[MudEnjoyer]

I haven’t had a new Comply tip breaking on me yet. I usually throw them after a while due to health concerns (possible bacterial or mold growth).

The longest I’ve used a foam tip was with the EP-NI1000 which lasted almost a year.

Note that I don’t compress foam so that might be why I get so much out of them.

Make sure to wipe them with a cloth or some paper after every use. Ear infections are no joke.

 

[iskender299]

I'm still not sure if L or M and need to order today a half year supply cos I'm leaving next week. Feels like both fits me lol (but I do compress them before insertion)

 

[AgentXXL]

Like @carlcamper , @WilliamBlake and @vas-tomsk, I'm looking for replacement foam filters that fit inside the stem of the M9 earbuds. I wear my M9s a LOT to try and overcome my tinnitus... I would estimate about 14 - 16 hrs per day (incl. 8 - 10 hrs while sleeping).

My body chemistry produces a lot of sweat and earwax so I have to clean the filters in the M9 stems every 3 - 4 months. They are not glued in, but when they get saturated with too much foreign material, they can seem like they are.

Once I get them removed I soak in warm water and agitate them. I also squeeze them and then let the water re-absorb numerous times to try and pull as much bodily fluids out of them as possible. Alas over time they've now started to fall apart so they really need replacements.

I've sent the parts request to Sony Canada's parts dealer, Microland Parts. Hopefully they'll be able to supply replacements.

Oh, and to @carb0mb, I've used various MMCX cables with my M9s. My favorites are the relatively inexpensive Fiio LC-RC and my homebuilt cable (which needs some repairs). Pretty well any will work that don't have an over-sized outer shell on the MMCX connectors of the cable.

 

[Vamp898]

Like @carlcamper , @WilliamBlake and @vas-tomsk, I'm looking for replacement foam filters that fit inside the stem of the M9 earbuds. I wear my M9s a LOT to try and overcome my tinnitus... I would estimate about 14 - 16 hrs per day (incl. 8 - 10 hrs while sleeping).

My body chemistry produces a lot of sweat and earwax so I have to clean the filters in the M9 stems every 3 - 4 months. They are not glued in, but when they get saturated with too much foreign material, they can seem like they are.

Once I get them removed I soak in warm water and agitate them. I also squeeze them and then let the water re-absorb numerous times to try and pull as much bodily fluids out of them as possible. Alas over time they've now started to fall apart so they really need replacements.

I've sent the parts request to Sony Canada's parts dealer, Microland Parts. Hopefully they'll be able to supply replacements.

Oh, and to @carb0mb, I've used various MMCX cables with my M9s. My favorites are the relatively inexpensive Fiio LC-RC and my homebuilt cable (which needs some repairs). Pretty well any will work that don't have an over-sized outer shell on the MMCX connectors of the cable.

The new COMPLY all come with TechGuard, which means your earway is destroying the eartips but not reaching the filter in the IER-M9

To clean the filter, i highly recommend using STICKY or something similar, it is hard to almost impossible to replace the foam with something that sounds identical as Sony refuses to give these out.

I have tried several foam with the XBA-Z5, some work better, some worse, but it never sounded ever again the way it should be. So rather try to keep them clean than thinking about replacing them.

 

[Vamp898]

I'm still not sure if L or M and need to order today a half year supply cos I'm leaving next week. Feels like both fits me lol (but I do compress them before insertion)

For me, i can fit all S, M and L. But L turns to be uncomfortable over time while S doesn't isolate well enough. I used M in the end.

After inserting M, wait for a minute and then try to pull them out very very slightly. If you are able to pull them out with almost no force, i would use L

 

[iskender299]

Yeah I've done that and my ears decided to be different )
Right fits M and stays in place.
Left fits M but I'm able to pull it very very easy with basically no resistance.

So I guess I'll go with both

 

[AgentXXL]

The new COMPLY all come with TechGuard, which means your earway is destroying the eartips but not reaching the filter in the IER-M9

To clean the filter, i highly recommend using STICKY or something similar, it is hard to almost impossible to replace the foam with something that sounds identical as Sony refuses to give these out.

I have tried several foam with the XBA-Z5, some work better, some worse, but it never sounded ever again the way it should be. So rather try to keep them clean than thinking about replacing them.

I do try and keep them clean. I also clean my ears daily because I produce a lot of ear wax and sweat in my ears. Alas even with the cleaning, they are still deteriorating. I'm not going to let Sony off easily. I've already contacted their support team and have a case open with them. I have been referred to a manager, but they haven't called me back yet.

I'm also working with the only authorized Sony parts distributor in Canada, Microland. I've also reached out to United Radio in the US. One way or another, I hope that they see that these should be available as an end-user part. I'm ready to do my best 'Louis Rossman' imitation and keep putting Sony on notice about this issue.

 

[Killedkella]

I do try and keep them clean. I also clean my ears daily because I produce a lot of ear wax and sweat in my ears. Alas even with the cleaning, they are still deteriorating. I'm not going to let Sony off easily. I've already contacted their support team and have a case open with them. I have been referred to a manager, but they haven't called me back yet.

I'm also working with the only authorized Sony parts distributor in Canada, Microland. I've also reached out to United Radio in the US. One way or another, I hope that they see that these should be available as an end-user part. I'm ready to do my best 'Louis Rossman' imitation and keep putting Sony on notice about this issue.

please update us on the Microland progress, I've had my ZX300 battery replaced by them and was surprised that they were able to service a 7 year old device. So hopefully, they have available filters for the M9.

 

[brazy001]

Now I'm worried because I have never cleaned the filter on the m9. Is that something that needs to be done?

On a second issue, has anyone else had paint chipping around the faceplate? I'd like to think I am very careful and always put them in a pouch when they are in my pocket. The only thing I can think where they would have impacted would be with each other in the soft pouch or the small dac dongle attached.

Touch up paint has failed over time in the past but have just stripped with alcohol and done again with some primer and black paint. Hopefully don't have to super baby it.

 

[Vamp898]

I do try and keep them clean. I also clean my ears daily because I produce a lot of ear wax and sweat in my ears. Alas even with the cleaning, they are still deteriorating. I'm not going to let Sony off easily. I've already contacted their support team and have a case open with them. I have been referred to a manager, but they haven't called me back yet.

I'm also working with the only authorized Sony parts distributor in Canada, Microland. I've also reached out to United Radio in the US. One way or another, I hope that they see that these should be available as an end-user part. I'm ready to do my best 'Louis Rossman' imitation and keep putting Sony on notice about this issue.

The issue is, there is no replacement part for this. They can not order that from Sony because Sony doesn't give these to anyone.

The Earphone counts as one unit, if anything is broken (like the faceplate, the paint and so on), it can only be replaced by a whole.

Sony offered me 50% off on a new XBA-Z5 pair as compensation, but they explained to me, that it is impossible to repair this item for anyone (including official dealers) and they are not shipping out production parts for several reasons.

I even asked at e-earphone (authorized reseller) and they offered me to replace the filter, but with an non-official that does not come from Sony as Sony is not providing these parts.

I still hope you somehow manage to get a hand on these, but there is at least no official/legal way for resellers to get these from Sony and if you ask Sony Japan directly, they are not giving these out either. So chances are low

 

[AgentXXL]

Now I'm worried because I have never cleaned the filter on the m9. Is that something that needs to be done?

On a second issue, has anyone else had paint chipping around the faceplate? I'd like to think I am very careful and always put them in a pouch when they are in my pocket. The only thing I can think where they would have impacted would be with each other in the soft pouch or the small dac dongle attached.

Touch up paint has failed over time in the past but have just stripped with alcohol and done again with some primer and black paint. Hopefully don't have to super baby it.

If your body chemistry has you producing a lot of ear wax and/or sweat, you should definitely look into cleaning them. You may have had a gradual drop-off in sound quality that you didn't realize.

And yes, mine are also showing signs of chipped paint. I haven't looked into it yet, but I'm eventually going to source some paint that has high durability and will bond well to the magnesium alloy casing of the M9 IEMs. I mentioned the chipped paint in this post a short while ago:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/sony-ier-m9-impressions-thread.897604/page-202#post-17891684

 

[AgentXXL]

The issue is, there is no replacement part for this. They can not order that from Sony because Sony doesn't give these to anyone.

The Earphone counts as one unit, if anything is broken (like the faceplate, the paint and so on), it can only be replaced by a whole.

Sony offered me 50% off on a new XBA-Z5 pair as compensation, but they explained to me, that it is impossible to repair this item for anyone (including official dealers) and they are not shipping out production parts for several reasons.

I even asked at e-earphone (authorized reseller) and they offered me to replace the filter, but with an non-official that does not come from Sony as Sony is not providing these parts.

I still hope you somehow manage to get a hand on these, but there is at least no official/legal way for resellers to get these from Sony and if you ask Sony Japan directly, they are not giving these out either. So chances are low

This is unacceptable to me, and I'm sure many other owners feel the same. It's long past time we held manufacturer's accountable for this 'just replace the whole item' mentality. The whole world we live in where 'electronic items are disposable' needs to change.

I'm retired and on a disability pension so my income is certainly limited. With the M9 IEMs retailing for $1500 CAD, it was not a purchase I made lightly. I will continue pursuing the issue and hope the Sony manager that my case has been referred to will respond soon. In no way are these IEMs a disposable, so they shouldn't treat them (and their customers) like that.

If they argue it's not a replaceable part, then why do we have to keep replacing the tips we use with these IEMs? Some of the provided tips are also using foam or a foam/silicone hybrid, and they have no problems charging us for them. I will certainly keep folks updated on my progress, but I suspect it's going to take a lot of back and forth before there's a resolution.

 

[MudEnjoyer]

I have an almost new M9 with the foam still pretty much intact. When I have the time I’ll get some cheap high density foam tuning set and spend some time with the coupler to see which one matches closely with the og.

 

[AgentXXL]

I have an almost new M9 with the foam still pretty much intact. When I have the time I’ll get some cheap high density foam tuning set and spend some time with the coupler to see which one matches closely with the og.

I definitely would like to hear what you find. I thought about looking for some foam to use, but finding 'acoustically transparent' foam is a little difficult. Most of the stuff I came across was the opposite - acoustic foam/panels to use in a home theater to both prevent sound 'leakage' and to tune the room for harmonics.

I do have a number of different foams that I've used in past projects, but to my knowledge they are not 'acoustically transparent'. They would likely change the sound signature, unlike the stock foam that Sony uses. But I may just give what I have on hand a try as well.

For those using the Comply tips with Techdefender, do you notice any change in your M9 sound signature vs using tips that don't have anything like Techdefender and are just wide open? And which Comply model is the right one? Comply's fit guide for the IER-M9 says it's the TZ-400 or TRZ-400, whereas past posts are mentioning TZ-200 or TRZ-200 for the M9? Which model is correct?

As you might have noticed, TechGuard is no longer a feature, it is mandatory and of course, this comes with the price increase the products previously had with the TechGuard.

You need the Size 200 for the IER-M9 which is available for all 3 of them (no surprise here)

 

[iskender299]

I have TZ-200 as @Vamp898 recommended. TZ-400 has the nozzle slightly bigger and my understanding that it might come off [much] easier.

About tech defender, dunno. I only used the ones with but I'm satisfied.