The Skinny on Ultra-Comfortable Earphones

The Skinny on Ultra-Comfortable Earphones

Klipsch
September 6, 2019

Think about this scenario for a moment - you put your earphones in for your commute, your workout, or a phone call. You’ve got your playlist ready to go.

How do your earphones feel?

Do they fit into your ear canal or do they sit at a strange angle?

Do they feel uncomfortable after just a few minutes?

Do you have to constantly adjust them?

If you answered “yes” to any of those questions, then you need to get the skinny on why and how Klipsch cornered the market on the most comfortable earphones in the world.

“‘True Comfort’ is more than just a slogan,” explains Klipsch Engineering Program Manager Andrew Doerr. “Here at Klipsch, everything we’ve done for each headphone is part of that comfort story.”

Klipsch is built on more than 70 years of groundbreaking acoustic technology. In 2007, Klipsch engineers saw the potential for making a headphone that offered the same legendary sound of our speakers. The research began by studying, well, ears. Engineers made molds of various ear canals and reached the same conclusion - ear canals are oval-shaped, not round.

Doerr says the evolution of making in-ear headphones more comfortable began back with the X series. “We now had the smallest ear tips, nozzle, and housing in one product,” he says.

Doerr says his team is always hunting for improvements to make the comfort improves every time a new iteration of Klipsch earphones comes to life.

What's in a Nozzle?

Doerr says the comfort begins on the T5 headphones with the size of the nozzle. “The T5 nozzle is smaller than all of our competitors,” Doerr says.

Doerr says other earphones with larger nozzles create pressure on the inside of the ear canal and cause discomfort.

Klipsch earphone drivers are the smallest in the industry and built in the housing, unlike competitor’s drivers that are built into the nozzle. Doing this allows Klipsch to keep the housing and nozzle small.

“It allows our patented, oval ear tip to fit just about every ear canal.” - Andrew Doerr

Yes, really - you read that right. Klipsch holds a patent on comfortable ear tips. Klipsch already holds a number of patents in relation to speaker technology, so it’s certainly not a stretch to say we innovate with the customer (and your ears) in mind.

The Amazing Ear Tips

Doerr says ear canals are oval-shaped, not round. Ear canals are definitely not one size fits all either.

Unfortunately, many competitors created round earbuds without giving much thought to the actual shape of the human ear canal. Those become uncomfortable in a hurry and no one wants to interrupt their workout to tinker with their earbuds.

Doerr says the Klipsch oval ear tip design means our earphones won’t fall out the way cheap round earbuds do. Plus, Klipsch offers a variety of sizes to fit virtually every human ear canal on Earth.

The Angle

The third component of our premium-comfort is the angle of the nozzle. Doerr says the T5 Sport, T5M, and T5 Neckbands took the same successful approach used on the R6i in-ear headphones. An up angle, coupled with a side angle, made for a better fit and turned into a separate patent for Klipsch’s engineering design team.

The T5 True Wireless earphones offer full 360° turning for maximum flexibility.

Any way you slice it, Klipsch earphones are designed so you can enjoy your music and only your music, without interruption or having to adjust your earbuds.