No matter what pair of Bluetooth earbuds you buy today, they all have plenty in common. Whether you buy from Sony, Bose, Samsung, Google, or even Apple, you’re bound to find more than a few earbud tips when you break open that box. Despite the vast array of ear sizes and shapes around the world, every manufacturer tries to distill that variation down to just a few simple offerings. And while most of us can make one or two of those sizes work, it does make it difficult not to look at custom ear tips with some envy — no matter how expensive they are.
Personally, I always find I have a bit of a “breaking in” period whenever I’m using new earbuds. I try to select whatever tips feel right in my ears before grinning and bearing through any pain or discomfort from extended listening. After a few days, that feeling tends to go away, and if it doesn’t, I know I need to switch to a different tip size. The same is true if one of my earbuds continually falls out of my ears — in that case, I usually know I need to move a size up.
The reason we’re asking this question, however, comes from our very own former EIC (and current Pixel 9 Pro XL reviewer) Daniel Bader, who raised an interesting question in AP’s Slack a couple of weeks ago. These days, practically every pair of earbuds includes four sizes by default: extra small, small, medium, and large, with medium usually attached to the buds out of the box. Some pairs only come with three sizes, dropping their smallest tips to deliver just a trio of options. But Daniel thinks earbuds should come with more choices, not less — or, at the very least, should deliver an extra large option in lieu of extra small.
Of course, this could say more about his ear size than it does the actual demand for new earbud tips (just saying, Daniel). Personally, I usually stick to medium for both of my ears, though I occasionally drop to small in my left ear or move to a larger size in my right ear because, apparently, my ear canals aren’t perfectly symmetrical. But I can see why some would want a larger option instead of something smaller, especially in the age of ANC. A larger ear tip should help passively block more ambient noise, after all.
So, what earbud tip size do you usually default to? Are you a tried-and-true medium user, or are you that person with extra small ears who actually springs for the tiniest tips? I’ve left this poll in multiple choice mode, too, in case you — like me — often use multiple tip sizes for your different earbuds. And if you’re also looking for larger earbud tips to be included by OEMs in the box, give us a shout in the comments. Daniel will absolutely appreciate your solidarity.
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