Does anyone actually like those silicone tips vs a solid body?
I personally cannot wear the silicone ones. they either fallout, or don’t fit/hurt my ears.
it’s just a royal pain finding the non silicone ones for cheap. it’s just for dog walking. I also don’t do wireless because well… they fall out.
photo examples.
Yep, I massively prefer the soft silicone ones over the hard ones. The harder ones fall out of my ears constantly, any slight tug on the cable and they’re gone. They form a better seal so I can hear what I’m listening to more clearly which I prefer as well
The silicone jackets that lock them inside your ear are far superior for them not falling out. Locking in the sound for quality is also much better with silicone plugs.
I thought silicon was best until I got some with foam pads. They were the best sound I ever had, but the pad need replacing much more often.
I actually used basic AirPods now and the sounds is great in quiet environments. I also don’t have to remove them to converse.
I have a set of ear defenders for working with loud equipment that fit over the AirPods. The biggest hassle is when removing the ear defenders, it’s easy to knock out an AirPod.
Holy shit I didnt think it was biologically possible to not hate hard plastic earbuds like they raped your mother infront of you.
Yea, those fuckers have always hurt my ears. I didn’t think it was possible for someone to find them more comfortable somehow.
I have a pair of backup headphones like that that I keep for emergencies that I have literally never used for like the 10 years I have had them. Because even when I lose my good headphones, I would rather go without headphones than wear the plastic ones or just not listen to anything at all.
I physically cannot wear the hard plastic ones. I can tilt my head to one side and they will fall out immediately.
That said, i also have super waxy ears as well so any ear tips (silicone or foam) get disgusting quickly, and its also wet wax so they degrade and also fall out (much slower than the plastic though).
I also struggle with over-ears being too clampy because giant head, so im kinda just fucked on the entire non-speaker audio front. I’ve found sennheisers to be fairly comfy. Beyerdynamic DT-770 are waaaay too clampy and slide around a lot.
I have never found an in-ear style design that both fits and is comfortable. I have, however, found what works perfectly for me. It stays outside the canal, but remains in the ear because of a slight pressure caused by the silicone wing tips. The brand I buy is “Bose Soundsport Wired”. Cheap, sound fine, never fall out.
I do. The soft silicone ones are much more comfortable in the long run, provided you’re using a size that is right for you.
I like to run and the plastic only ones fly out of my ears. Why would one shape fit in every person’s ear? Engineers are designing for the average person. Silicone and elastics can better fit to an ear and hold. That’s why metal tubes are connected with elastic gaskets and clamps. The silicone or whatever elastomer helps seal.
I didn’t know they still made the hard plastic ones! They always make my ears hurt within like 20 minutes. The silicone ones aren’t perfect by any means but I’ve never had any major problems with them.
What do you mean you didn’t know they still make them. Apple airpods are like version 4, still hard plastic. And I hate apple products, but they fit well, just dangle there and work decent enough for their size.
With the exception of a few shows on Apple TV I try to mostly ignore whatever Apple is doing these days
Silicone tipped are so much better. They’re easier to clean, they’re more comfortable, and they block out outside noise much better.
I like the ones with memory foam tips. The rubber mushroom tip ones make distracting noises when you move around while wearing them. They amplify noise from the cable rubbing on stuff so they’re really only good when you’re sitting still.
But if im sitting still I’d rather wear over the ear headphones
There was a company that did hybrid tips. Memory foam but with silicone outer shell. This made them stay clean, while also blocking sound and great fit. But the ones I bought are no longer available and I have not yet found a replacement.
I second this hard but actually prefer a kind of hybrid type. just looked at the one’s I’m using now and they are by diofit. They make a silicone foam option that’s literally like it sounds and mixes the benefits of each type together. (The pure memory foam can be a little too form fitting so they are hard to remove and over-isolating)
The hard plastic ones tend to hurt my ears
Thank you for asking this, you just reminded me of an adjacent question I have.
As for silicone ones vs. plastic: I can never get the plastic ones to stay in, and they also have just about 0 bass since they don’t seal, so in that sense I prefer silicone ones.
However I don’t get how people can do any movement with them in and not get annoyed by the very loud rumbling noise they make since they seal up the ears. Walking, and even touching the wires… any slight movement of the earbuds against the ear is very loud.
My ideal solution are not fully sealing silicone buds so they stay in but don’t do that very loud rumbling. Unfortunately that’s nigh impossible to get.
Anyone else have trouble with that?
I too have issues with silicone earbuds, and also with them falling out. Which is why I was over the moon when I discovered wireless clip-on earbuds. They meet my criteria of being convenient (because wireless) while also not falling off (because clip-on). The specific ones I bought (Anker Soundcore c30i) are not noise-cancelling, but I found that I can adjust their position up or down my ears to meet conditions. For example, I wear them high up when out in public, to hear wayward automobiles that might run me down.
Came here to mention clip ons. I recently got a cheap pair and it’s like the best of both worlds.
Edit: I bought them on a whim but now that I know I like the concept and form factor I would invest more in another pair
I’m with you, I despise the silicon ones
I détest the silicone ones. They’re uncomfortable and I always lose the tip. I only use the hard plastic ones
One of the best investments I ever made was replacing the silicone with memory foam tips. Highly recommend trying it.
Comfy and excellent sound isolation.
Note you can be allergic to memory foam, which will make those earbuds hurt like hell (ask me how I know)
