Let's face it; many IEMs are let down by the fit. Why there are so many different styles out there when an oval shaped design will fit comfortably in most ears? I am interested in how others have found solutions to this problem. I have tried ACS years ago. I got a voucher for a custom ear sleeve. The problems I had getting an audiologist to take an impression of my ears could take up an entire thread. I made my own impressions and sent them to ACS. I wanted an IE800 Sleeve, which they said they could do. They sent me a sleeve which fitted perfectly in my ears. Unfortunately it didn't fit my IEM. They had made a sleeve for an IE80. I eventually ended up with sleeves for Westone UM2s. ACS UK have pulled out of the custom earsleeve market.
Snugs have taken that gap on. I worked with them for several months last year. We tried to get the earsleeves they were offering to an audiophile standard. The criteria was the sleeves had to sound as good or better than the tips they would be replacing. As nice as the sleeves looked and as comfortable as they fitted I could not get the sound quality I was getting with the standard tips. The depth of insertion was too shallow or the aperture for the IEM was a fraction out or the bore was too short. Despite everything, the only ones I was happy with were made for the Flare R2 Pro Titaniums. Their shape makes it fairly easy to get a decent sleeve design. I gave up on the project. I was being used as a guinea pig and was getting no benefits from the relationship. In fact, I had ordered 3 sleeves so had several hundred pounds tied up in the company, much of which I have lost to sleeves that I don't use.
I have thought for a long time there must be a solution to the problem of decent universals that have a poor fit or poor isolation. Ideally, I would like to use the tips supplied for the IEMs and mould a shape around the earphone itself to create a good seal and keep the existing sound quality. I think I've found something.
These are adapted from a Decibullz Contour Earphone Replacement Mold Kit. It looks as if they have stopped making them, which would be a great shame. I have molded them myself. It was a safe process. You heat the mold in boiling water for 5 minutes, take the mold out with a spoon, cool it on a lint free cloth or towel and with it warm and pliable put it into your ear. You have 90 seconds to 2 minutes to sculpt the mold to the shape of your ear. After that it starts to set. When set take the mold out. You have a custom.
Of course, as always, it's not quite as simple as it sounds. The kit comes with an aperture with a plastic ring in it for the Decibullz earphone to slide into. That has to be taken out first. Next was the problem of keeping my existing tips and their insertion depth. This will involve a certain level of skill or luck. I have made 50 or so ear impressions or ear molds myself from various kits on the market so I have some experience with this. The molds you are looking at are not a perfect finish despite me being confident with what I needed to do.
The solution to the insertion depth and usage of the original tips. I put the earphones in and pushed them in with my music playing. I pushed them in to the usual depth and whilst keeping a fingertip of pressure on them and with my jaw open I pushed the material into my ear and over and around the earphone.You can see the folds and kinks in the finish. It can be done much better.
Even with the amateur finish these molds fit the contours of my ear better than the ACS Encore Studio Pro Customs. For those, professional ear impressions done by Andy Rioch, the owner and founder of ACS. The ACS service was fantastic, the whole process was done in under a month from visiting the HQ for the impressions to receiving them in the post. These took me 15 minutes. The CIEMs are not transferable. If you want to sell them you will lose a fortune. The buyer would have to find someone prepared to cut them down and make them into customs that would fit that person's ears. That will cost the buyer a considerable amount of money.
The advantage of these molds is that they are removable without any chance of damaging the IEMs. You can use a hot airdryer and they will give enough to remove the molds.
But- here's the beauty of these- they can be used again and again. If you don't get the finish you want or the sound has changed for the worse you are not stuck with it. These are remoldable. You put them back in boiling water and they are good as new.
I do not wish to get into a trolling war with people that aren't happy putting stuff into their ears. I am perfectly happy for those who feel this is not a safe practice to ignore this thread. If you are in any doubt whatsoever about making your own earmolds don't do it. There are risks involved; the worst case scenario would be a trip to the ED to remove earmold solution that is stuck down your ear canal and has set, thus making you deaf in that ear. The risks are there. The risks are the same for anyone using an earmold kit. 100s of earmold kits are on the market. They are purchased by motorcyclists, swimmers, surfers, workers using heavy machinery, gun enthusiasts, even people looking for a good nights' sleep. Millions of people are using ear molds they have made themselves. It could be your opinion that the whole market is flawed and reckless. I do understand your concerns.
Please bear in mind one thing...when we have Customs made , we are at the mercy of an Audiologist we most probably have never met. That Audiologist is often someone who makes shallow impressions for hearing aids. Hearing Aids are a far bigger market than customs. Audiologists are of course qualified whereas I am not. I have had 4 ear impressions done professionally. 1 digital one was a waste of time because the impression was too shallow. The other 3 hurt whilst they were being done. There will only be one person putting stuff in my ear from now on and that's me. Others will have had much better experiences than me and hopefully we can hear from them. This is based on my journey alone.
I'm hoping I can find out what the rest of you DIYers have been up to
Snugs have taken that gap on. I worked with them for several months last year. We tried to get the earsleeves they were offering to an audiophile standard. The criteria was the sleeves had to sound as good or better than the tips they would be replacing. As nice as the sleeves looked and as comfortable as they fitted I could not get the sound quality I was getting with the standard tips. The depth of insertion was too shallow or the aperture for the IEM was a fraction out or the bore was too short. Despite everything, the only ones I was happy with were made for the Flare R2 Pro Titaniums. Their shape makes it fairly easy to get a decent sleeve design. I gave up on the project. I was being used as a guinea pig and was getting no benefits from the relationship. In fact, I had ordered 3 sleeves so had several hundred pounds tied up in the company, much of which I have lost to sleeves that I don't use.
I have thought for a long time there must be a solution to the problem of decent universals that have a poor fit or poor isolation. Ideally, I would like to use the tips supplied for the IEMs and mould a shape around the earphone itself to create a good seal and keep the existing sound quality. I think I've found something.
These are adapted from a Decibullz Contour Earphone Replacement Mold Kit. It looks as if they have stopped making them, which would be a great shame. I have molded them myself. It was a safe process. You heat the mold in boiling water for 5 minutes, take the mold out with a spoon, cool it on a lint free cloth or towel and with it warm and pliable put it into your ear. You have 90 seconds to 2 minutes to sculpt the mold to the shape of your ear. After that it starts to set. When set take the mold out. You have a custom.
Of course, as always, it's not quite as simple as it sounds. The kit comes with an aperture with a plastic ring in it for the Decibullz earphone to slide into. That has to be taken out first. Next was the problem of keeping my existing tips and their insertion depth. This will involve a certain level of skill or luck. I have made 50 or so ear impressions or ear molds myself from various kits on the market so I have some experience with this. The molds you are looking at are not a perfect finish despite me being confident with what I needed to do.
The solution to the insertion depth and usage of the original tips. I put the earphones in and pushed them in with my music playing. I pushed them in to the usual depth and whilst keeping a fingertip of pressure on them and with my jaw open I pushed the material into my ear and over and around the earphone.You can see the folds and kinks in the finish. It can be done much better.
Even with the amateur finish these molds fit the contours of my ear better than the ACS Encore Studio Pro Customs. For those, professional ear impressions done by Andy Rioch, the owner and founder of ACS. The ACS service was fantastic, the whole process was done in under a month from visiting the HQ for the impressions to receiving them in the post. These took me 15 minutes. The CIEMs are not transferable. If you want to sell them you will lose a fortune. The buyer would have to find someone prepared to cut them down and make them into customs that would fit that person's ears. That will cost the buyer a considerable amount of money.
The advantage of these molds is that they are removable without any chance of damaging the IEMs. You can use a hot airdryer and they will give enough to remove the molds.
But- here's the beauty of these- they can be used again and again. If you don't get the finish you want or the sound has changed for the worse you are not stuck with it. These are remoldable. You put them back in boiling water and they are good as new.
I do not wish to get into a trolling war with people that aren't happy putting stuff into their ears. I am perfectly happy for those who feel this is not a safe practice to ignore this thread. If you are in any doubt whatsoever about making your own earmolds don't do it. There are risks involved; the worst case scenario would be a trip to the ED to remove earmold solution that is stuck down your ear canal and has set, thus making you deaf in that ear. The risks are there. The risks are the same for anyone using an earmold kit. 100s of earmold kits are on the market. They are purchased by motorcyclists, swimmers, surfers, workers using heavy machinery, gun enthusiasts, even people looking for a good nights' sleep. Millions of people are using ear molds they have made themselves. It could be your opinion that the whole market is flawed and reckless. I do understand your concerns.
Please bear in mind one thing...when we have Customs made , we are at the mercy of an Audiologist we most probably have never met. That Audiologist is often someone who makes shallow impressions for hearing aids. Hearing Aids are a far bigger market than customs. Audiologists are of course qualified whereas I am not. I have had 4 ear impressions done professionally. 1 digital one was a waste of time because the impression was too shallow. The other 3 hurt whilst they were being done. There will only be one person putting stuff in my ear from now on and that's me. Others will have had much better experiences than me and hopefully we can hear from them. This is based on my journey alone.
I'm hoping I can find out what the rest of you DIYers have been up to
