blsamuel:

...Is this the best way to clean out the ear gels?    I'm a little paranoid about scraping out the ear gel with a wire.  Should be fine if reasonably careful but seems like there's a lot of potential for damage to the ear gels....

...I should probably get in the habit of inspecting things after each use or before.  It seems that the ear gels are also good at attracting office dust that's always floating around when thery're sitting on my desk.  Maybe not quite a dust magnet but don't seem to repel it either.

Here is the best way to clean ear tips: 
1. Inspect the eartip daily for clogs in the airway
2. When clogs are found take the ear tip off the earphone.  This way the debris won't fall down in the body of the earphone and clog the damper or armature.
3. If you can not clean the airway thoroughly then you may want to soak the eartips in hot water.  This will loosen wax.  Just don't get water in the earphone itself.  If water runs down the nozzle it can block the air path and potentially damage some of the components.  You can then flush the airway with a syringe or even squeeze the eartip like a toothpaste tube to get the ear cheese out.  MMMMMmmmm....
4. Don't worry about the ear tip.  It is quite durable.  If you do tear one you can buy replacement parts at Klipsch or a local dealer that stocks them.  They are not available yet but will be soon. Tom you are late...

It sounds like you are thumpin to the beat.  I hope you enjoy your earphones!

Stick It In Your EAR!  Again

Another thought on ear protection (over ear)

http://www.pro-ears.com/shootingsportshearingprotection.htm

I've bought a pair of the Dimension 2's and love them.  I'll use them when I'm out cutting the fields, or working on the basement I'm finishing.  In fact, the wife will be gone and I'll have the Pro Ears on so I'll have to CRANK my single LaScala downstairs so it will be a nice  listneing level.  Wife then comes home, doesn't see me with the hearing protection on and just goes beserk with how loud it is...

I also KEPT them on one day when I KNEW the system upstairs was cranking (before I wired up a LaScala downstairs, I simply turned the upstairs Jubilees up MORE)

Anyways, we had a cd change and the NEW cd was very compressed or something...  all I know is it was freaking thundering loud so I kept them on to go turn it down.  Upon getting there, the needles on my McIntosh MC-2102 (100x2) were PEGGED and not moving until I turned it down.  I wasn't abusing it like that earlier, just a change of CD's and their signal strength (yeah right!!)

The Pro Ears, when I'm out cutting the fields, can be hooked to a cd player or something and allow that to pass through.

The thing that to me is most intersting about them, they have some kind of little microphone inside them.  If you have JUST them on your head (no cd hooked up) and have them turned on, they will let some sound through.  Their window of allowance is near the vocal range.  Truth be told, my wife has come up to me while I was sitting on my (operating) industrial backhoe.  She admonished me to turn it OFF so "I could hear her", or to at least take the headphones OFF to hear her...  what she didn't grasp is, I could hear her BETTER with them ON than with them off (backhoe running).

Really nice.  I'm not affiliated with them.  Bought these many years ago and once I've had them on, find them very comfortable and easy for me to wear for hours.

Downside...  not cheap.

Some comments to Professor Thumps comments

Professor Thump:

Here is the best way to clean ear tips: 
1. Inspect the eartip daily for clogs in the airway

I'm learning to do that

2. When clogs are found take the ear tip off the earphone.  This way the debris won't fall down in the body of the earphone and clog the damper or armature.

Had debris in the nozzle - should avoid that most of the time if check the ear tips frequently enough I would think.

3. If you can not clean the airway thoroughly then you may want to soak the eartips in hot water.  This will loosen wax.  You can then flush the airway with a syringe or even squeeze the eartip like a toothpaste tube to get the ear cheese out.  MMMMMmmmm....

Hadn't thought of the hot water (don't think that's in the manual) or squeezing out like toothpaste.  Alright folks, that's ear cheese - quite lickin' your chops.  The things I've cleaned out so far are very small

4. Don't worry about the ear tip.  It is quite durable.  If you do tear one you can buy replacement parts at Klipsch or a local dealer that stocks them.  They are not available yet but will be soon. Tom you are late...

But it feels like it should be kind of delicate.  And I'll get a couple of free ones when I get around to requesting them and apparently when they get in stock - my klipsch.com account was still hosed up the last time I checked.  I ordered the Custom 2 outside my account as I can't even update the email address which is required to update the other info.  I should probably return Paladin's last email as it seems the Forum upgrade issues are settling down.

It sounds like you are thumpin to the beat.  I hope you enjoy your earphones!

Most definitely.  I still don't like things in my ears, but I'm getting used to these.... I've finally decided the large single flange ear tips work the best - the large (more like medium ?) double flange seem to be a bit small and not as comfortable.  Both small are too little.  Lose the seal yawning or making faces with the medium  I must have large ear canals.  Less annoying than my over the ear Grado's after a couple of hours and I've used them regularly for 11 to 13 years.  If I had plenty of dough I'd probably have a set of the wooden Grados.  Of course if I had plenty of dough I'd probably have a set of the IMAGE as I still think they're more comfortable and would be a bit easier to use at work... though now that I'm moving up in sound quality I may eventually want the Custom 3  - ColterPhoto's view would be to get 'em all they're a set ... of course maybe there'll be an IMAGE 2 and IMAGE 3 down the road?  (two micro amatures with special sauce in a cool aluminum case)

Stick It In Your EAR!  Again

and again ... and again ...

every work day - I forgot how nice it is not to overhear my coworkers' conversations.  I share a "pen" ~ sort of a 4 person cube ~ with 2 others, one of which spends most of her time in teleconferences - Would've been really nice around 15 years ago when I had to turn up my music through non-isolating over the ear phones (Koss Porta Pros I think) so to be able to hear it over what the coworker over the cube wall was really cranking too - he's probably deaf by now if he wasn't getting close then 

Coytee:

Another thought on ear protection (over ear)

http://www.pro-ears.com/shootingsportshearingprotection.htm

I've bought a pair of the Dimension 2's and love them.  I'll use them when I'm out cutting the fields, or working on the basement I'm finishing.  In fact, the wife will be gone and I'll have the Pro Ears on so I'll have to CRANK my single LaScala downstairs so it will be a nice  listneing level.  Wife then comes home, doesn't see me with the hearing protection on and just goes beserk with how loud it is...

...

Downside...  not cheap.

Probably a bit out of my price range but sound very good.  Maybe some of the passive ones in the not too distant future as they're probably a lot more comfortable than the vise like plastic covered earcushion vise like clamp on ones I use now.  

Maybe I'll like the Surefire EarPro in ear I've ordered that are supposed to let in normal sounds but keep everything to around 80 db or the Ety Plugs high fidelity in ear which I've ordered and received but not yet tried.  May be good for music or any concerts that are too loud.  Both these models are very affordable. 

But I'm thinking the over the ear type are better for the string trimmer type of work - just can't stand the hot ears.  Might try the Custom 2 for some yard work but a lot of shrapnel (some soft like grass, an occasional rock or other hard and even sharp object - use the face mask regularly, very regularly after I cut myself just under the eye with a sharp piece of red clay pot - another half inch could've been ugly) tends to get thrown during my string trimming sessions  I think my Custom 2 will work very well for sitting on the lawn tractor and/or push mowing.  Not sure music would be safe when operating power tools though - might not hear myself scream if I'd air guitar my hand into a saw blade - ok - no music in the ears using power tools.

I'm beginning to think the "flaky wax" I've cleaned out of my Custom 2 ear gels, and nozzle once early on, is really flaky little bits of dried lotion I've been using on my ears (before getting my Cusom 2) to keep them from itching quite too bad.  I've had problems with itching ears long before getting the Custom 2, they don't really seem to affect the itching ears too much.   

I have gotten a lot better about inspecting and fishing out anything before it becomes a problem.  Very small flakes can cause a raspiness, expecially if it gets beyond the ear gels down into the nozzle...

I've yet (know on wood) to clog 'em up with ear cheese. 

Be sure to twist a bit when removing the Custom and IMAGE models and they'll be more comfortable coming out.