Help me figure out something better for cheap portability

Sort of an all-in-one thread here. Multiple questions.

My Marshmallows are driving me insane. Neither of the tip sizes included stay in my ears anymore. They seem to slip out over time, and it seems even faster if I'm doing something active. Get different tips or what?

Also kind of wondering about portable cans. I'd like to have something I can use for walking around outside or working. Are there cheap portable cans with enough isolation that are sturdy enough for this sort of thing? (For what it's worth, I find the clip on form factor pretty decent, never had a behind the head design.)

IEMs seem great for isolation (when they seal, grrrr....) but I prefer cans rather than having something in my ear. But of course I could like an IEM a lot better if it stayed sealed.

Right now, sound quality isn't so much paramount as I'm talking about cheap portable phones here; I use my full size phones indoors most of the time. You probably get the idea.

Sorry, this feels like a rambley thread. Guiding questions very welcome.

(hopefully perceived as) patient bump

Quote:

Originally Posted by EekTheCat 

Do you compress the foams before you wear the Marshmallows? Never had them loose in my ears even with 1+ year of abuse. I wear them at the gym so isolation is essential for me.

 

I've owned and tried several IEMs and a few cans, but none isolates better than the Mallows' foams. Am waiting on some black olives to decore because I've had enough with the poor isolation coming from my silicon tips. You might want to look into getting some new foams instead. Bigger size maybe? IIRC, the Mallows come with a medium-sized replacement pair.

 

Portable cans I've tried (iGrado, Aurvana, PortaPro) can't give me the isolation, comfort, or portability the Mallows can so you might want to reconsider if isolation is important.

No, I don't compress the foams. I should probably try that. And they're not really foams, are they? 

As to actual foam, yeah, I've been looking at some (Comply and Shure so far).

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ljokerl 

Clip-ons don't really isolate much in my experience. There are a couple of cheap headphones that do isolate quite well, for example the JVC HA-S700 and Equation Audio EP3070, though cheap is a very relative term here at head-fi.

 

I may be biased but I'd say IEMs  are still the better path. The marshmallows, by the way, stay in much better when worn over-the-ear but those tips have a tendency to go stale over time (I've had my marshmallows for close to 3 yrs and the tips are in rather poor shape). But my recommendation would be to get an ergonomic earphone that'll stay in place - something like the Soundmagic PL30 or Meelec M6.

Yeah, I guess you're right about IEMs being better. They really do own for isolation.

I've worn my Marshmallows over my ear before. Don't seem to be much better, if any. Do you wear with the earbud upside down? If I do that, the cord doesn't stay over my ear, so I have to twist it back to a normal position (with the cord over the ear).

Those ergonomic ones look interesting...

I've tried compressing the foam now and it seems to help. Of course now I'm noticing the microphonics more now. 

An upgrade calls... (though I don't use IEMs that much anymore, just when I need to).
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by EekTheCat 

Do you compress the foams before you wear the Marshmallows? Never had them loose in my ears even with 1+ year of abuse. I wear them at the gym so isolation is essential for me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by faisal2003456 

Cheap relative to what?

 

Average Head-Fi perception, I guess.

 

Why don't you use your KSC7?

 

Lack of bass and isolation, unfortunately.