The short version
- A sealed tip is worth more than any codec, EQ preset, or driver upgrade.
- Most people wear the medium tip that came fitted. Most people are wearing the wrong size.
- Your two ears are often different sizes. Fit each one separately.
When we measure earbuds on the rig, the difference between a sealed tip and a slightly leaking one is 8 to 12 dB below 200 Hz. To put that number in context: no earbud we have ever tested differs from its rivals by that much. The gap between the best and worst pair in a category is smaller than the gap between the right tip and the wrong one on the same pair.
The thirty-second test
Play something with a steady bassline. Press each bud gently into your ear and hold it there. If the bass suddenly fills in while you press, the tip is not sealing on its own — it is the wrong size or the wrong depth, and everything you have concluded about how these earbuds sound is a review of the leak.
How to actually fit them
Start one size up from whatever came fitted. A tip that seals should feel present but not stretched, and it should survive the yawn test: open your jaw wide, and the seal holds.
Fit each ear on its own. Around a third of the people we have sat down with ended up in different sizes left and right, and every one of them had been wearing matched mediums out of the box.
Depth matters as much as diameter. A tip lodged at the entrance of the canal with the bud hanging off it will leak no matter the size; twist it in so the bud sits flush and stays put when you shake your head.
When to spend actual money
If none of the bundled sizes seal, third-party tips in half sizes and foam cost a few dollars and rescue otherwise excellent earbuds. That is the entire upgrade path. It is not glamorous, but it is 10 dB, and nothing else in audio sells 10 dB for pocket change.
