IEMs for £50 ~ £110

jmhduck · 8 Jun 2008 at 15:22

Sorry for double post.

It seems to me that the right IEM is 'louder' than the left is this normal? I've noticed this on both my computer and mp3 player.

Mansize_tissue · 8 Jun 2008 at 16:22

The difference in volume is probably related to the seal you're getting in each ear. The problem of getting the "right" seal is inherent in most IEMs when you first try them out. I'd just try playing about with them (moving/twisting them around) or try different tips. Foam tips, for example, remove this problem since they expand to fill your ear canal.

Personally, I don't really like traditional foamies since I find it too tedious to compress them every time I insert them. Though, I do use Shure medium black foams (also known as "Olives"). These I do not have to compress, I just insert them and I get a perfect seal every time. Might be worth looking in to; I got mine from ebay for something like $14 I think, I can't remember exactly. They're probably the most popular tip used by high-end IEM-users since they're so versatile, relatively cheap, last a lot longer than traditional foam tips (normal ones usually need to be replaced every few weeks, but I've been using the same pair of Olives for a few months) and provide an excellent seal.

Though some find that using foamies can change the sound somewhat. With my Atrio M5s I noticed they became a bit darker and the bass was a littler stronger, but the seal is so much better than what I'd achieved with every other flange-style tips I'd tried.

jmhduck · 8 Jun 2008 at 21:26

Mansize_tissue said:
The difference in volume is probably related to the seal you're getting in each ear. The problem of getting the "right" seal is inherent in most IEMs when you first try them out. I'd just try playing about with them (moving/twisting them around) or try different tips. Foam tips, for example, remove this problem since they expand to fill your ear canal.

Personally, I don't really like traditional foamies since I find it too tedious to compress them every time I insert them. Though, I do use Shure medium black foams (also known as "Olives"). These I do not have to compress, I just insert them and I get a perfect seal every time. Might be worth looking in to; I got mine from ebay for something like $14 I think, I can't remember exactly. They're probably the most popular tip used by high-end IEM-users since they're so versatile, relatively cheap, last a lot longer than traditional foam tips (normal ones usually need to be replaced every few weeks, but I've been using the same pair of Olives for a few months) and provide an excellent seal.

Though some find that using foamies can change the sound somewhat. With my Atrio M5s I noticed they became a bit darker and the bass was a littler stronger, but the seal is so much better than what I'd achieved with every other flange-style tips I'd tried.

Thanks for the reply.

Are all foamies interchangeable between brands then?

Mansize_tissue · 9 Jun 2008 at 01:25

jmhduck said:
Thanks for the reply.

Are all foamies interchangeable between brands then?

No problem. With most IEMs, yes. See, most IEMs have the same sized centre shaft (which the tips slides onto) which is what most tips are made for. However, some IEMs have a different sized centre shaft (namely the Shure E2C and Super.Fi 5, I believe, which have a larger centre shaft).

However, this doesn't mean you can't still buy tips for your IEMs. Comply, for example, make foam tips for a variety of different IEMs; the ones they make for the the Super.Fi 5s have a larger centre hole. But these tips are rather expensive and don't last very long (in comparison to Olives, that is). I'm pretty sure you won't be able to get the Olives to fit on, though. Although... you may be able to pull out the hard plastic part in the centre of the tip (so the hole has a larger diameter) and then stretch the tip on, but I have no idea whether this would work. I'm also unsure as to whether tips made for the Shure E2C will fit the SF5s, so I can't really help you there.

I do know that you can get more traditional foam tips for the Super.Fi 5s which I'm pretty sure will be cheaper than Complys. Didn't you get any normal foam tips with your 'phones?

jmhduck · 9 Jun 2008 at 10:40

yeah I did get some foam tips but after wearing them a few times I found them to be a bit itchy. I'm currently using the largest rubber tips (I have quite big ears) which I have found to be very good, the bass was a bit wimpish until I used those. I find that even the double flange tips don't even give me a good seal.

-Ad- · 10 Jun 2008 at 08:40

Mansize_tissue said:
Is that without the price of getting the impressions done though?

Well I'm sure one of those offers you a DIY kit to do your impressions.

But always with these things, if they are off on one side or the other and you can't get a proper seal, then they will sound pants and will have to be sent back for alteration.

Just talked myself out of them now, and will probably consider the tripple fi's over them.

oli collett · 10 Jun 2008 at 09:37

i didn't like the foam tips for the UE super-fi's either compared to the shure ones i used to have, they were too "stiff".