Need Help Determining Best Fit for In-Ear Canal Buds

I have tried different in-ear buds over the years, but always end up going back to the "standard" foam covered iPod earbuds, because I never felt like I got enough bass out of in-canal type earbuds. Today, because they seemed to get great reviews for the price, I picked up a set of SkullCandy INK'd buds. Wow, I hear the bass! They sound great, as long as my ears don't "pop". What I mean is that I seem to get a snug inside-ear fit, with lots of great sound/bass, but then I just feel a pop, and they're loose. That's with the smallest of the tips on the buds. Is there a way to deternine the best fit? How far into the ear does one jam these things? Is that what I've been missing all along (I just never jammed them far enough into my ears)? Thanks!

Are you using the plastic tips? I've noticed that those seal as well. I have a pair of Shure E2Cs and they came with an option for both plastic and foam tips. I use the foam ones and they form an excellent seal. You squeeze them a bit to make them smaller, stick them in your ear, and then they expand to fill in the space. You can't get that with plastic tips, at least not without some discomfort ;P

Kash said:

Are you using the plastic tips? I've noticed that those seal as well. I have a pair of Shure E2Cs and they came with an option for both plastic and foam tips. I use the foam ones and they form an excellent seal. You squeeze them a bit to make them smaller, stick them in your ear, and then they expand to fill in the space. You can't get that with plastic tips, at least not without some discomfort ;P

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Thanks for the info/comments. Yes, I'm using the rubber/silicone-like tips (that's all that came with them). It may be that I need to move to the next size larger and do as you suggested (squeeze then let them expand). It hadn't occurred to me to try that.

I'm not sure if the squeeze trick will work with the silicone tips, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try.

Kash said:

I'm not sure if the squeeze trick will work with the silicone tips, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try.

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It doesn't work, but moving up to the next size tip, and not being afraid to ensure that they're firmly inserted, seemed to do the trick. They sound great, and I suspect, they'll become more comfortable after some use. Thanks again!

So, I think I'd got it, but, it sure does feel like I practically need to embed those things into my brain. I like that they don't fall out like the standard earbuds, but man, I dunno.

The in-ear buds annoy me because I still can't find anything that fits me correctly. I need something even smaller than the smallest fitting those buds usually come with. They are not that comfortable either. With headphones, it's difficult to find something small + comfortable too! Mine always slide off.

That leaves earbuds, which generally work well for me. For more intensive or professional audio work, I will obviously have to get headphones.

jaline said:

The in-ear buds annoy me because I still can't find anything that fits me correctly. I need something even smaller than the smallest fitting those buds usually come with. They are not that comfortable either. With headphones, it's difficult to find something small + comfortable too! Mine always slide off.

That leaves earbuds, which generally work well for me. For more intensive or professional audio work, I will obviously have to get headphones.

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Identical problem here. I have found that the in-ear buds seem to be working pretty well for me, but they're far from "plug and play". I need to fiddle with them for a decent fit, etc. Not sure if I need a smaller tip as well, or if I just have defective ears. And, as you said, the standard buds, fall right out of my ears. I wonder if the Bone-Fone (I think that's what it was called) still exists. Or, maybe I need powered standard over-ear headphones.

After buying many in-ear buds I decided to spend some bucks and get custom fit, in-ear monitors. The first ones were a hard acrylic. I liked them but the fit wasn't great. I then went to ones that use silicone material and that made a huge difference. These are amazing and do an awesome job of blocking out ambient noise, too. A tight, secure fit.