Hey all,

I'm curious: Is it just me, or are in-ear headphones extremely uncomfortable? Ear buds are definitely more commonly used when travelling/ in public, but how many of you prefer regular headphones? Furthermore, I've only ever really owned a few sets of headphones that I can wear for extended periods of time. The world of headphones almost seems like a catch-22! 

So, which type of headphones do you prefer, and more importantly, do you find them comfortable even with prolonged use? Also curious what brands people find comfortable. I've only ever truly been comfortable wearing Sony headphones. Just recently ordered a new headset (my laptop mic is horrible, but that's a story for another thread) and am kind of worried it might not be comfortable or make my ears hurt. It'd be nice to find more options!

I don't own a headset at the moment (I'm saving up for one), but I've tried various brands out, and personally, I like the Afterglow series that covers your ears entirely.

Ear buds and other in ear headphones/headsets annoy me. I can't use them for more than 5 minutes before I get agitated. I need something that covers my ears.

If I'm giving the right type of ear buds (the ones that are round and just sit in your ears, like the ones that use to come with the slightly older ipods), I can use them with no discomfort, but most otherwise in-ear or around-the-ear annoy me. Usally I prefer cushioned on-the-ear headphones.

I hate using in ear headphones, its not that they are uncomfortable, its that while I'm walking there's always one side that falls out every 30 or so seconds and I hate it. I much rather prefer the ones that wrap around your ears, those are mt favorite, and I like regular headphones as well

It was like a late 90s early 2000 phase that wearing over or on ear head phones were "uncool". It made you look like you were some geek... and that wasn't good.

Now we see a shift, where having brightly coloured over-ear head phones with a popular brandname is the cool thing. It's like we WANT to show our headphones off now, like an accessory.

Although I hate that now headphones are a fashion statement, and as a result, we have overpriced headphones that are basically only good for looking nice and listening to pop/hip hop (I know you all know what brand I'm talking about), it's great that we have a good selection of over the hear headphones now! You can go into the store, and try on lots of cool sets; 15 years ago, we didn't have that selection of demos or styles.

legacyme3 : I do have an Afterglow 360 controller, but I didn't know they made headsets. One day my budget will finally be greater than $20 and I'll have to give them a try. They look pretty comfortable just from the pictures on Amazon. 

Light Knight : Yes, it's a very curious shift. Rather than bringing my over-ear headphones on the bus, I just got into the habit of putting the cell phone directly up to my ear. Though it is nice that now when I need to have the music to relax, etc, it doesn't feel as weird when I bring my headphones with me. 

Yeah, right now I'm saving up for the Afterglow Kral. It's a bit expensive, but the way I see it, I'm paying for quality.

I do like in-ear headphones, but only the ones with the little squishy things on the end. I hate the ones that just sit in your ear like the old Apple ones. They fall out constantly and they don't do a good job of blocking out noise. I like over-ear headphones the best as far as sound quality is concerned, but the problem with them is that they are uncomfortable and hurt the top of my head after 20 minutes or so.

legacyme3 : Yeah, for a good pair of headphones, you have to spend $50 or more. To get great ones, it's more like $100 +.

I'm just waiting for the headphones I bought to come in the mail, these guys http://www.urbanears.com/headphones/plattan/plattan-indigo/ .

I had in-ear ones for the longest time. After one of them lost that soft ending and I started scratching up the inside of my ear, I stopped using them.

Around that time I got my first headset. There was such an incredible difference in sound quality and just the experience of listening to music that I never went back.

A few months ago, I got a $100 headset (as a gift) that's primarily used for sound production. It's not a named brand, so it has much more bang for it's buck than I would have gotten otherwise.

Light Knight :

Yeah, I am no sound snob or anything, but I do know decent sound when I hear it.

I've tried numerous headsets, and am dismayed to find the only headphones/headsets that I find acceptable are in the $75+ area. You can get ok budget headsets at $50, but even then, most of the time, there's a reason they are selling them that cheap.

That's not to say you can't find a good headset at $50. What you linked looks interesting. It's just very rare to find something that is both affordable and high in quality.

It's actually kind of disappointing.

I'm hoping to get my new headset within the coming month or so. My annual baseball game is coming out, and I need a headset to communicate with my friend I play with.

I find both headsets and earphones useful. I usually find myself using the headset the most when I am in the computer because it is made for more movement as well as long-term use. I feel that it is comfortable (though I could use a longer cable so that it is not constantly pulling when I make some movement). I feel that a headset is the best option when you plan to use it long term in a spot where you will not be walking but will be staying in a certain zone. I recommend headsets for gamers, both light and hardcore gamers, since these usually come with a mic as well that can serve as a communication device which is very commonly used nowadays. However, if it is for traveling or for daily use in activities like walking, working out, or simply having them in case you want to jam out to some music in the train, car or in school lunch then I recommend using earphones. I personally use my earphones when I go walking to places like my school or my house as well as anywhere else because they are an easy thing to carry, they do not take up a lot of space so I can put them in my pocket and since they are so small and flexible they do not run the risk of breaking, unlike headsets being carried around which can be dropped or can be somewhat of a bother when you are in constant movement. I think that it really depends on what you wanna do. I honestly can't decide on either of them being better because each of them is better in different activities and I equally value both of them. If you want quality I would recommend a headset but if you want mobility and I would recommend the earphones. I am planning to get a gaming headset hyperX  Cloud for gaming once I have enough money for my build, unless I get some extra money in my hands and I can afford to buy some astros. As for my earphones I just have some $20 skull candy earphones that never disappoints me, been buying the same model for a couple years now and I am satisfied with the durability of the earphones. Actually my current pair is the one that has lasted the longest because of the time that I have been using the earphones I have learned what to avoid doing in order to maintain the earphones in a good condition.

I use pretty much all types of headphones and earphones. Headphones for gaming and earphones for music trips. If your earphones (with earplug at the tip) always fall out, maybe you don't have the right plug size for your ears. I can wear mine for hours and hours without falling out. If you'd notice the extra plugs, one pair is the same size as the one that was automatically attached to the earphones (sometimes one size bigger, it depends on the package) upon purchase while the other one is one size smaller. One rule of the thumb is to never buy an earphone with plugs if it's not offering any extra plugs since those are not mainly meant for replacement but for figuring out your plug size. If you have the right size but it still falls out, maybe you need to clean your ears, remove those nasty oil and apply some alcohol to the plugs as well. They easily get dirty so you'd need to have some time to clean them once in awhile.

Lastly, don't buy cheap headphones and earphones if you don't wanna be disappointed with the quality. My earphone is around $40 and my headphone is $100+, and I'm still happily using them up until now after 2 years. Take the time to make an investment for an earphone or headphone since it's gonna be worth it.

I greatly agree with you, I like the over ear headphones. I hates earphones, they always fall out and are extremely uncomfortable.

Earphones are quite uncomfortable but I used them for years before I just got my very first headset about a month ago . Any brand is fine. I really like my new headset I can listen to music longer than I could with earphones but sense I have headache problems I always seem to get a headache eventually. They didn't cost me but about 35 bucks either and they are quite amazing and they are good quality as well. The sound is okay it's a lot better than regular ole' earphones and it blocks out all other noises which is also a fantastic thing in addition to my new headset. I would prefer a headset over Earphones though.

I'm going to be frank and say I hate any type of earbud headphones. They are always too big or two small and either fall out every two seconds or they hurt my ears.
As for over the head headphones, they are really hit and miss. I've used a few before, but most of them hurt my head after ten minutes or so. I've also found them to be more fragile than I would like.
Over the ear headphones, like my sony ones, however, are comfortable and don't break every other week. The sound quality isn't the greatest, but I'm willing to sacrifice a bit of quality for comfort.

I use earbuds they provide in planes. When I use them carefully they can last months.

If I'm ever to by a pair again, it will definitely be ear buds as the sound is better. I don't like headphones anymore as I have having the acoustic ON my ears. I especially hate the "Princess Leia" ones, so big that they are 1) heavy and 2) compress your ears

Any in-ear headphones really hurt for me and I can't use them for more then a few minutes . I always stick with headphones that cover the ear but I'm not to picky about the brand. I just want a simple set that works, nothing to fancy.

I'm pretty surprised that so many people don't like the in-ear headphones. I like the in-ear headphones with the rubber on the ends (not without the rubber). I find big headphones a burden to carry around with you, and really they may have better sound quality but with the lack of noise reduction you hear everything around you as well and makes the music sound worse than it normally would. Also I don't always like having both ears listening to music either. I like to have just 1 earbud in at a time because I like to be aware of my surroundings, and you can't comfortably do that with over-the-ear headphones. The only headset that I have is my gaming headset that I just wear whenever I'm on my computer.

I don't like in-ear headphones, personally, because they hurt my ears. I only use them when I'm trying to go to sleep and have music on my 3DS, since I don't own a pair of sleep headphones.

I prefer noise-reduction headphones. The best pair I have ever had was a pair of beats by Dr. Dre that I got off of ebay. Then my cousin stole them. :/ But while I had them, they were GLORIOUS. No ear pain, I could actually HEAR what was coming through the speakers, they fit comfortably on my head and over my ear, and the simulated surround sound was incredible. I loved them.