Foam vs Silicone Ear Tips | Guide to Pick Best Ear Tips

Have you ever wondered When you buy new earphones, they feel either too bright or too warm? I always look to tweak some ways to sound my earphones exactly to my taste. 

Ear Tip type impacts sound quality. It allows you to make sounds either loud or bright. The type of Ear tips also enhances or degrades comfort.

So, what type of ear tip will you pick to make sound smooth and comfortable?

Silicone Ear Tips

Silicone ear tips are low cost due to the low manufacturing costs involved and are more durable as rigid material (Silicone) is used in manufacturing.

It reduces the feeling of forceful insertion of earbuds into your ears and enhances the comfort level. But, If you have large ear canals, it would be better for you to pick large Silicone ear tips. 

Silicone ear tips don’t change the sound much in comparison to other ear tips due to the use of rigid material. They fit comfortably into your ears and with the right size of ear tips, they get a good seal with your ears.

So, You get true sound from your earphones as Silicone Ear Tips try to heighten sound isolation, improve Bass and reduce drastic Tones in a large frequency range.

If you don’t get a firm seal with your ear tips, you can try dual flange tips or triple flange tips as they are a bit deeper, hence improving sound as well.

You can also clean them twice a week or at least once a week. You just need to put them under the sink and wash them with water and soap to rinse off dust and bacteria to avoid ear infections.

Because, when you use earphones/headphones for a long time, ear wax and dirt is gathered in your headphone and around your ear tips which is why it is necessary to clean Headphones’ pads and Ear Tips.

There are also Grades in Silicone Ear Tips. Some are more rigid and some are more flexible. So, definitely, you should go with more flexible ones.

Alert: They are mostly recommended for earphones that already fit into your ears well because they do slip much and may fall off your ears. I won’t recommend any person who owns pair of earphones that don’t fit well so these silicone ear tips won’t help a lot.

You can get Silicone Ear Tips for your Apple AirPods Pro in multiple sizes from the links mentioned below.

Best Silicone Ear Tips:

For Small Size: SpinFit CP1025 for Apple Airpods Pro

For Medium Size: SpinFit CP1025 for Apple Airpods Pro

For Medium Large Size: SpinFit CP1025 for Apple Airpods Pro

For Large Size: SpinFit CP1025 for Apple Airpods Pro

Foam Ear Tips

Foam Ear Tips are slightly more expensive than Silicone Ear tips and come in different sizes and shapes typically Cylindrical or Rounded and some are dense as compared to others ones.

They provide your earphones more stability to fit well into your ears. So, if you have pair of earphones slipping off your ears, I’ll recommend you pick memory foam ear tips and an extra hole is added within your ears.

Its surface is rough which provides more friction to your ears and sticks well to your ear canal.

It relatively eliminates ear pain and discomfort which Silicone ear tips are unable to provide. Memory foam actually molds according to your ear size and fits well.

Memory Foam Ear Tips provide a better grip which allows you to move outside and have workouts with your earphones and they don’t distract and slip off your ears.

You have one size of ear tip to fit all. So, you don’t need to search for a specific size for your ears. Always squeeze your foam ear tips before wearing your earphones which is important to adjust them perfectly within your ears.

Once you wear them, they expand into your ears making a firm grip with ears.

Alert: Foam Ear Tips absorb some sound frequencies and also reduce Bass. So, you don’t get true sound with foam ear tips as compared to silicone ear tips and you won’t observe punch sound bass with these ear tips. But, there are a few tips that will help you to make your headphones/earphones loud.

They are not much durable and you are unable to clean them. So, if you use earphones a lot, I won’t recommend you to go with Foam ear tips. They help to block unnecessary noises and improve your listening experience.

You can get Foam Ear Tips for your Apple AirPods Pro in multiple sizes from the links mentioned below.

Best Foam Ear Tips:

For Small Size: COMPLY Foam Apple AirPods Pro Earbud Tip

For Medium Size: COMPLY Foam Apple AirPods Pro Earbud Tip

For Large Size: COMPLY Foam Apple AirPods Pro Earbud Tip

Comparison Between Silicone vs Foam Ear Tips

A) Sound Quality

Silicone Ear Tips enhance Treble and Bass ensuring a superior listening experience. Mid-high frequency sound is muffled.

Foam Ear Tips block much of outside noises and their strong grip on your ears makes the bass heavy and you feel true, high sound 

B) Design

Silicone Ear Tips are made of a rigid material that you obviously feel after long hours of use. Silicone Ear Tips have a mesh screen inside the little adapter.

They do come in different designs like Single, Double, and Triple Flanged Ear Tips.

Foam Ear Tips are made of super squishy soft material like memory foam but you will find hard plastic inside. No matter what your ear canal shape or size is, they mold themselves accordingly and hold your ears tightly.

A perfect design helps you to get True sound efficiently from your Earphones.

C) Comfort

Silicon Ear Tips have premium soft silicone material combined with an ergonomic design that eliminates ear fatigue. I don’t feel pressure in my ears with silicone ear tips on my earphones.

Foam Ear Tips have no looseness and there is no wiggle. There is some rigidness to the foam as well otherwise, it is a comfort booster for your ear tips. But, you’ll feel a little tired with these on your earphones for a long time when you don’t pick the right Ear Tip for yourself.

The foam may get ripped when you remove Foam Ear Tips continuously and it may break from its surface point.

D) Noise Isolation

Silicone Ear Tips have enhanced Sound Isolation. Because a consistent optimal seal with an awkward insertion angle allows more sound isolation. But, in comparison to Foam Ear Tips, they can’t reduce outside noise much due to being unfit for your ears as they fall off your ears much.

Foam Ear Tips offer enough sound isolation even when Active Noise Cancellation is off, it blocks outside noises.

But, you must always keep in mind that Noise Isolation is not a characteristic that you should consider at stake for other features as it may not be valuable for you while you are in the areas outside where you want yourself to be aware of your surroundings.

Do Ear Tips Affect Sound Quality?

Ear Tips do affect the sound quality coming out of your earphones. So many factors are involved in elevating or dampening the Frequency ranges:

• Ear tips size and shape
• Hardness
• Material
• Thickness
• Insertion Depth

But, the change in sound depends and varies from person to person. Because whatever ear tip type is, it must fit in your ears perfectly. 

If your earphones don’t fit in your ears or there are noises coming in from outside and there is no sound isolation, So, your ear tips won’t be able to provide you with the earphones’ true sound.

What are the Best Ear Tips?

1) Spinfit CP145

Nozzle: 

Narrow, sharp

Stem: 

Thin, soft, “nipple” mechanism allowing for spin

Umbrella: 

Standard semi-oval shape, thin, soft

Fit & Comfort: 

Very comfortable, and compatible with many IEMs, the spin mechanism allows for slightly deeper than usual insertion depth

Sound: 

Lighter bass, slightly narrower soundstage

Pair with: 

IEMs that are slightly uncomfortable, IEMs with shallow nozzles, or generalist choice

2) Final Type E

Nozzle: 

Narrow, plateau tapered

Stem: 

thick, soft, ribbed

Umbrella: 

Standard semi-oval shape, thick, soft

Fit & Comfort: 

Comfortable, compatible with most IEMs, save for those with too large nozzles, thick but malleable umbrella

Sound: 

Slightly warmer sound, thickened lower midrange, kills dynamics somewhat.

Pair with: 

Final Audio IEMs are used to thicken up a cold sound.

3) Sony Hybrids

Nozzle: 

Narrow, plateau tapered

Stem: 

Thin, soft, semi-malleable

Umbrella: 

Standard semi-oval shape, semi-thick, soft, slightly less matte than Final Type E

Fit & Comfort: 

Comfortable, Compatible with most IEMS save for too large nozzles, slightly more conforming than Final Type E but a cheaper feeling umbrella.

Sound: 

Midbass boost

Pair with: 

Sony IEMS, which doesn’t change the sound too much compared to Final Type E with similar comfort

4) AZLA SednaEarfit Standard

Nozzle: 

Wide, slightly bowled

Stem: 

Thick, hard, decently long

Umbrella: 

Standard semi-oval shape, slightly more inflated than other tips, thick, hard

Fit & Comfort: 

Not that comfortable, the long stem allows for deeper fits, compatible with most IEMs

Sound: 

Increased upper midrange presence, slightly tightened bass, leaves dynamics and imaging untouched

Pair with: 

Dita IEMs, AZLA IEMs, IEMs with shallow nozzles, extra big sizes for those with large ears

5) Ortofon ear tips

Nozzle: 

Narrow, sharp

Stem: 

Medium thickness, soft, very malleable, may deform in the ear to fit deeper

Umbrella: 

Standard semi-oval shape, thin, soft, fragile, and easy to tear

Fit & Comfort: 

Very comfortable, the great softness makes for a very nice long listening session ear tip

Sound: 

Softens bass, ever so slightly looser imaging

Pair with: 

IEMs that you need to feel comfortable for long usage, avoid too big nozzles to not damage the tip

Are memory foam tips more comfortable?

Yes! Memory Foam Ear Tips are more comfortable as they are mattress material made. So, when you squeeze it and put it in your ear, it makes a firm grip on your ear.

• Foam ear tips give comfort to ears with their soft material.
• Foam ear tips don’t fall off ears so you don’t fit and place them again and again. 
• Noise isolation is another advantage that blocks outside noises and eliminates ear fatigue.

Which earbud tips should I use?

If you are a person who loves bulky sound and bass, Silicone Ear Tips will be preferable as it brings down the Treble even up to 10 dB and increases Mids.

If you have to use Earphones for quite a long time in a day, always use Foam Ear Tips. Because they are porous materials manufactured which absorb a lot of moisture.

Foam Ear Tips

If you are a sweaty person or you work out daily where you get much moisture, you must use earbuds with foam ear tips. You can also use a waterproof case with it to absorb moisture. If you feel that the earbuds are not fit for your ears and they are loose, you should go for silicone ear tips.

Silicone Ear Tips

Silicone ear tips are available in all sizes and shapes and you can pick the best fit for your ears. But, keep in mind that earbuds with silicone ear tips are more prone to fall as moisture easily attaches to the silicone material surface.

Do foam tips reduce bass?

Foam ear tips have more grip on your ears. They comfortably grab your ears and you feel smooth and silky with their material which doesn’t ache your ears when you use earphones for long hours. 

So, it avoids any outside noise which ultimately gives a boom to your bass and makes sound heavy.

How long do foam ear tips last

Foram ear tips have good sound quality, grip, and comfort but not everyone has the same lifespan with their ear tips. On average, a pair of foam earbuds tips should last around two to four months and those stats are according to ComplyFoam Earbuds Tips.

• If you use ear tips for one hour each day and you also use them for your workouts. So, definitely, its lifespan is in 60-120 days.
• If you use Ear Tips once a week, you can expect more durability and they could also last 2-4 years.

You must keep in mind the following factors in order to expect Ear Tips’ lifespan.

Environmental Factors:

If you keep your Ear tips dirty and you don’t keep them cleaned, their lifespan may degrade. Ear Wax or Sweat may get into your ear tips and it decreases the durability. So, If you work out daily, you must replace them after 1-2 months.

Usability:

If you are music passionate and use earphones much, there is more probability of getting your ear tips damaged more quickly. So, you should always use them within specific limits. A person using his earphones 8 hours a day may reduce their durability.

How do you clean foamy ear tips?

You can clean your foam ear tips with water and soap and give them some time to let dry. Don’t use alcoholic absorbent as it may damage the foam of ear tips.