So, Prison Mikes:
(The name was originally because I only ever saw this sort of mod (using silicone at least, I guess the FDX1 does this with cotton) done by Michael Bruce, and this is like a ghetto version of his talented work. Also the first Cadenzas I used were purple like the bandana of “Prison Mike” from the Office)
Find some donor silicone from some disused tips. I never wear L and higher so I have a bunch of those from sets.
I used the core of etymotics tips previously, but I was all out of that.
Took a gander at these:
and considered the thinner cores from these green ones, which would be a nice hidden match for the green shells of this set:
To cut the cores out in a nice straight line and to the same length, I put them on a nail, though skewers/dowels work (thanks to @ctjacks336 for that).
I just picked a nail from close by and sanded the rust off it real quick. Our goal is tinnitus, not tetanus.
My exacto knife was actually pretty crap, I’ll use a different blade next time:
Here are the Cadenzas:
To get the filter off I used super fine tweezers and then (these are actually pretty easy to puncture / break hole connections in) I found spinning them round and round loosened the adhesive and lifted one side so I could get them out:
This is where I realized I was tripping to use the thick blue core:
Let’s try that again with green:
Got a good match:
I put a foam in the center BUT later I removed it completely - and also noticed it’s slightly different to the foam I used last time:
I then put a thin (not sure what it is, could be Olina filter or a 200 filter (which could even be the same I don’t know) on the underside of the grille before I reinstalled it.
Anyway, the result this time was a fuzzy mess. LIke 32 VHS re-recordings of a live performance later.
In one fell swoop, instead of trying things bit by bit like a rational scientist, I
a) Removed the foam altogether
b) Took off the light filter and instead but a 400 filter on the outside of the grille (easy to change, and doesn’t stop the grille from adhering in place)
And that was the winning combination!
I haven’t had the “palette cleanse” of a “known good” IEM since I started tinkering last night, so maybe after some time with the Serials (which I’d consider close to my mod) will show these up as so-so.
But at the moment they sound great, really good sub bass support and punch, plenty of detail in vocals and instruments, very spacious sounding indeed, and volume scale very well (but not to ridiculous levels).
So to recap:
- Core from donor tips to line the nozzle with silicone
- 400 filter on grille
(Which is different to the first mod.)
I’ve been using fairly narrow tips so far, at this point the Spinfit CP145 or some generic-ish pink core silicones which I usually use with the Serial.
EDIT: BTW this is what the first Prison Mikes looked like vs stock, I’d say this set maintains a more traditional pinna gain.
