XPost: sci.electronics.design, alt.audio.equipment   
   From: lcargill99@comcast.com   
      
   Phil Hobbs wrote:   
   > On 08/13/2011 07:44 PM, Les Cargill wrote:   
   >> RichD wrote:   
   >>> I have the standard earpod set, which came with my   
   >>> armband MP3 player. It pops out every 2 minutes.   
   >>> How did these things become the standard design?   
   >>   
   >> Kids these days...   
   >>   
   >>> They suck.   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >> Yep. The cheap ones tend to sound bad, too.   
   >>   
   >>> So now i'm looking for the earbud style, i.e. inside the   
   >>> ear. They range from $8 to $40, and Shure offers a set,   
   >>> over $100?!?   
   >>   
   >> They have sets over $400.   
   >>   
   >>> For something so small, how can there   
   >>> be such a range?   
   >>   
   >> It's a micro machined (or cast or molded) thing.   
   >> It's a transducer.   
   >>   
   >>> Is there really such quality difference?   
   >>>   
   >>   
   >>   
   >> Yeah, there apparently is. They are, as you note, a total   
   >> pig in a poke.   
   >>   
   >> I would tend to resort to brand name choice, mainly Shure,   
   >> because Shure get used as in-ears by people who perform with   
   >> them for a living. We're down to what amounts to folklore,   
   >> since you can't try them on.   
   >>   
   >>> They are all sealed in blister packs, there's no chance   
   >>> to compare. Even if there were, differences in   
   >>> environment, time of day, etc. swamp perceptual   
   >>> discernment.   
   >>>   
   >>> How would you go about testing these things, in the lab?   
   >>>   
   >>> --   
   >>> Rich   
   >>   
   >> I am not Shure :) I'd estimate my ear canal geometry, use   
   >> a model of that to connect them to a measurement mic or   
   >> a standalone, Panasonic omni electret element, and run   
   >> an impulse ( and maybe white noise and maybe swept sine   
   >> tones ) through 'em. That's got to be fraught with   
   >> error - my tympani is not much like the back of an   
   >> electret element.   
   >>   
   >> What would be interesting ( and might even be worth $20   
   >> or so ) would be a subscription service where people do   
   >> empirical reviews of these items. Problem is: how do   
   >> you establish credibility? Do people even care? If I   
   >> were considering such a purchase, and I could hedge 10:1   
   >> a purchase error, I'd probably do it.   
   >>   
   >> I don't see one, so I figure there's a good reason   
   >> for the lack of them.   
   >>   
   >> --   
   >> Les Cargill   
   >   
   > One approach would be to make a casting of the outer part of your ear   
   > canal with something like ShapeLok. I've been meaning to try that myself.   
   >   
      
   I never stick anything in my ear smaller than my elbow. There's   
   obviously the Etymotic thingies, but they cost too much.   
      
   A piece of surgical tubing seems close enough. It'd   
   be like making measurements at the end of an organ pipe, so it   
   all sounds eminently futile :)   
      
   I've been using Koss PRO35A on-the-ears for more than ten   
   years now. Good known quantity. And I don't want to   
   play music loud enough to justify earplugs any more.   
      
   > Cheers   
   >   
   > Phil Hobbs   
   >   
      
   --   
   Les Cargill   
      
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