while waiting for them to cure, you should hold your mouth open. In the open jaw position, your ear canals are slightly more open; when you close your mouth you'll get a tighter seal.
SWEET! I've worn hearing aides for 20 years now, and that's how they mold your ear to create the impression! I've wanted to do EXACTLY this for YEARS! I never knew you could buy the kit. THANKS!
you can also use instamorph. It turns harder but also blocks out more sound. You just put the beads in hot water and then they melt. It molds like silly putty. It cools pretty fast and hardens. Won't burn your ear.
I made them! Really great ... They are very comfortable and not expensive! I use Shure earphones for a good quality. I have no problems with reinsertion. As always, it's a trick! Keep up the good work! Thanks Collin and thanks Radians.
This worked relativeley fine. One tip though, have something to bite on for the time the putty sets, that way they won't move once you talk or eat. That's what you have to do when you get custom molds and are a singer.
As you fill your ear with the silicone, be sure to completely fill the helix and the conchea bowl (not sure how to describe this; googling ear anatomy might help more) so that the mould locks in place in the future. I made the mistake of not doing the helix right, so mine didn't lock in place and fell out after awhile.
I actually did this a couple of years ago. I used a cheaper set of earbuds that didn't have the long tube, so I had to insert the earbuds and then stuff the blue crap around them. These are excellent for in-ear monitors because when you are moving around on stage, they do not fall out.
Two problems with this. 1) By just shoving the earphone into the molding compound you run the risk of filling the sound port with blue gunge. 2) Do NOT just pull the cured molds out of your ears. You have just created a good seal which you need to gently break. If you just yank them out you may create a vacuum which will burst your ear drum.
+Adrian Brown I noticed that too about the vacuum. But after watching it again, I realized he did open his mouth before removing them which would allow the pressure to escape to avoid damage.
Collin, you are legend. I just finished making a set for my beats by dre tour, which of course have the worst fit of any headphones ever. These sound not only amazing but fit so well I can't even tell they are on. One tip I found, do one ear at a time, and hold your mouth open durning the process. This makes for a much better fit!
I followed these directions as well as the Radians directions and it works perfectly! My monitors are the M6*Pro and they sound great! Do this and save yourself hundreds of dollars! I purchased the TAN - Radians product and it looks great.
Thanks Collin -- I've got them curing in my ears right now (same Shure earphones too, I think...) while the kids watch Saturday morning cartoons. What a fun, easy, useful project!
Cutting the molded part up to the plastic sound port on the earbud will decrease the low end frequency quality. I believe you want the earbud piece to extend in the ear canal a little more but not so much to risk damaging the eardrum. I experience better sound low to high frequencies with earbuds that extend further.
- Press the thermoplastic against the walls of the cast so you end up with an empty shell when it cools down. - Take the cooled down empty shell out of the cast and put in your earbud drivers. - Taking care to leave a canal between the driver and the part of the shell which will be furthest in your ear canal, pour more thermoplastic into the shell until it's full on the inside. - Wait until cool. - Congrats, you now have a pair of professional looking IEM's for dirt cheap!
@universeiswise That's why these are so good: they eliminate all that background (plane, train, etc.) noise so you DON'T have to turn them up so high to hear perfect quality sound.
tnx dude, a did that and it saved me a lot of money, and it works grate, I was looking for a gus headphones for live monitoring (I do 2 to 3 live gigs at the week) but since I don't play music for living I was in a budget a couldn't pay some decent custom in ear monitors, so I bought a good quality under 100dlls ear monitors and did this trick and now I have a very good in-ear monitors with out the hi price.
Dude, I have been needing something like this for a long time for overnight-use and you just SAVED ME!!!!!!!!!!! You're awesome and a half! :D Those earbuds always hurt my ears, but this should definitely fix that. coolness.
i tried it, it does make a difference in the sound and its so much more comfortable . just make sure to not push the "dough" to hrad in the ear (stop when you feel reisitance and let the dough dry)
That's a pretty good idea. I might have to try this. My biggest problem with earbuds (besides them breaking) is them falling out... maybe I'll stick a bit of flexible wire into the foam that can wrap over my ear/glasses/whatever to hold them in.
i must make this being that when i skate i need to listen to music because it feels like im in a magical-fun universe. the ear phones i use constantly fall out or hurt so thanks kindly for such a brilliant idea. take care
I just tried this with a pair of Shure E3 headphones. They are super comfortable, but the bass is slightly lacking. I'm hoping as they warm up in my ears, they'll seal up better.
That's pretty cool. I'll have to try it when I get the chance. It's really hard for me to wear ear buds. My ears get sore and itchy, but that's about the only kind of head phones they make now. Hope it helps. :D
I did this last year with the BlueTooth headset for my phone. Now I don't need the little over the ear arm on it. I can shake my head and the earpiece won't fall out. I used the "Amazing Mold Putty" brand of 2 part silicone form a craft store.
i have done this with 4 of my inner ear phones.. and prefer the fit and isolation to the molds than the regular tips and foam tips.. the mold doesnt need to be a deep canal impression...
You'll want to make sure when you first put the silicone into your ears, that you are using a bite block - anything that can keep your mouth open about an inch. You'll then want to bite on that but keep the jaw relaxed. Don't clench because it changes the shape of your ear canal.
@jeffzahnd That's true. But he wasn't using the earplugs just as earplug...... your forgetting he was using them as headphones. So along with the noise cancelling of the earplugs he was also listening to music. So in effect, he was deaf to everything but the music he was listening to.
yeah the could sound pretty solid lol. honestly unless youre a musician and want really good monitors you dont need to pay close to that. Unless youre an audiophile that really wants a good precise sound.
@BaurakAle7 Make an Atari Punk Console. you can buy it in a kit or build it on your own. what i love about them is how circuit-bendable and customizable they are. I've added over a dozen unnecessary button's/knobs/switches/etc. and I just love it. Buy the kit to save time - you can still circuit bend it afterwords, so don't worry about having to following instructions.
@taliewacker2007 If you notice, when the alarm went off, he was looking down. He probably noticed the screen change to the alarm...... rather than actually hearing the alarm go off.
We think this video is awesome! Thanks so much for showcasing our Custom Molded Plugs. It's great to see all the creative uses for them. We just released a new video detailing how to use the plugs on our RUclips Channel - Radiansinc. Keep up the creative work!
This will improve low quality in ear headphones, taht is true. Custom fit though is a very small amount of what makes expensive IEM's sound good. If you think that fit changes sound that drastically, then you clearly need to rethink all you seem to think you know.
@CoolConejo You're crazy. They're the opposite of bad for your hearing. If anything they'll help your hearing since you won't have to turn up the volume as loud to drown out background noise.
Would you say that leftover putty you didn't mix is enough to build around the ear to hold it on? I would put a paper clip or other flexible rod in there it give it some stiffness.
You made a smallish mistake, dude. I dunno what the instructions were on that custom-mold kit, but I know that when I sprung the cash for some UE-4's (which are, admittedly, very expensive) the audiologist had the goo set in my ears with a plastic bit in my mouth. If your mouth is slightly open, that makes the ear canal as open as possible, he says, which means they fit a bit tighter for even better sound. They're also ludicrously comfortable.
Well, the silicone and the earbuds will be separate things. If you want to make them "one" so to speak, just completely cover the headphones with the pudding so that its one big blue thing.
Has anyone had a problem with the uncured mixture entering the channel in the ear buds and clogging it? I'm just wondering if Collin had somehow plugged the tubes prior to insertion?
i would have molded the putty around the earbud first so you know its in there good already exposing the sound tube, then i would stuff them in my ears to get the custom fit. if the putty covers the holes at least i know that the bud is in the putty nice and firm, even covering the bud so you know its not gonna fall out. something along those lines anyway
Don, the look good and I subscribed but will the work with earbuds and an mp3 player? They appear to be more for blocking out sound and maintaining a sound level and not for use with a mp3 player.
You know, a couple of my friends own audiologist produced custom plugs (the $250+ ones) and they nearly universally prefer the generic foam tips you buy for $10.
while waiting for them to cure, you should hold your mouth open. In the open jaw position, your ear canals are slightly more open; when you close your mouth you'll get a tighter seal.
SWEET! I've worn hearing aides for 20 years now, and that's how they mold your ear to create the impression! I've wanted to do EXACTLY this for YEARS! I never knew you could buy the kit. THANKS!
This is definitely another one of those "Why didn't I think of that?" moments - brilliantly simple, anyone could do this. Thanks, Collin.
you can also use instamorph. It turns harder but also blocks out more sound. You just put the beads in hot water and then they melt. It molds like silly putty. It cools pretty fast and hardens. Won't burn your ear.
Made a pair just like Collin did. In fact, I purchased the exact same custom molded earplugs (even blue) like he used. Works perfectly! Incredible.
AWESOME!! We love this review! Thanks for choosing our Custom Molded Earplugs.
are you kidding?
"Put on a little Aphex Twin" -> instant subscribe
Said by a Square Pusher fan, instant thumb up.
I made them!
Really great ... They are very comfortable and not expensive!
I use Shure earphones for a good quality.
I have no problems with reinsertion. As always, it's a trick!
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Collin and thanks Radians.
This worked relativeley fine. One tip though, have something to bite on for the time the putty sets, that way they won't move once you talk or eat. That's what you have to do when you get custom molds and are a singer.
As you fill your ear with the silicone, be sure to completely fill the helix and the conchea bowl (not sure how to describe this; googling ear anatomy might help more) so that the mould locks in place in the future. I made the mistake of not doing the helix right, so mine didn't lock in place and fell out after awhile.
I actually did this a couple of years ago. I used a cheaper set of earbuds that didn't have the long tube, so I had to insert the earbuds and then stuff the blue crap around them. These are excellent for in-ear monitors because when you are moving around on stage, they do not fall out.
Collin's lab is the only reason I subscribe to Makemagazine!
Two problems with this.
1) By just shoving the earphone into the molding compound you run the risk of filling the sound port with blue gunge.
2) Do NOT just pull the cured molds out of your ears. You have just created a good seal which you need to gently break. If you just yank them out you may create a vacuum which will burst your ear drum.
+Adrian Brown I noticed that too about the vacuum. But after watching it again, I realized he did open his mouth before removing them which would allow the pressure to escape to avoid damage.
about filling the sound ports, the molds are silicone and silicone only sticks to silicone
Miles yeah this is why aquariums and hundreds of other items are held together with silicone
lol
Very doubtful you will burst the TM by doing that. It may at most cause some minimal pain.
Collin, you are legend. I just finished making a set for my beats by dre tour, which of course have the worst fit of any headphones ever. These sound not only amazing but fit so well I can't even tell they are on.
One tip I found, do one ear at a time, and hold your mouth open durning the process. This makes for a much better fit!
I've never heard anyone saying that they dislike the fit of in-ear headphones before xD But those ones you made gotta be really really comfy.
This is the first time i've watched Collin's Lab, and it's great! I think that Kipkay and Collin are the best DIY-ers...:D
I followed these directions as well as the Radians directions and it works perfectly! My monitors are the M6*Pro and they sound great! Do this and save yourself hundreds of dollars! I purchased the TAN - Radians product and it looks great.
Thanks Collin -- I've got them curing in my ears right now (same Shure earphones too, I think...) while the kids watch Saturday morning cartoons. What a fun, easy, useful project!
Cutting the molded part up to the plastic sound port on the earbud will decrease the low end frequency quality. I believe you want the earbud piece to extend in the ear canal a little more but not so much to risk damaging the eardrum. I experience better sound low to high frequencies with earbuds that extend further.
Colin has been around for a while. I like him
this being relavent to me 13 years after posted is crazy i have really small ear holes and custom iems are wayy to expensive so this is perfect
- Press the thermoplastic against the walls of the cast so you end up with an empty shell when it cools down.
- Take the cooled down empty shell out of the cast and put in your earbud drivers.
- Taking care to leave a canal between the driver and the part of the shell which will be furthest in your ear canal, pour more thermoplastic into the shell until it's full on the inside.
- Wait until cool.
- Congrats, you now have a pair of professional looking IEM's for dirt cheap!
@universeiswise That's why these are so good: they eliminate all that background (plane, train, etc.) noise so you DON'T have to turn them up so high to hear perfect quality sound.
tnx dude, a did that and it saved me a lot of money, and it works grate, I was looking for a gus headphones for live monitoring (I do 2 to 3 live gigs at the week) but since I don't play music for living I was in a budget a couldn't pay some decent custom in ear monitors, so I bought a good quality under 100dlls ear monitors and did this trick and now I have a very good in-ear monitors with out the hi price.
Dude, I have been needing something like this for a long time for overnight-use and you just SAVED ME!!!!!!!!!!! You're awesome and a half! :D Those earbuds always hurt my ears, but this should definitely fix that. coolness.
i tried it, it does make a difference in the sound and its so much more comfortable . just make sure to not push the "dough" to hrad in the ear (stop when you feel reisitance and let the dough dry)
wearing mine right now, just made them today, must say- pretty nice so far
Thanks man im a drummer and i have been needing a custom fit pair for ages :D
This guys makes the best stuff.
I just made a pair of these with the red putty, and they work excellent. I think this would be brilliant with a set of phones that have longer stems.
This by far is the best video on tube !!!!
Thanks for the tutorial! I've see something similar done at the Motorcycle Show and they are expensive! This will save me some cash! Thanks again!
That's a pretty good idea. I might have to try this.
My biggest problem with earbuds (besides them breaking) is them falling out... maybe I'll stick a bit of flexible wire into the foam that can wrap over my ear/glasses/whatever to hold them in.
i must make this being that when i skate i need to listen to music because it feels like im in a magical-fun universe. the ear phones i use constantly fall out or hurt so thanks kindly for such a brilliant idea. take care
Thanks! Great advise for the drummers for personal monitoring!
I just tried this with a pair of Shure E3 headphones. They are super comfortable, but the bass is slightly lacking. I'm hoping as they warm up in my ears, they'll seal up better.
Isn't exactly what I was looking for but I enjoyed watching. :)
I had wondered if/how this would work. Thanks for the vid Collin!
I was had wondered if/how this would work. Thanks for the vid Collin!
sound really good and really comfortable?
That's pretty cool. I'll have to try it when I get the chance.
It's really hard for me to wear ear buds. My ears get sore and itchy, but that's about the only kind of head phones they make now. Hope it helps. :D
Dude - works BEAUTIFULLY!
Right now, I think you are better than KIPKAY.
I like your videos
I did this last year with the BlueTooth headset for my phone. Now I don't need the little over the ear arm on it. I can shake my head and the earpiece won't fall out.
I used the "Amazing Mold Putty" brand of 2 part silicone form a craft store.
i just made my own thanks man i never new they had the puddy for sale now instead of spending 40 bucks per ear i can spen 20 for both
Yeah Collin is Back!! awesome :)
You should do it with your mouth open because your ear canal is bigger when you have your mouth open
i have done this with 4 of my inner ear phones.. and prefer the fit and isolation to the molds than the regular tips and foam tips.. the mold doesnt need to be a deep canal impression...
It shouldn't change the degree of noise cancellation much if at all but it would potentially make the sound travel more naturally.
Nicely done. Think his would work well with some Bose in ear headphones? And are they really that effective at blocking out sound?
You'll want to make sure when you first put the silicone into your ears, that you are using a bite block - anything that can keep your mouth open about an inch. You'll then want to bite on that but keep the jaw relaxed. Don't clench because it changes the shape of your ear canal.
Great project Collin!
@jeffzahnd That's true. But he wasn't using the earplugs just as earplug...... your forgetting he was using them as headphones. So along with the noise cancelling of the earplugs he was also listening to music. So in effect, he was deaf to everything but the music he was listening to.
I'm looking for some compound that avoid water to entry into the ear while i'm swimming and listening music. Could this work?
most likely but you nead water proof headphones and make a realy good deal on yhese
yeah the could sound pretty solid lol. honestly unless youre a musician and want really good monitors you dont need to pay close to that. Unless youre an audiophile that really wants a good precise sound.
Pretty cool idea I think I am going to give it a try!
That's pretty cool. The only thing that sucks is u might have to throw the earplugs away after a while and get new ones.
tks, been waiting for this solution for awhile!
This also works on bluetooth headsets that use the little hook accessory!!!
Great project. Used the other half without earbuds to make earplugs for riding my motorcycle. Foam earplugs suck.
@BaurakAle7 Make an Atari Punk Console. you can buy it in a kit or build it on your own. what i love about them is how circuit-bendable and customizable they are. I've added over a dozen unnecessary button's/knobs/switches/etc. and I just love it. Buy the kit to save time - you can still circuit bend it afterwords, so don't worry about having to following instructions.
That's a genuinely cool idea!
very clever. more of a review of how well they work would have been nice. like how they felt after having them in for a while
@taliewacker2007 If you notice, when the alarm went off, he was looking down. He probably noticed the screen change to the alarm...... rather than actually hearing the alarm go off.
I just remembered this video, gonna do this this weekend
We think this video is awesome! Thanks so much for showcasing our Custom Molded Plugs. It's great to see all the creative uses for them. We just released a new video detailing how to use the plugs on our RUclips Channel - Radiansinc.
Keep up the creative work!
great idea, but how come the soft dough didn't block the earbuds' sound canal?
would it be better if you glue the ear buds to the molded piece?
This will improve low quality in ear headphones, taht is true. Custom fit though is a very small amount of what makes expensive IEM's sound good. If you think that fit changes sound that drastically, then you clearly need to rethink all you seem to think you know.
are the final products as good as Bose QC 20 or any good noise cancelling earphones?
@CoolConejo You're crazy. They're the opposite of bad for your hearing. If anything they'll help your hearing since you won't have to turn up the volume as loud to drown out background noise.
You're pretty awesome. Aphex Twin, you use a Metcal soldering station, you do awesome experiments. I should have more friends like you.
collin and kipkay should make a channel of their own it would be the best
@TheFanofFPS hes not everyone has there own way of speaking and thats his. to be fair i think he sounds fine.
Good to know, im defiantly going to do this.
wait, how did you hear the alarm on your iPhone when you had the ear plugs in?
kipkay's videos are better done but Collin has the better products! It would be awesome if there was a Collin's Lab video done by kipkay.
Great vid. Quirky is good. Thanks for posting.
Rockin the sideburns !
freaking awesome.. Im definitely buying this
I really enjoyed watching This one!
Would you say that leftover putty you didn't mix is enough to build around the ear to hold it on? I would put a paper clip or other flexible rod in there it give it some stiffness.
You made a smallish mistake, dude. I dunno what the instructions were on that custom-mold kit, but I know that when I sprung the cash for some UE-4's (which are, admittedly, very expensive) the audiologist had the goo set in my ears with a plastic bit in my mouth. If your mouth is slightly open, that makes the ear canal as open as possible, he says, which means they fit a bit tighter for even better sound. They're also ludicrously comfortable.
Recommended my audio engineer friend to try this and he's gonna have a go at it soon. =D
can u disconnect the actual original earbud from the putty if u need to use them by there original self?
Well, the silicone and the earbuds will be separate things. If you want to make them "one" so to speak, just completely cover the headphones with the pudding so that its one big blue thing.
cause they are not 100% isolated, they (radians) reduce the noise by 23db, and when you play music the isolation goes up, close to 40db.
@metalgrunger06 Yea, i just found out that they can last forever.
thx collin... i kept losing those buds... now i can make my own
Has anyone had a problem with the uncured mixture entering the channel in the ear buds and clogging it? I'm just wondering if Collin had somehow plugged the tubes prior to insertion?
So you can hear the speakers....but how's the noise reduction?
i would have molded the putty around the earbud first so you know its in there good already exposing the sound tube, then i would stuff them in my ears to get the custom fit. if the putty covers the holes at least i know that the bud is in the putty nice and firm, even covering the bud so you know its not gonna fall out. something along those lines anyway
I wonder what will happen if you plug those ear buds in one of your synthesizers!
How is the sound with these? Do you get the same quality of sound as you would with the buds that come on them?
that's cool! but where can we buy it in France??
This can be done with airpods too, right?
Don, the look good and I subscribed but will the work with earbuds and an mp3 player? They appear to be more for blocking out sound and maintaining a sound level and not for use with a mp3 player.
@Luke13PL Nope, you can only do this with headphones that insert directly into your ear canal.
You know, a couple of my friends own audiologist produced custom plugs (the $250+ ones) and they nearly universally prefer the generic foam tips you buy for $10.
the only concern is that how long will this DIYed "custom-mud" ,or whatever is, last??