How in heaven’s name do people get those little ear bud headphones to stay in their ears? They fall out of mine pretty easily. Are their ears shaped differently from mine? Do they have stickier ear wax? What gives? Truly, this is a mystery to me.
{ 2009 10 24 }
xine | 24-Oct-09 at 10:22 am | Permalink
Grrr. I have this problem and it drives me up the wall. I never go anywhere without my mammoth-sized closed-ear headphones but they’re not so practical when winter comes and I have to wear a hat. A friend suggested this new type of earphones that are like earplugs — you squeeze them and then they expand in your ears. But they *still* fall out, particularly if the cord is jostled. That’s because the ear opening is cone-shaped. Ain’t nothing you can do.
Chris | 24-Oct-09 at 10:38 am | Permalink
Ah, I didn’t even know about expanding earphones, but I’ve had problems getting earplugs to stay in too, so I imagine I would be similarly afflicted. I’ll stay away from those.
I like your mammoth-sized ones, actually. Would you recommend them? If you don’t want to make a public product endorsement, could you email me their name, if you think they’re worthwhile?
When I can afford it, I want to get headphones that will let me listen to music on the subway without going deaf (i.e., with some sort of noise canceling, so that they don’t have to be cranked up too high).
Kegri | 24-Oct-09 at 11:27 am | Permalink
Try Sennheiser earbuds, or any of the others that come with 3-4 different sized buds? I had the same problem, but by choosing the best sized attachments, I’ve managed to achieve earbud happiness. Personally, I use the CX500 model. Incidentally, the cord is also very high quality, so they have weathered well the abuse they have received. They are not cheap, but deliver very good value. And the sound is amazing…
paul | 24-Oct-09 at 12:16 pm | Permalink
I just got this deal. Like them a lot.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E6G9RI/ref=ox_ya_oh_product
Chris | 24-Oct-09 at 5:42 pm | Permalink
Oh, nice price too, at least on Amazon.
I think I’m going to pass on ear buds. What I’d really like are reasonably sized headphones that somehow fold. And have amazing sound quality. And are durable. And are extremely cheap.
Don’t think I’ll be buying Sony headphones though.
xine | 25-Oct-09 at 2:34 pm | Permalink
The ones I currently use:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-HD-202-Headphones/dp/B000065BP9
The ones I had before these are:
http://www.amazon.com/Sennheiser-EH-150-Evolution-Stereo-Headphones/dp/B00067OF80/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1256494598&sr=1-1
The latter are more expensive but slightly better quality.
My Sennheiser earbuds, like Kegri’s, also have different sizes of cushion thingies that go around the bud. It doesn’t matter. Yank the cord (which is inevitable when you want to change the song or the volume or whatever) and they fall out.
I don’t agree with the assertion in your other post that “[$27 is] a stupid price to pay for headphones in any case, since you’re better off getting really cheap ones or actually shelling out for really decent ones.”
Cheap ones aren’t even worth the 99 cents they cost, in my view. The HD 202’s I have now were about $25 and they’re so much better than cheap earphones, and they block noise quite well. A little too well, when they’ve caused me to miss important announcements on the subway. The bass isn’t quite as rich as what you get with the EH 150’s, but it’s still waaaay better than with cheap earphones.
Neither model folds up, though, which is a problem if you don’t carry a knapsack or handbag around.
Chris | 25-Oct-09 at 8:28 pm | Permalink
Wow, those are *way* cheaper than I thought they would be. And they have sound dampening abilities? That don’t suck? Holy crap, perhaps I’ll be able to afford these sooner than I thought. Thanks.
Bave | 26-Oct-09 at 10:56 am | Permalink
There’s a $20 kind called Skull Candy or something like that that come with three different sizes of rubber cones.
My ears seem to be perfectly sized and shaped for the basic iPhone earbuds that most people hate. I once joked to someone that I was part of a group of people that Apple used as ear models. This person did not get the joke and looked at me like I was crazy.
Nick | 28-Nov-09 at 10:25 pm | Permalink
fwiw, i just ordered these http://www.klipsch.com/na-en/products/image-s4-overview/. their reviews were quite good.