# Custom Ear Molds for IEMs



## Takeanidea

Let's face it; many IEMs are let down by the fit. Why there are so many different styles out there when an oval shaped design will fit comfortably in most ears? I am interested in how others have found solutions to this  problem. I have tried ACS years ago. I got a voucher for a custom ear sleeve. The problems I had getting an audiologist to take an impression of my ears could take up an entire thread. I made my own impressions and sent them to ACS. I wanted an IE800 Sleeve, which they said they could do. They sent me a sleeve which fitted perfectly in my ears. Unfortunately it didn't fit my IEM. They had made a sleeve for an IE80. I eventually ended up with sleeves for Westone UM2s. ACS UK have pulled out of the custom earsleeve market.
 Snugs have taken that gap on. I worked with them for several months last year. We tried to get the earsleeves they were offering to an audiophile standard. The criteria was the sleeves had to sound as good or better than the tips they would be replacing. As nice as the sleeves looked and as comfortable as they fitted I could not get the sound quality I was getting with the standard tips. The depth of insertion was too shallow or the aperture for the IEM was a fraction out or the bore was too short. Despite everything, the only ones I was happy with were made for the Flare R2 Pro Titaniums. Their shape makes it fairly easy to get a decent sleeve design. I gave up on the project. I was being used as a guinea pig and was getting no benefits from the relationship. In fact, I had ordered 3 sleeves so had several hundred pounds tied up in the company, much of which I have lost to sleeves that I don't use.
 I have thought for a long time there must be a solution to the problem of decent universals that have a poor fit or poor isolation. Ideally, I would like to use the tips supplied for the IEMs and mould a shape around the earphone itself to create a good seal and keep the existing sound quality. I think I've found something.


 These are adapted from a Decibullz Contour Earphone Replacement Mold Kit. It looks as if they have stopped making them, which would be a great shame. I have molded them myself. It was a safe process. You heat the mold in boiling water for 5 minutes, take the mold out with a spoon, cool it on a lint free cloth or towel and with it warm and pliable put it into your ear. You have 90 seconds to 2 minutes to sculpt the mold to the shape of your ear. After that it starts to set. When set take the mold out. You have a custom.


 Of course, as always, it's not quite as simple as it sounds. The kit comes with an aperture with a plastic ring in it for the Decibullz earphone to slide into. That has to be taken out first. Next was the problem of keeping my existing tips and their insertion depth. This will involve a certain level of skill or luck. I have made 50 or so ear impressions or ear molds myself from various kits on the market so I have some experience with this. The molds you are looking at are not a perfect finish despite me being confident with what I needed to do.


 The solution to the insertion depth and usage of the original tips. I put the earphones in and pushed them in with my music playing. I pushed them in to the usual depth and whilst keeping a fingertip of pressure on them and with my jaw open I pushed the material into my ear and over and around the earphone.You can see the folds and kinks in the finish. It can be done much better.

 Even with the amateur finish these molds fit the contours of my ear better than the ACS Encore Studio Pro Customs. For those, professional ear impressions done by Andy Rioch, the owner and founder of ACS. The ACS service was fantastic, the whole process was done in under a month from visiting the HQ for the impressions to receiving them in the post. These took me 15 minutes. The CIEMs are not transferable. If you want to sell them you will lose a fortune. The buyer would have to find someone prepared to cut them down and make them into customs that would fit that person's ears. That will cost the buyer a considerable amount of money.
 The advantage of these molds is that they are removable without any chance of damaging the IEMs. You can use a hot airdryer and they will give enough to remove the molds.
 But- here's the beauty of these- they can be used again and again. If you don't get the finish you want or the sound has changed for the worse you are not stuck with it. These are remoldable. You put them back in boiling water and they are good as new.
 I do not wish to get into a trolling war with people that aren't happy putting stuff into their ears. I am perfectly happy for those who feel this is not a safe practice to ignore this thread. If you are in any doubt whatsoever about making your own earmolds don't do it. There are risks involved; the worst case scenario would be a trip to the ED to remove earmold solution that is stuck down your ear canal and has set, thus making you deaf in that ear. The risks are there. The risks are the same for anyone using an earmold kit. 100s of earmold kits are on the market. They are purchased by motorcyclists, swimmers, surfers, workers using heavy machinery, gun enthusiasts, even people looking for a good nights' sleep. Millions of people are using ear molds they have made themselves. It could be your opinion that the whole market is flawed and reckless. I do understand your concerns.
 Please bear in mind one thing...when we have Customs made , we are at the mercy of an Audiologist we most probably have never met. That Audiologist is often someone who makes shallow impressions for hearing aids. Hearing Aids are a far bigger market than customs. Audiologists are of course qualified whereas I am not. I have had 4 ear impressions done professionally. 1 digital one was a waste of time because the impression was too shallow. The other 3 hurt whilst they were being done. There will only be one person putting stuff in my ear from now on and that's me. Others will have had much better experiences than me and hopefully we can hear from them. This is based on my journey alone.
 I'm hoping I can find out what the rest of you DIYers have been up to


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## JohnRS

I have a pair of custom tips from PureTone in the UK. £95 including ear moulds done by an audiologist. The puretone site lists audiologist and they're basically hearing centres, which are everywhere. The moulding took 10 minutes, they sent them off with my IEM'S (IE80's) with an order form, specifying colour, material etc. and 4 weeks later they arrived. Ie80s moulded in place and a perfect fit. 
As for my experience getting moulded, it didn't hurt at all. It felt weird but the audiologist explained this beforehand. The best I can describe it as is like when your ears pop on a plane, the sort of pressure before the pop. 
Here's the finished product. 


The IEM'S come out relatively easily. I plan on upgrading to IE800's in the future so I plan on using Sugru to mould the 800 into the 80 space with the Sugru, which is malleable putty that sets to rubber and should bond to the mould. 
Overall I'm more than happy with the moulds. Isolation is great, comfort is on another level to anything else I've tried.


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## Takeanidea

Thanks John,
 appreciate your input. You're the only one so far. I have had colds done for me and I've done them myself. Yours were £95.
 My point is that I spent £10, didn't need to invest any further time going anywhere or risking a mistake with the fit and got a perfect match to my ears. The tips I made I can remake for other iems. If I think I can make better ones, it'll take a kettle of boiling water and 10 minutes of my time.
 I like your idea with the Sugru - as you have the ear canal bit right you might be able to remold the outer piece to fit the shells of the IE800.


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## JohnRS

No problem. I did look into self moulding but wasn't sure how I'd get the canal moulded or how deep to go. I tried sugru inside a tip, from a tutorial on indestructibles but that didn't work. As it turns out my canals are a weird shape, they go in as normal but then up, whereas most people's just go in. The audiologist said this is likely the reason I couldn't get a decent fit with normal tips.


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## Takeanidea

Moulding into the ear canal is a trickier thing than I've done. There is no problem if the mold material has been prepared correctly and the pressure you apply is not excessive. I believe the quality of the tips against the contours of your ear canal are an important factor in getting the best sound quality. I shall try molding to my ear canal and see if I can somehow keep the tips on to quality control the sq. The decibullz are said to be a great fit but bass light and I'm sure that is to do with how deep the impressions into the ear canal are and the acoustic properties of the material being used.


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## Takeanidea

I see you are interested in sugru- I have discovered that the decibullz are made from a thermoplastic compound. That is what is remoldable and heated using a kettle. I've got 500g coming which should be enough for all my earphone problems


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## Takeanidea

Earpods now customs - made by me for someone else - awaiting further cosmetic adjustments but working perfectly


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## Slater

takeanidea said:


> I see you are interested in sugru- I have discovered that the decibullz are made from a thermoplastic compound. That is what is remoldable and heated using a kettle. I've got 500g coming which should be enough for all my earphone problems


 
  
 Where did you get the 500gr of material?


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## Takeanidea

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00P70IH2Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 this is the stuff. works like a dream. so much safer than blu tac , sugru , custom mold kits. and remouldable


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## Slater

Great, thanks.
  
 Multimorph isn't available in the US, but there's an equivalent thermoplastic called Instamold that appears to be the same thing.


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## Takeanidea

That'll be fine.
 When you put the granules into your bowl they should collect together and then you can press them into a shape. Provided that it starts to cool rapidly it's perfectly safe to use


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## Slater

takeanidea said:


> That'll be fine.
> When you put the granules into your bowl they should collect together and then you can press them into a shape. Provided that it starts to cool rapidly it's perfectly safe to use


 
  
 Great, thanks for the tips.
  
 In your experience, how much have you let it cool down before sticking it into your ears to harden?
  
 Also, how comfortable is the finished product, and how good of a seal do you get? The only types of custom IEMs I've made involved mounting some KZ ED9 in some Radians Silicone Putty Earplugs. The seal isn't perfect (so it doesn't provide the killer bass the ED9 is known for), but they're comfortable to wear for extended periods and the sound is good enough for jogging or working out. Plus they don't fall out when chewing gum, eating, drinking, etc.


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## Takeanidea

It needs to be cool enough that you can hold it in the palm of your hand. Your IEM is too far away from your ear canal. Use the existing tips . Mould a template around the shell - there will be enough time to do this - and then put them in your ears and start to shape them. Put them under the spout of a boiling kettle to further refine the shape. I strongly believe that the lack of bass is due to the tip being formed by the mouldable material not being as effective as the tips they have been designed for. Only practice will get the fit right and the sound right. Once you have that right just think - that fit will be locked in and there'll be no more trial and error with using them as a universal


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## Takeanidea

The seal is phenomenal, and the comfort is first class. I smooth and smooth and smooth them down using a boiled kettle and making minute adjustments which will have no bearing on the fit. I push the tips around once I think I've got them correct. If I hear a change (for the better) in the sound when I push them in or out of my ear canal then of course I adjust the moulds again under a kettle


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## Slater

takeanidea said:


> The seal is phenomenal, and the comfort is first class. I smooth and smooth and smooth them down using a boiled kettle and making minute adjustments which will have no bearing on the fit. I push the tips around once I think I've got them correct. If I hear a change (for the better) in the sound when I push them in or out of my ear canal then of course I adjust the moulds again under a kettle


 
  
 And you've never had any issues with the earbuds themselves being exposed to all of the steam from the kettle?


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## Takeanidea

Nope never


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## Slater

takeanidea said:


> It needs to be cool enough that you can hold it in the palm of your hand. Your IEM is too far away from your ear canal. Use the existing tips . Mould a template around the shell - there will be enough time to do this - and then put them in your ears and start to shape them. Put them under the spout of a boiling kettle to further refine the shape. I strongly believe that the lack of bass is due to the tip being formed by the mouldable material not being as effective as the tips they have been designed for. Only practice will get the fit right and the sound right. Once you have that right just think - that fit will be locked in and there'll be no more trial and error with using them as a universal


 
 Understood. It was my 1st attempt. My plan is to redo them the right way once the thermoplastic arrives.
  
 Then I can repurpose the existing Radians ones as 'HD earplugs' to use at concerts, by inserting a plastic plug of some sort with a hole drilled in the middle, or possibly running a piece of string or wire through the existing tunnel, filling in with silicone, then removing the string/wire to make a small pinhole for sound to travel through. I have a current set of flange style 'HD earplugs' I can use as a guide for the correct hole size.


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## Takeanidea

Sounds like you'll be onto a winner with the earplugs. Let us know how you get on with this. I wonder whether I am going in the right direction by shrouding the shells in the plastic and relying on the tips for the sound. But I am convinced I am on the right route with this. I think the real time comes with getting a mirror like perfect finish. That is personally where I am putting my time. I suspect that they will never look good enough to compete with the companies who are charging huge money and taking up so much time and effort. They, in every case with me, have resulted in inferior sounding or less comfortable fits. Or both. My DIYs have got the fit and the sound quality. Just not the cosmetic appeal


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## Takeanidea




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## Slater

takeanidea said:


> Sounds like you'll be onto a winner with the earplugs. Let us know how you get on with this. I wonder whether I am going in the right direction by shrouding the shells in the plastic and relying on the tips for the sound. But I am convinced I am on the right route with this. I think the real time comes with getting a mirror like perfect finish. That is personally where I am putting my time. I suspect that they will never look good enough to compete with the companies who are charging huge money and taking up so much time and effort. They, in every case with me, have resulted in inferior sounding or less comfortable fits. Or both. My DIYs have got the fit and the sound quality. Just not the cosmetic appeal


 
 Will do. I think yours look just fine. Besides, would you rather have sexy IEMs that sound like crap, or ugly IEMs that sound eargasmic? Function over form, right?
  
 I did want to see what your thoughts were on the vent holes present in most IEMs. If yours had vent holes, what did you do to account for that (or did you just seal everything up)?
  
 Luckily, many of my IEMs have ear-facing vents, which I wouldn't think will get covered up by your thermoplastic method. But some of my IEMs have vents in the sides or rear of the IEM body, so I'm not quite sure how to account for that.
  
 Take this KZ ED9 for example - it has a vent hole underneath, and a 'grille' in the rear (which according to the exploded diagram is not just cosmetic):


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## Takeanidea

If you seal the vents you will affect the sound for the worse. They need room to breathe. The vents are an extra worry. It takes even more time and care to ensure you don't cover them up. Because the thermoplastic is never really a liquid it shouldn't seep into those areas you don't want covered. It's a case of working in stages and covering smaller areas if you're doing more intricate work. The joins can be masked using steam from a kettle. It does require more skill but that means the rewards are greater.

 These had 3 vents. I did them for one of my work colleagues. Had I been given more time I'd have ironed out the creases you can see in my work. I kept all 3 of the vents clear. My time spent on these from beginning to end was 15 minutes per side


 As you see the left is not uniform to the right. This curious hook shape started to form around my friends earshell and apparently is just as comfortable and isolating as the right ear.


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## Slater

OK, that's very helpful to see how you handled the vents. Thanks for the photos.
  
 I need to find my steam kettle and make sure it still works. Last time I used it was 25 years ago to remove window tint on a used car I bought, where the tint had turned purple from the previous owner cleaning the windows with Windex!


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## asegier

I had one similar to putty as well.  I didn't need to heat it.  What you did was combine two pieces of different coloured putty.  When they are combined they start to harden.  So you split off a piece and mold it to your IEMs.  It didn't really work out so well for me (although the fit was great), it looked terribly ugly... lol.  And it also didn't solve the problem of the custom fit INTO the ear either (it was just outside the ear).
  
 I then got full custom IEMs where I got my ear impression molded and sent out.  The results were awesome.  Perfect fit.
  
 However, other then that, I've never had a silicone sleeve ever fit me.  Even the Oval Klipsch's have some issues staying in. So far the ONLY one that works for me is SpinFit.  I'm surprised, I just got it yesterday and I didn't expect it to fit, but it did!  And very well too!


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## Takeanidea

The putty is a non remouldable affair. You wouldn't expect a perfect result on your first attempt. The thermoplastic allows for an infinite number of tries until you match fit sound quality and attractiveness. This custom you got will have cost you $100s and will have taken a month. Mine take 10 mins and cost $1. I have a set of ACS Customs which cost me $700. I have made my own custom shells which give me as good a fit


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## Slater (Sep 9, 2018)

Takeanidea said:


> I strongly believe that the lack of bass is due to the tip being formed by the mouldable material not being as effective as the tips they have been designed for.



I finally had a chance to do this using some thermoplastic I bought from Aliexpress (the same stuff as instamorph, polymorph, etc).

They turned out great, although it does take a long time to cool 100% in your ear. The 1st time I did it, I only let it cool for maybe 20-30 minutes. The plastic was hard on the outside, but when I removed it from my ear it clearly wasn't fully cool/hard and stretched and deformed. No problem though, as I just removed the plastic from the earphone, put it back in boiling water, and started all over again. The 2nd time I waited much longer for the plastic to cool (2 hours). Maybe it would have cooled in less time, but I didn't want to take any chances. Besides, I just use the cooling time to listen to some music and watch a few episodes on Netflix.

As to your comment about the lack of bass, I decided to keep using the eartips. When I tried them without tips, there was a huge lack of bass because there it's just not good enough to create an effective seal.

The other cause of lack of bass and/or sound changes is due to the vents as you have pointed out. You really have to be very careful not to cover any vents, and do careful planning before starting since the vents on every IEM differ in number, size, and location.

On the IEM I used, I knew there was a high likelihood that I would cover the vents.

For the front vent (by the nozzle), I ended up trimming away a bit of the thermoplastic material to expose it:




As far as the rear vent, before I started any work I measured the rear bass vent (which in my case was a single 0.7mm vent where the cable exited the underside of the IEM). After the thermoplastic was cooled, I carefully drilled a 0.7mm hole in the back of the earphone using a small twist drill (being sure to avoid any sensitive areas, such as internal wiring). I paid particular attention to drill the hole as shallow as possible, stopping immediately after pierced through the IEM shell. Had the drill bit been allowed to go down into the IEM shell, there would inevitably been damage.

Here's a photo showing the area where the rear bass vent got covered up by thermoplastic:



And here's the new hole I drilled into the rear of the IEM:

 

It is theoretically possible to use the existing vent hole, and run a small vinyl tube (like those used in CIEM and hearing aid building) or even a piece of silicone wire from the existing vent hole to the outside atmosphere. However, it would be tricky to attach the vinyl tube to the IEM body, as well as difficult to prevent it from moving or getting kinked/crushed during the process of molding the thermoplastic.

It could also be possible to drill a vent hole through the cool thermoplastic from the outside atmosphere down to meet the stock vent hole. However, this would also be difficult because often the hole would need to be drilled at multiple angles through the thermoplastic. And there is also a risk of drilling into the IEM (making a 2nd vent hole, enlarging the stock vent hole, etc).

That's why in my case, the new vent hole was the best solution. Once the new vent hole was drilled, the sound was exactly as it was stock.

Here's a few additional photos of the completed job. I used some junk IEMs that I never use, so I didn't bother using the colored pellets. Since this was just a test to get a feel of the material and process, I just used the raw white material as-is. On my next pair I will use the red and blue colored pellets.


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## Takeanidea

Nice first attempt! Well done my friend! I think you are putting too much silicon at the bottom of the driver. That's the most critical part of the driver and it's angle into the ear canal or at least where it sits inside the ear. What you are doing is pushing the driver away from the ear canal - that will reduce the performance drastically


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## Slater

Well, now that you mention it, the IEM itself did seem to be cocked at an angle. OK, I’ll remove the plastic and try again a 3rd time


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## Takeanidea

You need to be looking for 2 things as a minimum with any custom mold - 1 it needs to lock in around the inside of the ear 2 it needs to go as deep into the ear as you can get it and at least as deep as it was before you put a mold around it


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## Slater (Sep 9, 2018)

Takeanidea said:


> You need to be looking for 2 things as a minimum with any custom mold - 1 it needs to lock in around the inside of the ear 2 it needs to go as deep into the ear as you can get it and at least as deep as it was before you put a mold around it



Yes, if I was making a full ear version that included the tip, I would have done that. However, I do not have ear molds made yet, so I cannot safely make a CIEM out of thermoplastic just yet. Until then, I had to make a semi-CIEM and use silicone tips for the ear canal part.

But yes, my goal is to use my impressions (a local audiologist already took) to make custom molds. Then I’ll be able to make CIEMs like the member posted on Page 1 out of his Vsonic GR07s.


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## Takeanidea (Sep 9, 2018)

I will have to get off my backside and do a proper video. I can do full custom shells. But the way in which I do it necessitates hand moulding- the shells being different sizes each time. Some designs(Westone W60) are ok with custom tips and some(Sennheiser IE800) are better with stock tips


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## Slater (Sep 9, 2018)

That is my lifelong dream - making CIEMs from custom shells and individual drivers. It is a bit of an an upfront investment to get all of the proper mold and proper shell materials and equipment, which has held me back for the moment (in addition to lack of space and free time). However, once that investment is made, it is a fairly low cost to make individual CIEMs (not including the drivers).

2 very useful guides I found on the actual process are these 2. There are obviously more than 1 way to do anything, but after reviewing these 2 guides, I have a pretty good idea of how to proceed with a very basic set (that doesn't require laser scanning, 3D printing, etc):

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/how-a-custom-in-ear-monitor-is-made-photo-journal.885128/



Spoiler: Youtube video


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## Takeanidea




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## Takeanidea (Nov 10, 2018)

Sometimes when it comes to the perfect fit to achieve the best sound possible, less is more. Introducing the £25 **** EN900 IEMs and note just how little is needed to achieve a custom fit


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## Slater (Jan 27, 2019)

I decided to experiment with the colored thermoplastic dye pellets, which allow you to color the thermoplastic from its default milky white color. They're easy to use - you just use knead 1-2 colored pellets into the thermoplastic until the color is uniform. The basic color kit includes primary colors, black, and brown. So with the basic color kit, you could theoretically make any color thermoplastic you want (including custom swirled effects, rainbow tie dye, etc).

Anyways, for this mod, I used a pair of Estron earpods (sold under their Timmkoo brand).

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BKQLMTS

They are cheap, have an iOS-compatible 3 button remote, and sound good thanks to their large 14mm drivers.

I like the way earpod style earphones sound, but I hate how they fit. They fall out much too easily.

You can buy small silicone 'skins with wings', designed for Apple Earpods and Airpods. In addition to fitting Apple pods, they also fit on all 3rd party earpods (such as the MEMT T5, these Timmkoos, generic wireless Airpods, etc). And while the silicone wings do help stabilize the earpod in the ear, they really don't keep the earpod pressed into the ear canal opening. Earpods sound their best when they are making a slight seal with the ear canal. When the earpod sound nozzle falls away from the ear canal opening, the sound suffers greatly.

What's needed to solve this problem is a custom-fit 'wing'. This is the perfect application for thermoplastic 

Unfortunately, the typical earpod body is too angled and slippery for anything to stick to it without falling off. So I added a small screw to give something for the thermoplastic to anchor to:



 



(Once the thermoplastic is applied, the screw is completely covered up and can't be seen).

Here's the final product:





The whole process took about 30 minutes, not including the time waiting for the thermoplastic to cool completely. Normally it takes about an hour to fully cool down, but I cheated and went for a short walk outside which cooled the plastic in ~15 minutes thanks to the temperature of 2°C/35°F and falling snow.


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## gringosteve

Sorry for the thread revival but wanted to say thanks for all the info on this. I took the plunge and modified my Shure SE215 with thermoplastic. Isolation and fit is now amazing and i actually like the look.


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## gringosteve

Key learning:

You need way less material than you first expect. Especially if you have small ears like me
You need a lot of dye to get black to be black as opposed to grey
Get a nice thin piece on the iem and mood gently to the shape by hand. Allow it to cool.. then reheat with hairdryer before fitting into ear
This stuff is warm when in boiling water.. but skin meltingly hot when using a hairdryer. Please let it cool a bit before sticking it into your ear. My ear wasn’t burnt but must have been close
Coat MMCX cable posts in Vaseline to help stop the molten plastic from sticking to them


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## Takeanidea

I like the last point, that's well worth trying, all the other points are valid too, of course, but I've not tried that. Your molds look good, well done


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## gringosteve

Thanks for the kind words. New MMCX usb-c cable turned up today too to complete the work on these.

Nor sure if I should do the same to my sennhieser Momentum Free next!?


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## Slater

gringosteve said:


> Thanks for the kind words. New MMCX usb-c cable turned up today too to complete the work on these.
> 
> Nor sure if I should do the same to my sennhieser Momentum Free next!?



Did you get the Amazon usb C mmcx cable I posted a few weeks ago?


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## gringosteve

Slater said:


> Did you get the Amazon usb C mmcx cable I posted a few weeks ago?


No this is an AliExpress one. Sounds awesome. I just swapped the tips for Shure comply and they are now perfect.


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