Members Ed Dixon Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 I'm not sure where you got your custom molds from, but mine were much more than $20. I had impressions made from an Audiologist for $25/ear and then had sensaphonics do mine (the company that Shure basically promotes for their custom sleeves) for around $100 (that may be totally incorrect - you ought to be able to pull it up online). They fit incredibly well. The most important concern is your seal. The transmitter, receiver, and earbuds themselves all go for naught if you have a broken seal. I had a great seal with the stock earbud tips, but lacked mobility. Custom sleeves gave me both. I made them from simple materials. They fit perfectly and vastly improve the sound and the ease of in/out. More info on what I did here: http://www.mtnsys.com/variax/Pages/IEM.htm They may not be the pretiest things, but they work Great! Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 interesting....I did my customs from earplug superstore. They cost around $120 but they look good and seal great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 interesting....I did my customs from earplug superstore. They cost around $120 but they look good and seal great. Mine are an odd color (which I care nothing about), but fit perfectly. And since no heat or dangerous materials are used, its an easy process. 15$ of material is enough to make 5-10 sets, so lots of do-overs are possible. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caseyjf Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 interesting.... +1 I definitely spent more than $15, but have been entirely satisfied with the amount of money I spent. I would imagine I could keep these headphones for several several years to come. The sleeves are also washable and may prove to be a little more durable than the $15 ones...but again, I haven't ever seen those make-shift in-ears. The color too- does matter. I would suspect an audience would notice two turqouise things jammed up in your ear. I bought clear sleeves and they are almost invisible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 4, 2009 CMS Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 It's generally not advisable to 'roll your own' custom ear molds. Things can go wrong, and it's also difficult to get good molds for some folks ear canal shape and depth. IMHO it's well worth the cost of having this done professionally and correct once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 It's generally not advisable to 'roll your own' custom ear molds. Things can go wrong, and it's also difficult to get good molds for some folks ear canal shape and depth. IMHO it's well worth the cost of having this done professionally and correct once. Well, until you try it, you won't really know. I did. Many others have, and for a while a small company sold a kit with the material (in white) ready to go for about $20. The material in question does come in different colors and is similar to modeling clay in consistency. The concept is to put your ear bobs in well, then press the clay around them and mold to fit your ear. If you turn them on, the sound gives you a good deal of feedback about when it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 I still don't see how a seal that encompasses the outside of the ear (and earbud) is a good thing. My seal comes from a custom mold that fits IN the ear canal. It is also removable and washable. Does yours even come off the earbud if you need it to? Can it damage the drivers (some have ports on the back). I did mine myself. I made a set for my E2s and E5s. While the DIY kit is not the preferred method (audiologist is best) it is a viable option and can work fine if you are careful and follow instructions. I believe I paid $120 for the customs, including the DIY mold kit. The customs are inconspicuous and work great with both my earbuds. Do you need to still use the foam of rubber canal seals with your customs? To me, those look like ass and would be distracting as hell on stage. Please, do not take offense. I am not attacking you personally and I'm glad that you found something that works for you. I just question the look and the quality of the seal. That said, for the cost, I might try a set if they actually came in a color that was not so distracting. Maybe for my E3s. They are much smaller and can be completely covered by the mold material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 I still don't see how a seal that encompasses the outside of the ear (and earbud) is a good thing. My seal comes from a custom mold that fits IN the ear canal. It is also removable and washable. Does yours even come off the earbud if you need it to? Can it damage the drivers (some have ports on the back). I did mine myself. I made a set for my E2s and E5s. While the DIY kit is not the preferred method (audiologist is best) it is a viable option and can work fine if you are careful and follow instructions. I believe I paid $120 for the customs, including the DIY mold kit. The customs are inconspicuous and work great with both my earbuds. Do you need to still use the foam of rubber canal seals with your customs?To me, those look like ass and would be distracting as hell on stage. Please, do not take offense. I am not attacking you personally and I'm glad that you found something that works for you. I just question the look and the quality of the seal. That said, for the cost, I might try a set if they actually came in a color that was not so distracting. Maybe for my E3s. They are much smaller and can be completely covered by the mold material. No offense taken. The E3s worked much better for this, as they already have some fairly good sleeves and better overall sound. What I wanted was something that poped in my ear, sealed well, sounded good, and was fast to insert/remove. It is fairly easy to make them so that the mold can be removed, washed and then bent back around. Its firm but flexible rubber when it dries and retains its shape. I didn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jwlussow Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 So it might be possible to get it smooth and flat in the ear? That might be worth some experimenting. I might do a set of the custom molds that fit in the canal and one of your type around the outside to give it a more finished "pro" look. As long as the stuff doesn't kill the buds, it might be interesting to play with. Thanks for letting us know that that stuff even exists. I had never heard of it before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 So it might be possible to get it smooth and flat in the ear? That might be worth some experimenting. I might do a set of the custom molds that fit in the canal and one of your type around the outside to give it a more finished "pro" look. As long as the stuff doesn't kill the buds, it might be interesting to play with.Thanks for letting us know that that stuff even exists. I had never heard of it before. No problem. It can work very well. I first found out about this option from a kit sold as a "PodFitKit". It sold for about $20 and was intended for POD ear bobs and similar things. It came with enough white/cream material for about 2 tries. I tried that and almost got it right, but ran out of stuff. I then found the same stuff in quantity on eBay for about $15. I still have that now, as it keeps in 2 seal containers. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMS Author Craig Vecchione Posted March 4, 2009 CMS Author Share Posted March 4, 2009 Well, until you try it, you won't really know. I did. Many others have, and for a while a small company sold a kit with the material (in white) ready to go for about $20. I don't need to try it to know. I take the advice of professional audiologists and doctors over amateurs who will try anything. Our resident audiologist Ear_saver has advised against them, as has my E.N.T., who does not do custom molds or hearing aids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 4, 2009 Members Share Posted March 4, 2009 I don't need to try it to know. I take the advice of professional audiologists and doctors over amateurs who will try anything. Our resident audiologist Ear_saver has advised against them, as has my E.N.T., who does not do custom molds or hearing aids. Taking advice is not knowing... Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 5, 2009 Members Share Posted March 5, 2009 So it might be possible to get it smooth and flat in the ear? That might be worth some experimenting. I might do a set of the custom molds that fit in the canal and one of your type around the outside to give it a more finished "pro" look. As long as the stuff doesn't kill the buds, it might be interesting to play with.Thanks for letting us know that that stuff even exists. I had never heard of it before. This is a URL for a current supplier on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/Quick-Sil-RTV-Metal-Casting-Mold-Compound_W0QQitemZ370163582561QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item370163582561&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50 This is basically the same material I used here. One set of this can do 5-10 IEM sets usually. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members blkmonday Posted March 5, 2009 Members Share Posted March 5, 2009 hey ed thatnks for the ebay link i just ordered some...i have the galaxy unit with a set of shure e3s that keep popping out of my ear and making me crazy. i usually get 3 songs in before my ears start to sweat and out they go. making my in ears worthless...ive almost given up on them because i cant afford to get molds made. ill give this a shot...nothing to lose but 15 bucks...and if it doesnt work its off to ebay the in ears go...and then im shopping for new wedges Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members canoehead Posted March 5, 2009 Members Share Posted March 5, 2009 Cheesey: Thou must have a limiter! During our last practice there was a squeal of feedback and the limiter squashed it nicely. I actually heard the feedback more from the main mix and not through the in ears. Cheers, Canoe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 5, 2009 Members Share Posted March 5, 2009 hey ed thatnks for the ebay link i just ordered some...i have the galaxy unit with a set of shure e3s that keep popping out of my ear and making me crazy. i usually get 3 songs in before my ears start to sweat and out they go. making my in ears worthless...ive almost given up on them because i cant afford to get molds made. ill give this a shot...nothing to lose but 15 bucks...and if it doesnt work its off to ebay the in ears go...and then im shopping for new wedges That is similar to the problem I had. Getting them in took so long, and if they came out in the middle of a song, I was without sound. Since the molds, no issues at all. When you get it, play with the stuff by itself to get a feel for how it works in your fingers. It begins to set up fairly quickly. Do one ear at a time. Its also better to start with too much than too little. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members caseyjf Posted March 5, 2009 Members Share Posted March 5, 2009 This is a URL for a current supplier on eBay:http://cgi.ebay.com/Quick-Sil-RTV-Metal-Casting-Mold-Compound_W0QQitemZ370163582561QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item370163582561&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A570%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50This is basically the same material I used here. One set of this can do 5-10 IEM sets usually.Ed I think I may be confused - are these disposable custom molds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ed Dixon Posted March 5, 2009 Members Share Posted March 5, 2009 I think I may be confused - are these disposable custom molds? Not really. The eBay ref is for the kit of material, which is enough stuff to make perhaps 10 IEM molds, maybe more depending. Most dont get it right the first time, so peal it off and try again. It took me about 3 or 4 tries to get it right. Once you get it right, the stuff probably last forever, or at least as long as the ear buds inside. The stuff is not sticky, so it doesnt bond to anything, but forms around it. It is kind of the consistancy and texture of a pencil eraser when hardened. It can be cut with an exacto knife if needed, or trimmed. It could probably be died a diff color if desired. You can write on it after as well. I did this to make it easy to tell the left from right in dark rooms. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RoadRanger Posted March 6, 2009 Members Share Posted March 6, 2009 DO NOT get any in ears without limiters. Your hearing can be instantly and permanently damaged by a single "mistake".Hey, I'm a little confused. If there is no way any non-bodypack headphone setup is safe what about me sittin' at the board with the cans on checking out somethin' - am I gonna go instantly deaf if "something bad happens"? If so, do we all need to be usin' body-packs on our cans at the board? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.