How to upgrade your Apple In-Ear headphones
The project:
This is probably one of the easiest and cheapest mods I’ve ever done. The idea is from Kristian Engelbrecht - a Chaosprojects.com member - who passed it on to me. When he told me about it, I knew right away I had to do it and pass it on.
Oh god oh god oh why:
I believe that if you can upgrade an everyday item for only a few bucks and a few minutes, you owe it to yourself to jump at it.
This one truly fits that description. It will make your Apple In-Ear headphones fit much better in your ears, exclude the surrounding noise way more, and you probably won’t ever experience the headphones falling out of your ears even when doing sports…
Conceiving the project:
This is how you do it: First of all, you’ll need three things: Your Apple In-Ear Headphones, those foam ear plugs they hand out at concerts, and a Leather Punch (see image above)
Part one:
- Remove the rubber cups from the headphones.
Grab one of the foam ear-plugs and pinch it flat as shown below…
- Take the leather punch, set it to make a 4mm hole in the center of the foam ear-plug, as below
Part two:
- Take the foam ear-plug, still pinched together, and push the Apple In-Ear Headphone through the hole in the foam ear-plug… as shown below
That’s it. Give the foam 5min to reach its original form and they are ready to use… Mold the foam to go in your ears and enjoy.
Materials/Price tag:
Well… this is probably the shortest ‘material list’ I ever put on this website with only the foam ear-plugs at about 2.5$ for a six pack - aprox. 80 cents a pair.
I hope you’ll enjoy your improved headphones and send Kristian a kind thought for sharing this idea. Should you have a good idea for a project you would like to see on this site, you can let me know here .
20 Comments so far
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Just wanted to add that if you do not have a leather punch, you can heat up a nail that is roughly the same size as the tube the foam will go on, and just push it through the center of the foam. I’ve done this mod on lots of cheap ear plug phones, like the Koss “Plugg” $14.99 sets. It makes a world of difference. Also, some stores now carry the ear plug foam in different colors. I found a blue color that matches my Creative Zen nicely.
Jive
I would rec. a bit of superglue so those foam pads don’t fall off.
what a dumb idea!!!!!!! wtf
Sounds good. Probably a hella lot more comfortable than plastic.
this is awesome! just do this instead of buying noise canceling headphones for $60
Sweet! i knew someone out there did this same thing. What I do is i use the “3M 1100″(about $0.54 at safeway[in Canada :P]) which have a more rounded tip, punch them. Then i cut them the same lenght as the original rubber cups.
Lenght is critical since if it is too long then the treble goes way down and everything sounds “muffled”.
too short and everything sounds tinny.
Dude - not only is that ghetto - it’s lame too!
Just buy a nice pair of Senheissers or Bose.
I have been doing this to earplugs for the past 20 years when going to see Bands….you can here the music at a decent volume when in the Pit and still be able to hear the next day
Bert, shut the fuck up! Why dont you fucking explain why it’s “lame” then? If there is a cheap way to mod something to make it better then it”s YOU who is fucking “LAME”!
bert, this idea is about not excessive spending, but upgrading something less expensive. i dont see you posting anything better. so put up or shut up. the only thing lame here is lame mp3 format. ^^ even if you can do something better, you have no right to be condescending upon other people. of course spending 100 dollars on headphones should produce better results than cheapo headphones and foam. but this is about DIY upgrade and a good idea. Well presented, unlike your unesessary negative comment.
And Steven, Bert is entitled to his own thought; and you are stooping to his level by attacking character. And excessive using of explitives makes you sound unintellegent.
for the both of you, please try to use constructive criticism instead of attacking people.
yeah, this is a good idea. I just thought of it today, but started to look it up on the internet… lol If you don’t think this is a good idea, you’ve never had a problem with ear buds falling out of your ears.
Well, I guess this headphone upgrade is a good way to get the last couple of ounces of good sound out of the standard iPod headphones.
Buying Bose is a bit excessive (and foolish), but this guide to >upgrading cheap headphones gives some good ideas for better headphones on a budget.
this is a great idea. I know the foam pads that come with some buds like JVC Marshmallows wear out eventually. To mr. moneybags up there: why trash a good pair of headphones when there’s an easy way to keep using them?
plus, standard earbuds suck. I only use the kind that go deep into the ear canal. They block outside noise, fit more comfortably, stay in place and the bass is sick. Almost like a subwoofer.
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for in a quick solution to earbuds falling out my ears when running. I’ve gone through headphone after headphone looking for something comfortable and affordable. It is not uncommon to get sprayed excessively with water when running in races and buying headphones like Bose or an expensive counterpart is just not feasible. It’s impossible to protect your headphones like you can your Ipod in a protective case. Thanks for passing along the great idea!!
You know folks, you don’t have to use foam. Some earphones come with rubber earbuds that actually DO fit your ears unlike Apple’s. I had an old pair of Sony earphone buds which I took off and stuck onto the Apple ones, and they work fine.
Wow.. what a cool idea.
Another alternative I found is the Comply Whoomp Earbud Enhancers that fit onto standard iPod earbuds and seal a lot better in the ear canal.
Just did this today, earning me some very strange looks from people in the house. Not bad at all. Very comfortable and it’s a lot more comfortable on piercings than the hard plastic ones.
Nice idea, thanks for sharing
E.
Could someone who’s done this please tell the size of the earplugs you used? I may do this but would like an idea of what’s good before taking the time. Thanks!
First of all great idea! I was recently looking for foam adaptors for my Sony in-ear buds (model MDR-EX55). Although the silicone is far superior to the standard thick, plastic in-ear models i play in a band and the purpose was an in-ear monitor system. Running around, head banging, along with high ambient volume seems to require something more. The only suggestion i have (and my original purpose for searching here was to find someone doing something similar) is in regards to the actual MOUNTING of the foam. Foam earpieces require a plastic tube of some kind running through the center, otherwise the foam actualy MUTES the sound of the earphones. My suggestion would be to mount the foam to the original plastic earpiece that connects to the phones.You will of course need to cut the cap piece off (the part that looks like the cap of a mushroom) leaving only the tube. This way the sound from the phones will reach your ear unobstructed. Someone sounded off about how someone’s idea for superglue was stupid. Unfortunately for that person, you WILL need to superglue the foam to the tube. You have to, otherwise you risk damaging your ears by getting foam stuck in them! Be careful! There is nothing more important involved in this equation than your hearing!
Check it! The Screwtape Letters Music
SOLDERING IRON
This is what I fly with inside my helmet. Using a soldering iron really reduces the “muting issue” because it melts down and seals off the foam. This inner surface is better to glue to also.
The best combination is those 33dB bell shaped plugs and plugs designed for Comply or similar plastic tube lined covers. You keep the screw on cores and just glue on foam covers. Use weak glue or you have to pick the foam pieces off.