these days 

 )

 

[goodvibes]

Hybrids are great for the right phone but tips and IEMs need to be matched. On a big nozzle, the hybrids tend to reduce highs and presence. On something like a M6 that could lose a bit of it's extra sparkle, it's great but on something else, it will shut it down. They are super comfy and seal well when the right size.

 

[exec-]

does anyone know if these hybrids will fit the Phiaton PS200 ?

 

[kofa]

 
My advice?  Get the cheap Sony Hybrid clones from ebay (seller name is lostearbuds) and see if you like 'em.  I use those on every IEM I have that fit well with single flanges (i.e., everything except the TD100, which really needs biflanges, and the RE-0, which I don't own...).
 
The Hybrids are slightly better, but much more expensive.  Plus, you get one of each size, which is pointless if you know what size you need...  The clones are nearly as good, very very cheap, and you select the sizes you want.

Hi,
 
you mean like these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/earbud-replacement-tips-tip-In-ear-earphone-memory-foam-SMALL-MEDIUM-LARGE-/160837891193?pt=US_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item2572af7479
I don't quite get the 'very very cheap' part, they are $5.99, the original ones go for $7.99 at hphotovideo.com/c/product/594779-REG/Sony_EPEX10A_BLK_EP_EX10A_Replacement_Eartips_for.html. Or maybe I picked the wrong product from lostearbuds?
 
Thanks in advance,
Kofa

 

[sunspot]

  Hi,
 
you mean like these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/earbud-replacement-tips-tip-In-ear-earphone-memory-foam-SMALL-MEDIUM-LARGE-/160837891193?pt=US_Replacement_Parts_Tools&hash=item2572af7479
I don't quite get the 'very very cheap' part, they are $5.99, the original ones go for $7.99 at hphotovideo.com/c/product/594779-REG/Sony_EPEX10A_BLK_EP_EX10A_Replacement_Eartips_for.html. Or maybe I picked the wrong product from lostearbuds?
 
Thanks in advance,
Kofa

 
Hmm... Please note that I posted this in 2011... things have changed since then.
 
For one, Original Sony Hybrids used to be 18$.  They still have the same problem they used to have though--lostearbuds sells the sizes you need only, but the Sony pack comes with all sizes, so it's kind of silly if you know you take only, say, medium.
 
For two, I'm not sure lostearbuds still sells the original hybrids, plus his prices changed etc... A lot of people like the hybrids on lunashops for instance (haven't tried them myself)...
 
So what I'm saying is, this advice is old and the specifics don't apply anymore; you'd have better luck on one of the tip threads, or even starting a new thread about this.  I still think the economics of the fake hybrids will hold somewhat, less than they used to but still...  For instance, don't know the quality of the stuff, but this guy sells 40 pairs of each size for 10$ with free shipping: http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/120pcs-lot-S-M-L-Hybrid-Replacement-Set-Eartips-Earbuds-for-Sony-XBA-MDR-DR-Series/437489_1466085082.html !

 

[kofa]

Thanks for the detailed response, sunspot.