FYDave
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- Dec 3, 2008
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Okay so let me start this by saying that I actually prefer the Sennheiser foamies that come with the IE series more than the Shure Olives. Blasphemy, I know.
I do certainly like the Olives a lot but the problem is the perfect size for me would rest somewhere between the small and medium size. The small size feels like it ends up going a little too far in and I like my IEM's to be pretty flush with my ear and the medium size expands too large and ends up irritating my ears after a while.
The Sennheiser foamies don't seem to expand or compress quite as much yet provide, in my opinion, just as much isolation as the Shure Olives do and to me they're more comfortable because they don't compress or expand as much.
SO, on to the actual modification itself.
I've read a lot about people decoring Shure Olives and placing them on the tube of a silicone tip. What I did was basically the opposite. I'm using Westone 3's right now so the Sennheiser foamies wouldn't fit since the hole is naturally larger for the dynamic driver tube.
I took a pair of the small silicone tips that came with the IE7's that I don't use, cut off the silicon around the tube, leaving a little bit at the top and basically just stuck them inside the Sennheiser foamies.
The reason for leaving a little bit of extra silicone on top is so that they don't end up come out further than the foamies themselves. It gives a little bit of a wall to hold them inside the hole.
Now, the Sennheiser foamies, with the help of the silicon tube inside, fit on to my Westone's without a problem.
For all those who ARE interested, here's some pictures with a step by step:
1. These are the tips that you'll need for this modification.
2. Invert the silicone tips like so.
3. I pinch the inverted end so that it's easier to cut with a pair of scissors straight across.
4. Trim straight across and as necessary to basically get this shape from what remains of the tip. This is what it looks like when I'm finished cutting it. The reason I leave some is so that it doesn't just come out the end that's in your ear when inserted in to the foamie.
5. Start stuffing it in to the end of the foamie that would be against the driver unit of the headphone itself once that shape has been achieved.
EDIT: Instead of stuffing the end with the square patch of silicone in the way it's illustrated in the picture, put the end WITHOUT the square patch in to the IEM. I realized this is more effective in keeping the silicone core in place.
6. Here's what it looks like from both ends once it's in the foamie.
7. And here's the finished product on my Westone 3's!
One additional thing that I did note is that the stem of the silicone core extends out a little further in the back than the foamie so it appears to marginally increase the soundstage as well.
Hope you guys liked this! Let me know what you think of the mod if you use it!
I do certainly like the Olives a lot but the problem is the perfect size for me would rest somewhere between the small and medium size. The small size feels like it ends up going a little too far in and I like my IEM's to be pretty flush with my ear and the medium size expands too large and ends up irritating my ears after a while.
The Sennheiser foamies don't seem to expand or compress quite as much yet provide, in my opinion, just as much isolation as the Shure Olives do and to me they're more comfortable because they don't compress or expand as much.
SO, on to the actual modification itself.
I've read a lot about people decoring Shure Olives and placing them on the tube of a silicone tip. What I did was basically the opposite. I'm using Westone 3's right now so the Sennheiser foamies wouldn't fit since the hole is naturally larger for the dynamic driver tube.
I took a pair of the small silicone tips that came with the IE7's that I don't use, cut off the silicon around the tube, leaving a little bit at the top and basically just stuck them inside the Sennheiser foamies.
The reason for leaving a little bit of extra silicone on top is so that they don't end up come out further than the foamies themselves. It gives a little bit of a wall to hold them inside the hole.
Now, the Sennheiser foamies, with the help of the silicon tube inside, fit on to my Westone's without a problem.
For all those who ARE interested, here's some pictures with a step by step:
1. These are the tips that you'll need for this modification.
2. Invert the silicone tips like so.
3. I pinch the inverted end so that it's easier to cut with a pair of scissors straight across.
4. Trim straight across and as necessary to basically get this shape from what remains of the tip. This is what it looks like when I'm finished cutting it. The reason I leave some is so that it doesn't just come out the end that's in your ear when inserted in to the foamie.
5. Start stuffing it in to the end of the foamie that would be against the driver unit of the headphone itself once that shape has been achieved.
EDIT: Instead of stuffing the end with the square patch of silicone in the way it's illustrated in the picture, put the end WITHOUT the square patch in to the IEM. I realized this is more effective in keeping the silicone core in place.
6. Here's what it looks like from both ends once it's in the foamie.
7. And here's the finished product on my Westone 3's!
One additional thing that I did note is that the stem of the silicone core extends out a little further in the back than the foamie so it appears to marginally increase the soundstage as well.
Hope you guys liked this! Let me know what you think of the mod if you use it!
