Best earphones that don't go in your ear canal?

Dangerous_Dave

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Hi all,

I've been using those earphones that plunder your ear canals for some time, but I find them not very good for running etc because they get all sweaty and my footsteps sound like an elephant. So I'd like to go back to the old style of earphones that just sit in your ear.

I have quite small ear canals in spite of the plundering, and tend to listen to up-tempo bassy music when I'm using them.

Does anybody know good earphones that fit that profile?
 
You probably want sport style ones like Sennheiser adidas tie-up with neckband or ear hook style because there is no way earbuds will stay in during exercise unassisted
 
I've not done too bad with the regular earbuds in the past so I am entertaining them - it's just the sennheisers I had didn't fit properly into my ears and therefore the bass seemed very weak. But I'd also consider the types you mentioned if there are any recommendations there.
 
I've not done too bad with the regular earbuds in the past so I am entertaining them - it's just the sennheisers I had didn't fit properly into my ears and therefore the bass seemed very weak. But I'd also consider the types you mentioned if there are any recommendations there.

Apple Earbuds and Earpods may or may not work, but with a Dirac player on recent ipods and iphones, the sound is better than most headphones up to $700 USD. Earbuds do not have the bass extension of the Earpods though.
 
i heard about some bone conduction headphones a while ago. apparently, you place them BEHIND the ear, against your bone, and the vibrations are carried through the bone, to your eardrum. i will try and find where i read about these.
 
Just grab a pair of Sennheiser Px100 like I did.

They are open backed but for jogging and in noisy gym that shouldnt be an issue as it'll mean you can hear what's going on around you and the leakage won't be louder than the stuff from the gym.

Key thing is that they're light, sound great, and cheap so easily replaceable should they get destroyed in your gym bag or if you fall over on the treadmill!!!!
 
I fear the earpods are still a bit too invasive for the job.

I've had the PX100 before - oddly enough I never had trouble with earphones falling off but the PX100 wouldn't stay on. Sounds great though.
 
I fear the earpods are still a bit too invasive for the job.

The Earbuds ($29 purchased variety) with Dirac aren't invasive and have almost exactly the stellar hi-fi quality with Dirac, matching the Earpods from the mid-upper bass on up to the top. The earbuds lose out on the lowest bass, but in most casual listening it's not important, since the same feeling of warmth and bass occurs for earbuds and earpods, just minus the deep organ pedals and bass drum impacts.

Either one of those sounds a thousand times better than a PX headphone.
 
The Earbuds ($29 purchased variety) with Dirac aren't invasive and have almost exactly the stellar hi-fi quality with Dirac, matching the Earpods from the mid-upper bass on up to the top. The earbuds lose out on the lowest bass, but in most casual listening it's not important, since the same feeling of warmth and bass occurs for earbuds and earpods, just minus the deep organ pedals and bass drum impacts.

Either one of those sounds a thousand times better than a PX headphone.

Personal choice.....

But I think bog standard Apple earbuds and earpods sound like fontopia crap in comparison to PX100s. Throwing Dirac dsp in doesn't exactly add all that much to them imo.

I liken this whole Dirac thing with apple buds to the cheap midi systems with graphic equalizer in the 80s.

Saying that they're better than $700 headphones.... I'd take that Pepsi challenge anyday!
 
Personal choice.....But I think bog standard Apple earbuds and earpods sound like fontopia crap in comparison to PX100s. Throwing Dirac dsp in doesn't exactly add all that much to them imo. I liken this whole Dirac thing with apple buds to the cheap midi systems with graphic equalizer in the 80s. Saying that they're better than $700 headphones.... I'd take that Pepsi challenge anyday!

It's obvious from this that you have no idea what Dirac is or what it does. Or where it comes from. This was discussed and planned at AES meetings decades ago, and just now beginning to be realized because small devices now have enough power to run Fourier-derived DSPs. But, you have no idea about things like that.

Just saying no, no, no should not discourage people from checking this miracle out for themselves. I say that, and my reputation goes with it. It's a DSP, not an equalizer. But....
 
dalethorn said:

How can you quote your own review to counteract this argument?

dalethorn said:
It's obvious from this that you have no idea what Dirac is or what it does. Or where it comes from. This was discussed and planned at AES meetings decades ago, and just now beginning to be realized because small devices now have enough power to run Fourier-derived DSPs. But, you have no idea about things like that.

Just saying no, no, no should not discourage people from checking this miracle out for themselves. I say that, and my reputation goes with it. It's a DSP, not an equalizer. But....

I do actually understand what Dirac is. It has been used in the audio systems of some of the cars I've owned.

If it was so amazing for Apple earphones.... Imagine what they would do to a decent IEM like those from Shure, Westones, and Heir audio.....

To think that I wasted all that money on great reviewed (not my own reviews!!!) headphones like Shure 535, Sony 4ip, and Triplefis..... When all I really needed were £25 Apple earpods and the Dirac app......
 
I'm in the same boat as you since my missus broke my apple earpods.
I don't like in in ears that go right down the ear. I have a pair of PX100s but they are not great for the gym sliding around on the head and getting sweaty

To be honest in the gym environment I personally felt the earpods sounded better as they tended to stay in an optimal position. I tried the Dirac lite but after a couple of tries I removed it as it made the sound thin and preferred the sound without it. (note I just use mp3 as I don't listen to digital/streamed music at home so have no need to store in a higher res format on a phone)

Dirac might be better in pro, when not in such an active situation, or with higher res files I've not tried it so I can't comment. The lite is free so you can try it yourself anyway

I'd like to investigate other options before I spend on another pair of earpods though. If you find some that work please post!

Thanks

Martin
 
Last edited:
Had the iGrado suggested any one heard a pair?
 
How can you quote your own review to counteract this argument? If it was so amazing for Apple earphones.... Imagine what they would do to a decent IEM like those from Shure, Westones, and Heir audio....

There is no argument. There is disinformation, but that can be cleared up by each individual person as they check out the references.

Dirac is available for several IEMs.
 
I tried the Dirac lite but after a couple of tries I removed it as it made the sound thin and preferred the sound without it.

Dirac Lite is exactly the same as Pro, just has less buttons. Dirac works only on the itunes library, MP3 only I presume. Dirac does not thin the sound, just the opposite. I have 3 purchased Earpods and 3 free sets. The purchased sound better and are consistent in sound. The free ones are also consistent, and sound thinner than the purchased versions. Dirac applies the same treatment regardless, so the sound of the free earpods with Dirac is better, but still not as good as the purchased versions.

Earbuds benefit even more than earpods. And you have to make sure when you are using Apple's Dirac player that it's set correctly for earbuds or earpods.
 
if it was so amazing for apple earphones.... Imagine what they would do to a decent iem like those from shure, westones, and heir audio.....
+1
 

t-Jays Four IEM, XTZ Earphone-12 IEM, and more to come. Dirac is also working to get DSPs for full size headphones.
 
Dirac Lite is exactly the same as Pro, just has less buttons. Dirac works only on the itunes library, MP3 only I presume. Dirac does not thin the sound, just the opposite. I have 3 purchased Earpods and 3 free sets. The purchased sound better and are consistent in sound. The free ones are also consistent, and sound thinner than the purchased versions. Dirac applies the same treatment regardless, so the sound of the free earpods with Dirac is better, but still not as good as the purchased versions.

Earbuds benefit even more than earpods. And you have to make sure when you are using Apple's Dirac player that it's set correctly for earbuds or earpods.

You can argue what you like, as I stated in MY opinion I felt it thinned the sound. In YOUR opinion it doesn't. Yes via iTunes, yes mp3 and yes set for earpods.

So in MY opinion Dirac didn't sound as good; it sounded less 3 dimensional, thinner and the rhythmic qualities diminished . I also pointed out that lite was free and people can easily draw their own conclusions and the circumstances in which I was judging it .

Also where are you getting your information from in suggesting the packaged earpods are different from the purchased ones. I can find no information on this and they would seem to be exactly the same.

Suggesting that they compete up to level you said seems a bit strange as frankly mp3 hits a quality ceiling very quickly. How can you hear the potential of a more expensive headphone playing mp3? I could make a £300-400 pair of headphones sound very mediocre very easily by listening to mp3 and conclude the £50 pair sound just as good.

Cheers


Martin
 
You can argue what you like, as I stated in MY opinion I felt it thinned the sound. In YOUR opinion it doesn't. Yes via iTunes, yes mp3 and yes set for earpods.
So in MY opinion Dirac didn't sound as good; it sounded less 3 dimensional, thinner and the rhythmic qualities diminished . I also pointed out that lite was free and people can easily draw their own conclusions and the circumstances in which I was judging it .
Also where are you getting your information from in suggesting the packaged earpods are different from the purchased ones. I can find no information on this and they would seem to be exactly the same.
Suggesting that they compete up to level you said seems a bit strange as frankly mp3 hits a quality ceiling very quickly. How can you hear the potential of a more expensive headphone playing mp3? I could make a £300-400 pair of headphones sound very mediocre very easily by listening to mp3 and conclude the £50 pair sound just as good

Opinions are irrelevant here. The sound is consistent and unarguable. The cost is so low that people don't have to agonize over YOUR opinion - they can simply download the free player and try for themselves, then ask questions here as they feel necessary. My "opinion" of the free -vs- purchased earpods is from buying several sets and comparing to the free sets. I'm pretty good at comparing as I've been comparing headphones critically up to the Senn HD800 for many years. My youtube reviews and attached comments illustrate that. I get about a thousand views per day now. And I can hear very tiny differences. There are very few quality opinions on Dirac and earpods, for what should be obvious reasons. An earphone with resonances and other bad effects removed threatens the entire high end headphone industry, since the DSP isn't available for full size headphones.

Ken Rockwell has very astute observations about Dirac and earpods.

Constant arguing here starts to look more like disinformation than information. People who have no idea about high fidelity sound may indeed wonder about the Dirac/earpod sound, but a bit of patience resolves that. My purpose here is to suggest to users to go try this thing, and ignore the "opinions".
 
Opinions are irrelevant here. The sound is consistent and unarguable. The cost is so low that people don't have to agonize over YOUR opinion - they can simply download the free player and try for themselves, then ask questions here as they feel necessary. My "opinion" of the free -vs- purchased earpods is from buying several sets and comparing to the free sets. I'm pretty good at comparing as I've been comparing headphones critically up to the Senn HD800 for many years. My youtube reviews and attached comments illustrate that. I get about a thousand views per day now. And I can hear very tiny differences. There are very few quality opinions on Dirac and earpods, for what should be obvious reasons. An earphone with resonances and other bad effects removed threatens the entire high end headphone industry, since the DSP isn't available for full size headphones.

Ken Rockwell has very astute observations about Dirac and earpods.

Constant arguing here starts to look more like disinformation than information. People who have no idea about high fidelity sound may indeed wonder about the Dirac/earpod sound, but a bit of patience resolves that. My purpose here is to suggest to users to go try this thing, and ignore the "opinions".

Unbelievably strange response.
Hifi is all about opinions else we'd all have the same stuff. There was no disinformation I readily pointed out the stuff was free. Big deal you've been comparing headphones for years, how arrogant.

Not that it matters but as it happens I worked in a hifi store for years, worked for a hifi manufacturer for years, and have invested substantial amounts in my hobby at home over the years. Whilst offering an opinion to someone purchasing, having worked in this environment, all you can do is offer opinions based on your knowledge to help them drill down to what works for them not for you.

I've no doubt for some people trying Dirac will prefer the sound, just because I didn't doesn't make me wrong or you right.

Anyway this has cr*pped on the OP's thread more than enough. May i suggest any further Dirac discussion is on a new thread? In fact there must be a few people out there with the new earpods now and given its a free app perhaps you can set up a poll to see what others think too. As at the end of the day if people don't like it doesn't matter how good anyone else thinks it is it won't be used.

Martin
 
Opinions are irrelevant here. The sound is consistent and unarguable. The cost is so low that people don't have to agonize over YOUR opinion - they can simply download the free player and try for themselves, then ask questions here as they feel necessary. My "opinion" of the free -vs- purchased earpods is from buying several sets and comparing to the free sets. I'm pretty good at comparing as I've been comparing headphones critically up to the Senn HD800 for many years. My youtube reviews and attached comments illustrate that. I get about a thousand views per day now. And I can hear very tiny differences. There are very few quality opinions on Dirac and earpods, for what should be obvious reasons. An earphone with resonances and other bad effects removed threatens the entire high end headphone industry, since the DSP isn't available for full size headphones.

Ken Rockwell has very astute observations about Dirac and earpods.

Constant arguing here starts to look more like disinformation than information. People who have no idea about high fidelity sound may indeed wonder about the Dirac/earpod sound, but a bit of patience resolves that. My purpose here is to suggest to users to go try this thing, and ignore the "opinions".

Opinions are irrelevant here...... LOL

One of the most random posts I've read in my life in an open forum where we discuss electronics, in this case headphones and sound quality which is entirely subjective.

As for Apple Earpods and Dirac threatening the entire high end headphone industry..... I can see Shure, Sennheiser, Grado, Beyerdynamic all quaking in their faux leather boots :)
 
Opinions are irrelevant here...... LOL

One of the most random posts I've read in my life in an open forum where we discuss electronics, in this case headphones and sound quality which is entirely subjective.

As for Apple Earpods and Dirac threatening the entire high end headphone industry..... I can see Shure, Sennheiser, Grado, Beyerdynamic all quaking in their faux leather boots :)

So what you are saying is this: If someone came out with a perfect DSP for any headphone, that made that headphone have a flat, neutral, high fidelity response with no apparent resonances, then that would not threaten sales of any other pricier headphones?

I think your claim is absurd on its face.
 
Unbelievably strange response.
Hifi is all about opinions else we'd all have the same stuff. There was no disinformation I readily pointed out the stuff was free. Big deal you've been comparing headphones for years, how arrogant. Not that it matters but as it happens I worked in a hifi store for years, worked for a hifi manufacturer for years, and have invested substantial amounts in my hobby at home over the years. Whilst offering an opinion to someone purchasing, having worked in this environment, all you can do is offer opinions based on your knowledge to help them drill down to what works for them not for you. I've no doubt for some people trying Dirac will prefer the sound, just because I didn't doesn't make me wrong or you right. Anyway this has cr*pped on the OP's thread more than enough. May i suggest any further Dirac discussion is on a new thread? In fact there must be a few people out there with the new earpods now and given its a free app perhaps you can set up a poll to see what others think too. As at the end of the day if people don't like it doesn't matter how good anyone else thinks it is it won't be used. Martin

You misunderstood me from the very beginning, and continue to do so. There was never a reason for you to argue or get angry as you have. The app is free and the earpods (the good ones) are just $29. It's a perfect opportunity for people to explore something you (apparently) are trying to suppress, to discourage them from doing. I'm being very positive here, and you're spreading a lot of negativity.
 

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