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Can't find IEM's that stay in!

post #1 of 16
3/3/10 at 1:35am
Thread Starter 
So I'm looking for a pair of IEMs to use for travel + running. After buying a couple pairs of cheap ones, I can't seem to find a set that will stay in my ears. I've tried senn cx300's, apple iems and another I seem to have forgotten. All of them had different sizes of plastic/silicone tips, and none of them seem to stay in without falling out. Also, none of them, when they did make a seal, were all that impressive sound quality wise.

I'm wondering if anybody can suggest a decent pair of IEM's, <$100 that are comfortable and will stay in place. This is made worse by the fact that the only time they'll see use is air travel (popping ears) and running (tugging cord). I don't have any issues using foam earplugs for hours on end, maybe something with foam tips? As far as sound quality, something fairly neutral, with decent (not exaggerated) bass reproduction.


As far as material, they'll either be plugged into a laptop (movies) or an Ipod (mostly metal, little bit of classical)
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post #2 of 16
3/3/10 at 1:38am
JVC MARSHMALLOWS 14.99 GO GO GO!!!!!!
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post #3 of 16
3/3/10 at 2:02am
I'm not going to make any specific recommendations, but what you want to look for are IEMs with the cable running over the ear. They will stay in much better than the hanging cable design.
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post #4 of 16
3/3/10 at 2:12am
Westone 1's?
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post #5 of 16
3/3/10 at 2:49am
heh lots of people coming from cx300 lately.

to the OP, the cx300 falling out of your ears a lot has some to due with the crappy tips they come with as well as the design of them. WHen I owned them they fell out of my ears a lot too and the J cord did not help one bit.
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post #6 of 16
3/3/10 at 3:09am
try comply tips : Comply™ Foam Replacement Tips, Noise Reduction Earphones, and Mobile Phone Earsets with Noise Reduction.
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post #7 of 16
3/3/10 at 3:25am
Complys wont work, they get really hot and annoying when Im just sitting there, and this man will be working out.
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post #8 of 16
3/3/10 at 3:33am
PL50, small, durable, and secure.
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post #9 of 16
3/3/10 at 7:03am
i work out in comply's because they are the only thing that stay in. and i think this is the bigger issue than what iems to buy. Personally i loved my westone 1s for staying in and for cable quality, but the sq with shuffle g2 sucked. now i have the addiems with complys, shuffle g3, and doing much better. if i were to upgrade i might try out the westone 2's but for 25 bucks used on ebay, i love the "don't care" a bility of the addiems
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post #10 of 16
3/3/10 at 7:30am
He says he has no issues with foam tips so he should definitely try some complies. The other thing you should try is a clip which will keep the cord fixed on your lapel or collar, that way when you run it won't tug on the IEMs and make them fall out.

If using complies and a clip don't work, then perhaps IEMs are not for you.

As for an IEM to use.... since you're looking for something under $100 with somewhat neutral sound and decent bass, what comes to mind is the NuForce NE7M. Then just get a clip for it and some Comply's.
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post #11 of 16
3/3/10 at 7:48am
D-Jays, RE0, ER6i and CX95......
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post #12 of 16
3/3/10 at 9:41am

I second the Westone UM1 + Complys

I used just about every brand of entry-level IEMs and think the UM1 + Complys is the best option. The IEM design allows it to sit flush in the ear and the complys don't slip out. The Marshmallows will also stay in and are the cheaper alternative (easier to replace due to cost), but they don't sound as good as the Westones.
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post #13 of 16
3/3/10 at 4:23pm
I think the sure olive tips "grip" about the best without becoming uncomfortable. I haven't tried them when sweating, however.
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post #14 of 16
3/4/10 at 2:42pm
xN comply tips
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post #15 of 16
3/7/10 at 3:39pm
I didn't want to recommend any particular model, because it all depends on the shape of your ear canal and outer ear. I have a similar problem: my ear canals love to expel the IEMs when using silicone tips. I've switched to foam tips and now the IEMs stay on my ears. I cannot use "hard" foamies, but that's not a problem since I'm making my own foam tips using noise blocking foam plugs.

This said, the PL50 stayed quite well when I tested them (from a friend) using silicone tips. I tested them for some hours and stayed on my ears, but I should have tested them for a longer time to be sure...

Right now my best IEM in terms of "stay-on-my-fraggin-ears-please" are the Meelec M11 with black foams (the ones that came with my old SoundMagic PL21, de-cored).

I'm afraid that the only way of knowing is testing ( Of course, there are models that, being designed for deep insertion, stay on the ears easier than other models, but your ear canals may not want deep insertion
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