Earbud Hell

My family dragged me screaming into the realm of 21st century music for Christmas. I have never owned a Walkman, a Discman, or an MP3 player before December 25, and this means that I have minimal experience with earbuds.

Here is the problem.

I'm not a particularly small woman--I'm over 5'7"--but I have small hands and feet, and, apparently, freakishly small ears.

The crap standard earbuds that came with my Zune were enormous, so I upgraded to Smokin' Buds from skullcandy. The smallest caps still seem a little too big.

Is it just that I'm not used to the feeling of them, or are there really small earbuds out there? A google search on "really small earbuds" :-D led me to the V-Moda Vibe II. Any other suggestions? I don't want to drop a grand on a pair of earbuds, but I'm not averse to spending some money for comfort and good sound quality.

I suppose my other route is to go for something like this, or even more ostentatiously this, but I'd rather have earbuds I can stick in my purse.

In the meantime, I'm mostly listening to my Zune through the auxiliary jack in my car.

FJM the pin-eared

 

I'm 5'7'' with big hands and feet, but small ears for ear buds... I know the feeling. I would go with Sony's in-ear phones, as they give better sound quality per dollar than Skullcandy, and their small caps are actually small. Price tag start's at around $45, and Best Buy has a good selection of them.

Note that in-ear buds take some getting used to, and if all you're feeling is discomfort, it might be a matter of not being used to them yet. If what you are feeling is pain though, by all means consider other options.