Home > Consumer Reviews > ACOUSTIBUDS - Premium Adapters for Earphones AND Bluetooth Headsets. A new solution for in-ear audio. MADE IN THE USA. Adapters only, earphones not included. Black, Two Pair & Two Sizes

I bought these in an ongoing effort to supplant the wretched earbuds that came with my Jawbone 2. I wasn't sure that they would be terribly effective, but after trying them, I am very pleased. I used the smallest size on top of the smallest 'stock' earbud, and it worked very well. You do have to get the angle just right, but after that, it fits fine, and doesn't require an ear loop. Sound quality is noticeably improved as well. I have also tried the Jabra mini-gels which are recommended for the Jawbone 2. They give a nice tight fit, without the clogged-up ear feeling that the Acoustibuds can present, but the sound quality was kind of tinny; the Acoustibuds sound much better. They are a little pricey, but if they can make a $90 bluetooth headset work like it should have in the first place, then I suppose they are worth it.

I like to wear earbuds much of the time around the house. The little over-the-ear fixtures rarely fit me, so I tend to take them off and stick the plain earbuds in my ears. Sometimes they are uncomfortable and sometimes they fall out at inconvenient times, especially the right one. My right ear seems a bit smaller inside than the left. The Acoustibud worked right away on the left earbud. It is soft and lodged in the left ear easily. Predictably, however, I had some trouble on the right side until it occurred to me to use an exacto knife and cut off the last ring of soft plastic. It worked! With a little patience I can get it to lodge comfortably in the right side. I get better, clearer sound now that the earbuds are positioned properly. These do help a little with noise, but if you are sensitive to noise you will probably still want a pair of over-the-ear noise-cancelling headphones.

I heard the inventor of this product interviewed on WGN Radio in Chicago and knew that I had to try them. I received the product the day after ordering, and was blown away with how much it improved the basic headphones that come with Iphone. I have over the ear Audio-Technica headphones that I really like, but am questioning if I need them now that I have the Acoustibuds. The sound quality seems just as good if not better, and they do a great job blocking out un-wanted noise. I could not be happier with these especially given how affordable they are!!

The short version. Out of the box I was disappointed, but after trying them anyway, was surprised at how comfortable and effective they are. Good buy.

The package contains two sizes, "5's" and "6's" which equates to the number of fins on the Acoustibud, and the "6" is, on close inspection, about a millimeter in diameter larger. When I buy an in-ear headset with different size inserts I always end up using the smallest version so must have a relatively small ear canal. Though there are two sizes, I suspect most people will be able to use both sets. Either one seems to fit my ear.

Out of the box, I didn't like these, because they just didn't feel like they'd stay in. I had the expectation that they'd feel more like an earplug, but they didn't feel snug. But they had several good Amazon reviews so they'd earned some patience and a fair trial.

They assemble easily on an earbud. They're very soft, comfortable, but for me just didn't seem secure. With all the wiggling the instructions indicate are necessary they "seat" OK. But I found I had to sort of stretch my earlobe and fidgit to get them in.

But I've worn them running for a little over 50 miles now and concluded that the "not feeling secure" is simply remarkably soft comfort. They've never hinted at falling out. If you exercise intently with any kind of earpieces you've experienced perspiration working its way into your ear or around the headset. It's especially annoying with any "in the ear" piece. The Acuostibuds block the perspiration from the inner ear. Nice unexpected benefit.

They don't shield any appreciable noise. As a point of reference, I have some low end in-ear Shure's that I use on airplanes, and they DO block noise. And I have some Radius Atomic Bass that are also "in-ear" and block noise well. For exercise applications it's better not to block the outside world. But they do seem to well..."channel" the sound. With the Acoustibuds I can turn the sound down to a significantly lower setting.

I bought the Acoustibuds because I have a drawer full of earbuds that came with devices and thought perhaps this would salvage a few of them. Acoustic quality isn't much of an issue when you're running.

For me, the primary application is exercise or someplace where you're moving around

I agree with a previous reviewer, the buds are just too big. I can manage to squeeze the smaller size in my ear a little, but in reality they need to be smaller. The larger size are no good at all. My wife has even more trouble. I don't know if we have small ears or most of the other reviewers are elephants.

On the positive side, they do improve the sound on standard iPod buds, but because of the hassle of inserting them, they will end of collecting dust in the drawer.