Greetings all. I’m trying to find decent quality ear buds that have a certain shape. The perfect shape for me is the standard ipod earbuds, but these don’t have decent sound quality.

  The reason I need this shape is because I need to be able to listen to music discreetly while at work and on the go, however I don’t like the kind of earbuds that protrude deep into the inner ear canal, this is uncomfortable and hazardous to the ear drums. The shape of the ipod earbuds is ideal because they are discreet and very portable, but they sit JUST ON THE OUTSIDE RIM of your ear canal rather than protruding into the inner ear canal.

  Look at the images attached to this post: the white ear buds are the shape I am looking for, and the black ones are the protruding shape I DO NOT WANT. My price range is about 50 USD or less, any suggestions appreciated.

Earbuds damage hearing. AKG’s 271’s are awesome! They require lower spectrum tuning, but its easily fixed using an equilizer. ! Sorry. Cannot really help here. I use the standard iPod buds at the gym and misc… Not sure you can get ‘great earbuds’ but give it time.

I’d usually go for something from Sennheiser, they have a huge range.

AKG and Sennheiser are both good choices, personally I’ve got a decent pair of AKGs.

The “protruding” ear canal fit type might be a better choice, as it blocks background noise better than earbuds, and as a result might allow you to listen at a lower volume. It’s the louder volume turned up to drown out background noise that causes hearing damage, not the buds themselves.

digilatex - 18 April 2011 10:17 PM

The “protruding” ear canal fit type might be a better choice, as it blocks background noise better than earbuds, and as a result might allow you to listen at a lower volume. It’s the louder volume turned up to drown out background noise that causes hearing damage, not the buds themselves.

  It’s not a volume issue, really. I have tried this type of ear bud, and it barely stayed in my ears. When I could finally find a way to keep it in my ears, the feeling of it being there was so intrusive and uncomfortable. I just can’t have something that far inside my ear: even if I could use a lower volume, the way it feels is bordering on pain.

Better?

Seriously though, have you checked out different brands of ear canal types? The AKGs I have come with three different sized cups.

I don’t have a whole lot of experience with different or high-end brands of audio equipment, but:  When my JVC earbuds busted (spent about 20 USD on them) my boyfriend gave me the pair that came with his Sony MP3 player and I was really surprised by the huge difference in listening quality, as compared to the JVCs (which I originally thought were pretty good)!  I’d recommend the Sony ones, which are the MDR-E802YLP Earbud.  They probably would cost well under 50 USD and they are very similar to the iPod shape, except that they “wing out” slightly at the back, I guess to fit the pocket in your ear better.  (They do not protrude into the ear at all, though.)  The only problem, tho, is that when I looked them up online at Sony it appears they aren’t available for purchase by themselves.. Maybe somewhere else?  Or maybe a similar Sony pair?  Anyway, that’s my 2 cents

i usually go for sennheiser, because you can get better deals on ebay (more demand).

i’ve never been able to complain about the sound quality, and i’ve had a few different types of head/earphones.