I don't know if such a thread already exists and if people will have interest in posting, but to me, ear-tips are much more relevant than cable when it comes to improve or fine-tune the sound of IEMs. The comfort also can be massively increased with appropriate tips.
Here are examples that brought 2 IEMs to the next level:
Final E5000 - Sedna Azla Xelastec TPE
Sony N3 - JVC Spiral Dots
Please share your own winning combos!
Nice post. Eartips are a very underrated part of an IEM IMHO. Without a good fit the bass is generally lost and the sound signature sounds warped. Eartips can literally make or break an IEM -> good example is BLON BL-03 with the bad fit for most folks due to the overly short nozzles and crap stock tips. Most of us needed to fit the BL-03 with a longer nozzle eartip or even spacer mods or reversed KZ Starline tips (this pro tip, no pun intended, is from
@Slater :
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/flip-tips-prepare-to-have-your-mind-blown.906357/). After a good fit, then the BL-03 did sound very nice for the price paid.
Also agree eartips change the sound signature more than a cable, at least for me. We all have different ear anatomies, so YMMV. But I find foam tips tame treble in general. Whereas for silicone tips, wider bore ones increase treble for me, and narrower bore ones help to boost bass (in general).
Eartips also affect comfort and isolation too. They can even fix driver flex in some cases (eg foam tips allow air to pass thru the porous foam in a too tight seal, or some tips with less isolation can let air pass the ear canal).
I even had a few friends who paid big bucks to make custom eartips, some of my friends buy more expensive eartips than their IEMs too. Eartips are a very good part of the audio chain to achieve audio nirvana actually, I always try to tip roll around 5 - 10 sets of eartips before giving up on an IEM.
For some eartip synergy examples:
BLON BL-03:
Spinfit CP100 and CP145 for good fit (they have longer nozzles). The CP100 gives more bass, the CP145 less bass.
HZSound Heart Mirror:
Final Audio E tips to tame the treble a bit for me and tighten the bass.
iBasso IT00:
Final Audio E tips or KZ Starlines help to alleviate the driver flex in this set.
KBEAR Diamond:
Tenmark Whirlwinds tame the midbass bump a bit and give a slightly wider soundstage.
Moondrop SSR:
Final Audio E tips to tame the treble/sibilance.
Oriveti New Primacy:
Final Audio E tips also alleviate driver flex for me.
TRN VX:
Foam tips help tame the treble.
Urbanfun YBF-ISS014:
KZ Starlines for better fit.
