astanley

I've ended up with the tips of Etymonic's stuck in my ears 5 times now. I pull the earphone out, and the stupid tip stays in my ear canal. It's really difficult to try and dig them out without tweezers or pliers, so I'm done with them.

I've looked at in-ear monitors for a few weeks now, with the cost ranging from Bose QC-2 price up to TATL in J. If I spent TATL in J money on earphones, I'm pretty sure my wife will lock me in the garage.

Any rants, raves about particular brands? I'm not a huge audiophile but I like the idea of a custom-fit earpiece that is designed for quiet, comfortable listening in a high-noise environment.

Cheers,

-Andrew

drummingcraig

Andrew,

I have a pair of Future Sonics Earmonitors® and they are incredible. They run ~$900 plus the cost of getting molds made of your ear canals which is ~$75-150. This is obviously not an inexpensive option, but sonically they are amazing, and they will block as much noise as anything else.

Future Sonics also has a less expensive route...

Check out their Custom Fit Sleeves which work with several different models of "generic" universal fit ear buds. These run $149 plus the cost of getting the molds taken. Worst case would be $199 for a set of FS's universal buds + $149 for the custom sleeves + the molds would have you out the door at <$500.

The guys at Future Sonics are great and they are VERY customer service oriented IME. ^

Cheers,

Craig

SP0

Same here! I used the Etymotic ER-4 for some years without a problem, but on the cheaper ER-6 model I've been using lately (because my iPod can't drive the ER-4) I've had exactly the same problem - the eartips sliding off and getting stuck in my ear.

I switched to the Shure ETH-530PTH. The sound is even better than the ER-4, with stronger bass and just as much clarity in the upper registers. I use the foam earbuds which are a little fiddly to fit (they need to be squeezed then held in place while they expand) but work well.

The "PTH" model has a handy "push-to-hear" gadget - a little clumsily mounted and bulky unfortunately - slide a switch and it engages a small microphone. On a plane, when the cabin crew pop up to ask me questions about food and so on, I no longer have to pull the earbuds out and refit them. Surprisingly useful. (You can buy this gadget on its own too.) Of course, a cheaper solution is to fly on AA where the cabin crew are too grumpy to come near you :-)

Try Headroom (headphone.com) for good advice.

scunnered

I have Westone UM1 earphones which come with excellent conformal fit foam inserts. Since mine get so much use, I was changing the foam bits a lot and decided to get custom ear pieces about a year ago. A local audiologist made the molds and sent them off to Westone and checked the fit when I went to pick them up. As I recall, it was $120 total. I think the UM1's were about the same price, so for $240 I have the most compact possible set of noise eliminating headsets - I can keep them in my pocket with my Sansa.

I have been very pleased with them and the only hassle is that no FA ever knows I have them in, so they just start talking to me, where they can see the pax with the Boses are cut off. The earpieces are just a little awkward to remove quickly in this situation, but taking out one is enough for a conversation.

PTravel

How comfortable do you find these? I have a pair of Etymotics and find that, after even 15 minutes or so, they become a bit painful, not to mention inserting them often feels like I'm on the verge of puncturing an eardrum. I also find the low-end response poorer than my Bose QC2s, though mid-range and high-end has very nice definition. I only use them for short flights -- for overseas or transcon, I use the Bose.

I'm reluctant to invest big money in another set of in-ears if they're going to be as uncomfortable as the Etymotics.

drummingcraig

Are your Etymotics custom molded or universal fit? If they are the former then something is wrong. Any custom molded in-ears should not cause any pain or major discomfort. My Future Sonics fit great, and are very comfortable. The only time I notice some fatigue is after wearing them for several hours without break.

As for bass response, the FS ears use a single driver as opposed to a dual-driver system, but its a different kind of driver which doesn't require a separate "woofer" so-to-speak. They sound as good or better than anything I've tried. They also come with four interchangeable bass ports for each ear so you can tune how much bass response you get.

PTravel

They're universal fit. That probably explains the difference.

Ah, interesting. I may have to start saving up for these. Thanks.

Axey

I've had a set of UltimateEars for years. I swear by them. Superb audio quality and extremely comfortable.

stargold

My Shure SE310 have the opposite problem - the eartips are impossible to pull off. I have to pull them so hard that I'm convinced the tube will rip from the rest of the foam, but somehow I've managed to prize it off eventually.

That, and I really like the sound of the SE310s. Nice and cheap too!