Ear canal headphones?

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Gabe3

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May 23, 2006
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I'm tired of the headphones I get. I always end up using my ipod ear buds because the sennheiser HD280 and HD555 have made my ears/head too hot.

Ear canal seems like my only choice because they say good ear bud headphones are hard to come by. I'm just worried ear canal ones will block out to much sound because I want to hear around me incase of an emergency if I'm driving or what. How much do they block out and do they fall out easily?

I want to spend under $100
 
They block out alot. And they generally do not fall out easily.

Look into the ER6i. Pretty strong bang for the buck IEM.

If you can afford it, the ER4 are extremely hard to beat for its price. Even more than the ER6i.
 
"Average" listeners tend to find the ER4s very technical and feel the lows are rolled off too much. Great bass extension, but less of it than what is truly neutral, unless you use a warm sounding, dedicated headphone amp.

I could get used to the level of bass, but I found the ER4s a little "tiring" for my everyday use because they are so analytical. Plus, the ER4s have super-high isolation with the triple-flange tips. Don't wear IEMs while driving, EVER. I wouldn't wear them while walking on city streets either. Too dangerous.

Personally I ended up going with Shure E4c's for everyday, but still consider the ER4s a benchmark for other purposes.

To the OP: join head-fi.
 
Honestly? Don't drive with headphones on. Of any variety.

Really, if you were even considering doing so - would you mind terribly just cutting up your license for me? I'd feel a bit safer.
 
It's illegal in most municipalities to wear headphones or earphones - regardless of whether you're listening to content or not - so the OP would be strongly advised to check his/her local laws regarding such actions. If it's actually on the books, and it's illegal, just one pullover because of it could be 10x more expensive in the long run than most any IEMs the OP might choose... :)
 
Even where it's not explicitly illegal, it is quite dangerous and can easily fall under catch-all "driving while stupid" statutes (whatchacallit, reckless endangerment and so forth). Operating a car is dangerous enough without voluntarily negating or at least severely interfering with your ability to hear.
 
thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into the ER6i, are there any other options that won't make my head hot?

btw, a couple weeks ago I was sitting next to a cop listening to my ipod earbuds at a stop light.
 
Okay? That doesn't make it not reckless and stupid. Physics doesn't give a shit about your local laws.

Open headphones in general tend to help if you have heat issues. Yuin is good for buds, and I think they have some with canal tips too.
 
I did a little digging on the law here. Since my phone and music come from one device my headphones are considered a headset so I should be ok.
 
I also enthusiastically recommend the Etymotic ER-6is.

They block out quite a bit of noise. I can't hear my suitemate call my name from across our rooms if I have them on.

The ER6is are supposed to seal in your ear. If you put them on correctly, they should never fall out unless you accidentally yanked the cable.
 
iM616?

Also, stick with earbuds/IEM for under $100 budget if you are comfortable with those. Just as speaker's price grows exponentially with performance increases when compared to full-sized headphones, full-sized headphone price increases exponentially with performance increases when compared to earbuds/IEMs.
 
Gabe3 said:
I did a little digging on the law here. Since my phone and music come from one device my headphones are considered a headset so I should be ok.
Click to expand...

Lol. Reread ashmedai's post again please.
 
Gabe3 said:
I did a little digging on the law here. Since my phone and music come from one device my headphones are considered a headset so I should be ok.
Click to expand...

Wow, I really didn't think I'd end up flogging a poor dead horse over this.

The legal issue is there to keep people from acting like idiots. The core issue is that any type of headphone will significantly impair your hearing, which is very dangerous and stupid to do while you're driving a car.

If you have to even ASK about this, you should NOT be driving a car. The roads are dangerous enough already.
 
ashmedai said:
Wow, I really didn't think I'd end up flogging a poor dead horse over this.

The legal issue is there to keep people from acting like idiots. The core issue is that any type of headphone will significantly impair your hearing, which is very dangerous and stupid to do while you're driving a car.

If you have to even ASK about this, you should NOT be driving a car. The roads are dangerous enough already.
Click to expand...

Well I guess it depends on where he lives. If he's in a small farm town of 11 families and 100 cows, then it might not be a big deal. Otherwise, I agree with you.
 
On the other hand, it means any traffic is unexpected and that roads tend to have any number of blind corners. But probably less likely to run down pedestrians.
 
ashmedai said:
Wow, I really didn't think I'd end up flogging a poor dead horse over this.

The legal issue is there to keep people from acting like idiots. The core issue is that any type of headphone will significantly impair your hearing, which is very dangerous and stupid to do while you're driving a car.

If you have to even ASK about this, you should NOT be driving a car. The roads are dangerous enough already.
Click to expand...

My ipod earbuds don't block out noise, and if I don't have the sound cranked up, I don't see what the problem is, if I were wearing headphones that are noise canceling, then there would be an issue. any type of headphone will significantly impair your hearing if your irresponsible with volume level, any type of car stereo can do the same.
 
Gabe3 said:
My ipod earbuds don't block out noise, and if I don't have the sound cranked up, I don't see what the problem is, if I were wearing headphones that are noise canceling, then there would be an issue. any type of headphone will significantly impair your hearing if your irresponsible with volume level, any type of car stereo can do the same.
Click to expand...

Well, IEMs will, so be sure to keep them off while driving.
 
Even buds or whatever, the relative proximity of sources will cause significant attenuation for any meaningful sound pressure level, in addition to that of the obstruction. Do you really want a physics lesson about why it's a stupid idea to drive with any sort of phones on?

I'd really look for open headphones more than IEMs or buds if it's just the heat that bothers you with closed phones (but of the two, IEMs tend to sound much better, with IEMs both blocking out external noise much more effectively and usually sounding much better because of the better transmission and elimination of interference). You can probably find a few random pairs in local shops to try the effect of open phones on heat, then hop back online to pick a pair out if it helps adequately.

Just...for the love of god, Montresor - don't drive with them.
 
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