When it comes to listening to music without disturbing others, two of the most popular options that people tend to opt for include headphones and earbuds.
While each has its own pros and cons that a person needs to take into account before they make that final decision regarding the specific option they are going to buy, earbuds have remained a rather popular option for many years.
Earbuds are much more portable than headphones and offer a couple of other important benefits over the alternative option.
When you buy a pair of earbuds, you will usually get a pair of ear tips pre-installed on the buds – this makes it easy to pop them into your ears and to start listening to music immediately.
Unfortunately, most people do not realize just how much of a different a premium-grade pair of ear tips can make – the difference between those pre-installed tips and a set of premium options only become obvious once you have experienced what the perfect ear tips for your earbuds can do for you.
Now, this is where we run into another issue – there are a lot of options out there that you can select from if you wish to buy a new pair of ear tips to install on your earbuds.
Without doing thorough research before making a final selection, you may end up with the wrong pair of ear tips that will not allow you to gain the experience that the right pair of premium ear tips would be able to offer you.
In this post, we are going to take a look at the different types of ear tips that are available on the market, and we will consider how you can choose the pair that will be perfect for your particular set of earbuds.
Types Of Ear Tips On The Market
Let’s start by considering a few of the most popular ear tip types that you may find on the market.
When it comes to ear tips in local music stores, the most common type that you will run into is usually referred to as “standard” ear tips.
These are the ones that you will find pre-installed on a pair of earbuds you buy – they come straight out of the box and ensures the earbuds are immediately ready for use.
In most cases, a standard set of ear tips would be made from a silicone material and offer the basic functionality that you need to listen to music.
Standard ear tips do not provide the best experience in terms of listening to music, however. There are three other types that we should list here:
Wingtips
Wingtips are specialty ear tips that are mostly used by people who train a lot.
They have a design that fits perfectly within the ear in order to withstand vigorous movement, which is something that is definitely required by people who will be training and workout out frequently.
In some cases, the wings on these tips will come as an add-on, while other types of ear tips will rather have them built-in.
Bi-flange
Bi-flange ear tips offer a significant upgrade in terms of sound quality, as well as blocking out external sounds and voices, compared to standard ear tips.
These ear tips also offer a balance between being non-invasive and feature rich. They are more invasive than a standard set of ear tips but do offer many advantages.
One of the main advantages of a bi-flange ear tip is they can have two independent areas that can seal with the ear canal, creating a better overall seal.
Typically, these will have a more pronounced bass response as well as increased sound isolation.
Triple-Flange
Another popular category would be the triple-flange ear tip, a much more invasive option that many people feel uncomfortable with, but it is really not difficult to get used to them.
It really just takes some adjustment. Triple-flange ear tips provide similar qualities as the bi-flange option, but they are able to provide far superior isolation in terms of external sounds.
In addition to these three categories of ear tip types, it should be noted that it is also possible to get a custom pair of ear tips made especially for you.
This, however, is a much more expensive route to take, but the comfort and overall quality of a custom pair are unmatched by any other option that you could consider.
Other Factors To Consider When Buying Ear Tips
In addition to considering the specific type of ear tips that you would like to buy and equip on your earbuds, there are two other important factors that will also need to be taken into account before you make a final decision.
Picking The Right Material
There are two main types of materials that are usually used in order to produce ear tips for earbuds.
Each of the materials have their own advantages and disadvantages – it is important to weigh these against each other, but also to consider what you would personally prefer. T
he two primary materials used to construct ear tips include silicone and foam, often in the form of memory foam.
Silicone is considered a more hygienic solution but does not offer the sound isolation and comfort that a pair of memory foam ear tips would be able to provide you with.
Compatibility
The compatibility of ear tips is a factor that many people overlook, yet it plays an important part in ensuring the tips can fit the earbuds appropriately and that they will fit your ear more comfortably.
For this one, you will need to take a look at the size of your earbud’s nozzles – the piece where the ear tips are hooked on.
Most premium ear kits will tell you how big their cores are – this will help you understand which options would be better compatibility for your earbuds.
Finding The Right Fit
Before I learned about the right way to size earbuds my left earbud was always falling out – especially when I was eating. So annoying!
The type of ear tip you want is going to depend largely on your activity and size of your ear canal.
Before you purchase new ear tips, make sure you try out every different size of ear tips that were provided with your earbuds. Most people just stick with what originally came with the earbuds.
Trying all the sizes that came with the earphone will help you achieve the best combination of comfort, security, and good sound quality.
If you are someone who has struggled with finding the right earbuds and you think you may have small ears you can check out my post here.
If you have regular sized ear canals then the smaller ear tips may be a better fit as they will sit deeper into your canal providing a more snug fit.
There are two major symptoms of using the wrong sized ear tips:
- Earbud falls out during light activity
- The don’t isolate surrounding sound
Conclusion
While a default pre-installed set of ear tips on earbuds can provide a pleasant experience in terms of listening to a few tracks, your experience with music can be greatly amplified and enhanced when you start to look at premium ear tips that can be installed on your earbuds.
There are many different ear tips that you can choose from. While ensuring you buy a pair that is appropriate to your requirements and preferences, it is just as important to ensure they are appropriately compatible with the earbuds you will be using them on.