Please explain In-Ear to me

Submitted by DreamShiftThing t3_119tndv in headphones

I guess I am far behind on this. I know what in-ear headphones are, but not how they are supposed to feel in your ears. I need a new pair of decent sounding small ones, but in terms of earbuds (not in-ear) the market is empty. So I will eventually need to get these. Though, my problem here is putting them in my ears feels like going under water and I hear everything that touches the cable or my chewing and breathing very loud. I also wear my on-ear headphones over a hat because of this. It is extremely uncomfortable to me. So I'd like to ask you to describe to me in detail what it should feel like, because I cannot imagine this being normal... Or maybe does anyone feel the same?

On another note: my ears also screemed in pain from active noise cancelling and I cannot find anyone else who experienced this. Maybe my ears are strange.

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fortean t1_j9nzfoc wrote

There's plenty more IEM than earbuds, but there truly are excellent earbuds out there. I suggest you save your money and get either the Fiio FF5 or FF3.

No one can convince you that shoving things in your ear is normal FOR YOU. Find something you enjoy.

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DreamShiftThing OP t1_j9nzmh3 wrote

You won't believe how many HOURS I've spent looking for buds and barely finding cheap ones. Thank you so much for showing me these I am about to cry!

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fortean t1_j9o0sfp wrote

I am just beginning to go into the earbud rabbithole myself, /u/o0genesis0o has a blog I follow that reviewed both the ff3 and the ff5, check this out.

I ended up ordering both the ff3 and the ff5 and kept the ff5 simply because of the mmcx cable, but I don't think it's THAT superior, so maybe the ff3 will be a better solution to you. I also ended up checking out the smabat m2s pro and the toneking dendroaspis but IN MY OPINION they didn't come close to the ff3/ff5.

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DreamShiftThing OP t1_j9o2uyw wrote

Was looking for a comparison so I've just checked it out and I don't think the ff3 would cut it. Swapable cables? absolutely. already worth an extra 10€ xD I only have low low lowest end earbuds currently just to replace my broken ones. I also wear them against the wind (my ears are so broken). I fell for the ff5 instantly even without hearing anything. Going to order them within the day 🎶 I listen to music basically all day for writing and chores. It's my thinking juice. I can't wear my Marshall on-ears for that long. Thanks again, you really saved my day.

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TagalogON t1_j9o244r wrote

Actually right now is a great time to get into the old school earbuds/earphones/etc. segment of the audio hobby as there's a lot of DIYers and also more traditional companies that are finally making waves about it this past 2022 year.

FiiO is also releasing the FiiO FF1 for ~$30 around September 2023, and so that's another more mainstream IEM that will be easily available on Amazon/etc. See here for more info on FiiO's lineup of products for 2023: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/117qg60/fiios_upcoming_lineup/

For that underwater/etc. feeling, it's called the occlusion effect and so on. After a while you'll forget it exists (it's like car motion sickness, eventually you'll forget it was there in the first place), more on info on vacuum seal with ear tips, old school earphones, mini/small TWS earbuds, small IEMs (bullet style IEMs too), et cetera here: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/zs6dpx/any_loose_ear_tips_for_iem_headphones/j182676/

Check the Earbuds Roundup thread on Head-Fi, it's the ultimate thread for earphones: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/earbuds-round-up.441400/page-4568. That's mainly where people discuss the old school earphones as a lot of people just know of IEMs (and TWS earbuds) these days.

Right now there's TGXEAR and Rikudougoku, etc. for the DIY earphones. TGXEAR probably ships from Canada, Rikudougoku from Sweden/Europe. They're often above that $20, but it's still good to read the threads and see what's available with the current (DIY + traditional IEM/earphone/etc. companies) market.

TGXear: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/tgxear-discussion-thread.964894/page-58

RikuBuds: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rikubuds-hangout.965014/page-3. Don't forget Rikudougoku's main thread: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/rikudougokus-database-iems-earbuds-headphones-tips-ranking-list-music-list.925319/page-78

See here for more info on those old school earbuds/earphones: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zcs559/best_wired_traditional_open_earbuds_without_a/iyyaoi3/

For the cable part, ya those are say microphonics/etc. when it's touching your shirt, arm, et cetera. It's pretty much unavoidable with certain IEMs and their cables. Like with some IEMs you can switch the cable and it may fix it. But other times it doesn't.

Some people also report static/hissing/etc. with their IEMs especially when they are not looped around the ear or like near their shirt, etc. and that problem can be solved sometimes by just getting a dongle with physical volume control if looping the cable over the ear doesn't help a lot.

Here's a bit more info on dongles (with physical volume control) and static/hissing/buzzing/et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/117ya99/why_are_balanced_cables_so_damn_expensive/j9eib7g/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/100lh5a/dac_for_new_mb_asus_and_new_headphone/j2icwxm/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zn88xs/help_on_iems_pc_usage/j0fns20/

Look up oratory1990 (check the subreddit, /r/oratory1990, don't forget the preset parametric EQ list (mainly for headphones but there's some IEMs there): https://www.reddit.com/r/oratory1990/wiki/index/list_of_presets) and crinacle's articles on what amps/DACs/etc. are and what they do.

Try not to wear on-ear headphones or over-ear headphones with a hat/hair/etc. on top of your head as this will tempt you to raise the volume higher. Unfortunately you just have to live with that microphonics/etc. situation with the cables or go for TWS earbuds or Bluetooth/wireless headphones.

For comfort with headphones, if you have a big head, ear piercings, glasses, et cetera, basically anything that will interfere with the seal/fit of the earpads, here's more info about headphones and glasses and workarounds it: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/zkjjcu/are_there_any_headsetsphones_that_are/j00kjt2/

With the ANC, ya I know exactly what you mean. When I first started using ANC I also had headaches/etc. but apparently this is not a normal experience for some people or they just forgot the experience of it.

For me I didn't really get pain or anything and eventually forced myself to get used to it. This was back with the way weaker/older Sennheiser/etc. ANC headphones, btw, not the newer and strong headphones from Sony/Apple/Bose/etc. that are a bit different but some people also report similar experiences when trying out ANC for the first time.

So people describe that ANC as cabin pressure, etc. And again for a lot of us it's just something we come to ignore but others say it's a major dealbreaker as yup, how can you use that feature if it's way too uncomfortable or giving actual pain.

IMO, maybe see an ENT and/or audiologist to see if you got say Eustachian Tube Dysfunction, TMJ issues, and other ear-related problems if you think it's affecting possible use with these audio stuff.

Earwax, hearing health, et cetera with Etymotics and other bullet style IEMs: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/10iwqmt/does_insertion_depth_affect_volume/j5ifw7r/

More info on headphones/IEMs and PC gaming: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/1151ezm/looking_for_1st_real_pair_of_headphones_mostly/j8zm0q8/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10zxpfb/why_are_you_using_openback_headphones_for_gaming/j85vv18/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/10ks4tr/looking_for_iem_for_gaming_and_music_listening/j5sjhyh/

Open back headphones noise reduction (scroll to the bottom half part of the comment), earwax clogging issue, parametric EQ, noise reduction for your PC/room, et cetera: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/115c99b/coming_from_iems_and_looking_for_headphones_150_eu/j92mpe9/

For TWS earbuds and Bluetooth usage, see here for more info: https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/11565qg/need_help_buying_a_bluetooth_wireless_adapter_for/j9033u7/and https://www.reddit.com/r/HeadphoneAdvice/comments/10hdr2p/are_there_any_wireless_earbuds_witouth/j58keli/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/10kai7u/should_i_keep_ear_buds_out_of_the_case_after/j5so87z/

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DreamShiftThing OP t1_j9o3zj7 wrote

Wow, thank you for all this work and info. I'll start digging into this! I feel like I skipped an era and now I'm cool again xD DIY is definitely sth I'd do.

Turning the volume up too high is probably not the way my ears will go. I like to go down till it's too quiet and then just one up. I like it in the background and I know the numbers by heart for "alone at home" and "walking by the busy road" ;)

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wijnandsj t1_j9o2ech wrote

> So I'd like to ask you to describe to me in detail what it should feel like

​

I have several in-ears. There are those that I use with tripple flange silicon tips. I don't feel those much but they are there. The seal isn't complete so the loud breathing isn't a thing.

I've got a pair with foam tips. Those feel like wearing disposable earplugs. Total block of the outside so more breathing. Fairly smooth cable so not that much noise.

I have some bluetooth in-ears with comply tips on them. Primarily for gym usage. Middle ground between the other two. Enough blocking to filter out most of the crap they play in the gym (why I'll never understand, everyone wears headphones anyway) but not quite to get all my breathing amplified.

If I want comfort I put on my over-ear beyerdynamic. There's a reason these are popular in radio studios, they're so comfortable!!

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wijnandsj t1_j9nzw3h wrote

Microphonics, the noise via the cable, is very common.

If you block your ear canals then chewing will sound, different, that i snormal.

If you want something small and portable but not blocking your canals you can try something like https://www.fiio.com/em5

And some people don't like ANC, that's quite well known.

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DreamShiftThing OP t1_j9o0acz wrote

Thanks to you too for that brand. I seriously couldn't find this on my own.

About the ANC... I know some people "don't like" it, but I was literally lying down shivering for an hour after a single moment of ANC and still confused as to why. Wish I could figure that out.

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MinKDucK t1_j9rla4r wrote

My sony XB900 anc is horrible too. Barely cancels any noise and it hurts my head so much I have to cycle through the comedically loud voice announcer to turn them off everytime I use the headphones.

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PM_ME_JPOP_RECS t1_j9onb3c wrote

If you have a Discord, there are a few servers that you might be interested in. Super Review has the #earbud-buddies channel, Gizaudio has the #flatheads channel, and RikudouGoku has the #earbud channel and a few others. Hope more people join the earbud rabbit hole in these exciting times 🥳

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IfTheGloveFits t1_j9o2o1c wrote

>Though, my problem here is putting them in my ears feels like going under water and I hear everything that touches the cable or my chewing and breathing very loud.

This is pretty much how it is supposed to feel like. It is a side effect of the isolation from external noise you get from IEMs plugging your ears. I got used to it pretty quickly but obviously different people have different tolerances.

>On another note: my ears also screemed in pain from active noise cancelling and I cannot find anyone else who experienced this. Maybe my ears are strange.

Yeah I'm very sensitive to the active noise cancellation hiss as well.

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superiong t1_j9o8eg8 wrote

If u have a pre-existing dap, I recommend u check out the Tgxear earbuds, I have heard nothing but good things about their earbuds like the serratus

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ExiledSanity t1_j9paazg wrote

The underwater feeling is somewhat variable. There are completely sealed IEMs that do this, and there are vented IEMs and semi open IEMs that are not nearly as bad.

There are some fully open IEMs as well, but they are definitely less common. Audeze's IEMs would qualify.

Cable microphonic are helped a lot by things like running the wires over your ears and shirt clips. Basically things to absorb the vibration before it gets to the actual ear piece.

Probably not much help with chewing or breathing, but still less noticable with vent d or semi open IEMs.

I use IEMs somewhat regularly and am generally amazed at the sound they can produce. But also don't really enjoy shoving things in my ears, but sometimes it's worth it for portability and/or isolation.

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rhalf t1_j9qtsow wrote

It's just occlusion. Yeah it's not for everyone.
There are nice earbuds though. Have you heard of ViDo? $3 good bass. There are some more refined earbuds, although the review business around those seems to be shady.

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