Are IEM’s any better at noise reduction than plain, old foam ear plugs?

[DrJon]

When I travel now, I just put foam ear plugs in my ears, when on planes. I’m thinking about getting myself my first iPod and some good earphones to go along. Yeah, I know I’m not exactly Mr. Cutting Edge. Are any of these fancy earphones any better at keeping out sound or is it pretty much the same as a 50 cent pair of foam ear plugs?

For what it’s worth, the earphones that I’ve been reading most about are the Ultimate Ears Super.fi Pro 5’s and the Shure E4c’s. But I’m open to other options. I’m a bit of an audiophile at home, with a pretty fancy stereo setup. And the idea of an iPod with music ripped lossless/at CD quality and some good earphones sounds nice. But if the sound isolation isn’t any better than simple ear plugs, I’m not sure it’s worth it to me. I can’t see why the earphones would be any better than the ear plugs. Maybe the different materials might help.

I’m finding it slightly frustrating that I can’t try on any of these earphones in stores and do a comparison myself. Nor can I try, say, the Ultimate Ears versus Shure earphones to see which fits better. But I understand that would make them hard to sell, if they’ve been used before. Oh well.

I thought I’d ask the experts. Thanks.

 

[swmtnbiker]

When you're not playing music through them, IEMs are no better (and maybe even a bit worse) at isolation than memory foam earplugs. When you're actually listening to music however, IEMs provide a relatively quiet environment in which to do so and your perception of outside noise is reduced even further. Besides, it's much more pleasant to listen to music than your own breathing and heartbeat, no?

FYI: Due to the way it fits in your ear canal, the UE Super.fi Pro 5 doesn't isolate as well as similiar offerings from Shure and Etymotic. It's a great sounding earphone though.

 

[InspectorGadget]

I think in my opinon that the iem's are a little less but close to the same isolation as ear plugs. But then you turn on the music and that really helps. Most of the time when I put in my E3c's and start some music I dont hear much. Now yesterday I was in the hospital waiting room for several hours and the woman across from me started talking on her cell phone. I could hear her enough to almost make out words. I was listening to a quiter song but nevertheless I could hear her. So I would say that yes you can expect isolation but not to set your standards to high.

And I would say that earplugs vs earplugs that play sweet music is a no brainer, GO FOR IT!

 

[RichardCory]

.

 

[lostbobby]

I use triflanges, mostly, they definitely isolate less than the big conical foam plugs with green and red swirls in them, but they're durable, convenient, cheap, the only thing that keeps me sane on long plane, bus, traain rides.

. But I believe Comply's are pretty close in isolation

The canonical warning about listening out of ipod headphone jack (unless you want an imod done) applies. If you fly a lot, these (ipod, good IEM, audiolineout, little amp) will make your life better (cept the 5pros don't isolate that well, they sit outside the ear canal)

[another edit] There are stores apparently, that demo IEMs, but usually we buy from the sponsors of headfi, who (i think) all have no-hassle return policies if you simply don't like the IEM. Alternatively, i think you can buy some eartips and try at a head-fi meet (or start your own mini-meet) If you say what kinda big headphones you like, there are some (weak) correlations, between say, Grado and Ety, or UM2 and Sennheiser as far as sound sig.

 

[DrJon]

Hey Fellas,

Thanks very much for the replies- just what I wanted to know.

It makes sense that the IEM's don't do any better than ear plugs, but I didn't know for sure and thought I'd ask. Also, if the 5pro's don't seal as well, that even helps narrow down my choices, maybe to the E4c.

It's kind of socially awkward to walk around airports, etc. with ear plugs in. Although OK in the plane. If, for some reason, you said that the IEM's are better, I almost could just get the IEM's, alone, and put the end of the cord in my pocket, connected to nothing. And then walk around town in quiet. All the while looking perfectly normal.

Quote:

Originally Posted by InspectorGadget And I would say that earplugs vs earplugs that play sweet music is a no brainer

Indeed!

Hmmm... maybe a 30 GB iPod and a pair of Shure E4c's. That might be OK... Hmmm...

 

[lostbobby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrJon Hey Fellas, Thanks very much for the replies- just what I wanted to know. It makes sense that the IEM's don't do any better than ear plugs, but I didn't know for sure and thought I'd ask. Also, if the 5pro's don't seal as well, that even helps narrow down my choices, maybe to the E4c. It's kind of socially awkward to walk around airports, etc. with ear plugs in. Although OK in the plane. If, for some reason, you said that the IEM's are better, I almost could just get the IEM's, alone, and put the end of the cord in my pocket, connected to nothing. And then walk around town in quiet. All the while looking perfectly normal. Indeed! Hmmm... maybe a 30 GB iPod and a pair of Shure E4c's. That might be OK... Hmmm...

Yeah, i wear IEMs up to 10 hours/day, working and walking around different cities so I don't have to talk to anybody. The 5pros probably isolate adequatley if the grey foamies fit, but i only got maybe 3mm of them in the ear canal.

I would look at E500's first, and also Ety 4P and 4S

 

[InspectorGadget]

Just mowed my grass and tried out my E3c's. First time I had mowed and used the E3's. All I can say wow. Made the yard work much better than ever before. I normally always have music going but this time I didn't have to crank up the volume, I didn't have to stop every 5 Min's to get the ear buds back in my ears, I could actually not hear the mower much at all. So I would think that as long as you keep your standards at a reasonable level you will be satisfied.

 

[stewtheking]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrJon Hmmm... maybe a 30 GB iPod and a pair of Shure E4c's. That might be OK... Hmmm...

And then you'll think about an amp to improve the sound quality... maybe a PA2V2, then obviously a pocketdock, or lineout cable, and then an amp or 'phones upgrade... and Head-fi has claimed another victim.

Welcome to head-fi. Sorry about your wallet!

 

[Fan]

DrJon,

I own a pair of E4c as well and thought I might express my opinion on the pair. I really enjoy the sound from them and by all means, they are what you have read, outstanding IEMs. You must keep in mind, however, that the E4 which sits deeper into the ear canal than many other IEMs which may (or may not) isolate more noise, comes at the price of comfort. My ears tend to hurt slightly after periods of extended listening especially from being on planes (but that may have to do with a combination of the IEM and the cabin pressure as I rarely have that problem on land). I would agree with lostbobby, and keep your options open and look into the E500, and ER4 series as well.

 

[DrJon]

Thanks for the further thoughts.

Fan- I appreciate the E4c feedback. Interesting you have some discomfort on planes. Do you try to sleep at all? I was on a flight yesterday, wearing my spiffy foam earplugs.

I slept for part of the way and had my ears pressed into a pillow (OK, my jacket rolled into a ball). If those were IEM’s, I’d think it would hurt some and not really work. I’d probably have to take the IEM’s out before sleeping.

I’m open to other options, for sure. Although my reading gives me the impression the ER4’s are not considered to be as good as the E4c’s in terms of sound quality. But given I can’t try them out ahead of time, I’m relying on opinions here. Yes, I’ll buy from one of the forum sponsors with a decent return policy. The E500’s might be a little expensive, given that this is my first venture into decent headphones and I really am not sure how much I’ll be using them. But not out of the question.

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewtheking And then you'll think about an amp to improve the sound quality... maybe a PA2V2, then obviously a pocketdock, or lineout cable, and then an amp or 'phones upgrade... and Head-fi has claimed another victim. Welcome to head-fi. Sorry about your wallet!

Oh, tell me about it. You don’t want to know how much I’ve recently spent on my home stereo setup. I could have taken that money and bought one of each of the fanciest headphones from each company and still have plenty left over. But it’s quite fun and I have no regrets.

Quote:

Originally Posted by InspectorGadget Just mowed my grass and...

Here’s an even better way to reduce noise when mowing the lawn:

That’s what I do- no motor.

 

[lostbobby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by stewtheking And then you'll think about an amp to improve the sound quality... maybe a PA2V2, then obviously a pocketdock, or lineout cable, and then an amp or 'phones upgrade... and Head-fi has claimed another victim. Welcome to head-fi. Sorry about your wallet!

Hey, that's exactly how i started, last April, I think. Now i've got credit card debt, but i got Apple lossless, i have sparkling treble, I'm on the grado/AKG/Senn/Beyer upgrade circuit.

 

[DrJon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lostbobby Hey, that's exactly how i started, last April, I think. Now i've got credit card debt, but i got Apple lossless, i have sparkling treble, I'm on the grado/AKG/Senn/Beyer upgrade circuit.

A little off topic... but do you think Apple lossless is the best sound quality format for ripping CDs onto the hard drive, and then sending them to the ipod?

And sorry about your wallet as well.

 

[ITZBITZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrJon A little off topic... but do you think Apple lossless is the best sound quality format for ripping CDs onto the hard drive, and then sending them to the ipod?

Without question, it's the best sound quality out of the iPod.

 

[kugino]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ITZBITZ Without question, it's the best sound quality out of the iPod.

the rockbox supporters might argue otherwise...