Please educate me about earbuds.

You can get good sound with in-ears. The Etymotic ER4(SR for standard, XR for “extra bass”) are $200 and will outperform most of what you’ll find on the shelf for $200 in the over ears. There are plenty of exceptions.

In-ear are hard to beat for everyday use because they’re so discreet and can fit in your pocket. These come with two sizes of silicone triple flange inserts. They can be painful if you aren’t used to them. They also have foam inserts that are very comfortable. They tout about a 38dB noise reduction. I actually bought custom moulds for mine- probably slightly less efficient than TF but unbelievably comfortable and durable. Without turning music on, I had to strain to hear the stewardess make the in-flight announcements. My wife has to be in my visual field to get my attention with them while I’m listening at home.


Sound quality- this is sort of tough to explain. With brands that harp on marketing (Beats, Bose…), you aren’t going to miss much in terms of sound quality. You can probably beat the range (small drivers have difficulty producing bottom end) with over ears in that price range with the likes of Sennheiser (Momentum is a great headphone), AKG. Probably the best resource for detailed, critical reviews on anything headphone related is head-fi

I bought some of those fancy airpod pros, but they fall out of my ears if I'm doing anything more than a walk.

I bought my wife and kids some earbuds that have some kind of silicone thing that attaches over the ear. Works really well.

They're on sale now for $30. Can't beat 'em really for the price.

Wireless Earbuds occiam Bluetooth Headphones 48H Play Back Earphones in Ear Waterproof with Microphone LED Display for Sports Running Workout Black

That's the description of them.

Unless I read it wrong that guide was only for earbuds $100 and less. Not all cost levels at all.

For gym use, I prefer Senso Bluetooth headphones. Sound quality may not be the best but do the job for weightlifting. I had some guy drop an AirPod on my head coming up the stairs at the gym the other day. I’m imagine that’s a recurring issue if you so much as tilt your head or jump. And they’re sub $30 so I don’t have to spaz out if I lose them or break them when exercising.