Howdy all. Not sure if this is the wrong place but if it is feel free to move, I felt this didn't need to go in hardware that is all. I have a pair of in ears that I am quite happy with in how they sound, how much they cost etc. Now what I am wondering and I am hoping there are a few members out there who might be able to help me. The in ears I use came with the standard assortment or different inserts for your ear most of which are rubber and naff, there were a couple of pairs of a memory foam insert of which I am using at the moment, but they do fall out some times if im walking, so when training starts in a few weeks I see myself getting annoyed alot with them falling out. My question is. Are there any places that sell a kit that i can buy and use to make an impression that will then get made into a set of custom inserts that will help keep the buds in my ears, I have found some kits for this but they dont replace the standard insert as far as i can tell and they kind of just add onto what you already have and this is not what I want. I would rather not spend a fortune but I know this probably wont be cheap at the same time. Thanks g1
Someone has come up with a way of using Sugru in the standard silicone inserts to force them to conform more to the shape of your ear, if you want to try a cheap stop-gap? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ea8OXLvtI_A
I have seen a few companies doing this and i might try it if I can't find what im looking for which so far isnt looking good at all.
There are aftermarket ones made of memory foam which people rave about. I don't use earbuds myself, so I wouldn't know what they'd be like.
Self made impressions are not a great idea IMHO. I have a couple of pairs of custom IEMs and I get my impressions done by my local audiologist, it only costs £30 and they're high quality. Once you take into account the price of a self impression kit it's pretty cheap and TBH when it comes to sticking something halfway down your ear canal I'd rather have it done by a professional. Once you have some impressions there are a few companies that make custom moulds for IEMs, however I've not used any of these myself (I prefer the full custom route as the end result is much better IMO). That said, if you find the supplied tips a bit lacking there are a number of aftermarket tips you can try, for example Comply foam tips or my personal favourite JVC spiral dots.
I have a pair of Etymotic ER4s IEMs that I'm going to be having some custom tips made for once I find somewhere that does them. I wouldn't even consider doing my own or making my own impressions as I couldn't go deep enough safely. At the moment I use the 'christmas tree' silicone ear plug types and they seem to work pretty well, much better than the memory foam types for me as my left ear canal is pretty narrow.
Let me know how your results are from when you get a set made as i wouldnt mind doing this price depending of course
Hopefully this may guide your search... http://www.custom-inearmonitors.co.uk/iems/custom-fit-earphone-sleeves.php https://snugsearphones.co.uk/product-category/snugs-solo/
Which IEM's do you use? And I would rather get the molded properly for my ear so seeing an audiologist would be the way i would be likely to go, You say its £30 for the impressions im guessing that is just the cost of the impression and not the actual product? And that looks like exactly what I want, Now to save up for a set of decent quality IEM's as for £100 thats a lot more than I paid for the set I currently have so will get an upgrade first I think.
The initial impressions are anything from £25 to £40 from what I have seen with the end tips running to about £120 ish, depending on company. If you are looking for a first pair of decent IEMs then I can recommend the Etymotic HF5. These are the ones I started with and ran them from a Fiio E07K amp. Awesome pair for £100 as they play just what you put into them, no bass enhancement, no 'smoothing'.
Cool that looks about right, price wise and you get what you pay for and this seems like a place to not skimp. I will checkout those IEM's too, A friend of mine has a pair of Trinity - Technes and they are waht got me looking at IEM's more seriously and I was somewhat tempted by the ones they are launching soon hopefully. But I am always open to suggestions on a good pair of IEM's to get me started, Even better if they can plug into a stage setup so I can use them if i need to perform.
The HF5s are great for moving around as you can insert them upside down and easily hook the wires over your ears, that gets rid of any cable noise as well and if you then combine them with something like these then they should stay put quite nicely.