Eartips Reviewed!!! (23 kinds) (gradually updated)

Writer : Mikku

Eartips is one of the essential part of iem, it changes the way your iem fit, it changes the way your iem sound, and it definitely changes the way your iem look.
Nowadays, there are so many kinds of eartips in the market and sometimes people who don’t really have time to visit audio store or live too far from an audio store might have some difficulty in finding the most comfortable eartips with the desirable sound, that’s why I decided to write this review, and I really hope this could be helpful.

In this review I will be using my Inear StageDiver4 with its stock eartips as the benchmark for normal nozzle type iem (size T200), and phonak pfe 232 for small nozzle type iem (T100). First I gotta tell you that the stock eartip has a small bore with a rather thick material, so I guess it has a laidback, smooth sound. And I will only write about the material, the plus (+) side and the minus (-) side.

EEartips tested :
(normal nozzle) : Ortofon, Spinfit, Spinfit JDM, Fitear Biflange, Monoprice, JVC Spiraldot, Sony Hybrid, Sony Triple Comfort, Comply Foam, Aliexpress Clear Biflange, symbio eartips normal bore, symbio eartips large bore, Acoustune AET08, final type E

(small nozzle) : westone startips, spinfit cp 800, westone truefit, shure olive foam, shure yellow foam, earsonics dual flange

Ortofon:
Material : very soft and thin material with medium sized bore
(+) : very comfortable, clearer sound, more extended treble, tighter bass
(-) : makes sounds thinner, more prone to sibilance, reduce bass quantity

Spinfit (Global):
Material : soft and thin material, small bore, long nozzle
(+): more forward mids, tighter bass, different sensation of comfort (thanks to that wiggly long nozzle)
(-): strange fitting (for some iems), more prone to sibilance

Spinfit JDM:
Material : soft material (still thin, but thicker than global vers.), long nozzle
(+): better impact and more lively sound (more bass punch, more forward mids, livelier high)
(-): strange fitting (for some iems), more prone to sibilance

Fitear Biflange:
Material : Very soft biflange with large bore
(+): one of the most comfortable eartips (don’t push it in your ear, just let it sit gently), brightens the sound, give more airy sensation, enhance soundstage
(-): less isolation, thinner sound, more prone to sibilance

Monoprice :
Material : soft, thin material with medium bore
(+): in terms of comfort it’s simply the best (at least for my ears), soft and feels just right in your ears, more extended yet smoother treble, tighter bass.
(-): looks cheap, makes the overall sound thinner, reduce bass quantity.

JVC Spiraldot :
Material : Thick Silicone, short nozzle, hard material, large bore
(+): more expansive soundstage, eliminates sibilance (it doesn’t really makes the sound warmer, just smoother)
(-): sounds less intimate, therefore the imaging gets blur somehow, hard material makes my ear hurts a bit (when I wore it for over 2 hours)

Comply Foam (T200) :
Material: Memory foam
(+): great isolation, sounds warm, adds more focus in imaging, eliminate sibilance, very suitable for harsh/sibilance prone iems
(-): takes time to fit it in your ears (you gotta pinch it first), sometimes could fall out from your ears (it expands in your ears), sounds duller, bass sounds boomy and slower but somehow feels more organic especially for iems with balanced armature
Special Note : sometimes there are iems that needs foam to sounds best, the difference between silicone and foam is big, for example I can’t enjoy flare R2A with silicone tips, foam change the sound drastically.

Sony Hybrid:
Material : Soft but rubbery silicone, small bore, shallow insertion
(+) : good isolation, I find this sony hybrid sounding kinda neutral-ish (doesn’t really add bass/treble, feels just about right in the middle, it adds a a little emphasize around upper mid area though)
(-) : whenever I move my head, it feels wobbly in your ears, thanks to the material

Sony Triple Comfort :
Material : a combination of silicone and foam the first of its kind, thick, small bore
(+): best isolation!, sounds like comply foam, organic, adds more body to the mids and bass, it also adds a unique texture to the bass, my SD4’s bass feels deeper yet tighter and have this “bouncy” feeling (no other tips could make this kind of texture)
(-): takes a little more time to fit (thanks to the material), sounds duller (just like what foams do)
Special Note: if you like how comply foam sounds but they just couldn’t stay in your ears.. this is the answer, sounds like foam but fits like silicone

Aliexpress Double Flange :
Material : soft, thin double flange with small bore
(+): comfortable deep insertion, more airy sensation, tighter bass, more open treble
(-): more prone to sibilance, reduce the soundstage (although adds airiness), thinner sound

Symbio Eartips :
Material : silicone filled with memory foam, hard silicone, also the first of its kind, small bore
(+): very good isolation! very easy to fit in any kinds of ears (the foam really expand and make it easier to isolate), more focused sound, sounds detailed without making it sounds thinner, tighter bass but maintain bass quantity, cool color!!
(-): it fits so good that your ears could get tired from it (after wearing it for about 3 hours).
Special Note : sony and vsonic once made a very similar ones once, but instead of using memory foam, sony and vsonic is using regular foam.

Acoustune AET 08
Material: thick , semi hard, medium bore
(+): adds more body to mid and bass, made overall sound thicker and smoother
(-): sounds duller and reduce treble’s extension
Special note : it literally written “sound focusing on bass reverb” on their package, and they hit the bull’s eye, it exactly does that.

Dekoni Foam Tips
Material : thick foam, definitely thicker than comply, it has less “pores”, and more dense
(+): easy to use, u don’t have to squish em first… just insert them into your ears, it has one of the best isolation, and somehow for my ears.. not as itchy as comply, very comfy
(-) : it is the dullest sounding eartips ever…. smoothing everything.. it’s too much sometimes

Radius Deep Mount Tips
Material : semi hard silicone, with “mushroom” shape
(+): one of a kind fit, somehow worked beautifully, a rather balanced sound, smooth, a little bit more airy than average
(-) : one of a kind fit means that not everyone suit them well

Westone Startips
Material : Semi thick, semi hard
(+): when it comes to fit alone, westone startips provides various kind of type, from shallow insertion to deep insertion, my ears chose the smallest one, it fits so good with good isolation, adds a little more body to the sound and also smoothens the sound
(-) : not as soft as some competitors, but for me it’s perfectly comfortable

Spinfit CP 800 :
Material : semi thick, soft but rubbery material, medium bore
(+) : unique sensation, it goes deeper but not as the same as your typical double flange, adds more punch in the bass, and more edge to the treble, giving a livelier sound
(-) : tends to get more sibilant

Spinfit CP 220 (Twinblade) :
Material : semi thick, long nozzle part, small bore
(+) : very comfortable, more aggressive sound (faster bass and more sparkling treble)
(-) : tends to get more sibilant

Symbio Eartips (Wide Bore):
Material: silicone filled with memory foam, hard silicone, also the first of its kind, large bore
(+) : fits very easily in your ears, great seal, more forward mid and treble
(-) : thinner bass

Westone Truefit
Material: Hard foam, more durable than comply, more slippery than comply, small bore
(+) : has many sizes, most durable foam tips, one of the best isolation, no need to pinch em just put em in your ears, added sub bass (seriously)
(-) : thick material, may hard for some to use, rolled off treble

Shure Olive Foam
Material: soft foam, with filter in the middle, medium to large boree
(+) : has its own filter preventing earwax to go deeper into the nozzle, great isolation
(-) : when you pull em out from your ears it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll also pull out some earwax

Shure Yellow Foam
Material: hard foam with visible pores
(+) : fits very easily in your ears, great seal, even though it’s kinda hard but it’s flexible enough to follow your ear’s shape, has its own filter
(-) : somehow warmer yet more harsh sounding than the rest

Klipsch oval tips
Material: very soft silicone, oval shaped
(+) : the lightest and smallest, one of the best fitting ever
(-) : thinner sound, not really suitable for long nozzles, because they are short in size, like in my case, I push them leaving a small nozzle gap between eartips and the housing

Fender Sureseal P Type

Material : sticky silicone, somehow sticky like a dried gule

(+) : offers one the best seal for silicone eartips, eliminate peaky sound

(-) : this P-type only comes in M size.. and it is bigger than my average L sized eartips…, can sounds too blunt

My Personal Favorite (normal nozzle):
– Sony Triple Comfort (simply best isolation and foam-like sound)
– Monoprice (simply the most comfortable)
– Symbio Eartips (suitable for almost all of normal nozzle iem, adds more isolation and focus, also it looks the coolest dude!!)

personal favorite (small nozzle):
– Spinfit cp800 (best fitting for many, at least for my friends)
– Shure yellow foam (best fitting in my ears)