Earbuds and In Ear Monitors (IEM)

In the beginning of portable players there were two types of headphones:

Supra-Aural which looked like

and smaller, more portable ones called Ear buds, which looked like

Most people preferred ear buds due to the portability of storage as well as the fact that it was usually cheaper in price compared to its larger siblings.  They fit in the outer ear but didn’t actually go into the ear canal.  Depending on the build material of such earpieces they could have a secure fit or fall out easily.  Many picky listeners including myself complained that it lacked isolation to the point where ambient noise seeped in and made the acoustics barely audible.  As a result, people turned up the volume on their source players to the point where it was needlessly loud and could potentially damage hearing.  However, some would argue that it gives a better sense of outside surroundings especially in urban areas.

Fast forward 20-30 years and the in ear monitor has been created.

This evolution from the traditional ear bud usually gave higher amounts of isolation because it was inserted directly into the ear canal.  They were just as portable as the original ear buds but the sound outputted was usually more accurate.  Fit in ear was less prone to fall out as well, which made them very preferable to use for exercise.  Generally these in ears were used more by audio engineers, audiophiles, and concert musicians than the average consumer initially since most would be satisfied with the traditional ear bud.  In ears were considered the solution to picky listeners who demanded a higher quality of sound.

Some prefer over ear/on ear headphones to in ear/ear bud type headphones. Quite frankly some people don’t care at all, as long as it produces recognizable sound and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.