Advice for Sennheiser IE8 & Custom Sleeves.

[iamadamsmith]

Hi there guys/girls.

I've just joined hifi headphones, initially just looking for advice on an issue, however I think i'll stick around, it's been a while since I've been a forum member and I miss it!

Ok so recently I've purchased a pair of Sennheiser IE8 earphones. In all honesty, the first day I got them I was pretty excited, and listened to about 10-12 hours of music (probably louder than it should have been).
Well it was inevitable, but my right ear the next day was a little painful, a bit of temporary hearing damage.
So i've laid off, and stopped using them whilst the burn in process is still going on.
My hearing returned to the norm, and I tried using the earphones again, I can't seem to achieve a good seal with any of the sleeves provided. One side always seems to leak sound, and/or I end up pushing them in too far in order to achieve a good seal.
When I do this, after a few minutes of listening to music, on a 4-5/10 volume scale, my ear begins to hurt.

My ears are relatively small, they're not mans ears. My canals seem to be different sized, oddly shaped, and not deep.

I've been looking into the ACS custom sleeves, and think they look pretty good, I've read up mixed reports, some people find them amazing, others have had issues getting a proper fitting.
One of the initial things I see, is that, because of the large silicon ear mold, the IEM seems to sit out further from the ear. I'm thinking this may help me, as I have to put them in too far to achieve a seal.

I'm also slightly worried I might have damaged my hearing, i'm going to lay off listening to them in ear for a few weeks to ensure my ears are all ok.

Basically I'm looking for some advice on the custom sleeves, whether or not you think they might actually benefit me.

I've just spent out £200 on the IEM, and other £1100 on a Macbook Pro, so I'm a little conserned about spending even more on the custom sleeves. However, will be willing to do it, if it will enable me to use my new IEM's without pain!

Thanks in advance for any advice, Adam.

[ShaunG]

In my experience the dual flange ear tips give the best seal with the IE8. Custom mould gels are the ultimate though, offering a big improvement with comfort and fit over any standard silicone ear tips.

ACS custom sleeves are made from soft silicone material, rather than the harder acrylic material used by some custom moulds, which makes them very comfortable indeed.

Take a look at this review of ACS custom mould sleeves with the Sennheiser IE8 on Head-fi.org. There are plenty of photos and lots of information.

[Sambop]

I've started using some custom sleeves with UE 5pro - and have to say that I love them!! ACS seem to have good customer service whenever I've spoken to them - so I feel that they would want to make sure you had a good fit (I know they made mine twice before they sent them out).

I don't find the units sitting much further out than before though - but the UE's ones sit out a fair way anyway, so proberbly just don't notice the differance.

I couldn't get a great fit on my right ear with the normal tips for IEM's - as I've also got different shaped ears......For the customs you need to go to have moulds made of you ears (included in the cost), and that's done by a pro, and he'd told me quite a lot about my ear shape etc.

If you can afford the custom sleeves, I don't think you'd look back - as Shaun says they are the Ultimate!

[ShaunG]

Thanks for your experiences with getting the custom sleeves made. Thanks also for for the photos of the UE Super.fi 5 Pro in your other post. Glad to hear you liking them!

I love the custom sleeves on my Sennheiser IE8s. It has really transformed the sound. The soundstage is much wider and the clarity is also improved.

Sambop, how did you find the custom gels affect the sound with the Super.fi 5 Pro?

[Sambop]

Originally Posted by ShaunG

Sambop, how did you find the custom gels affect the sound with the Super.fi 5 Pro?

The sound is much wider - with a deeper bass. I've found a lot more in some of the studio albums (big Floyd fan - and they have some weird stuff in the background) that I'd first got with the IEMs.

Also, my iPod had struggled a bit to power the 5's, or so I thought! With the custom sleeves fitted I've been able to use a much lower volume.

Have to say (if you've not guessed already!) I've become a bit of a overnight fanboy!

[henders]

Thanks for the experiences and impressions guys! It's greatly appreciated.

I've been considering ACS custom sleeves for my Klipsch Image X10.

I very much like the idea of wider soundstage and improved detail. The Klipsch X10 earphone is excellent, but I've owned it for over six months now and was thinking about an upgrade. I'm thinking this is the right direction as I already like the way the X10 sounds.

[Sambop]

Originally Posted by henders

but I've owned it for over six months now and was thinking about an upgrade.

Any time you'd like to swap wallets just let me know! But they are a sound (ah - bet no one's made that one before on here!) investment.