[Jonasklam]

Quote:

Think you meant you hate I plugs right?

Right , fixed!

 

[rank08822]

I'm one of the minority who prefers the "I" (straight-angle) to the "L" (90 degree) plugs. I recently found this site about two months ago after years of buying new skullcandy inks every month (I know

) and I now have an ER6I and a MTPG, and both have the L shaped plugs. I find it's often annoying putting my I-Pod 160 GB Classic 6th generation in my pocket since the top part of the "L" will often get caught on the outside of my pocket, disconnecting the IEM. I usually have to very carefully put it in my pocket, and if it's especially tight it can be quite annoying especially with the MTPG which for some reason HAS to be fully inserted; if I pull on it the tiniest bit the sound in one channel disappears.
 
What is the advantage of a L shaped plug exactly? I can see it working more easily with MP3 players where it goes on the side,but how does it prevent the jack from being damaged when the MP3 player is dropped or whatever. Also it seems that almost all high tier IEM's have the L shaped plug.

 

[EasilyPersuaded]

I don't believe that it's bad to wrap the cable around the mp3 player (with an L-plug). There is no stress at all. With an I-plug, yeah, which is the reason i need an L. There is no way i'd carry a carrying case around. I have a nano that doesn't take up any room in my pocket and it's on me at all times. I don't need anything else in my pockets or anything else to think about.

 

[macrocheesium]

Quote:

 
What is the advantage of a L shaped plug exactly? I can see it working more easily with MP3 players where it goes on the side,but how does it prevent the jack from being damaged when the MP3 player is dropped or whatever. Also it seems that almost all high tier IEM's have the L shaped plug.

I think the jack would be as safe if not safer when dropped, if it was an I plug. If it was L-shaped, it would just jam the plug in further, whereas if it was a straight plug it wouldn't really be able the land on it, at the worst it would bounce on the wire a little bit and land on a different side.

 

[jant71]

I really don't have much of a preference except if I want to use my impedance adapter in between then I prefer straight plug.
 
I know that I have radio that worked fine and always used straight plug phones on it. When I started using the Senn MX471 with the L plug it soon started to develop a short in the jack.
 
L plug  is not always better. It depends on jack placement and the plug size as well.

 

[bunch]

I prefer the L plug as when I had an I plug and had my iPod Classic in the pocket of my jeans, the long I plug would stress against my thigh leaving me paranoid about breaking the cable/plug.

 

[rawrster]

I prefer an I shaped plug for the most part. It is more convenient to have a straight plug with my J3 and my dac/amp. I don't like the cables bending esp around the plug and since my J3 has the headphone out on the bottom of the player a straight plug works better that way.

 

[ohhgourami]

I also much prefer the straight plug on my HM-602.  The jack is on the top of the player so it makes sense.  Plus it does not catch onto anything when it is in my pocket.  I never wrap my IEM around my player.  It always goes back into its case after every single use.  I doubt my IEMs would ever break on me as I think I take of my stuff well plus I'm very anal about how I wrap them too.

 

[Carson Dyle]

It depends on the DAP I'm using. With my Sansa Fuze v2, with its jack on the bottom, I greatly prefer an I-plug so that it easily slips into a pocket without snagging or placing strain on the jack and plug.  For my Clip+ with its jack on the side, an L-plug is essential.  I can't stand 45° plugs and have yet to understand what they're intended to accomplish.

 

[sari0n]

I pretty much stopped caring after I started using a case.  I like the Sennheiser angled plugs though, they look sort of cool for some reason

 

[Danneq]

Quote:

I don't believe that it's bad to wrap the cable around the mp3 player (with an L-plug). There is no stress at all. With an I-plug, yeah, which is the reason i need an L. There is no way i'd carry a carrying case around. I have a nano that doesn't take up any room in my pocket and it's on me at all times. I don't need anything else in my pockets or anything else to think about.

Well, either you choose some extra bulk in your pocket, or you worry about the shape of plugs and/or need to buy a new pair of earphones often. It is your choice to wrap the cable around the player. But sooner or later the cable will break.
If you do not want the extra bulk, how about just unplugging the earphones and putting them in another pocket? I used to do that before. But when I started buying more expensive earbuds I did not want to risk them breaking while in my pocket. So then a $3 case was a good insurance against that.