[steve1011]

Earplugs are way better for noise isolation (i.e. blocking out noise)

There are a number of different types out there, including ones that can be custom-molded to your ear canals for maximum comfort and sound reduction.

For the price of a new pair of Bose headphones, you could buy hundreds of pairs of ear plugs or even a handful of custom molded musicians earplugs.

[licebmi__at__]

Headphones also work as psychological deterrent. I don't really care much about sound, but I do care about the talkative guy who comes with a absurd issue just to make small talk.

[roryisok]

I definitely find this. I often put my headphones on without music just so people won't bother me

[tedmiston]

I'd be curious to hear if anyone has done custom molded plugs before and how much better they really are. Especially if they make a difference in noise isolation and/or cancellation, or if it's more about comfort.

In any case custom tips aren't that expensive relative to the benefits, so it's something I'm considering.

[scarecrowbob]

I occasionally play music in bands with in-ear monitors. I use a $100 pari of shure earbuds (se215), and they work quite well.

I don't play in these kinds of situations often enough to warrant paying 200-800 for a pair of custom molds and drivers, but I know people who do. I have been told that the main benefit of custom molds is better (higher-fidelity) bass response and are typically more comfortable, and typically more expensive IEMs will also have more drivers for different bands in the audio spectrum.

As far as noise isolation, the Shure's are plenty good enough for listening to low-volume music while, say mowing the lawn.

Or, if the drummer is being annoying in a rehearsal I have unplugged them to great relief.

Isolation doesn't, I think, get much better-- there is a lot of conduction through other pathways than the ear canal.

After I played around with a couple different tips (these are very inexpensive) I found that my ear canals differ slightly in size ;)

[tedmiston]

I had a pair of Shures in 2008 (the tips look the same today), and had a similar experience with my ear canals being different sizes.

Mainly I used the foam tips which isolated extremely well vs triple flange tips, but were very uncomfortable to wear for more than ~2 hours. Is that something you've noticed too?

[scarecrowbob]

I've tried all three of the cheap tips (foam, silicone, and the flanges).

I think that going with smaller is more comfortable, as are the foam ones. Yeah, they are uncomfortable for long periods of time, but I got used to it after a while and fiddling with the sized helped.

I am not sure how healthy it is to wear them for long periods of time.

[steve1011]

Ive had both custom IEMs and custom earplugs. The sound isolation is generally better than nearly all foam tips, with some exceptions (ER6i, Er4p).

The real difference is comfort. I can wear customs all day without experiencing any ear fatigue. Cable micro-phonics are also much quieter.