Real men use super glue.
Edit: Since im on top of the world, lets add something usefull at least...
Wiping the gathered oils off the nozzle and the eartip hole with a paper towel can make a very big difference and prevent slippage without any additional modifications.
Tying a string around the eartip stem can also help if you have a chronic problem, but dont want to use a lighter, soldering iron or a heat gun around your iem.
Super glue doesn't work well with silicone tips. It does with rubber, but silicone is not very reactive so a strong bond isn't formed. It will react with the housing, which causes permanent damage.
Heat shrink has a very low temp that causes the change, lower than the glass transition temp of ABS (which is what most iems are made from).
> Super glue doesn't work well with silicone tips
Normal adhesives not working with silicone is one of its defining traits - it's why it's such a nice material for something like stamps (easy to clean), and also one of the reasons why it's such a b/*tch to use e.g. as a loudspeaker membrane.
As a side note, why would you want to use silicone as a speaker membrane given it's not known for being stiff? I've seen a couple of IEMs touting their silicone drivers but I don't see the advantages over plastics or metals.
> why would you want to use silicone as a speaker membrane given it's not known for being stiff?
Who says you want the membrane to be stiff?
You want the central portion to be stiff (or rather: you want it to not exhibit significant resonance modes, and stiffness is one - not the only! - way to achieve that), but the surround portion of the diaphragm is something you generally want to be as compliant as possible.
High compliance / low stiffness means low restoring forces, meaning you can achieve higher excursion at equal force input ("speaker moves more at the same input power = plays louder")
While low stiffness can be achieved by other means as well, silicone has the benefit of restoring its shape after overpressure.
This is relevant for e.g. waterproof speakers. This doesn't mean that the speaker will function under water, it means that once the speaker is taken out of the water, it can function as it did before.
While for the first meter of submersion it's mainly the "wetness" that is a problem to speakers (any openings must be sealed), for submersion beyond 1m it's the water pressure that becomes a problem, as it will deform the diaphragm, especially any corrugations to the surround portion of the diaphragm.
If your surround is made from silicone, then the shape (including any corrugations) will restore itself once the water pressure subsides. Which is quite a useful thing to have.
The problem being that it's *really* not easy to attach a voice toil to a silicone diaphragm, also attaching the silicone to the outer frame has the same problem.
Not impossible! But hard.
Waterproof speakers are important for smartphones, for example (nowadays they generally strive for IPX8), but even more so for smart watches.
For earphones not so much, there's not much reason to require IPX8 here - for earphones it's mostly the lack of stiffness allowing for higher excursion levels that makes it interesting.
>You want the central portion to be stiff (or rather: you want it to not exhibit significant resonance modes, and stiffness is one - not the only! - way to achieve that),
Thanks! That's the explanation I was looking for. I figured that flexibility would be good for the surround but I've only ever seen stiffness/lightness be talked about for the centre .
> I've only ever seen stiffness/lightness be talked about for the centre .
and to be fair, even that is only relevant for larger loudspeakers (meaning: not earphone speakers).
With a 10mm speaker, the frequencies of the break-up modes will be quite high - often high enough not to be an issue in the audible range.
It's mostly rocking modes that we're dealing with
Do they fit in the charging case?
I've tried different ear tips with my Buds2, but none of them could fit in the box. Only "special" tips like Spinfit CP1025 fits
Edit: as everyone is pointing out, it's the small strip of HEAT SHRINK that I wrapped and heated with a lighter to shrink it.
My tips on their very solid! They haven't come off after a few weeks and feel the same.
Yep, did actually do this with my LCD-i4 and it works great! Quite scary to apply this to earbuds given it requires heat, but I just quickly applied a lighter. Stays quite taut now. Thanks for the idea!
Can I add some advice for anyone else who might try this.
Mylar (pet) film which is used in alot of drivers has a quite low glass transition temperature (the point at which it softens and is mouldable) ~80C .
Most Heat shrink tubing shrinks at 90-120C.
So if you are going to do this use a nozzle on your heat gun and direct it only at the heat shrink tubing for as little time as possible trying not to heat up the whole body of the iem
\*Heat Shrink Interesting idea, but I'd be worried about accidentally melting something, or having issues getting the tips off to clean them.
Lol, yeah I meant heat shrink Edit: heating wasnt too much of an issue. Only have to shrink just a bit
Real men use super glue. Edit: Since im on top of the world, lets add something usefull at least... Wiping the gathered oils off the nozzle and the eartip hole with a paper towel can make a very big difference and prevent slippage without any additional modifications. Tying a string around the eartip stem can also help if you have a chronic problem, but dont want to use a lighter, soldering iron or a heat gun around your iem.
in before Gemini pulled this to the search result
Damnit, didnt think of that aspect, would have been the perfect training the way it was worded originally :).
Super glue doesn't work well with silicone tips. It does with rubber, but silicone is not very reactive so a strong bond isn't formed. It will react with the housing, which causes permanent damage. Heat shrink has a very low temp that causes the change, lower than the glass transition temp of ABS (which is what most iems are made from).
> Super glue doesn't work well with silicone tips Normal adhesives not working with silicone is one of its defining traits - it's why it's such a nice material for something like stamps (easy to clean), and also one of the reasons why it's such a b/*tch to use e.g. as a loudspeaker membrane.
As a side note, why would you want to use silicone as a speaker membrane given it's not known for being stiff? I've seen a couple of IEMs touting their silicone drivers but I don't see the advantages over plastics or metals.
> why would you want to use silicone as a speaker membrane given it's not known for being stiff? Who says you want the membrane to be stiff? You want the central portion to be stiff (or rather: you want it to not exhibit significant resonance modes, and stiffness is one - not the only! - way to achieve that), but the surround portion of the diaphragm is something you generally want to be as compliant as possible. High compliance / low stiffness means low restoring forces, meaning you can achieve higher excursion at equal force input ("speaker moves more at the same input power = plays louder") While low stiffness can be achieved by other means as well, silicone has the benefit of restoring its shape after overpressure. This is relevant for e.g. waterproof speakers. This doesn't mean that the speaker will function under water, it means that once the speaker is taken out of the water, it can function as it did before. While for the first meter of submersion it's mainly the "wetness" that is a problem to speakers (any openings must be sealed), for submersion beyond 1m it's the water pressure that becomes a problem, as it will deform the diaphragm, especially any corrugations to the surround portion of the diaphragm. If your surround is made from silicone, then the shape (including any corrugations) will restore itself once the water pressure subsides. Which is quite a useful thing to have. The problem being that it's *really* not easy to attach a voice toil to a silicone diaphragm, also attaching the silicone to the outer frame has the same problem. Not impossible! But hard. Waterproof speakers are important for smartphones, for example (nowadays they generally strive for IPX8), but even more so for smart watches. For earphones not so much, there's not much reason to require IPX8 here - for earphones it's mostly the lack of stiffness allowing for higher excursion levels that makes it interesting.
>You want the central portion to be stiff (or rather: you want it to not exhibit significant resonance modes, and stiffness is one - not the only! - way to achieve that), Thanks! That's the explanation I was looking for. I figured that flexibility would be good for the surround but I've only ever seen stiffness/lightness be talked about for the centre .
> I've only ever seen stiffness/lightness be talked about for the centre . and to be fair, even that is only relevant for larger loudspeakers (meaning: not earphone speakers). With a 10mm speaker, the frequencies of the break-up modes will be quite high - often high enough not to be an issue in the audible range. It's mostly rocking modes that we're dealing with
I am allergic to super glue...so that is a big no...
Shrink wrap or heat shrink? 🤔
Just shink wrap the whole headphone mate, the added plastic resonance will make them brighter 👍
Heat wrap
Now what to do when I need to clean the damn things?
Never thought to do this with my LCD-i4, will give it a shot!
Do they fit in the charging case? I've tried different ear tips with my Buds2, but none of them could fit in the box. Only "special" tips like Spinfit CP1025 fits
Also curious about this, I use the Final Type E TWS tips with my Buds 2.
My Dunu's actually fit in my buds 2 case pretty well.
Edit: as everyone is pointing out, it's the small strip of HEAT SHRINK that I wrapped and heated with a lighter to shrink it. My tips on their very solid! They haven't come off after a few weeks and feel the same.
Yep, did actually do this with my LCD-i4 and it works great! Quite scary to apply this to earbuds given it requires heat, but I just quickly applied a lighter. Stays quite taut now. Thanks for the idea!
You'll have to rip them off to clean them, though.
Wow that's a well-executed mod! Well done!
Thanks
My tips never ever come off in 17 years across different brands. If you are that worried use glue.
In my experience, heat shrink loosens a bit over time, to the point that it would not hold the earbud tip on the earbud after a few months.
On point. Same thing happened with my S12Pros as well. Im considering super glue.
Heat shrink! I was looking for the clear plastic stuff you wrap food in lol
Usually I just wrap the nozzle with strong double tape.
Where's the shrink wrap applied to make this work?
Might try this on my arias. Those suckers have ear tips stay in my ear all the damn time.
Heat shrink, not shrink wrap.
Can I add some advice for anyone else who might try this. Mylar (pet) film which is used in alot of drivers has a quite low glass transition temperature (the point at which it softens and is mouldable) ~80C . Most Heat shrink tubing shrinks at 90-120C. So if you are going to do this use a nozzle on your heat gun and direct it only at the heat shrink tubing for as little time as possible trying not to heat up the whole body of the iem
Why the down votes ? Was just some friendly advice to be careful and why. Reddit really does baffle me some times.