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3 Answers

up vote 1 down vote

Personally, i think on-ear give better sound quality.

I've used quite expansive in-ear, but i wasn't really happy.

But, when i buyed a cheaper on-ear, it seemed the quality has improved. Especially on bass.

End, yes, it was from the same branch, and the same year.

Also a plus point at on-ear: you can still hear people talking by just moving the headphone without taking it all out, which needs to be done with in-ear.

Also, when you pull in-ears to quickly out of you ears, it could even damage your ears.

So, personal favorite: on-ear. But, keep in mind: it's your choice. You might like in-ear better.

But: this is not a website for this kind of stuff. This website is for computer related questions. And, you asking a quite subjective question: you also shouldn't do that.

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1  
Rather, you should be prepared for the consequences of asking a subjective question... – Nathaniel Jan 4 '10 at 20:21
Also, I believe that on-ear in general can give better sound quality simply because the engineering can be better in the space given (instead of the cramped earbud interior). That being said, that's just my rude, unscientific guess and I don't really know the specifics of the idea. – Nathaniel Jan 4 '10 at 20:23
up vote 1 down vote

In-ear headphones are better for one big reason. They have a tighter seal around your ear so outside noise doesnt get in, which is benificial because you then dont have to have the music as loud to hear it properly so lessening the chance of hearing damage. It also lets less sound out of your ear so it means people around you dont have to hear what you are listening to too.

Bear in mind that both of those are bluetooth headsets, so the sound quality is going to be much less than that of a wired set, as the audio signal has to be compressed to get sent over bluetooth.

I think it depends really on the environment you will be listening in. If it will generally around other people or loud then get in-ear headphones. Otherwise over-ear phones should be ok, as they can be comfyer and dont have the hastle of having to be cleaned now and again.

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i do not agree with your statement, so lessening the chance of hearing damage. When it goes deeper in your ear, it will even damage it more. By the way, i am much on the go, and i hear actually the music on the in-ears, and not the on-ears. Maybe it's just me (or the people around me), but i think it actually lowers the chance of hearing damage. And, you have types of on-ear which actually fit around your ears, which gives the same solution as the 'loud' issue, and less hearing damage. – TutorialPoint Jan 4 '10 at 19:19
but i do agree with your statement that bluetooth headsets are compressing the audio way too much. It has become really bad with that. Great that you just say that. – TutorialPoint Jan 4 '10 at 19:21
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The in-ear phones dont go far enough in to physically damage your ear, they sit in the ear canal. The eardrum is much further down then an in-ear headphone could reach or do damage to. What I ment by the comment is in-ear headphones are much more effective at stopping outside noise because of the tighter/more sealed fit. With less outside noise, you can have the music at a lower voulme and still be able to hear it clearly. Even with reasonably tight over-ear phones, they still arent as effective as keeping noise out, thus you turn up the music to compensate, thus worse off for your ears. – Connor W Jan 4 '10 at 20:02
It is explained on Wikipedia if you want a slightly longer explanation: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earphones#Earbuds – Connor W Jan 4 '10 at 20:08
up vote 0 down vote

Generally, you will get the most complete sound from the larger speaker.

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