I see that this discussion is from 2013 and it is now well into 2021! Quick background. Small church, I run sound and play guitar and sing in our praise band. We are not loud at all but we got rid of floor wedges several years ago and started using IEM's. We have a Presonus StudioLive board which allows us to control individual mixes with an iphone. Our IEM's are inexpensive. I set up a direct line to individual headphone amps and plug in the ear buds. We have been using Bose ear buds. Not sure the model, but they have a nice fit inside the ear but not totally isolating. I've been very happy. No issues with Occlusion. Well, I broke those earbuds and unfortunately they are discontinued so I bought Shure SE215's. Yanked them out as soon as I tried them. 1. I was not used to the near complete isolation and 2. My head voice was distracting to say the least. the other guitar player uses them as well and he loves them, but he doesn't sing much. Just started my own research on this and found this thread. My takeaway is that maybe it isn't so much about complete isolation and form fitting but rather allowing some of the stage noise to come in. I'm not about to go deaf from turning up the volume to get read of the occlusion and I'm not smart enough to mess with polarity and latency, etc. Just a novice volunteer. These would be great if I didn't sing, After reading the initial statements about cramming the buds in further, I tested a few things. I simply put them back in and started speaking. Then I applied some pressure and it went away. So there is something to be said about a tighter fit somewhere. I tried different tips, but no deal. So for the average Joe in a situation like mine, I think less is more and allowing some sound in is better than keeping it all out. In my opinion, apart from bands that feel the need to have all their amps on stage there isn't much we need to block out anymore. I'm sending my Shure's back and my search will continue. Problem these days is that finding non professional, non bluetooth, non-smart phone headphones is tough.
Thanks for this discussion and if anyone can point me to solutions that may have come up in the last 7 years, let me know.
