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In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

soundguys.com

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Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#11

Post by rapsey »

monsieurbanana wrote: post #6
vijucat wrote: post #3

I feel nauseated when I use in-ear earphones that reach deep inside. This entire article is not relevant to me. The earphones that I can bear are these : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Y4S55RC/ . The design reaches inside a little bit, but not too much, and they sound quite decent. I suppose the AirPods (but not the Pro) are similar in design.

Have you tried bose earphones? They are the most comfortable I've tried so far. Admittedly, I haven't tried many. They look similar to the ones you linked, they stay very well in my ears thanks to the hook thingy. https://www.amazon.com/Bose-QuietComfort-Acoustic-Cancelling...

I have bose sound sport. They work and sound great, but the build quality is atrocious. Every glued on rubber bit came off.

Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#13

Post by rectang »

bluedino wrote: post #9
rectang wrote: post #7

The main thing I can't stand about many sealed in-ear headphones is that lightly jostling the wire causes a massive bass thump in my ear. Regardless of fit, effectively this means I can't move at all while listening to them. The effect is so loud that I marvel that anybody can ignore it.

They sell them without wires

Yes, of course. I'm still amazed on some level that the wired versions are considered acceptable, because the thumping is so prominent — as far as I'm concerned, it's a fatally flawed design. But that's the human perceptual mechanism for you — highly optimized for filtering out unwanted sensory input.

Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#14

Post by giuliomagnifico »

costcofries wrote: post #12

That website is tuned for SEO maximalism, every article, every title, all the keywords and even the affiliate links. Good example for anyone looking to build a good inbound content strategy.

Yes I noticed it too. But the article/graphs are interesting.

Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#15

Post by formerly_proven »

rectang wrote: post #13
bluedino wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They sell them without wires

Yes, of course. I'm still amazed on some level that the wired versions are considered acceptable, because the thumping is so prominent — as far as I'm concerned, it's a fatally flawed design. But that's the human perceptual mechanism for you — highly optimized for filtering out unwanted sensory input.

I have a bunch of cheap in-ears (each comes with a bag of different seals) and none of them have the issue you describe. Sure, you can hear it when the cables bump against something, but it's not a "massive bass thump".

Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#16

Post by noisem4ker »

rectang wrote: post #7

The main thing I can't stand about many sealed in-ear headphones is that lightly jostling the wire causes a massive bass thump in my ear. Regardless of fit, effectively this means I can't move at all while listening to them. The effect is so loud that I marvel that anybody can ignore it.

It depends on the material the wire is made of and the way it's coupled to the ear piece. Try braided ones, for example. I've had a pair with "anti-tangle" plastic wire that transmitted remarkably little movement noise. Fixing the wire to the clothing, with a clip at shoulder height, also helps reducing vibratons.

Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#17

Post by wintermutestwin »

I have Air Pods Pro and I bought an aftermarket silicone ear tip that was slightly smaller than Apple's small. The damn things still fall out, albeit after a longer time. They are always uncomfortable and I am constantly having to shove them in. I tried foam and they didn't fit either. I must have freakishly small ear canals. I wish I could find something that works for me. The article linked in the original article (https://www.soundguys.com/finding-ear-tips-17148/) didn't talk about this problem.

Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#18

Post by flotzam »

rectang wrote: post #7

The main thing I can't stand about many sealed in-ear headphones is that lightly jostling the wire causes a massive bass thump in my ear. Regardless of fit, effectively this means I can't move at all while listening to them. The effect is so loud that I marvel that anybody can ignore it.

Try looping each side of the cable over and behind your ear, with the little plastic splitter tab positioned relatively snugly under your chin. That should stabilize it.

Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#19

Post by rectang »

formerly_proven wrote: post #15
rectang wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, of course. I'm still amazed on some level that the wired versions are considered acceptable, because the thumping is so prominent — as far as I'm concerned, it's a fatally flawed design. But that's the human perceptual mechanism for you — highly optimized for filtering out unwanted sensory input.

I have a bunch of cheap in-ears (each comes with a bag of different seals) and none of them have the issue you describe. Sure, you can hear it when the cables bump against something, but it's not a "massive bass thump".

Stick your forefinger in your ear, well enough to form a bit of a seal. Then move your finger around a little bit. That causes a ton of rumbling/thumping noise as the air in the ear canal moves much more dramatically than it does when encountering sound waves in open air.

The same effect happens when you jostle a sealed in-ear monitor. I don't doubt that you are not perceiving this rumble, but my explanation is that your brain is filtering it out.

EDIT: It occurs to me now that if you listen at consistently high volume (which many in-ear headphone users do), jostling rumble will be relatively lower.

Re: In-ears headphones fit matters a lot

#20

Post by camgunz »

rectang wrote: post #7

The main thing I can't stand about many sealed in-ear headphones is that lightly jostling the wire causes a massive bass thump in my ear. Regardless of fit, effectively this means I can't move at all while listening to them. The effect is so loud that I marvel that anybody can ignore it.

I have Etymotic ER4SRs which came with this clip [1]. It broke, and I soon found out the microphonics (sound traveling through the cable) were strong, and the extra weight the cable put on the drivers in my ears was surprisingly distracting. I bought a new one and, even though it's super nerdy, wear it.

There are cables that are less microphonic, and I think it might be possible that if you wrap the cable around your ear instead of going straight up it's supposed to help also. I don't personally like the around the ear thing--feels like a bridge too far for me look-wise, but I'm not everyone.

But I'll get on my shtick for a second: I love my ER4SRs. They've basically saved my career. They're small, there's no latency, there's infinite battery life, essentially everything is replaceable, the sound _perfect_. I super wish they made a (non-Lightning) cable that had a mic in it (I know there's 3rd party ones but haven't had a lot of success there yet and quit trying), but it's a small inconvenience. I can mostly work anywhere under almost any conditions, which has turned out to be important.

[1]: https://www.etymotic.com/product/shirt-clip-for-er-series-ea...

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