I just received a pair in the past few days – my first IEMs, and I’m loving them, sound-wise and aesthetically both. I’m hoping someone(z) here can help me make the most out of them.
I’ve discovered my ear canals are not perfectly uniform, and my left ear slow-rejects tips much more easily. (First noticed this with AirPods, but wasn’t sure it would carry over – it did.)
While relaxing with the units inserted, I find the difference in the physical sensation of fit/fullness between my two ears to be significantly distracting in the way of getting a “happy listening” session. Sometimes, I can sit back and forget about it before the left one pops out, or my ears begin to ache. Most of the time, though, I’m wondering whether I’m finding the sweet spot, or whether it’s not in the cards for me.
In fact, the best sound (and comfort) I’ve had is by laying back and fastidiously hand-adjusting – sometimes so much as to hold the IEMs in a position that is comfortable and provides the best sound. Obviously, this is not sustainable: my hands and arms are but mere flesh, and contact to the chassis produces interference.
Is it the Dunu’s form factor? Is my left ear not taking well to the Dunu’s shallow depth? (What the heck is a “pseudo-custom” fit design, anyway?) I have tried all of the included spinfit-like tips from Dunu, and though the white mediums work best, it doesn’t resolve the issue (and they hurt my ears). Do I need to go throwing money at a variety of different tips from different brands? I don’t think I have particularly small ears, but I know that I really want to be able to enjoy these for prolonged listening in as close to absolute comfort as I can get.
Signed,
Enthused and Confused
P.S. I’ve also noticed the 2-pin popping out here and there. I didn’t think it was from the cable weight – I love a weighty cable – and just assumed that it was my clumsy twisting and turning that set them loose.
I can’t comment on the SA6 as I haven’t tried them (but they are on my list of stuff I am interested in!).
With regards to fit…
There are certainly some people who just can’t get on with IEMs, for one reason or another.
However, it is normal that when you first start out with IEMs, it can be difficult to get a comfortable fit and a good seal to appreciate the best of said IEMs.
I know you said that you don’t want to start throwing money at a bunch of tips but unfortunately, the answer is usually in the tips (except for certain cases where a the shape of the IEM just doesn’t work for somebody’s anatomy).
It can take a lot of trial and error to find the tips that work for you and I’m afraid there is no “just buy these” as everyone’s ears are different. What works for me doesn’t necessarily work for anyone else.
I found the Xelastec tips to be very comfortable for me personally. They expand in reaction to the heat while wearing them and adapt to the ear. The problem is that they are also quite delicate and a pain to deal with. They pick up all kinds of debris and can also deform if not cared for properly (like removing them before storing IEMs in their case etc.).
Another option are foam tips. These are tips that are not favoured by many but I personally find them very comfortable on many IEMs. They are not my preferred tips nowadays but in some circumstances they just work.
There are many many other types of tips that may work, double flange, triple flange, thicker silicone, thinner silicone etc., one of them may just feel (and sound) perfect. You have to also remember that different tips can (and usually do) change the sound of the IEMs.
Finally, don’t be hesitant to try different sizes in each ear. There are many people who need to use a different size in each ear. I have also come across certain models of IEMs where I needed a different size on each side even though I usually don’t.
I’m afraid it’s all trial and error. It can be frustrating but is also part of the fun
I’ve tried mixing and matching sizes with the tips that shipped from Dunu, but I haven’t found an ideal combo yet. Heretofore I shall keep a list of tips that folks’ve recommend above and elsewhere (your mention of the Xelastec is a first!) and start chipping away at them.
Foam tips were comfortable for me once with higher-end earplugs – maybe they’ll do well here, too. That’ll be near the top of my list. Thanks again for the encouragement.
I agree with everything @SenyorC suggested. It’s not uncommon for people to use tips of different sizes for each ear. I’ve experienced the same thing as you.
It is worth the investment in tips to see if you can find the right ones - up to a point, of course. My suggestion would be to buy a pack of the same tips in different sizes, if available. The Final Audio E tips come in multipacks.
Some brands like Final Audio offer a decent number of sizes for their tips. Another brand that does this is Azla Sedna. I’ve found their tips to be my favorites - not just the Xelastec but also the regular Eartips as well as the Light Eartips, which have thinner, lighter silicone. They also come with short or regular stem lengths for IEMs that need deep or shallow insertion. As you can see, there can be lots of permutations.
Some manufacturers like Azla Sedna provide information about the size of the tips and, more specifically, the tips’ diameters. These measurements help in figuring out which sizes to try. You can also get a ruler and measure the diameter of the tips that are working for you now and then proceed from there.
One last thought: the lighter, softer, and more malleable silicone tips can create a good seal while not putting as much pressure on the ear canal. I have a pair of IEMs that I’m struggling with: my ear canals are just the wrong size for the tips on the market (or vice-versa!); tips are either marginally too large and painful, over time, or too small, so there’s no decent seal (and the sound is tinnny). My solution has been to use thinner, lighter tips in the larger size.
I’ll echo what @SenyorC said, but I’ll also add a suggestion: replace the cable. I own the SA6 as well, and I struggled with fit - so much so that I returned the first pair I purchased. I really missed their sound signature, so I did some research on tips and repurchased the SA6, pairing it with Sedna Earfit Light eartips; it helped, but I still had problems with the right earphone pulling out of my ear, even when sitting still. So, I swapped the cable and voila - no more issues.
While the stock Duno cable has amazing features in the modular tip swapping mechanism, the memory wire on the ear hooks was too aggressive and was the cause of the earphone pulling out of my ear. I now have no issues with the Hart cable or the Tripowin C8.
I agree with @Tchoupitoulas about using slightly oversized thin silicone – they often deliver the best mix between durability, sanitation, comfort, and sound quality. Foam has a very short lifespan versus silicone (e.g., a few weeks or a month of heavy use), but the cheap New Bee foam tips below solved my fit issues with quite a few IEMs. Make sure you get the set with 3 sizes for testing, as the smaller sizes tend to work best with a deep nozzle while the fatter tips sit shallow in the ear:
Thanks, folks, for the many bits of excellent information and advice. I ordered a set of the Xelastec in M/ML/L and the New Bee foams linked above. Hoping that one or both of these will bring the SA6 listening experience up considerably — and I’ll try that before looking at a new cable, since I do like this modular cable (and its weightiness) quite a bit.
edit: The system says I’m “New User of the Month” — behold your new MVP!
I can also vouch for those New Bee tips. I’ve used them on my SA6 and BL-03 (with spacer). Pretty solid fit and seal with the SA6, but by far the best fitting tips for me with the BL-03.
I find that I can get by using silicone tips with the SA6 if I use the biggest size possible and don’t move around much (shallow fit). I do need to look into a different cable though. The stock is pretty good, but personally, I’d like something lighter and more flexible
The Xelastec ML size weren’t bringing an improvement in either ear. However, the largest L’s offer me a far stabler seal and — what I was really looking for, but was growing afeared wouldn’t come — a much more uniform ‘fill feel’ between the two canals.
What I hadn’t accounted for was that they would make the IEMs sound quite as good as they are currently sounding for me.
Laying down and listening to Nick Drake’s *Bryter Layter” in 24/96 on Qobuz, I’m heading more detail, sparkle and separation to the music than I ever have. I’ve never been able to hear his guitar on these songs with such clarity; the dynamics and increase in depth and timbre of all of the instruments are blowing me away. It’s almost startling.
I wonder whether I’ll take on as well to the foam tips — if so, I’m thinking that they would be a great on-the-go solution, and as such will have a use case that is sufficiently narrow and well-utilized given their faster depreciation.
In my experience, I can’t say if I’ve really ever noticed any meaningful difference between foam or silicone tips. IME, I can’t say I’ve noticed a big difference between the 3 types of tips included with the SA6 either - which probably don’t say much for my audiophile cred…
The most important thing is to achieve an acoustic seal. For me, undersized tips eliminate most of the bass and make any IEM too bright. I can’t say that the sound quality is different between foam and silicone if both seal equally well (@Nuance).
Thick undersized silicone tips are the worst of all, as they lack bass, change in sound quality as they move around, and often create painful hot spots too.
Undersized foam drifts and can allow the IEMs to shift around against the ear and have fluctuating sound. I sometimes wedge them in deeper (fidget). Open cell foam lets you hear outside sounds, but definitely has worse sound quality. Closed cell foam (e.g., New Bee) doesn’t let you hear outside sounds and creates a custom “ear plug” fit.
For me, the treble energy gets decreased slightly and the bass sounds blunted. To each their own, though. I haven’t tried the New Bee tips, but the Comply ones I have tried have decreased sound quality.
LOL, audiophile cred? I love it. Joking aside, the only thing that matters is how we as individuals experience things.
For what’s it’s worth, though, I didn’t notice much difference in sound between the blue, black and white SA6 tips either. But switching to the Sedna Earfits seemed to open things up, probably because of the bigger bore size.
I have some Comply Premium Sport tips – they are open cell foam and do indeed degrade the sound quality. A lot. I’d only use them if truly in need of situational awareness while listening (but not likely, as I routinely walk in traffic wearing full seal silicone tips).
Actually, I lied…
The blue and white tips are a wash, but the black ones just didn’t work for me. I could get an equal seal and everything, but for reasons I can’t remember the sound using the black tips didn’t cut it.
I keep meaning to try those Azla tips but I’m not sure what size to get and last I looked Amazon.ca was out of stock on the variety pack (ms, m, ml)
