[Nick Post]

Ok, I've been listening through my Sony EP12LP's for about a year. I tried several cheapo buds before that that sounded like crap and/or didn't fit my ears.

Last week was my birthday (37) and I got a Rio Carbon, Sennheiser MX550s, and Koss Sparkplugs. Oh, and I love the carbon, sounds richer than the Sandisk I had, but still wonder if I would have liked the Archos XS100 better (on the fly playlists, lanyardable, can delete files on the go, directory based playing as well as standard catalogish stuff).

So, first to arrive of my new headphones is the Koss. Ugh, bulky and poor fitting. Replacements for the squishy foam parts, but the exact same size and my ear canal is a bit bigger than that. I reverse the tapered plug so the big size is in my ear and not so bad. Bass, and not much else. I could work with that, but then the Sennheisers show up.

Sennheiser MX550 have good sound, just like you guys have been preaching to me, but they don't stay in my ear well. See, on the Sony's there's that little nib that goes into you ear canal which holds them in place for me. I enjoyed the MX550s around the house yesterday while putting together a bed frame, but today at work, and when walking around, the buds just don't stay in.

So, I'm back to the EP21s. They don't suck, really. I mostly listen to podcasts, and admittedly these are weak on the reproduction of music.

Can I train my ear shape to hold the MX550s? Any tips?

(I know I'm not a true audiophile, per se, but I find it important to learn from them to maximize my experience)

 

[MasZakrY]

I have the MX550's and would have to say that they will fall out easily if you dont use the foam pieces. If you are using the donuts, you may consider getting silicone pieces to replace the foam ones. If you havent done so already, break in the buds for ~40 hours (it will make a big difference).

 

[jant71]

See if the rubber pieces from the ED21 will fit onto the 550's. Or like the last poster said, the Radioshack silicone donuts.

 

[AlphaOmega]

I have given up recommending any kind of headphone because everybody's
ears and head are shaped differently, let alone the effects of different soucrces, and this radically affects the way everybody perceives the sound
qualitites. In the end it's just a crap shoot.

Goodbye cruel world.

 

[Nick Post]

The little canal funnel things aren't removable, and you can't put donuts on the Sonys either. They are the "anti-bacterial" ones, which just makes me think about things I'd rather not become aware of.

Well, I'm off to Los Eradio Shack to get some silicone donuts.

Yeah, thought I personally am not sure that the break-in theory is valid, I'll make sure the MX550s get in touch with their Dark Side of the Moon for a few days. It seems cruel to force the headphones to listen to the same thing over and over. Maybe I'll go sadist on it and play The Wiggles "Shakey Shakey" a couple thousand times at 'em.

Much thanks guys.