"because the outer sleeve is seperated from the cable itself and slightly sticky"Been a while since I've used my M9 on the go, but I think I might have experienced once or twice due to the ear-hook section of the cable, because the outer sleeve is seperated from the cable itself and slightly sticky, so it could be pinching and releasing behind your ear or just moving around inside the housing as you move (moisture from sweat etc... could make it even noisier- especially if it gets inside the sleeve).
Apologies if you are experienced and know this stuff already, but some generic advice, just in case:
In my experience usually with loose connection I'd get obvious audio cut-outs or volume inconsistency*. I guess it could just be movement of the cable in the housing. Do you swap cables a lot?
Do you use a shirt clip? I find they are very helpful for reducing/eliminating cable related noises. (alternately you can try wearing them stage monitor style, with the cable running down your back and the Y slider cinched up to the base of your skull- although in the peculiar case of the M9 ear hook maybe wearing the cable looser would help too.)
A clicking type of sound can also be an issue with the seal/tips changing as you move (or possibly some occlusion effect or microphonics from your body, sometimes jaw movement can make a clicky sound)- in this case I would try playing around with different tip sizes, types and insertion depths.
*Conceivably could be coming from the source but assuming you have isolated it to just these IEMs. It also seems less likely that you would have issues with the mmcx electrical connection on the same side of two different headphones- FWIW the first thing I try with connection issues is cleaning with brush-on plastic safe deoxit.
I immediately noticed this as I was inspecting the cable when I first got my M7 and while I thought that was the culprit at first, what with the play/looseness caused by that construction, in further testing I determined it wasn't the case of the noise I'm hearing (very rarely I do hear something to do with ear hanger, but it's not enough to matter).
I did some more testing and I now believe the tips are the culprit. I use the Sony hybrid ML (blue) tips which for me are super comfortable and isolating as they create a full vacuum seal effect, but it seems that this vacuum seal leads to the clicking noise; I went for a walk today and did all sorts of testing, holding the ear hanger still, the MMCX connector still, pressing/pulling the whole shell from my ear, etc. I tested spinfit CP100 M, as well as the Sony triple comforts in M and MS and the Sony hybrids in M, and didn't get the issue. Unfortunately none of these tips fit like the Sony hybrid ML which creates the full isolating and secure seal effect, but I guess that strong seal is what causes the racketous microphonic effect in the first place, so there's no winning
I have Spinfit CP100 in small size on the way, maybe those will achieve a nice seal without the annoying noise. Spiral dot and Azla may also be an option, but they are both wide soundport with more treble + less bass which I definitely don't want.
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