No Stupid Questions

Yep, I massively prefer the soft silicone ones over the hard ones. The harder ones fall out of my ears constantly, any slight tug on the cable and they're gone. They form a better seal so I can hear what I'm listening to more clearly which I prefer as well

I accidentally put my earbuds though a wash cycle and borrowed some airpods for the gym while waiting for replacements. I don't understand how a solid one-size-fits all approach can be so popular. With silicone tips you can have different sizes. I actually use a different size for each ear.

Yes, I mean who doesn't?

Holy shit I didnt think it was biologically possible to not hate hard plastic earbuds like they raped your mother infront of you.

I physically cannot wear the hard plastic ones. I can tilt my head to one side and they will fall out immediately.

That said, i also have super waxy ears as well so any ear tips (silicone or foam) get disgusting quickly, and its also wet wax so they degrade and also fall out (much slower than the plastic though).

I also struggle with over-ears being too clampy because giant head, so im kinda just fucked on the entire non-speaker audio front. I've found sennheisers to be fairly comfy. Beyerdynamic DT-770 are waaaay too clampy and slide around a lot.

I prefer anything that doesn't go in my ear first, so over the ear or bone conduction style. But after that I prefer the soft silicone in ear buds because both styles hurt my ears but those I can wear for a longer period before they start hurting.

I do. The soft silicone ones are much more comfortable in the long run, provided you're using a size that is right for you.

Does anyone actually like those silicone tips vs a solid body?

I am sure it is the other way. Hard body is fucking terrible at everything. Many report it struggling to hold in the ear canal. They do not have any good noise blocking abilities besides ANC. They hurt some people.

I have not heard from anyone that rubber/foam tips hurt, or have poor noise isolation, or barely hold in ear canal.

I have never found an in-ear style design that both fits and is comfortable. I have, however, found what works perfectly for me. It stays outside the canal, but remains in the ear because of a slight pressure caused by the silicone wing tips. The brand I buy is “Bose Soundsport Wired”. Cheap, sound fine, never fall out.

I like to run and the plastic only ones fly out of my ears. Why would one shape fit in every person's ear? Engineers are designing for the average person. Silicone and elastics can better fit to an ear and hold. That's why metal tubes are connected with elastic gaskets and clamps. The silicone or whatever elastomer helps seal.

Silicone, 100%.

Silicone tipped are so much better. They're easier to clean, they're more comfortable, and they block out outside noise much better.

I have met a single digit number of people who prefer hard plastic earbuds over the soft tips. There's a reason why they're pretty much the only thing you see in "nice" earbuds.

Have you tried different tips? Apple offers like 5 different sizes because it's so important to have the right fit. Initially they didn't fit my ear well, but after a while of trying my ear adapted and now they fit perfectly. Foam is also worth a shot, but they get gross fast.

I like IEMs with a wrap around design like KZ EDX pro

I didn't know they still made the hard plastic ones! They always make my ears hurt within like 20 minutes. The silicone ones aren't perfect by any means but I've never had any major problems with them.

I only like the old style earphones that sit in the ear. Those bottom ones look way too bulky to be comfortable or not fall out, and the silicone tip ones - sod stuffing something like that in my ear.

I currently own the Sennheiser MX365 (looks like the MX375 is the updated and still available version) and they are great!

One of the best investments I ever made was replacing the silicone with memory foam tips. Highly recommend trying it.

Comfy and excellent sound isolation.

I don't understand how the silicone ones can stay in the ear but apparently they do for most people. The top example from the left side in the silicone photo is the only one I can actually wear. Maybe our ears just have a weird shape.

The hard plastic ones tend to hurt my ears

I think it’s 50/50. Reading the comments pretty much confirms this. Interesting question!

I don't really wear earbuds because I don't actually like either style. The hard plastic ones are uncomfortable after 10-20 minutes for me and don't stay in my ears. The soft tip ones get really gross and are difficult to clean well, but a decent pair comes with different sizes of tips to better fit my ears.

I have over-ear headphones that I like, but many of them tend to be uncomfortable after a few hours. I've actually come to really like my bone conduction earbuds for general listening because it just rests on my temples with minimal pressure and there's nothing in my ears. They have pretty solid quality, but not audiophile-grade or anything like that.

Edit: I a word

I like the ones with memory foam tips. The rubber mushroom tip ones make distracting noises when you move around while wearing them. They amplify noise from the cable rubbing on stuff so they're really only good when you're sitting still.

But if im sitting still I'd rather wear over the ear headphones

I'm with you, I despise the silicon ones

I find foam ones preferable over the silicone ones

I too have issues with silicone earbuds, and also with them falling out. Which is why I was over the moon when I discovered wireless clip-on earbuds. They meet my criteria of being convenient (because wireless) while also not falling off (because clip-on). The specific ones I bought (Anker Soundcore c30i) are not noise-cancelling, but I found that I can adjust their position up or down my ears to meet conditions. For example, I wear them high up when out in public, to hear wayward automobiles that might run me down.

I would recommend you try actual good In-Ear Monitors, something like the 7hz Zero 2 to name a cheap and popular option. Feel free to do your research of course, but generally I'd point you in the direction of IEMs. Get something where the cable rolls over the ear. If you get the right ones for your ears they will never fall off. And these come with a variety of silicone or foam eartips for you to choose from. Not to mention that what is called Chi-fi has far surpassed everything else in quality of sound compared to price. For $30 you get the kind of sound you'd have to pay hundreds for. Other popular alternatives:

Moondrop Chu 2: $

Kiwi Ears Cadenza: $$

Truthear Pure: $$$

The memory foam silicon tip replacements are the only ones that have worked for me. I use complyfoam earbud tips now because the cheap foam eartips broke when the inner silicone sleeve separated from the foam.

I have Anker Space A40 wireless earbuds which has silicon tips. They came with 3 sizes and none of them fit and didn't fall out. I bough a set of 6 different sizes of silicone tips and they still fell out. only the foam version worked for me so they might be worth a try if you already have a silicone tipped earbuds.

I'm a FAM of silicone eartips for sure. Better seal, better fit, more comfortable.

I can't stand the hard plastic earbuds man. Hurts my ears and they dont fit as well.

I have the opposite problem. I have a little fold in my ear that pops up like a cartridge eject, rubber molds to it while hard just pops out. Literally unusable

ear clips are better than both