Comfortable wireless earbuds

foxfree1389

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Nov 13, 2021
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Hi all,

I have been looking for a comfortable pair of wireless earbuds with ANC that also offer decent music audio. I use over ear headphones at the moment (Sony WH-1000XM3) which are generally comfortable, but can be painful when wearing glasses (they press the frames into my head) and also are bulky to carry around when I need to travel light. Hence I want to have some wireless buds as an alternative option.

Having had a good experience with Sony headphones, I've tried the Sony WF-1000XM4's which had good sound and great ANC, but they hurt my ears so much particularly with the foam buds but even silicon replacements also hurt. I also tried the Airpods as heard they were supposed to be particularly comfortable. They were more comfortable but had similar ear pain and the bass and overall music audio quality was lackluster. From looking at ear anatomy, it's the tragus part of my ear and intertragic incisure (yes it sounds like a bad band name) where i get pain wearing these. It's like material rubs against that part of my ear and irritates it.

I've been looking online at other reviews for some of the main brands including Samsung, Sennheiser B&O and B&W. All have their pros and cons in terms of sound quality and battery life although it's hard to get a good view on comfort. My questions are:

1) Are there other less commercial but high audio quality brands I should consider, e.g. Technics
2) For those who have had similar problems with ear buds discomfort (ideally around the tragus area), has there been a model which you've found particularly comfortable?

I obviously would ideally like the best of everything, but the top 2 are comfort first and then good music audio quality.

Thanks!
 

EvShrug

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Mar 4, 2022
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it's the tragus part of my ear and intertragic incisure (yes it sounds like a bad band name)
🤣

Honestly, I can’t wear any IEM for more than two hours… even my silicone CIEM. That said, I do prefer housings that are smooth rounded surfaces where they meet the ear, and there are some TWS which have small ergonomic surfaces where they touch your ear (and fit under the Tragus), and then there’s like a pinched thorax area, and then the shell “blooms” out to a wider area outside your ear to fit the rest of the electronics, have a good space for controls, and maybe it helps with signal strength too.

The TWS I’ve tried (for extended periods of time) are Sennheiser, Apple, grell, and a pair by KZ. It does seem like all the companies are zeroing in on more comfortable designs with each generation.

You didn’t ask, but you did say the bass and audio quality was lackluster in one of your demos. The choice of eartips really makes a huge difference in this area, and ear canal related irritation. Sometimes we need different sized tips for each ear, or the earpiece inserts deeper so we need smaller tips or foam… it’s like a quest for the personal holy grail of eartips. It sucks for me because often my ears are just a little bit smaller than the small stock option. I’ve tried other tips from Acoustune, Symbio (they’re tangerine), and more, but I keep coming back to Sennheiser’s stock tips and Comply foam. Total YMMV! But the good news is that once you find good tips, you can usually keep using them even if you’re trying different IEMs.
 

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