[kmhaynes]

For those of you who have the Rain IEM and have struggled/settled with a lack of seal, I have found a solution while playing around with the plethora of tips I have: de-cored Shure foam "Olives".
 
The Rain has a very open sound due, I think, to 2 ports on each phone.  There is a typical port in the wood at the back end of the phone.  But there is also a 2nd port in the metal rim facing just below the nozzle.  With every silicone/rubber non- and bi-flanged tip I have in my position, the Rain never gives a sense of a sealed ear chamber -- when many of these tips give me an excellent seal on my RE0, M9, other IEMs.  I think this is due to the small port just below the nozzle.
 
Then, I tried a pair of Shure foam "Olives" from which I had removed the rubber center core many months ago.  Without the small Shure core, these tips slide all the way down the Rain nozzle, up against the metal facing of the phone, and blocking the small port in the facing. 
 
Bingo!!  An instant sense of seal, and really deep bass.  The openness of the Rain is cut just a bit with the front port covered, but it is a small price to pay to get the fullness and bass these are capable of.

 

[paulypaul]

wow. These are bass monsters with that mod.
I agree the soundstage suffers a little, but i also find the highs are smoother and less harsh.
Eq is needed to bring the mids up to a good level for vocals, but i cant believe blocking a tiny hole at the found makes such a difference.
I did the mod using the very small silicone tips put on the nozzle backwards (see the picture) and then pulling the tip sleeve backwards over the body of the Rain creating the seal (see the picture).
Then putting a second tip on the nozzle for listening.
Really smooth warm sound  with the extra fullness in the bass.
Not sure if i like it, but i'll try it for a while and see.
 

 

[BrandonB]

This is funny that I should find this thread.  Before I bought my Thinksound Rains I read tons of reviews about how they didn't have much bass.  That was fine with me so I bought them anyway.  When I got them I immediately lost my pack of tips so I used the homebrew tips that I used to use on my Klipsch.  Which is basically a foam earplug, cored and trimmed a little.
 
It doesn't work well as far as fit on the Rain  but it does cover that little port (that I never noticed). I've been listening to them for about a month and burned them in with pink noise and they were still bass monsters!!!  I thought I was crazy!  Now I know that it's all part of the design to cut some of the bass.  Looks like I'll end up buying tips as I dont really need bass heavy IEMs. 
 
This thread just saved me a lot of money as now I only have to buy tips (or experiment with a whole different homebrew where before I was going to buy a whole new pair of IEMs.
 
Brandon

 

[Kunlun]

a little piece of tape and you've got the same effect.

 

[ChipnDalebowl]

Why would you want to mod a Rain when the TS01 has the same sound signature for less?  
 
Rains are nice without the overemphasized bass...yeah the seal isn't absolute, but these aren't foam earplugs either. 

  Too much bass is just blah as everything gets drowned out.

 

[Kunlun]

Could someone tell me more about this lack of a seal issue? Is this an isolation issue or a fit issue? They are, of course, related, but if the open vents lead to lack of isolation than one could still have a good fit.
 
I'm thinking of getting a pair for a girlfriend to give on Valentines day. She would like the sound sig as people have described it and she listens to folk and classical, but she always has the stock earbuds fall out of her ears.
 
Do these work with sony hybrid tips? Maybe that would help the fit and one could still tape one of the vents, if one wanted.

 

[BrandonB]

I find that there was plenty of isolation and as long as you have good fit you will be pleased.  I personally accidentally lost all of my stock tips and accidentally did the bass mod.  I wouldn't recommend it unless you love you some bass. As far as I could tell when I had the tips, they use prettty standard size large tips.  With the right tips, she will probably love them. 
 
If she has any problem with fit,then you can always call Thinksound as they have excellent customer service.  If all fails, you can always buy the correct comply foam tips.  I love the Comply tips but in the long run, they can be expensive. 
 
 
Quote:

Could someone tell me more about this lack of a seal issue? Is this an isolation issue or a fit issue? They are, of course, related, but if the open vents lead to lack of isolation than one could still have a good fit.
 
I'm thinking of getting a pair for a girlfriend to give on Valentines day. She would like the sound sig as people have described it and she listens to folk and classical, but she always has the stock earbuds fall out of her ears.
 
Do these work with sony hybrid tips? Maybe that would help the fit and one could still tape one of the vents, if one wanted.
 

 

[Kunlun]

 
Quote:

I find that there was plenty of isolation and as long as you have good fit you will be pleased.  I personally accidentally lost all of my stock tips and accidentally did the bass mod.  I wouldn't recommend it unless you love you some bass. As far as I could tell when I had the tips, they use prettty standard size large tips.  With the right tips, she will probably love them. 
 
If she has any problem with fit,then you can always call Thinksound as they have excellent customer service.  If all fails, you can always buy the correct comply foam tips.  I love the Comply tips but in the long run, they can be expensive. 
 
  

Thanks, much appreciated.

 

 

[paulypaul]

I found the Rains isolated less than the RE0s or RE-ZEROs I think maybe because of the port front and back and the wooden body.
The Hybrids will fit the Rains. As far as the seal as long as youve got the right tips. no problems.

 

[Kunlun]

Okay, I went for it. Aaron, the owner, gives super-high-quality customer service--he even let me start the warranty on Valentine's Day (which is when it'll be opened).
He also does price-matching.
 
In terms of a gift, I think it's really hard to beat Thinksound. I'll be looking forward to sneaking a listen myself.

 

[kmhaynes]

I've sold my Rain's since the OP, but with them I was not having a problem with the physical seal -- I could tell the tip was physically filling my ear canal; but the Rain was still sounding way too open for me -- I wasn't getting a "sound" seal (about as open as my MS1i headphones).  
 
What I wound up doing was taking a wooden toothpick and sticking one end into each of the ports on the metal rim, near the nozzle, breaking it off and blocking the port.  (I left the port on the back of each phone open.)  THEN, I could use any comfortable tip I wanted because I was getting a great sound seal, and a much fuller sound.  I did have to EQ the bass down some because I like a clean, clear, analytical sound -- thus I have moved on to the Ety HF5 and found my sonic bliss for just over $100!