Ear Canal Headphones
Do NOT confuse Ear Canal Headphones with cheap ear buds! Ear canal headphones seal within your ear canal utilizing little rubber tips, coating your eardrum with precisely-rendered music. Not only do ear canal headphones sound amazingly good, they also provide the best seal from external sound of any other headphone type ---much better than those big-name "noise canceling" headsets! The least expensive of these ear canal headphones is well under $100; the most expensive are custom-fitted by an audiologist, cost well over $1000 and are among the very best-sounding audio drivers in existence; they'll set you back some major bucks by the time you add getting customized ear molds made---but, wow, are they ever impressive.
The audio image from ear canal headphones is more compact and a bit more “inside your head' than regular headphones due, we suspect, mostly to the fact that you are totally bypassing the outer ear and all its psycho-acoustic position sensing cues. On the other hand, the sound from this type of headphone is truly crystal clear and what is lost in image size is largely gained back in image clarity and audio detail resolution. For most people, the listening experience is akin to having your ears plugged and hearing the musical soundstage appearing, in miniaturized form, perfectly formed within your sound mind.
Some folks worry about fit and comfort issues with these in-ear designs, and rightly so. We might suggest when you buy your ear canal headphones that you try a couple of them to see what works best for you. Usually, most people can find a reasonably comfortable eartip sleeve size & material to suit their needs. Of course, the highly specialized audiologist-customized ear canal headphone ear molds fit perfectly and feel very comfortable in your ears; Some could even wear them on an entire 14-hr flight! Audiologist-customized earphone in-ear molds are highly recommended for ECH listeners with particularly sensitive, small, or odd-sized ear canals.
At the lower end of the ear canal headphone cost spectrum are excellent "entry-level" ECHs like the well-priced Shure SE210 which sound good for the pricepoint and are well-built durable ear canal headphones. The Etymotic ER6i are also strong "entry-level" ECHs and deliver extremely clean sonics in the upper mids & highs. These inexpensive ECHs get it fairly close to 'right between your ears', and perfectly right in your wallet too!
Another hundred dollars or so up and we begin to stand amidst a variety of very good ear canal headphones. We've been steady fans of the recent upscale Shure products and the Shure SE310 is a respectably neutral, true-sounding earphone although perhaps slightly rolled off in the upper treble ranges compared to more expansive-sounding (and more expensive!) dual-microdriver SE420 model. The Shure SE420 is definitely a 'real-deal' audiophile earphone and it is slightly brighter, fuller-sounding, and significantly better-detailed across the audio spectrum compared to the SE310, although it begs for a nice dedicated amp for maximized sound quality especially for ultra-picky, demanding audiophilic listeners; However, the extraordinarily punchy & well-balanced bass response of the SE420 makes it something special in this price class category. In the end, we typically suggest the Etymotic ER-4 models for non-bassheads who like things smooth, dry, and crisp, and the Shure SE420 for those who want a punchy, slightly warmer presentation with lots more bass presence. Finally, the audiophile-grade Etymotic ER4P and the superb audiophile-with-amp-oriented ER4S models likely offer the very best clarity in the upper mids/treble ranges but are considered a bit weak-kneed in the bottom-end for lovers of big bass.
Another very strong candidate entering this demanding audiophile ECH category is Sleek Audio SA6 ear canal headphones, especially when partnered with their nifty Sleek SW1 wireless accessory. Not only is the SA6/SW1 pairing perfect for untethered, cord-free active listening but the Kleer-enabled wireless transmission sound performance provides full CD-quality uncompressed audio for about a 60ft range from your audio source. The Sleek SA6 earphones come with an array of different switchable bass ports and treble nozzles serving to fine-tune their precise audio response to your personal lisening tastes. So no matter your music, the Sleeks will be able to adjust and keep right up with your ears. One final thing to remember: Do keep in mind all our comments here remain finely nuanced sonic distinctions and all these high-level ECHs are truly very capable-sounding in-ear canal earphones at fair-to-reasonable prices.
And now for the really top-shelf reference ear canal headphones. One of the best universal-fit [no audiologist needed] earphones in the audio industry we like to steer people towards are the impressive Shure SE530. This multiple-driver type of ear canal headphone is sometimes tweaked in sound perspective (for pro drummers/bassists, horn players, or vocalists, for example), but when designed for true high-fidelity full-audio reproduction, they are simply spectacular-sounding headphones.
In the SE530, three separate [discreet] tiny balanced-armature microdrivers are molded into each earpiece; miniscule baffles within the armature precisely join together to drive the acoustic volume of your ear canal for stunningly accurate, smooth sound. In our estimation, the SE530s are likely the flagship 'universal-fit' ear canal headphone on the market today and offer a "can't-miss" choice for music lovers & die-hard audiophiles always on the fly. These earphones deliver an extremely comfortable fit for the category and come with a varying selection of disposable eartip sleeves, allowing for nearly total isolation from ambient noise AND reference quality (assuming a reference source!) audio reproduction. The Shure SE530's accurate, dynamic sound offers extraordinary resolving power along with a lush bottom-end but also still remains cleanly extended both high & low. To be clear: these upscale multi-driver in-ear earphones sound AMAZING, and are certainly worth the bucks if you're a traveling audiophile who loves emotionally engaging, blissful music anywhere anytime!
