[Fungus]

  i think this is the thing to ask yourself, when before you changed out the cable think back to when you removed the epic cable, was it easy to remove? if the answer was no then the answer was the pin holes were tight, if the answer was yes it was easy to remove the the answer is yes the pin holes were larger and easier to remove.
 
but i am honestly going to go with your pin holes were tight.

Yes, to be honest I already know the pins have expanded but what I want to know is if my um3x originally had tighter sockets than normal so even with the expanded sockets, it may still be considered relatively normal. I'm still having a very hard to accepting the fact that my um3x's are damaged because of the stupid cable.  

 

[Mooses9]

  Yes, to be honest I already know the pins have expanded but what I want to know is if my um3x originally had tighter sockets than normal so even with the expanded sockets, it may still be considered relatively normal. I'm still having a very hard to accepting the fact that my um3x's are damaged because of the stupid cable.  

yeah i hear you on that one

 

[PuffMatte]

Just would like to note how easy these things are to work with. I bought my um3x second hand and have no warranty or anything. 

Ive broken them 3 times now. Particularity the shells and the nozzle. Just they fall apart is all. The shells are easy to put back in place but the nozzle is another story one it separates from the drivers.

So to start off with the drivers are held together with glue - no surprise. The 2 mid/high drivers separated from the bass driver - a touch of superglue fixed that. Next brings the nozzle driver connection.

The nozzle has 2 holes in it that have small little rubber rings that keep the nozzle snug - after time these dry out and separate and your nozzle can fall away from the drivers. This was the case for my right side headphone. I found it lacking in bass and overall sounding quieter. I took the headphone apart to find the nozzle loose and unsealed. 

I used wire insulation to recreate the little rings that hold the driver into nozzle. Some glue also. The size was perfect and lined up to well. Initially the new piping was too long and cause the right to sound tight but further away so I shortened the new wirepipes and sealed it all up. Now im enjoying my UM3x better than ever. 

The drivers and small PCB that is the filter is very durable. All the parts fit well and can be reused - i just find that they fall apart sometimes once my glue dries out. I might try finding a new adhesive. 

The superglue dries and gets crusty all over them. Lightly sanding and picking this away works well - even on the driver. I like the sound quality of these IEMs and plan to keep them for awhile - even if I have to re-shell them. They are easy to work with. 

Hi Mtchell4500,
I've been having trouble with the right earphone, The volume is much lover. I've been told that problems like that often are caused by a clogged wax filter. However, after reading your post (quoted here) I took a closer look a my earphones and realized that the one with less volume when shook I can hear that something is loose on the inside. :blink:
So, I guess that's what's causing the problem.

You seem like a guy who knows a thing or two about this and how to fix it. Care to help me out?
Kind regards Matte

(Pardon the bad english, it would've been flawless in swedish )

 

[Mitchell4500]

First off your English is good - better than mine perhaps. 
 
Also Id start by opening the shell. If you put a small screw-driver in between the clear and black shell pieces you should be able to open it.  Maybe one of the drivers has come loose or maybe the nozzle and drivers are miss-aligned. 
 
You can probably fix this with super glue. 

 

[Mitchell4500]

Hi Mtchell4500,
I've been having trouble with the right earphone, The volume is much lover. I've been told that problems like that often are caused by a clogged wax filter. However, after reading your post (quoted here) I took a closer look a my earphones and realized that the one with less volume when shook I can hear that something is loose on the inside.

So, I guess that's what's causing the problem.

You seem like a guy who knows a thing or two about this and how to fix it. Care to help me out?
Kind regards Matte

(Pardon the bad english, it would've been flawless in swedish

)

 
First off your English is good - better than mine perhaps. 
 
Also Id start by opening the shell. If you put a small screw-driver in between the clear and black shell pieces you should be able to open it.  Maybe one of the drivers has come loose or maybe the nozzle and drivers are miss-aligned. 
 
You can probably fix this with super glue. 

 

[elfary]

 

 

  So you've own a few sets and all have difference tightness? Yes I know that tighter is better, however, I want to know if it's common for the cable to be pulled without wriggling the pins back and forth. If the sockets are a bit loose now, are the any precautions I can take to ensure the sockets don't expand ever more in the future? I don't want the sockets to be so loose to the point that it the iems will falls out by itself as well as develop loose connection. 

 
My first pair lasted 3 years and everthing went smooth till one day in the gym i took out the left earpiece. I reinserted it and all of a sudden it got muted. instead of chilling and putting the earpice in bag of silica gel i panicked and trying to dettach the cable (which was tight as hell) to find out what was going on i put too much pressure on the shell and it cracked and by twisting too hard the socket become loose as well. Eventually the sweat dried up and the earphone got to work again. But from there on it went downhill and a few months later a permanent mild distortion developed on the cracked earpiece (which i had sealed with Epoxy to prevent condensation) and i had to sent them in and was lucky enough to get a replacement set for just the postage.
 
Bottom line: never take out and reinsert iems while sweating. And if one side gets muted just leave it 24 hours in a bag silica gel or rice before taking any further action (that might be unnecessary).
 
In any case i think that Westone's new line is more durable. Shells on W3 and UM3x were a bit flimsy to me (when compared with Shure shells).
 
In a month i will reach 4 years as a daily user of Westone UM3x. That's how much i still like them.

 

[Spyro]

   
 
My first pair lasted 3 years and everthing went smooth till one day in the gym i took out the left earpiece. I reinserted it and all of a sudden it got muted. instead of chilling and putting the earpice in bag of silica gel i panicked and trying to dettach the cable (which was tight as hell) to find out what was going on i put too much pressure on the shell and it cracked and by twisting too hard the socket become loose as well. Eventually the sweat dried up and the earphone got to work again. But from there on it went downhill and a few months later a permanent mild distortion developed on the cracked earpiece (which i had sealed with Epoxy to prevent condensation) and i had to sent them in and was lucky enough to get a replacement set for just the postage.
 
Bottom line: never take out and reinsert iems while sweating. And if one side gets muted just leave it 24 hours in a bag silica gel or rice before taking any further action (that might be unnecessary).
 
In any case i think that Westone's new line is more durable. Shells on W3 and UM3x were a bit flimsy to me (when compared with Shure shells).
 
In a month i will reach 4 years as a daily user of Westone UM3x. That's how much i still like them.

 
That is the golden rule of working out with IEM's and IEM's and sweating topic.
Unless of course you are towel drying your ears and the IEM's before re-insertion.

 

[Fungus]

   
That is the golden rule of working out with IEM's and IEM's and sweating topic.
Unless of course you are towel drying your ears and the IEM's before re-insertion.

I didn't know sweat forms in the inner parts of the ear? 

 

[Spyro]

I don't think anyone ever said that?
No, your ears don't sweat but if you are sweating profusely, the sweat goes everywhere and it will run into your ear cavities and possibly ear canals if you take out you IEM's.

 

[Fungus]

  I don't think anyone ever said that?
No, your ears don't sweat but if you are sweating profusely, the sweat goes everywhere and it will run into your ear cavities and possibly ear canals if you take out you IEM's.

Oh my bad. Sorry for putting words into people's mouths. 

 

[navigavi]

I've messed up several drivers by sweating during running sessions. Good thing I always had warranty. Thx for pointing the rule out to me! Still using these!

 

[bixby]

  I don't think anyone ever said that?
No, your ears don't sweat but if you are sweating profusely, the sweat goes everywhere and it will run into your ear cavities and possibly ear canals if you take out you IEM's.

yes, ears DO sweat, google it.

 

[Spyro]

  yes, ears DO sweat, google it.

No need to google.  It's basic knowledge.  Yes, you have pores on every part of your body and perspiration can form on any skin area....some areas moreso than others.  But we are taking about your ear canals.  Like sweat coming out of your ears.  That does NOT happen.  Don't confuse the two.
 
If it were true, you would lose your hearing when you got hot or sweated profusely.

 

[bixby]

 
No need to google.  It's basic knowledge.  Yes, you have pores on every part of your body and perspiration can form on any skin area....some areas moreso than others.  But we are taking about your ear canals.  Like sweat coming out of your ears.  That does NOT happen.  Don't confuse the two.
 
If it were true, you would lose your hearing when you got hot or sweated profusely.

Yes, I see you are a lay doctor!  
 
Semantics may be part of your confusion here as there are several types of specialized sweat glands in the ear canal.  And just to be clear no you do not have sweat glands or as you call it pores on every part of your body. 
 
 And yes ear canals do have a few and a very specific sweat gland, they are called Ceruminous glands Click on the name for a lay description.  
 
References:
 
Parts of the body without sweat glands click  and here 
 
 
 
Even more stuff on ear sweat...click 
 
 
I am not confused about the types of sweat glands in the ear, perhaps you are since it is a pretty big leap of logic to go from a small glandular sweat secretion in the ear canal to losing your hearing when you got hot.   Your logic makes me worry that I might drown from salivating should I see a nice juicy steak . 

 
Nah, I know that would be fantasy.  Cheers, just trying to keep it factual  

 

 

[Spyro]

Dr. Bixby, I am still puzzled at your insistence in arguing a moot point here.  But I detect a troll and agitator.   Thank you for the links to further confirm my point.
 
"Eccrine sweat glands are everywhere except the lips, ear canal"   (Got that??  This is the perspiration we are talking about that trashes earphones and headphones.....so I stand by my premise)
 
 
 
"Apocrine sweat glands are found in the armpit, areola (around the nipples), perineum (between the anus and genitals), in the ear, and in the eyelids. The secretory portion is larger than that of eccrine glands (making them larger overall). Rather than opening directly onto the surface of the skin, apocrine glands secrete sweat into the pilary canal of the hair follicle"    (thus having zero effect on saturating IEM's).  It's called earwax my friend.  Ironically, the earwax actually waterproofs your ears.   ROTFLMAO......too funny...
 
But then I COULD be a freak of nature too?  I typically do a 45 minute aerobic workout 4 days per week and I sweat quite a bit.  Been doing this for decades and the past 15 years with IEM's.  I'm still watching for the first time I sweat into my IEM's.