“There’s a better way to get a good fit…”

As consumption of mobile media through iPod, iPhone, iPad and mobile music phones has grown, so has awareness that better sound can be had with alternative headphones to what came packaged with these devices. As a result, more and more third party headphones are being purchased. Because of price and portability, the choice of consumers is in-ear type headphones. They usually come with thin silicone ear-tips or squishy foam tips that fit onto the device and into the ear. 
 
The assumption is that you can buy an in-ear headphone, plug them into your player, stick them in your ear, and a substantially better listening experience than you had before is assured. Though performance superior to the cheap headphones one is replacing isn’t difficult to obtain, when it comes to getting maximum sound quality, there are factors beyond technological performance to be wary of—factors that can make or break your audio experience.


We’re talking eartips.

 
Eartips aren’t just for providing comfort and ensuring that the headphones stay in the ear in every user situation. Though those are extremely important when it comes to day-to-day use, audio performance is heavily dependent on the ear-tip you select.
 
Let’s start with sound performance. As soon as you buy new in-ear headphones, you expect better sound. However, there are a couple things that dictate if this is realized. Of course, there’s the headphone’s technological ability to reproduce quality sound. That’s the foundation. But, beyond that, it’s up to your eartips. The main consideration of eartip performance is how well the tip creates a seal in your ear. Only with a good seal can you get the best possible sound performance from your headphone. And it’s not just about blocking out exterior noise. Your ear canal essentially acts like an acoustic chamber. Think of your ear canal as a speaker cabinet. If you have a leak in your speaker cabinet, your speakers won’t sound nearly as good as they can. Variances in air pressure affect vibrations, which lessens audio accuracy. The same goes for the in-ear headphones in your ear.  If you are able to get a good seal, exterior noise should sound muted and there should be a “suction” or “vacuum” feeling. If you are able to attain this, you will notice better bass and overall sound quality. If you get tinny sound, it is usually because of a poor-sealing eartip. Most consumers don’t know this and immediately assume that the headphone is just poor sounding.
 
Beyond sound performance, comfort is a major factor that becomes a part of your listening experience. The junction between the headphone and your ear, again, is the tip. The trick here is to minimize the pressure exerted to the interior of the ear and eliminating high pressure spots. To have no pressure exerted into the interior of the ear while achieving a perfect seal is the ideal balance and ensures best possible sound and hours of listening without discomfort. 
 
Lastly, but most importantly… if you run, exercise or are on the move, you want your in-ear headphone to stay in your ear. Having the headphone jostle out of the ear every few steps isn’t an option. To help minimize this from happening, using the perfect fitted tip helps.  But, in some cases, there may be a compromise between having the headphone stay in the ear and sound quality. You will have to decide via experimentation to see which tip stays in the ear and seals. 
 
Of course, the ideal situation is to have a tip offer the best seal/fit/comfort. However, a lot of what is provided in the box with headphones offers something that leaves much to be desired. There are always aftermarket solutions that can offer some solutions. Foam tips, custom mold tips, etc. may improve the experience. However, each aftermarket eartips may have drawbacks. Foam tips stay in and are comfortable, but they degrade sound quality by absorbing sound before it reaches the eardrum. Custom molds fit well, but may be uncomfortable after prolonged use, especially if you move your jaw around, like during eating and talking. They’re also very expensive and require an audiologist to create a personal mold of your ear.

 
To remedy all of these issues, Monster is now offering aftermarket tips, called Supertips that fit on most in-ear headphones. After tremendous amounts of research with materials and designs (and a lot of trial and error) we believe SuperTips provides the best of all worlds. You will have to experiment with the two styles of SuperTips, Foam and Gel, as well as sizes to see which suits you. But always remember, if you focus on the two main points when buying and using an in-ear headphone—technological headphone performance and eartip performance—from the start, you will ensure the best listening experience possible.