Introduction: Super-silent In-ear Upgrade

silencing the sony headphones to be in-ear and improve bass

Step 1: Find Some Earplugs

a while ago i was looking around waiting to watch MI:3, and I saw these ear-plugs for swimming, so i figured i could upgrade my sony headphones.

For this project you will need:

Silicon or rubber swimming earplugs (not foam)
in-ear headphones
dremel
1 pin
1 nail
1 drill bit (thinner than the in-ear end)
1 drill bit (thinner that the outer end, and thinner than the headphone end)

These appealed to me because I had seen headphones with a similar shape, but cost 4 times a much as my sony headphones. They were HK$58 (about US$7.50), and are made of silicon, which allows them to keep they're shape and yet can easily form a seal in your ear. When buying some plugs, make sure that the outer end of the plugs can either stretch, or be fitted to your headphones.

Step 2: Make Guide Holes

First, use the pin to make some guide holes through the middle of the plug, length-ways. Do this for both plugs, taking care not to poke the pin out of the side. Next, expand the hole using the small nail. This should hopefully act as a guide for drilling.

Step 3: Drill the Holes

To drill the holes, use a small (1/16th?) drill bit and a low RPM. Hold on to the entire plug, to prevent it spinning out of control or twisting too much. Also, lightly squeze the the plug to allow the drill to remove some of the silicon. This should create a small 'tunnel' through the plug.

Step 4: Prepare the End

Now, use the larger drill bit (1/8?) to enlarge the hole at the end of the plug. This hole should be only slightly smaller than the one on the headphone. After this, stretch the end over the headphone piece, and it should sit tightly, as well as form a seal so that no sound gets out.

Step 5: Listen in Bliss!

The difference in sound quality was remarkable. Not only was the bass significantly improved, but my brother shouted from the room next to me and i couldn't hear a thing. He then came in to my room and started talking to me. I didn't know he was there until he kicked my chair. :D