Comments on: Earbud Impotence

By: Lise

Lise — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 18:10:29 +0000

A better website to see the final product.

http://www.ultimateears.com/resource-guide/custom-fit-earbuds.html

By: Lise

Lise — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 18:07:06 +0000

Has anyone ever tried custom fit earbuds? You see all the anchors on TV using them. I found an interseting website
http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/products/custom/audiologist_instructions.php

I have heard that this process is not that expensive and worth the investment for custom fit earbuds.

No, I do not work for this company.
I have never found over-the-counter comfortable earbuds

By: James

James — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Wanna trade me?

By: Dave

Dave — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I purchased a set of Sony Fontopia earphones a while back. It was a similar situation. I did get them to sound great but I really had to jam them into my ears to the point where it was very uncomfortable.

You’re either a person who likes the in-ear earphones or you’re not. Unfortunately, you don’t generally find out until you’ve wasted some money.

By: Josh Santangelo

Josh Santangelo — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I haven’t tried the Etymotics, but have a couple of music-producer friends who speak highly of them. (Etymotic also makes good earplugs for concert-going.)

I have the Shure E3Cs and have been pretty happy with them. They come with a bunch of types of ear-pieces, but not the same all-the-way-to-the-cranium flanged ones that the Etymotics do. However when I lost enough of those, I picked up earpieces for the E4Cs which are the flanged type and also work on the E3Cs. I think they sound great and stay in much better than the supplied ones.

They can be a pain to get in, though. The trick is to actually push your ear closer to the back of your head while you’re inserting them.

By: Sujay

Sujay — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Maybe you just got a bad pair?

By: Whyren

Whyren — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I’ve got a pair of these and they can manage to pull great sound…but I have to struggle with them for quite some time before they’re seated right (and usually afterwards if they get moved around). Even then, I notice that my left ear never quite fits with them (either the flanged or the soft foam) so it’s entirely possible that certain ear contours don’t work with these.

By: Marc

Marc — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I've had canal phones from Sony, Bose, and Sennheiser. Of all of them, I kept the Sennheiser CX300s. http://www.sennheiserusa.com/newsite/productdetail.asp?transid=500831 They have excellent base response with sweet mids and highs. The only thing I don't like about them is the cord -- if you're listening to music and running, you don't want the cord to rub against your chest/clothes/anything cause they transfer the rubbing noise into you ear.

By: Danny

Danny — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Bass response with an in-ear driver is completely dependent upon the seal that you get in the ear canal. I had a similar experience with a set of Apple's in-ear headphones. The supplied rubber tips were completely worthless in my ears, so I tried some tips I had from a pair of Shure E2s. The Shure tips worked great, and the bass response is as good or better than my pair of Sony MDR-7506 studio reference headphones. My advice is to find out if there are other tips out there that fit the stem of your Etymotics. Your ear canal may just be too big for the supplied tips.

By: Cara

Cara — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

A guy I work with suggests these: Ultimate Ears. He's a musician and apparently has "very discriminating ears". He did mention that he had to try several different plug sizes in order to get the "proper seal". I've used the Sony Fontopia for years though and you can get them for $20-40 bucks. But maybe I don't have "discriminating ears".

By: Taylan Pince

Taylan Pince — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Solution: don’t use in-ear headphones! You will never get the same quality you would have in proper headphones.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I have a pair of the ER-4Ps and one thing I’ve noticed is that the sound quality really depends on your source. If you haven’t tried this already, hook them up to your home stereo system and have a listen. I know mine don’t have nearly as good a bass response from my iPod as they do from my computer or stereo.

As far as the ear seal goes, you can try the foam tips too. They can be easier to get a good seal with.

Keep trying, it’s worth it. Good luck!

By: John

John — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I tried the Sure in-ears, then the Ultimate Ears and finally settled on the ER-4Ps. They have the isolation and reasonably accurate sound reproduction I’ve been looking for.

Kevin is spot on when he says that source matters and the foam tips do a better job of providing a seal than the rubber ones in some cases, including if you are working up a sweat on stage.

Again, keep trying and you’ll find something that works for you!

By: Chris Moritz

Chris Moritz — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

About 6 months ago I tried several supposedly "high-quality" ear buds. None of them matched the bass of the standard Apple ear buds enhanced with Griffin Technology's EarJams. I couldn't believe it. $20 plastic snap-ons give better sound quality than $140 noise-cancelling headphones. Unbelieveable.

By: steven

steven — Tue, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I have had the same problem… and am now convinced my ears are just deformed and incapable of hearing any deep/substatial bass.