I just returned a pair of Flares Pro 2HD in-ear phones. Not cheap and lovely design and comfort. Lots of detail and lovely soundstage but bass dominant and I tried various of the buds without hearing any improvement. I don’t think it was the fit. In fairness they offer a 30 day ‘sound guarantee’ if not satisfied so accepted them back. I think they may suit some tastes.
I had some old incredibly tiny Klipsch X10i in-ears, now discontinued. They have finally broken after a fair bit of abuse. Compared to the Flares they seemed far better balanced and sweeter if a little less detail. I have ordered some Grado GR8e so will see how those go.
Have now ordered 3 pairs of the comply memory foam ear buds to try.
The AKGs have improved substantially with correct adjustment in my ears.
I think most of my issues where from my NOOB status regarding correct fitting In Ear phones
Its not as simple a case as throwing on the “ole cans”.
Audeze LCDi4 are difficult to beat @ BertBirds recommendation for Sony IER-1zR is an excellent one for more isolation. The SE846 are great at a more sensible price!
At a fairly modest price the Grado GR8e have turned out to be pretty good. Not the easiest to get good fit/isolation but having got the knack I’m impressed. Pretty balanced, natural and clean sounding especially in the mids and highs. Nothing dominates. Lacks really good bass definition but it is all in proportion and not a major issue (especially if you get a good fit). Perhaps a little lacking dynamic edge but they have a nice clean and dry character and I would not describe them as slow or blurry. Detail is good without being amazing but it all makes for a musical and enjoyable presentation.
They are fairly unimpressive to look at but seem well made and pleasingly not too much microphony from the cable-which was a big annoyance with the Klipsch I had before.
I suspect the GR10e will build on these qualities with a bit more sophistication and be rather better but they are £370 (or more) vs £270 approx.so for now I’ll enjoy these as my ‘everyday’ earphones. Definitely prefer them to the Flares
Yes I also have never used the memory foam. I hate the daily sqeezing etc. my new Sony’s have an even better seal than my Share…, but that’s just luck. In general the Shures have an excellent reputation on sound and fit.
After trying comply memory foam tips, not really for me
Having to squeeze between your fingers before insertion wasn’t ideal and the seal just wasn’t that good.
I am now using spinfit silicone tips and must say, really impressed with them.
Completely changed the sound of my AKG N40s in a positive way and fit comfortably and snug in my ears.
Had to use the large size to get a good seal in my ears.
But for most people I am sure medium would be adequate.
The tips axis movement works really well with fit and seal in the ear canal.
JVC Spiral dot are worth a try
"realizes clear sound reproduction. Earpiece Inside the sound cylinder, dimples arranged in a spiral shape adjust reflected sound, suppressing turbidity of sound. "
They are a bit less soft than the spinfit. The Comply tips do get yukie quite fast with regular use.
A cross between the two and also well worth hunting down are Symbio Mandarines W
Those Symbio look interesting as I actually like the memory foam ones but all the earphones I have collected over the years seem to be a slightly different sleeve and earbuds are often not interchangeable
I always liked the sound of my Shure 535’s but have struggled with inear fits since my old walkman days. I do use inears for my commute quite regularly and ended up with Noble encores custom fitted. They are out of this world.Turns out i have one ear canal noticably narrower than the other but it no longer matters. The noble range has models for most budgets but if your going to customise you might as well be heading up the chain for the added expense. The fit has transformed my listening experience.
I have a pair of custom mould ACS In Ear Monitors. As they take an impression of your ear and make them from that the fit is like a glove and the material is a soft silicone which are comfortable when worn for extended periods of time, I’ve fallen asleep on flights and in bed wearing them many times and not had any issues. I also have a pair of ACS attenuators for live music, also made from the same inner ear impressions.
The custom in ear market is pretty well supported, I ended up with ACS as a friend was reselling them and they are a local company, I always found them very friendly and supportive when I’ve needed help in the past.
They aren’t cheap, ranging from around £300 to £800 and if you get them and don’t like them, as they are one offs made for you, you’re sort of stuck with them. I did try their standard fit in ears and found them favourable to the Etymotic ER-4’s they replaced. I had some decent Shure ones a while back which were good with standard memory foam fittings, they got lost however. The sound signature of the ACS is quite flat, like a near field monitor but that was what I wanted anyway as they are used for a mix of listening and producing music, the latter less so these days.
Got the spinfit. Not for me, find the supplied Comply foam ones with my Shure SE425. Better fit, better isolation so better performance at the low end. They opened up the top.end more but I don’t want that. Also they have protection to stop earwax from building up in the driver tube. At least it was a low cost test.
My Akg N40s are already quite strong in the low end, so don’t require any extra reinforcement from the spinfit tips.
Funnily enough I found Comply over emphasised the bottom end and took away a little sparkle from the top end with my AKGs
I have ordered the Symbio W tips, suggested by Peter1480.
Look like they provide the best of both worlds.
The foam insulation with an easier clean and long lasting silicone outer shell.
Disappointment would be the best word for me to describe them.
I ordered 3 pairs of the W Large.
Before inserting I followed instruction and gave the tips a squeeze and roll to compress the foam inners.
Fitting was an absolute pain as the tiny wafer thin piece of inner foam didn’t really compress much, if at all, and made fitting a chore to say the least.
Ended up forcing them into my ears and holding them there till i found any kind of seal, which i didn’t.
Eventually i found removing the thin layer of inner foam and using the tips as a normal silicone variety was actually easier to insert and a better overall seal in the ear.
Wont be using them again, my spinfits, for me anyway, are better in every way.
