In-ear reduce noise isolation?

Chillstice · July 17, 2016

I've always been in the minority when it comes to earbuds/earphones. I quite like the Intra-Concha earphones style that just sits within the inner bowl of the ear, but I haven't been able to find any that are designed well and are durable, more so than the ipod earphones. I've been purchasing some $30 ones that seem to only last 9 months to a year at most; I can't keep doing that. I like the comfort and 'open back' effect that the Intra-Concha style has that allows me to hear everything around me so I don't accidentally ignore people who are trying to talk to me or get run over by a car or something when walking around outside. I don't want to compromise comfort and my ability to hear my surroundings just to have a quality pair of in-ears.

I've just purchased some Steelseries Flux In-Ear Pros that I quite like the aesthetics of as well as the swappable cable, over-ear cable run, and the balanced armature design. The only drawback - and I mean only - is that I don't like that it drops the ambient sound by what sounds like 10-15db when worn properly. I'm afraid that I'll be that guy that you have to tap his shoulder to talk to when he has his headphones in, just to get his attention.

I was wondering if there are some crazy workarounds for this other than taking one ear out. Perhaps something like a fabric ear-tips or maybe even drilling a precise hole in the back of the plastic, closed-back to let more sound waves in. I would like to hear everyone's opinion on this, link me to anything you think might be a solution or add to the conversation.

Edit: I know why sound isolation is important, but for my use these are only for taking out of the house.

KaminKevCrew · July 18, 2016

6 hours ago, Chiller252 said:

I've always been in the minority when it comes to earbuds/earphones. I quite like the Intra-Concha earphones style that just sits within the inner bowl of the ear, but I haven't been able to find any that are designed well and are durable, more so than the ipod earphones. I've been purchasing some $30 ones that seem to only last 9 months to a year at most; I can't keep doing that. I like the comfort and 'open back' effect that the Intra-Concha style has that allows me to hear everything around me so I don't accidentally ignore people who are trying to talk to me or get run over by a car or something when walking around outside. I don't want to compromise comfort and my ability to hear my surroundings just to have a quality pair of in-ears.

I've just purchased some Steelseries Flux In-Ear Pros that I quite like the aesthetics of as well as the swappable cable, over-ear cable run, and the balanced armature design. The only drawback - and I mean only - is that I don't like that it drops the ambient sound by what sounds like 10-15db when worn properly. I'm afraid that I'll be that guy that you have to tap his shoulder to talk to when he has his headphones in, just to get his attention.

I was wondering if there are some crazy workarounds for this other than taking one ear out. Perhaps something like a fabric ear-tips or maybe even drilling a precise hole in the back of the plastic, closed-back to let more sound waves in. I would like to hear everyone's opinion on this, link me to anything you think might be a solution or add to the conversation.

Edit: I know why sound isolation is important, but for my use these are only for taking out of the house.

Sennheiser IE80 don't isolate for shit. So there's that.

Also, the early Bose earbuds were open back. Not sure if they still make that model, but they definitely were pretty much totally open if you like that.

Another option is the KOSS porta pro. They're on ear, but they're super comfortable by all accounts, and they are open back... (also, they're supposed to be pretty much the best things since sliced bread in the sub-$50 mark.)