So I have a bit of a problem with earbuds. I love the form factor and their utility. However, the more I try newer earbuds, the more disenchanted I find myself with them.
I had to replace my trusty Jabra Elite 85t with a pair of Jabra Elite 10 Active and I love these earbuds because they have the right ear tip shape (Oval, because that’s how ear canals are). But since Jabra is out of the consumer market (i.e. are only focusing on business style of earbuds) I find myself looking for a brand for when I have to replace my Elite 10.
I have used the Sony XM5s and Sennheiser Momentum True Wireless 4sand they wobble SO MUCH when you walk. I am ok if earbuds wobble when you RUN, but c’mon, earbuds shouldn’t wobble when you just walk around. Now I’m done testing brands randomly like this.
Any suggestions, or reccos for a good pair of earbuds?
I only buy the cheap BT earbuds with cable. They all come with multiple sizes of those rubber things. i never like the cable-less ones since the cable type just hangs around my neck if not needed, while those cable-less ones need to be stored, or get lost.
I bought these cable-less one for my wife, they also come with multiple rubber things. They do get lost!
Anyway, for fit look for ones with multiple sizes of these rubber things.
I find the airpod pros stay very snug. Worth also checking Comply foam tips for earbuds you already own or are considering. They do fit kits that help you to figure out what size to order going forward - might be an inexpensive solution. Another supplier that some folks like (but I haven’t tried) is Sonicfoam.
For me the only ine that was fitting my ears comfortable were the Apple EarPods 3 Pro. The Sonys have been to large and pressed against my outer ear, which also made them come loose after some time.
Amazone is mostly pretty chill when it comes to sending back earbuds, so I would just try them out.
I’m a fan of the comply foam tips. You compress them, insert, and hold a few seconds as they expand into your ear. The silicone tips will never stay in very well over longer times for me. They don’t last all that long though. You can clean them a couple times but they need regular replacing.
I just got new airpods pro 3 and liking them so far. They have some new tips which are a foam/silicon hybrid which works very well so far. I did still order comply tips which I would probably still prefer based on previous buds.
They do connect smoothly across non-apple devices too, but without multipoint (or rather, only on apple devices I believe). I’ve never been a fan of multipoint though since random things like phone notifications would steal my audio.
I love the Jabra’s because their multipoint does not override audio for notifications, only when you receive phone calls (which triggers the headset audio point, which makes sense and it’s nice).
However, I have tried comply foam tips before and I hate that they degrade so quickly. Also, that still doesn’t solve my problem for wobbly-ness (When you run and you feel the headphones knocking around the edges of the ear tip, and there’s an audible wobble). I do find that the oval silicone eartips are a great fit for my ears, like the AirPods Pro 3, but are those the only ones that have that fit?
I only have experience with sony xm3’s with stock and comply and airpods pro 3 with stock.
When walking the airpods seem more stable, though I can definitely ‘hear’ my footsteps, but don’t feel any wobble. With the xm3’s it’s a bit more which I suspect is mostly due to their size and weight (higher than the airpods)
Both do have a solid fit, I can run with them without losing seal.
If you’re actually looking for no audible footsteps at all, I’m not sure if that’s possible? Or you may need to get something custom fitted from an audiologist?
That sounds nice, the apple implementation is way dumber, when I listen to music on my phone and open a website that auto plays a video (even when muted) it will switch
Maybe that’s the best way to describe this. I don’t ‘hear’ my footsteps with the Elite 10s \ 85ts, but definitively can hear my jogging pace. Weight is similar surprisingly, I think the issue is in the weight distribution of the overall earbud.
I find I’d have to have the earlobe hooks on earbuds with my ears (when dealing with the separate earbuds). Depending on how much the soft tissue in an ear is swelling (a long-standing medical issue) a conventional earbud will not stay in the ear. Apple’s AirPod design (or anything of that shape) definitely don’t fit in my ears.
I definitely prefer the “mitten string” solution of earbuds wired together so that when one side falls out the other side will be holding them.
You might look at simply finding a different tip. My personal issue is tiny ear canals, so I need an earbud with the right design that holds the tip away from the body by just a bit, and an extra-small or soft foam, small tip. You may need to measure the tube the tips connect to - they very quite a bit. I use the Comply 500 series tips, although I find a small silicone tip from MEE also works.
), but my gut feeling tells me this is not going to work.
