Skip to main content

SoundMolds custom headphone eartips review

SoundMolds custom-molded eartips upgrade any in-ear headphones

Getting the perfect fit from an in-ear headphone is essential both for sound quality and security, but even though most products come with 16 pairs of tips in different shapes, sizes, and materials, getting the ideal seal is an exercise in frustration at best, and totally impossible at worst.  That seal is crucial for sealing out noise around you, delivering good bass response, and, perhaps most importantly, remaining comfortable so you’ll, you know … want to wear them.  Thankfully, SoundMolds custom eartips successfully solve this conundrum with its custom-molded silicone eartips – and they will work with any in-ear headphone you choose.

For a fraction of the price of traditional custom-molded in-ears, SoundMolds sends you a kit which has you mix a couple types of putty together and set the material in your ears, then send your impressions along with your favorite pair of in-ear headphones in for manufacturing. A week or so later, a pair of custom-molded silicone eartips arrive installed on your headphones. No muss, no fuss, and your headphones will offer a complete — and perfectly comfortable — seal.

Ordering and Setup

Each time you order a pair of SoundMolds, the company will ship two different molding kits. SoundMolds asks that you repeat the molding process twice to ensure they get an accurate impression of both ears.

The first thing we noticed about the SoundMolds is their outstanding build quality.

The molding process is dead simple: Mix two different colored putties together, press the freshly mixed ball of putty into your ears, and wait to harden. The process took us about 40 minutes, and since we only molded one ear at a time, it was easy to perform other tasks while the molds set.

SoundMolds sells three distinct custom-molded packages at three price points. At just $115, ordering custom tips for headphones you already own is the most affordable option, but the company has also partnered with Optoma Nuforce to build tips for both wired and wireless versions of the company’s headphones for those who don’t already own headphones they like. The wired option includes a pair of Optoma Nuforce HEM Dynamic, and costs $220, and the wireless option includes a pair of Nuforce BE Sport 3 in-ears for $240.

We were impressed by the speed and quality with which SoundMolds manufactured our custom eartips. Once the company received our home-made impressions (we had three staffers make impressions to test the company’s consistency) it was a little over a week until our finished eartips arrived in the mail. Turnaround time for your order may vary.

Fit and Finish

The first thing we noticed about the SoundMolds is their outstanding build quality. Each high-grade silicone eartip arrived feeling remarkably sturdy and well made, and our tips even came embossed with our initials and an R and L to denote which side was which. Each SoundMolds tip has a clear pull tab for easy removal, and as we removed and replaced the eartips during the course of our evaluation, we learned the SoundMolds tips were perfectly milled to fit around the NuForce wireless headphones they sent in our package.

Passive sound isolation is about as effective as it gets.

Because they are custom built, buyers can request a color for each eartip. We didn’t request a color, but the company thoughtfully made the right eartip in red and the left in blue so we never questioned which ear was which.

In terms of fit, the SoundMolds absolutely deliver on their promise. All three DT staffers who received SoundMolds found they perfectly fit in their ears, and felt completely comfortable. None of us had any issue wearing them for extended periods — something we often struggle with when using other headphones, not just in-ear models. Bass response is excellent with the tips on, and passive sound isolation is about as effective as it gets — leading one of our staffers to actually worry about using them during on-road workouts. In fact, they fit so well that we occasionally dislodged the tips from the headphones when removing them from our ears, an issue that is easily remedied when using the pull tabs.

soundmold eartips remote
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends
Bill Roberson/Digital Trends

The tips themselves are sweatproof, hypoallergenic, anti-microbial, and are designed to stay in place during even the toughest workouts. In fact, we found the eartips stayed more snug during runs and other physical activity than the traditional sport fins that come with workout-focused earbuds.

Conclusion

Bottom line: SoundMolds deliver on their promise 100% and are absolutely worth the purchase price for those who need and want the best sound quality their headphones can produce while also silencing the outside world. If you’ve got a pair of in-ear headphones you like but you just can’t seem to get the right fit, the SoundMolds eartips are the perfect solution. Of course, we’d suggest pairing the SoundMolds tips with a high-quality pair of in-ear headphones for the most sensible experience.

Editors' Recommendations

Parker Hall
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Parker Hall is a writer and musician from Portland, OR. He is a graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin…
Earfun makes hi-res audio more accessible with affordable earbuds and DAC
Earfun EH100 hi-res audio wired IEMs.

Earfun, a company known primarily for its ultra-affordable yet high-quality wireless earbuds and Bluetooth speakers, has launched two new products designed to get folks into the world of hi-res audio at a fraction of the price that its competitors charge. The Earfun EH100 ($100) are a set of triple-driver in-ear monitors (IEMs) with swappable tuning nozzles and the Earfun EA100 ($80) is a tiny digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amp with dual headphone jacks for both balanced and unbalanced connections.

These are already pretty affordable prices, however, between October 2 and October 15, you can buy one or both at a significant discount. The price for each product has been discounted by 30% ($70 for the EH100 and $56 for the EA100), or you can buy them as a bundle and save 35% ($117 for the EH100 and EA100).

Read more
TV deal: Get this Vizio 50-inch 4K TV for under $300 (selling fast)
The Vizio V-Series 4K TV in the living room.

If you've always wanted to upgrade your home theater setup with a large TV, then you may not want to miss Walmart's offer for the 50-inch Vizio V-Series 4K TV. It's down to just $248 after a $71 discount on its original price of $319. The bargain is one of the retailer's most popular TV deals with more than 500 units sold over the past 24 hours, which means you're going to have to hurry with your purchase as there's a chance that stocks don't last long.

Why you should buy the 50-inch Vizio V-Series 4K TV
The Vizio V-Series 4K TV offers 4K Ultra HD resolution, which will let you watch your favorite shows and movies with sharp details and lifelike colors, while its full array backlight with evenly distributed LEDs promises superior light uniformity. This amazing picture performance combines with DTS Virtual: X that creates immersive audio for a truly cinematic experience from the comfort of your own living room. If you want even better sound, the Vizio V-Series 4K TV is designed to seamlessly work with Vizio soundbars like the Vizio M-Series All in One, which we've highlighted in our roundup of the best soundbars.

Read more
Best Beats headphone deals: Save on Studio Pro, Studio Buds
Beats Studio Pro sitting on travel case.

Beats is a popular choice whenever there are headphone deals and true wireless earbuds deals because the brand promises stylish designs and incredible sound quality. Beats headphone deals almost always get sold out quickly though, so if you're on the hunt for them, you should check out the top offers that we've rounded up right here. You're going to have to choose from these bargains quickly as we're not sure how long they'll remain available.
Beats Flex wireless earbuds -- $49, was $70

If you're concerned that you'll lose true wireless earbuds, then go for the Beats Flex wireless earbuds. They're connected by a Flex-Form cable that will hang on your neck if the wireless earbuds fall out of your ears, and they come with four eartip options so you can choose the most comfortable fit. The Beats Flex can last up to 12 hours on a single charge, and they come with on-device controls for music playback, calls, and voice assistants.

Read more