[KarateHottie93]

I have a ton of wireless earbuds. Nothing Ear (1)'s, Beats Studi Buds, Sony LinkBuds, and many more...just your typical mainstream options.

Then I have a bunch of KZ's...pretty much everything that's A and B pin, and most C pin.

Are they all the same? I mean I guess you'd minus things like the LinkBuds I mentioned, but as far the ones that actually go in the ear, what makes them earbuds instead of IEM's? What makes my BA10's with the AZ09's an IEM instead of a wireless (or just in general) earbud?

My KZ's get louder, typically sound better, and they look way different. I don't know if any of that qualifies them in a different category though. Plus I see plenty of things labeled as "IEM"s that are shaped like and look like typical earbuds.

Sorry if I'm talking in circles but I can't for the life of me understand how this works.

 

[msing539]

If it's an IEM, it enters the ear canal. A flathead earbud would not.

As far as mainstream naming conventions, I think it's just easier for them to market earbuds to consumers because every non-audio person knows what an earbud is.

Not everyone knows what IEM stands for and if they did, it would probably scare them off.

That's just my guess.

 

[KarateHottie93]

If it's an IEM, it enters the ear canal. A flathead earbud would not.

As far as mainstream naming conventions, I think it's just easier for them to market earbuds to consumers because every non-audio person knows what an earbud is.

Not everyone knows what IEM stands for and if they did, it would probably scare them off.

That's just my guess.

Welp...that was much simpler than I expected. Kinda disappointed honestly that there's not some concrete separation between them.

 

[kmhaynes]

In Ear Monitors sit in the outer ear but "plug up" the ear canal with a rubber / foam / silicone eartip, creating a closed space in the ear canal for bass reproduction and some degree of isolation from outside sounds. IEMs can use dynamic, balanced armature, planar, and EST drivers.

Traditional "earbuds" also sit in the outer ear but project sound into the cansl without do not blocking it from outside sounds. Nearly all earbuds use a slightly larger dynamic driver to create bass sounds.

True Wireless Speakers (TWS) usually are like IEMs, blocking the ear canal, but receive audio signal via bluetooth.

Hope this is what you are asking about.

 

[msing539]

Welp...that was much simpler than I expected. Kinda disappointed honestly that there's not some concrete separation between them.

The complex answer has arrived.

 

[baskingshark]

I have a ton of wireless earbuds. Nothing Ear (1)'s, Beats Studi Buds, Sony LinkBuds, and many more...just your typical mainstream options.

Then I have a bunch of KZ's...pretty much everything that's A and B pin, and most C pin.

Are they all the same? I mean I guess you'd minus things like the LinkBuds I mentioned, but as far the ones that actually go in the ear, what makes them earbuds instead of IEM's? What makes my BA10's with the AZ09's an IEM instead of a wireless (or just in general) earbud?

My KZ's get louder, typically sound better, and they look way different. I don't know if any of that qualifies them in a different category though. Plus I see plenty of things labeled as "IEM"s that are shaped like and look like typical earbuds.

Sorry if I'm talking in circles but I can't for the life of me understand how this works.

A lot of websites like to use "earbuds" as a generic umbrella term to encompass all sorts of earphones/IEMs, but in picture A, we have bona fide earbuds, where the transducer does not enter the ear canal. So earbuds lack in isolation, and generally have weaker sub-bass than IEMs (figure B), which enter the ear canal and provide a seal. Earbuds generally provide better soundstage than IEMs, as they are sited outside the external ear canal.

It is better to think of earbuds as closer to open backed headphones than IEMs. They bring different benefits to the table.

 

[KarateHottie93]

I just miss the days when I thought that to be an IEM, you had to look something like an AS10 for example and have detachable cables that go over the ear.

Now it turns out 90% of all "earbuds" being manufactured today are actually IEM's.