Earhoox

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Preamble:

I am someone who does a lot of running outside, getting a couple of thousand kilometres on my shoes every year (it were much less in the past one and a half years due to more review writing).
Sometimes I am using in-ears during the runs, however without any music being played most of the time – only after the half or in the last third, when I need some “support”, I usually occasionally start playback. Most of the time, I am however using the Apple EarPods which offer solid sound for their price (the main reason why I also use them is that I often do not need much noise isolation and maximum sound quality is not my main goal for that field of application). Usually, the EarPods are sitting quite well and securely in my ears, however only as long as I don’t turn my head or smile – if I do one of the two things, fit loosens and sound isn’t correct anymore. One possibility would be using my BlackBerry’s earbuds (W410/W430) with their silicone loops that guarantee for a secure fit, however the flat cable is annoying to the core and the cable remote which is essential for me does not fully work with my audio player (because of its size and little weight, I am using my iPod Nano 6G for sports), plus their sound quality is inferior despite more neutrality.
A cure for this problem with earbuds and EarPods that slip and might not sit stably when doing sports or even in daily use is promised by the American start-up company Earhoox (http://earhoox.com/) with their eponymous silicone fins that are available for most regular earbuds as well as Apple’s EarPods. The price for one pack of Earhoox in two sizes is $9.95 plus shipping.

Before I go on, I also want to give my hearty thanks to Helmut Wyzisk III from Earhoox for sending me some Earhoox for the Apple EarPods as well as regular earbuds free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.


Delivery Content:

The Earhoox which are available in five different colours for every style arrive in a flat cardboard blister packaging. The packaging for every single colour version is slightly differently designed and has got colour-matching Earhoox logos; the back advertises the benefits of the shark fin design. Included inside is a picture that shows what the Earhoox look like when properly installed and worn; in addition each pack includes two pairs of the fin-tips that differ in size (S and L).
 

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Looks, Feels, Build Quality:

The silicone tips with patented shark fin design have got an Earhoox logo on each side of the fin. The silicone is soft, flexible, stretchable and appears pretty sturdy.
With most of the Earhoox I got, build quality is perfect, with a few however there are some residues of the silicone mould at the edges – nonetheless, they fortunately do not impair comfort at all.
 

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Fit, Comfort, Daily Use:

Once the ear-tips are installed, they sit very tight, securely and don’t slip.
My auricles are quite large, some peoples’ are rather small – that’s why I find it quite good that there is a pair of small as well as another one of large Earhoox in one package. In my ears, the large tips definitely stay in the best and most secure; after some time I don’t even feel the earbuds anymore, as the Earhoox’ fins sit very securely without slipping and remain a constant position.

With the “bare” EarPods, fit loosened when I turned my head or smiled, with the Earhoox however, the earphones keep their exact stable position and don’t move the slightest, no matter how much I turn my head or grimace.
In daily use for the purpose of running, the Earhoox turned out as being extremely helpful, as I now wasn’t only able to turn my head as much as I wanted, but also had perfect comfort and an ideal fit all the time – I didn’t even feel the silicone shark fins and over the whole running distance, I had a constantly good sound and fit.
But also for daily things like lying down, the earphones stayed in and neither moved nor showed any small signs of slipping.
By the way, the earphones’ seal might even improve because of the silicone, comparable to when the earbuds without Earhoox are pushed in and (ideally) stay in perfectly.

What’s also noteworthy is that microphonics (cable noise) are now clearly reduced and that the vents along with the sound outlet holes remain uncovered after the Earhoox have been installed.

On a side-note: with the Earhoox, regular earbuds can also be worn flipped by 180° with the cables guided around the ears, which worked perfectly with Apple’s older regular earbuds.
As the tips are very elastic, they don’t only fit most earbuds but also some in-ears.
 

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Sound:

Will the sound get altered when using the Earhoox or does it remain true with them? Let’s find out:

Earbuds:
With regular earbuds and attached Earhoox (I used the Apple Earbuds, the Pai Audio 3.14 Flat and the SoundMAGIC EP10), the earphones sat slightly looser/further away from my ear canals in my large, rather deep auricles, wherefore sound was somewhat thinner than with regular good fit. However, when I attached the shark fins flipped around by 180°, fit with the fin tips was deeper and just as good as with regular good fit, wherefore sound remained unaltered and true then.

EarPods:
With the Apple EarPods and the Earhoox, the earphones sat just as good as with regular perfect fit, wherefore sound was unaltered and true here as well.


Conclusion:

For all these, who struggle to get a secure and stable fit with their Apple EarPods or earbuds in general, as well as for these who use their earphones mainly for sports, I highly recommend the Earhoox.
I for my part can say that I cannot imagine using my Apple Earpods for running without the silicone shark fins anymore.