[Navyblue]

I tried a couple of tips.

Etymotic triple flange - It would fit my left ear but not my right ear, air pressure from repeating attempt at inserting is hurting my ears. Wetting the tip helps but the isolation on my right ear is not quite at the level of my left ears

Etymotic gray foam - For some reason they do not hold onto my ears.

Shure black foam (medium) - it somewhat fuzz the sound a bit, but still acceptable. Most comfortable. The issue is isolation, which is not as good as triple flange.

Shure black foam (large) - Similar to the above, possibliy fuzzes the sound a bit more and block oit a bit more noise.

I have Comply tips for my Sony, didn't use them for long but they seems to have a potential of getting really yucky looking.

I wonder where should I go next? Would small Shure black foam and insert it deeper into the ears give me better isolation? Should I be looking at Shure silicon tips?

 

[feh1325]

customs!

 

[Navyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by feh1325 /img/forum/go_quote.gif customs!

How do they work? I looked at the Westone, are they removable like a universal tip or are they permanent?

 

[feh1325]

you go to an audiologist and they take impressions of your ear and ear canal by injecting some compound in your ear canal

they you send in the impressions to westone and they send you molds to fit your ears and the etymotic er4p

i think they're removable...but i'm not too sure

look around the forums and find a member who has gone through the process and has custom tips

don't be afraid to drop them a PM, headfiers are generally all nice people

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Out of all universal tips I've tried, tri-flanges provide the best SQ. They take some time to break in and get used to but with proper insertion technique (wetting the tips, pulling up and back the ear before insertion) they are quite comfortable. If you have different ear canals, email Etymotic support and ask for samples of smaller tips. They'll send you a pair of Baby Blues and smaller foam tips. You may end up with regular tri-flange for one side and smaller Baby Blue for another, or may be smaller tips will work for both ears. I didn't like Shure silicone, they worsen sound even more than olives.

 

[Navyblue]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andrew_WOT /img/forum/go_quote.gif They'll send you a pair of Baby Blues and smaller foam tips.

For free? I'm not in US btw.

I spent enough on tips, though $34 (includes shipping) is worthwhile if it'd fit well.

 

[synaesthetic]

Tri-flanges sound best by a mile, but they require a lot of care in insertion to maintain comfort. Not a desirable quality in an earphone used primarily in a portable capacity!

Shure black foams are the only ones I have found that are practical for portable use. They insert like silicone sleeves (just slip them in, no need to squish and roll) and they are washable. They sound good, not as good as triflanges but just as good as Ety grey foams. They add a little bit of bottom end at the expense of a smidge of detail.

For listening on the go, where bone conduction and cable thump can bury the ER4's already-spotty bass, I find that I have almost no bass when using the tri-flanges while walking. The Shure foams fix this admirably. And truthfully if I am at home I will be listening to my full-size 'phones. The IEMs are for portable use only.

Shure grey flexsleeves are an option also, but they severely impact the detail the ER4 are so famous for. They are also not as comfortable as Shure black foams. The only thing they really have going for them is durability, something that you can already get from tri-flanges which sound better.

 

[tygger]

When I first listened to Shure olives on my ER4 I was disappointed by loss of detail and bass which sounded a bit hollow. Later I tried pulling them up the Ety's stem a little to make total length of the tubing match the length of triflanges. This way you get the best of both worlds with Ety's house sound and Shure's comfort and longevity.

 

[Navyblue]

Interesting, actually I did that at first hoping that the filter isn;t clogged faster than it should, I'm going to try that again.