- Guardian Plus in-Ear Earplug Earbud Hybrid - Noise Reduction in-Ear Headphones with Noise Isolating Mic and Controls (Black)

I generally can't stand earbud headphones—they never stay in my ears and aren't comfortable—but about a year ago I discovered Koss Plugs, which have memory foam ear inserts and managed not to fall out as a result. I liked those, but the sound quality wasn't great and eventually they physically wore out and needed to be replaced. I looked around and found these, which are slightly more expensive than the Plugs were, but were well reviewed and had a few features that the Plugs don't: the jack lead isn't angled, so it fits nicely through my iPhone case, there's an inline volume and pause control as well as a microphone (which I've actually never used, so I can't comment on its quality), and they function as real earplugs with a distinct reduction in ambient noise. I spend about an hour every day listening to music on a bus; buses are not known for being the quietest of places, and when I have these headphones in—even with no music playing—my environment is noticeably quieter and much more pleasant for that, and as headphones these sound pretty nice, with more bass than I've come to expect from small drivers.Additional points for unexpected durability: I accidentally washed these headphones once and they still sound fine.My only complaint with them is that besides the microphone there's no obvious indication of left/right, so I actually swapped my left plug with a different colored spare. You can tell which side is which for sure by looking at an embossed marking on the driver, but that's difficult in poor lighting conditions.

I bought these specifically for the in-line media controller as an upgrade for my last set of Plugfones. They keep your ears from hurting after riding the lawnmower for a few hours, yet you can still listen to your music at a reasonable volume. (Standard in-ear headphones you'd need to have the music loud enough to damage hearing to muffle out the exhaust noise.)My only complaint would be the placement of the buttons. They are close to the plug end of the wire rather than up near the microphone like other headsets I've had. Also, I believe the buttons should be spaced out a bit for my application. Trying to use them while wearing gloves, you'll bump an adjacent button more than once. There's a minus (volume down), a plus (volume up), and a circle. The circle, press once for play/pause. Press twice in succession for next track. Press three times in succession to repeat current track. (Or three times, and then immediately again three times to go to previous track.) Trying to double-tap for next song while bouncing down the lawn, I usually nudge volume up or down at least once.

Are you like me and hate fumbling with low quality Bluetooth receivers that don't pair half the time? Are handling loud power tools part of your job description? Do you ride a loud MANLY motorcycle that makes windows rattle and panties drop?And with all that in mind, do you like listening to rockin' tunes? Then these are the earbuds to get.

Headphones worked great at first. Shortly after getting them, the plug started shorting out. Now I can only hear music in my right ear. :(

When these headphones work, they work great. They sound good and the noise cancellation is effective. The problem I experience over and over is the point at the end of the headphones where the wire goes into the connector seems to be a very weak point, and the sound will start cutting out in one or both of the ear plugs, and eventually stop working altogether. I've gone through several pairs of these and it has happened on every one within 2-4 weeks of daily use, no matter how careful I am with them.So as long as you don't mind the hassle of returning these every few weeks for a new pair, they are great.

I bought this to try with racing scanner for nascar, its VERY loud there and I was not sure if I could hear the scanner over the noise BUT these worked great. Clear sound. And noise reduction was great.

I work in heavy industry around a lot of noisy machinery. Hearing protection is a must. I found that when I receive (or make) a phone call, there is no way I can hear the other party. I've tried a various earbuds designed for sports and fitness to no avail. So based on reviews I tried these. The noise attenuation is in keeping with similar standard earplugs, the sound quality is very good even for music and I can make and receive phone calls without having to go find a quiet zone. Excellent value for the money!