School me on the ultimate in Isolation and Comfort

[DeoreDX]

I do quite a bit of flying for my jobs and I'm still using a 8 year old pair of Koss Plugs that I've modified with ear plugs instead of the stock foam inserts. 30 Hours of flying in two weeks is leading me to invest in something a little better isolation and comfort wise. I would love some suggestions for max comfort #1 and max Isolation #2. From what I have gathered in my searching on the forums the insert itself seems to be the #1 leading indicator of comfort and isolation. I've read good things about the Comply's foam inserts and for isolation the Christmas tree inserts like the ones on the ER6i's. Right now as a comarison I picked up one of the $50 sets of super.fi 3's and have used my friend's e2c's. I really wanted to like the sf3's but I'm less then impressed with their seal and the way they stick out of my ear a good 5 feet (at least it looks like they stick out 5 feet).

Anyhoo, what are some good body/insert combos you guys would suggest for max isolation and comfort on my 15 hours plane flights. I would prefer a in ear phone instead of a over the ear or on the ear for portability.

 

[webbie64]

For general IEMs you'd probably do best to look at Westone - UM2s or maybe the new 3s. They have a good rep for comfort and their isolation is good with comfortable complies, shure tips (olives) or the modded triflanges (which IMHO provide better SQ but aren't as comfortable long term).

I've moved, though, to Livewires. Fully personalised and comfortable for as long as the general IEMs but with better SQ. I find on hot days I need to remove them after a couple of hours for cleaning a bit of irrittating ear wax build up but apart from that I find them to have become my best IEM friend.

 

[Rob E.]

For isolation and comfort, I've had good experience with both Westone UM1's and UM2's using the short comply tips. For the "ultimate" you may have to consider custom molds. Certainly others (here) with far more experience than I, will offer you other suggestions. Good Luck,

 

[412]

I own a whole bunch of in-ears, and I'd highly recommend Etys, the model should be chosen based on your budget, I have ER6's and happy with them. E2C is a good concept, but the sound is kinda castrated. So Etys, but worn as Shures

)

 

[LaBreaHead]

I've had excellent isolation results on airplanes with Etymotics ER6i's using short Comply foams. The tiny body of the Ety, combined with the short foamie, enables the earphones to insert into the ear canal so that very little sticks out other than the cord (your mileage may vary, of course, depending on such factors as ear size and how you're comfortable wearing them).

The Etys with the bi-flanged tips isolated the best for me, at times, but the seal would shift if I yawned or moved my head up or down. With the short Complys (the sturdier small and medium black Shure foamies work quite well, too), the fit remains consistent and the bass seems more present.

Less tiny but still not large are the Etymotics ER4's, and if your budget allows, you might consider them. There might be slight bit of "sticking out" compared to the ER6i's, though.

Since you fly so much, you really should go for something good -- amortize the cost over the span of all your flights, and they'll be more than worth it, whatever you get.

I hope you get something you like. How much do you want to spend? (Time to enter my obligatory Future Sonics Atrio M5 reference here -- the body of the M5 is significantly larger than the tiny ER6i, but the light M5s deliver a big, solid sound for an IEM at a price, shipped, under $150 if Road Dog accepts your bid through eBay. The tight, natural, controlled bass is a pleasant surprise.)



__________________________
Phones (in order of purchase):
Sony MDR71, Sony MDR51, Etymotic ER6, Panasonic RP-HJ50, Shure E3C, Koss PortaPro 2, Creative EP630, Etymotic ER6i, Sennheiser PX-100, Sennheiser HD555, Future Sonics Atrio M5

 

[FrederikS|TPU]

Noise attenuation you cannot beat the Etymotic ER-4P/S or the 6is. When it comes to fit and comfort I generally prefer Westone UM1s or UM2s. I also think that the Westone 3 will be quite comfortable to wear just judging by the looks.