Custom earphone sleeves - Are they worth it?

[shep1001]

As per the title - Can't seem to get on with any of the sleeves supplied with my Shure in-earphones they just don't sit snug in my ear. Custom fit ones that I would need to get impressions of my lug holes taken look to be coming in at about £120 are they really worth the money or is there a cheaper alternative for a better fit and improved noise isolation?.

Shep

[Crusoe]

you can buy instant putty type products now and do it for yourself for a few £

http://makezine.com/projects/custom-fit-earbuds/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Molded-Sili...

[ladderino]

Have you tried foam tips - I have Comply tips and they work very well for me. I used to have problems with the silicone tips always falling out of my ears, hasn't been a problem since I switched to foam.

[probedb]

Crusoe said:

you can buy instant putty type products now and do it for yourself for a few £

http://makezine.com/projects/custom-fit-earbuds/
http://www.instructables.com/id/Custom-Molded-Sili...

If you're willing to shove stuff in your ear which you can't see then go for it. I'm guessing there's a disclaimer about damaging your ear drums from pushing it in too far.

Personally I'd rather leave it to a specialist to take molds. I have custom molds and they didn't cost that much but do make a difference.

[Brian Trizers]

I was wondering whether the same place offers make-your-own contact lens kits. Some things are best left to the experts.

I find the extreme isolation of in-ears that fit really well a bit, well, odd. Great for shutting out the drone of aircraft engines - and passengers - but when I crunched on my first KLM peanut just after fitting my then-new Shures, I nearly jumped out of my seat. I recently bought a pair of Beyerdynamic earphones with an inline microphone, thinking they'd serve both to shut out office noise when I'm trying to work (for which they're great) and as a more comfortable iphone headset for when I'm on long calls at home. Trouble is, once they're in place, they make my voice boom like Brian Blessed is trapped inside my head, so I've gone back to the Apple basics for that, even though they itch, and fall out if I blink. More isolation isn't necessarily better!

[probedb]

Brian Trizers said:

More isolation isn't necessarily better!

Not for you, but obviously it is for all the users of IEMs like myself.