Sony/Shure/Etymotic Eartips on Super.fi's

[xluben]

Here's a list of the eartips I have tried on my UE Super.fi 5EB's:

UE:
S, M, L, Single Flange
Double Flange
Foamies

Sony:
S, M, L, Single Flange

Griffin (EarJams):
S, M, L, Single Flange

Shure:
S, M, L, Clear

Etymotic (ER-6i):
Triple Flange

Earplanes (quaduple flange)

I first started with the UE medium tips, and found them to be a fairly good fit, but they seemed a little snug so then I started using the smalls. I have come to realize the smalls aren't quite big enough to get a good seal (and the larges are much too big for my ears). The dual flange give me a very good seal, but take longer to insert and make the earphone housings stick out a bit further. I also tried the foam tips, but pulled them off their plastic stalk after only about 5 minutes use. I remember them providing great isolation and comfort, but took longer to insert and also made the eartips stick out more than the single flanges. I may try trimming down my next pair (UE is sending them free after I e-mailed them). After trying all the UE supplied tips I settled on the medium single flanges, because of their low profile, ease of insertion, and fairly tight seal.

I tried the Sony tips and found that Sony/Griffin eartips (Sony and Griffin tips are the exact same) are a perfect fit on my Super.fi 5EB's, but offer a slightly different shape (than the UE's). The UE single flanges are a little longer and more rounded. They also seem a little thicker/stiffer. These features allow the UE's to get a tighter seal, but also makes them harder to get in and out quickly, and harder to get an equal seal in both ears. The small Sony's offer almost no seal in my ear (they are even smaller than the smallest UE tip), and the largest are much too big, but the mediums fit well and were easy to insert/remove.

Of the Shure's the smalls fit me best, but did not seal very well. The mediums/larges were too big, and were very uncomfotable.

The Etymotics were a struggle to get on the UE's fairly wide stem, but I eventually got them on. Due to the large stem, I could not insert them very far in my ear, and was unable to get any kind of a seal at all. My experience with the Earplanes was similar (UE stem too wide, no seal achieved).


Overall, I think the Shures, Etymotic, and Earplanes are not really usable in an earphone that is not meant to go deep into your ear canal. They rely on full insertion for a good seal. UE provides a good variety of tips, which should be comfortable for most ears, while providing a good acoustic seal.

In the end I am now using the medium Sony's. They fit nearly the same as the medium UE's, but due to the UE's roundedness they create unnecessary suction and 'pop' when I pull them out of my ear. The Sony's are the easiest to insert/remove, provide a good seal, and make the earphones as low-profile as possible.



Also, this means that the reverse fit compatibilities will also work (UE foamies will fit on Sony's EX series, anyone that does the Shure w/Sony tip mod could use UE tips instead, etc.)

 

[Jmmmmm]

The shure tips you used were the e2c and the ety's were the er6's, correct?

Shure and ety tips come in two sizes (most of them fitting smaller stems, the exceptions being the e2c and er6 [not er6i]), so please specify which ones you used. That is, unless the EB's use a smaller stem than the 5pro's, but you mentioned the sony's, so I assume they are the same larger size.

I used some shure e2c medium foamies on my 5pro's, and they worked fine, although they were a bit tight to put on and take off of the stem.

 

[xluben]

The Shure's were the e2c's and they may have been a bit loose, but it didn't seem likely that they would come off in my ear. They didn't have the 'notch' which the Super.fi's and Sony's have to keep the eartip on.

The Etymotic tips were from the ER-6i. They are the white, triple flanges. They were an extremely tight fight (as were the Earplanes, which have a similarly sized hole). They had to be forcefully put on, but eventually gave a tight fit (on the stem).