Etymotic ER38-14A Foam Replacement Tips - Small - for ER-4, HF2, HF3, HF5, MC2, MC3, MC5 & More! (Pack of 4 Pairs)

Pardon any clumsy editing, I originally wrote this for Amazon (Since the lack of availability there made the reviews section a bit stale, also the reviews that were there barely said anything useful), and rewrote parts of it for this website. That said, these tips are absolutely as good as people say they are.

Just carefully put them on the Etys, holding the middle of the tip and twisting on slowly, clockwise then counter bit by bit, then once they're past the big part of the nozzle, compress them a little, grip by the center, and slowly push them on the rest of the way.

Once they're on, roll them until they're as thin as the barrel of the IEM (Start from the end and go inwards), compress the tip and the end and roll it a bit more (Gotta keep that opening even on both IEMs), pull down your earlobe (Works better for me than pulling the top up and backwards, ears be weird), and use your thumb to quickly but gently slide the IEM into your ear, until your thumb touches the tragus and the antitragus (The two round tag things on the outer ear near the canal), and hold it there for about 25 seconds. Once they're just right, they stay that way, for more than 6 hours easily. This all sounds complicated, but it becomes muscle memory pretty quickly.

Removal from the ear is also easy, just pull the lobe (Or whatever you normally do), and gently pull the IEM out. Do this, and the tips should last much longer than they otherwise would by just winging it.

The foam is a much firmer material than I expected (Firmer than any other foam tip I've ever used, being PVC instead of polyurethane), but after a bit, it disappears in the ear better than a normal foam earplug would, as it REALLY softens with temperature. The stem is a very soft and flexible silicone, which allows it to gently rest in the same shape as the canal. The isolation is almost unreal, with anything more than 5 feet away fading into pure silence, though it seems high pitch noises can penetrate the seal slightly better than they would with the pack-in silicone tips. You can even eat while wearing these, which I could never do with the silicone tips.

The longevity... it's complicated. The actual foam seems to be durable enough, but the glue that connects the foam to the stem is really easy to ruin. I would recommend getting more than 1 pack of 4 pairs, you'll probably ruin a set or two by mistake otherwise, and while not easy, it's possible to run out from excessive mistakes. You can allegedly clean the tips with a quick soak in 3% peroxide, but I haven't tested that out.

What I have tested out is cutting off the shiny disk-like coating on the end of the tips, which makes the seal more consistent and comfortable (Possibly hurting the sound signature, but I'm no audiophile), and allows the foam to compress without pinching the tip shut.

At the price they sell for here ($12.95 for 4 sets, $12.00 if you buy more than 1), they are a much better value than Comply P-series small tips on Amazon (Currently $15.58 for 3 sets, originally $19.99), with an extra set, as well as the promise that they will be comfortable as deep-fit tips. Don't let the scarcity of these tips elsewhere push you away from trying them, if you want foamies that are unlike anything else, these are exactly what you need. They're my ENDGAME Etymotic tips, and it saved me from the hassle and cost of delving into CIEMs. I'll probably use Etymotics for the foreseeable future, thanks to how comfy these tips are. Just don't jump the gun on getting tons until you know these are the right size for you.

I use hearing amplifiers and even though they came with different tips these foam tips are the best and fit my ear canals without wanting to slip out. I've been having a hard time finding them .. even through the company that makes my amplifiers, so in my Google search the name of your company came up and I was relieved to see that you carry them. Thank you. Happy shopper here.

These Etymotic ear tips are impossible to find elsewhere. They are perfect for my personal sound amplifier.