When it comes to in-ear headphones and wireless earbuds, most people see the tips that come with them in the box as a simple accessory. A means to an end. A way of getting a good enough seal between the earbuds and your inner ear to isolate you from outside noise as best as possible.
But my recent experience with a pair of wireless earbuds from JBL has raised a very interesting point that you might not have considered.
Now, many of you will already know that you don’t just need a good seal with your earbuds purely for isolation. It’s also required to ensure you’re getting the best sound possible from your buds, especially when it comes to getting the right amount of bass from your headphones.
One of the things about in-ear headphones is that the tips don’t necessarily work for everyone. Whether it's down to the type of material used in the tips, their shape or the size of your particular earholes, fit is a very personal thing. No two ear openings are the same.
The situation isn’t always helped by some earbud manufacturers who limit your in-the-box options to just three sizes. If you’re lucky you might get four to experiment with, thanks to a recent trend for an XS option to join S, M and L sizes in the repertoire of some brands.
And this is why it’s not unheard of for people to seek out third-party tips to try and fill the gap, pun intended.
But our recent JBL Pro Tour 3 review got me thinking. I was particularly interested in the fact that these wireless earbuds not only come with five different sizes of eartip, but they also come with a set of memory foam tips too. This is the first time I can remember seeing a pair of wireless earbuds offering two different materials in the box.
While it’s impressive to be offered this many options, JBL’s generosity, not to mention attention to detail, doesn’t stop there. Through the accompanying JBL Headphones app you have dedicated sound settings to use – one for the silicone tips and a different one for the memory foam tips.
I’ve tried both sets of eartips and both listening modes and it’s interesting switching back and forth. There is a difference there, and one that made me favour the foam tips over the silicone ones. There’s an EQ shift which happens to alter the tonal balance in some way to compensate for the effects of using the two different materials. As we said in our review, “the sound is more open and nuanced compared to listening through the silicone tips and their sound setting. We think the earbuds expose more layers of a recording and sound a bit more engaging”.
Really, it should come as no surprise that JBL gives you a different setting for the memory foam tips. If you think about the seal the material creates around your inner ear, it's a bit like putting different damping panels in your listening room. They will absorb different frequencies so the characteristics of the music being heard in that space will change.
It might not be to a huge degree, and some materials will have a different impact than others, but the effect will still be there.
Fortunately, wireless earbuds are the best place to minimise the effects of the different tip materials. You have the DSP built-in, ready to help and keep the sound as balanced as possible. What you don’t really want is the tips actively upsetting the balance and flavour of sound by, for example, absorbing too much midrange and treble and leaving the bass to stick out.
Because ear tip fit is a very personal thing some users, (understandably) look to aftermarket solutions to get a greater level of comfort. I also know of people who have their favourite tips and keep them along for the ride when they switch from their old pair of in-ears to a new one.
But here’s the thing. You could actually be spoiling the sound or giving it a different balance at the very least. Those earbuds have been tuned to sound a certain way with a certain type of eartip in place. It’s like swapping out the stock suspension of your car for an aftermarket set-up. It’s going to change the handling characteristics of that car, and the way it deals with bumps and bruises on the road.
Now I’m not saying swapping tips will always be detrimental to sound quality and after all, if you’re happy with the audio performance from your buds then that’s the main thing. But it’s a point worth considering if you haven’t already, and something that JBL obviously bore in mind when designing its flagship earbuds. I’m interested to see if any other manufacturers follow suit in the future…
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