DDHIFI ST35 Eartips for IEMs – Medical-Grade Silicone Comfort
ddHiFi ST35 is a $9 USD silicone ear tip that I’ve been recommending a lot in my written reviews, and are my go-to option for most IEMs, so today we will briefly explore why and what is the difference when changing eartips for a pair of IEMs.
Introduction
Besides making HiFi accessories, ddHiFi also decided to make eartips, so it left everyone flabbergasted when their ST35 became the most recommended eartip by both reviewers and music lovers. You can find those for sale on most electronics and HiFi shops. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. ddHiFi has provided the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Good fitting with most ears, D profile that is comfortable for most listeners, and a high quality silicone used when making them. The transport case is a nice bonus, and they offer a very small change in sound compared to most default tips you get with your IEMS, so no fear of breaking the tuning / signature of your favorite earphones.
Cons – They can get slippery after some usage, need either wiping with a cleaning napkin or to be washed in soapy water.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3Bz8c5T
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DkSRLRb
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
Eartips are one of the most underrated parts of a listening chain, with the silicone part that makes contact with your ear and ear canal being the 1st most critical point where the seal could be broken when using IEMs. I have experienced over 100 different eartips over the ears, and have always desired to find one that is great, and while some were downright uncomfortable, like those found on Sennheiser Ie900, some where excellent, like those included with FiiO FH19.
The point where I decided to get one pair to use with most IEMs is when I realized that it was stressing my ears and leading to ear problems for me that I was switching so many eartips, so I decided to get a few pairs of eartips and test them all, with this one being provided by ddHiFi, and the others from Linsoul.
While the list included a few, this review will focus on the Winner, which is the ST35, a it keeps being the one I like the most, working well with both bone conduction driver tech and standard drivers, and being an excellent option for anyone who’s looking for a softer ear tip that will cause no ear irritation and will be easy on the wear if you have seborrheic dermatitis, psoriasis or any other condition where sticky and hard eartips can aggravate it. As a word of advice, if you suffer from any skin condition, it is best to check up with your doctor.
ST-35 is a pair of D-Tips made with a matcha and orange color theme, with medical-grade silicone, that undergo a secondary mixing and molding. The surface is finished with a skin-friendly coating to make them more comfortable, and the eartips feel velvety, a bit soft, and comfortable to the touch.
The nozzle diameter is 3.5mm, and the weight of the eartips is quoted to be 0.37 grams, keeping your IEMs light and comfy. The ddHiFi ST-35 eartips can come in three sizes, including 11mm for S, 12.5mm for M and 14mm for L. The height is 8.7mm, and the eartips have a soft lip, with soft edges, being the softest, most rounded tip that I’ve tested to date. When purchasing them, ST-35 comes in a storage box that keeps them safe, and you can order all three sizes, or three pairs of the same size, if you already know what size will fit you best. I need a medium, and it fits very well. The passive noise isolation is generally slightly worse, as the eartip is a bit thinner than with most IEMS, but the difference is minimal and with most IEMS you will not notice it.
Sound Quality
While I enjoy the enthusiasm of ddHiFi when it comes to how unbiased the ST-35 is, they most certainly have a tuning and a signature, sounding airy, a bit less impactful and a tiny bit less dynamic than the default tips of most IEMs. this can be attributed to a softer silicone, which has a slightly softer resonance, but this has the advantage of a better seal, working so much better for IEMs that require it like Bone Conduction IEMS, or IEMs that generally feel uncomfortable. For example, a pair of ST-35 can turn an IEM like Spirit Torino Twin Pulse Beryllium from an average-fitting IEM to an excellent IEM with a great fit. I also have extensively used ST-35 when reviewing Campfire Bonneville, Sennheiser IE900, Soundz Flame, Soundz Avant, Sweear He-Live5, and ZiiGaat Cincotres.
With some IEMS, the default tips can be very good already, so for those using a FiiO FH19, I found the default tips to be excellent, also very comfortable, and the same can be said about some very few select IEMS, but for the vast majority of IEMS, ST-35 is a must that will turn an average wearing comfort to an excellent one.
If you check out the ddHifi website and some other reviews / website, you will see that there is a measurable difference between using ST-35 and other eartips, and ST-35, due to their shape will pull slightly on the midrange, increasing soundstage size, but also pull voices back a few dB, while damping the treble / high end a bit, due to their softer materials and resonance, and due to their shape. This can very slightly smooth out hard edges, but difference between tips is generally much more attributed to the different insertion depth and fitting rather than ear tip material, as most central nozzle parts are made from a harder silicone for all eartips.
This being said, ST-35 offers a medium insertion depth and does not work well for either very shallow or very deep insertion, the D shape is slipper and the eartip can get slippery fast. I wash mine every 3-5 days with warm soapy water then let them dry on a paper towel, and a pair lasts me around 6 months up to a year of consistent usage. Every single eartip style will wear out eventually, including silicone, and while foam can wear out in weeks, over months silicone eartips will become looser, and while you can keep washing them to renew them, the main issue that can appear is the nozzle rubber becoming too loose to hold on to the IEM, situation in which they need replacing. As the cost of replacement is very low relative to the cost of the IEMs, cables, and everything else, I recommend replacing them when needed.
If you read about silicone, it does best at medium and low temperatures and wears out at high temperatures as it loses elasticity as it forms crystals inside, so the outdoor temp as well usage will factor in how quickly an ear tip degrades. A pair of silicone eartips I wear while working at the computer, can last well beyond a full year of usage, but a pair I use at the gym will become loose and stick to my ears, while allowing the IEM to get out easily in about 3-5 months.
Value and Conclusion
There is no arguing that you likely wanted a pair of silicone eartips to live forever, but let’s be honest, this was never going to be a thing, so the next best thing is to get the best silicone eartips you can grab, and ddHiFi offers an excellent choice with their ST35, having both a strong package, even a little case for the IEMS, and a nice design, with he best comfort I tried to date for a pair of IEMs. If your eartips did survive for longer, it is likely a much harder type of silicone, which based on the emails I read from everyone, and based on the comments I received on Youtube Videos and here on Audiophile-Heaven, is a problem for some people, so if you can use ultra hard silicone eartips, they may live much longer, but if you can’t ST35 is the best I can recommend.
At the end of the day, I can happily tell you that even if you rarely find proper comfort with silicone eartips, there is a chance ST35 will fit like a glove on your IEM, and that they will be an excellent option to make your listening a bit better.
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3Bz8c5T
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DkSRLRb
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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Thanks George, interesting review – especially what you say about the tips wearing out. I also found a lot of eartips did not work for me, but in my case, the best eartip I ever found was the Final E-tips. These are a lot more expensive than the DDs. Did you compare these too? It would be interesting to know what eartps you did test.
Final E Tips are also great, but I found the silicone to be slihgtly more irritant to my ears than Final