Does anyone actually like those silicone tips vs a solid body?

I personally cannot wear the silicone ones. they either fallout, or don't fit/hurt my ears.

it's just a royal pain finding the non silicone ones for cheap. it's just for dog walking. I also don't do wireless because well.. they fall out.

photo examples.

I'm with you, I despise the silicon ones

Yep, I massively prefer the soft silicone ones over the hard ones. The harder ones fall out of my ears constantly, any slight tug on the cable and they're gone. They form a better seal so I can hear what I'm listening to more clearly which I prefer as well

I don't understand how the silicone ones can stay in the ear but apparently they do for most people. The top example from the left side in the silicone photo is the only one I can actually wear. Maybe our ears just have a weird shape.

I too have issues with silicone earbuds, and also with them falling out. Which is why I was over the moon when I discovered wireless clip-on earbuds. They meet my criteria of being convenient (because wireless) while also not falling off (because clip-on). The specific ones I bought (Anker Soundcore c30i) are not noise-cancelling, but I found that I can adjust their position up or down my ears to meet conditions. For example, I wear them high up when out in public, to hear wayward automobiles that might run me down.

I prefer anything that doesn't go in my ear first, so over the ear or bone conduction style. But after that I prefer the soft silicone in ear buds because both styles hurt my ears but those I can wear for a longer period before they start hurting.

I don't really wear earbuds because I don't actually like either style. The hard plastic ones are uncomfortable after 10-20 minutes for me and don't stay in my ears. The soft tip ones get really gross and are difficult to clean well, but a decent pair comes with different sizes of tips to better fit my ears.

I have over-ear headphones that I like, but many of them tend to be uncomfortable after a few hours. I've actually come to really like my bone conduction earbuds for general listening because it just rests on my temples with minimal pressure and there's nothing in my ears. They have pretty solid quality, but not audiophile-grade or anything like that.

Edit: I a word

Have you tried any differently-sized tips? Or aftermarket memory foam ones? The latter basically gives you an absolutely perfect seal, as the foam will softly expand to meet the dimensions of your ear canal.

I can't stand the solid ones and highly prefer the silicone tipped. The amount of low frequencies and all around sound fidelity lost when using solids makes them a non starter for me.

I think it’s 50/50. Reading the comments pretty much confirms this. Interesting question!

I have met a single digit number of people who prefer hard plastic earbuds over the soft tips. There's a reason why they're pretty much the only thing you see in "nice" earbuds.

Have you tried different tips? Apple offers like 5 different sizes because it's so important to have the right fit. Initially they didn't fit my ear well, but after a while of trying my ear adapted and now they fit perfectly. Foam is also worth a shot, but they get gross fast.

I find foam ones preferable over the silicone ones

It depends on the shape of your ears. I use the medium silicone tips (most normally ship with S, M, and L) and they fit comfortably. I can wear them for hours without issue. On the other hand, no size will fit my wife's ears. They either pop out or hurt her ears. Regardless, they are uncomfortable for her.

I only like the old style earphones that sit in the ear. Those bottom ones look way too bulky to be comfortable or not fall out, and the silicone tip ones - sod stuffing something like that in my ear.

I currently own the Sennheiser MX365 (looks like the MX375 is the updated and still available version) and they are great!

I have never found an in-ear style design that both fits and is comfortable. I have, however, found what works perfectly for me. It stays outside the canal, but remains in the ear because of a slight pressure caused by the silicone wing tips. The brand I buy is “Bose Soundsport Wired”. Cheap, sound fine, never fall out.

Yeah different sizes don't seem to make a difference, they still fall off. I haven't tried the foam tips, maybe they'll work better. Having to buy them extra just to try is a pretty hard sell.

I like IEMs with a wrap around design like KZ EDX pro

Silicone is so easy to clean, they're like detachable foreskins!

I hate silicon tips usually but these are my preference too. I have ccx brand ones though.

I accidentally put my earbuds though a wash cycle and borrowed some airpods for the gym while waiting for replacements. I don't understand how a solid one-size-fits all approach can be so popular. With silicone tips you can have different sizes. I actually use a different size for each ear.

When they fit, they're excellent. I have the ones that I can keep in while sleeping. I am still occasionally surprised by how comfortable they feel to me.

I think that visualization dealt psychic damage to me lol.

My problem is that I have super waxy ears, so unless I cleaned them literally every time I used them, the silicone tips would just get uber crusty and gross.

Yeah, I get that - but you can find some pretty cheap iirc, and if it’s a thing that prevents you from using an otherwise perfectly fine pair of earbuds, it might be worth a shot, especially if it’s just an extra $10 or so.

Came here to mention clip ons. I recently got a cheap pair and it's like the best of both worlds.

Edit: I bought them on a whim but now that I know I like the concept and form factor I would invest more in another pair

Silicone ones don't fit me. Tried all sizes and they all fall out. I also don't want the noise blocking they do. I also walk my dog and I want to hear bikes coming from behind or car noises and such.

I physically cannot wear the hard plastic ones. I can tilt my head to one side and they will fall out immediately.

That said, i also have super waxy ears as well so any ear tips (silicone or foam) get disgusting quickly, and its also wet wax so they degrade and also fall out (much slower than the plastic though).

I also struggle with over-ears being too clampy because giant head, so im kinda just fucked on the entire non-speaker audio front. I've found sennheisers to be fairly comfy. Beyerdynamic DT-770 are waaaay too clampy and slide around a lot.

Silicone tipped are so much better. They're easier to clean, they're more comfortable, and they block out outside noise much better.

I have swapped from inear to clip style buds and don't look back, the soundcore aeroclips are amazing

I détest the silicone ones. They're uncomfortable and I always lose the tip. I only use the hard plastic ones

Silicone, 100%.

I do. The soft silicone ones are much more comfortable in the long run, provided you're using a size that is right for you.

I did a diy cast of my ear canal using diy silicone... Which I fo not recommend, but look for sugru. It's silicone type I mixed with talcum powder to expose the water trapped in talcum to the silicone over a large volume in a controlled way... Then I scanned the casts and I used a DSLR to take photos of the parts at various angles and used an open source app to get 3D models from the images. Then I used freecad to cut the models with areas to mount the tiny speakers and such. Finally printed them in SLA resin. I made earplugs, IEMS and headphone adapters using the same geometry. They are very comfortable. The plugs are great for swimming.

Mine pass the surrounding noise through the microphone and back through the buds so I can hear my surroundings much better than if I wasn't wearing them.

ear clips are better than both

The memory foam silicon tip replacements are the only ones that have worked for me. I use complyfoam earbud tips now because the cheap foam eartips broke when the inner silicone sleeve separated from the foam.

I have Anker Space A40 wireless earbuds which has silicon tips. They came with 3 sizes and none of them fit and didn't fall out. I bough a set of 6 different sizes of silicone tips and they still fell out. only the foam version worked for me so they might be worth a try if you already have a silicone tipped earbuds.

Yes, I mean who doesn't?

yeah maybe I'll investigate the foam tips. just a shame essentially not being able to use or return them. granted they are cheap what I got but still.

clearly me. lol

they don't fit, get extra dirty, the tips get lost making you pay more later.

I was just curious about the general consensus and it feels like it's near 40/40/10. with the 10 being those that detest all earbuds

They sell kits to make your own custom-fit silicone plugs. They're like $10 on Amazon.

Work great. Push the goo into your ear, wait a few minutes and it's cured enough to take out. Wait another hour or so and it's fully cured.

I like the silicone ones when they fit. I have some round the ear ones for jogging and they’re great. Never budge.

Interesting to hear (hehe).

I'm a FAM of silicone eartips for sure. Better seal, better fit, more comfortable.

I can't stand the hard plastic earbuds man. Hurts my ears and they dont fit as well.

I got the same ones they came with my cheapie Dime 3 earbuds

Holy shit I didnt think it was biologically possible to not hate hard plastic earbuds like they raped your mother infront of you.

One of the best investments I ever made was replacing the silicone with memory foam tips. Highly recommend trying it.

Comfy and excellent sound isolation.

Yes... Obviously, although I do prefer the foam ones over silicone

Yup, I learned about it later. Its called radians. There are other companies. I did try the material and works okay. The key design factor is that it won't stick to your skin or eardrums. Well there are kits that are like that, do you gotta test the material before you go stick it up your ear holes. Even I wasn't that dumb. I practiced several times before committing LOL. You would not LOL not hearing anything anymore, so again, just go to the audiologist. It defeats the purpose if you hurt your hearing while trying to hear better.

I have the opposite problem. I have a little fold in my ear that pops up like a cartridge eject, rubber molds to it while hard just pops out. Literally unusable

Yea, those fuckers have always hurt my ears. I didn't think it was possible for someone to find them more comfortable somehow.

I have a pair of backup headphones like that that I keep for emergencies that I have literally never used for like the 10 years I have had them. Because even when I lose my good headphones, I would rather go without headphones than wear the plastic ones or just not listen to anything at all.

I'd sooner have someone piss in my ear than wear solid ones. They hurt and don't stay in.