Earphones for small ears

[jimbob]

I am looking for advice on earphones that will stay in my small ears!!! I guess you could say I have a relatively small head & ears. Earbud earphones, e.g. out the box iPod ones, don't fit in my ears. I tried a pair that go round the back of my neck but they slip off too.

Basically, I need a 'discreet' set of phones, so I can listen at work. I have ordered proper old fashioned headphones that look link they are from the 1980's for in the house (Koss Porta Pro), but need something more discreet for work.

I am not a sound geek and as long as the sound is decent I will be happy - mainly radio listening during work. I will pay what ever it takes to get headphones that fit - upto a budget of about £100.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

If you have small ears then I would stay away from the Sennheiser CX range (CX300, CX400, CX500, etc) as they have relatively large earphone body. We have had a number of customers comment that they have problems with the earphone body causing the earphone to pop out.

We've done a bit of testing at HiFi Headphones (we have a member of staff who has small ears!) and found that the SoundMAGIC PL50 and Phonak Audeo PFE are the earphones that provide the best fit for a small ear. I would definitely suggest Comply Foam tips to ensure a good fit.

The Klipsch Image X10 and Ultimate Ears 700 are two other earphones that are very small and easy to fit due to their balanced armature driver design, but they are quite a bit over budget for you.

[jimbob]

Thanks for the detailed advice! Much appreciated. It's tricky buying earphones when you have small ears

Would you say it's really worth spending so much on a pair of earphones? £160 seems like a hell of a lot of cash for earphones!

My question is, would the SoundMAGIC PL50 be good enough?

There definitely is a significant difference when comparing the SoundMAGIC PL50 or Klipsch S2 with the top of the range In Ear Monitor (IEM) earphones like the Westone UM3X.

Saying that, the PL50's are good value for money and the overall sound quality compares well with many earphones costing more. Bass response is on the lighter end of the scale, but they have LOADS of clarity and detail. Check out this review of the SoundMAGIC PL50 by Stuff Magazine.

The Klipsch S2 has a bigger bass response than the PL50, but does not have the accuracy of the PL50. The Phonak PFE 012 offers all the clarity of the PL50, better bass response and higher end build quality.

[henders]

Interestingly, Klipsch have just recently launched the Klipsch X5. This earphone is nearly as small as the more expensive Klispch X10 and comes in just over £100.

My girlfriend has very small ears and now has a pair of the miniature Klipsch X10's. Before trying these I couldn't convince her that any in-ear earphones were worth bothering with. She always found them uncomfortable. I ended up buying another pair of X10's after lending her mine for the weekend!

[F1Annie]

Hello

Just joined.

My ears are very small & after wasting quite a lot of money & buiding up an impressive (& totally useless) collection of earphones, in despair I Googled "earphones for small ears" & I found this page of your forum.

After an out of body experience with the OMG I cannot possibly pay that much for earphones moment, I gave it some thought. I have a shiny new Creative Zen & have been struggling to do it justice.

I looked at the reviews of both Klipsch X10s and Ultimate Ears 700 and gave it more thought. In the end I've opted for the Klipsch X10s as they seemed smaller.

My earphones came today & I had my second OMG moment but this time it was of pure pleasure. They come beautifully presented as befits a precision instrument with carrying cases, adaptors, cleaning tool etc.

I like all sorts of music but I adore José Carreras and for the first time with earphones I have enjoyed his beautiful voice in all its golden lyrical glory.

Review of one my favourite arias.

Along an alternative band of the music spectrum Bob Dylan sounds great as well!

Thanks for the advice and for the excellent service.

Annie

[henders]

I agree, the Klipsch Image X10 is a really nice sounding earphone. Nice warm bass response and lots of detail.

It's a truly high end earphone product - it feels to me as if it is good value for money. Importantly the small earphone body seems to fit even the smallest of ears.

[ShaunG]

Just spotted this old post and wanted to add that the Phonak Audeo PFE range is the absolute best earphone design we have tested for smaller ears. Phonak Audeo earphones fit just about anyone's ears, due to the ergonomic design of the earphone body and small earphone nozzle.

Phonak is the World's largest hearing aid manufacturer and their expertise with the ear has resulted in a truly excellent earphone design. In combination with Comply Foam tips the PFE is one of the most comfortable earphones for small ears.

[speedy gonzalez]

I have small ear canals as well but could do with something cheaper. Ideally less than £30 at a push less than £50.

[ShaunG]

It's a tough call, because so many of the more popular earphones have relatively large nozzles (e.g. the entire Sennheiser range).

One earphone worth considering the the SoundMAGIC PL21. The PL11 and PL30 have larger nozzles, but the PL21 has a relatively slim, angled nozzle (a little bit like the PL50).