Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've had a love/hate relationship with these earbuds until I learned how to properly use them (I've had them for a few weeks now). These are my first pair of in-ear earbuds and as many have already said, they are to be worn sealed into the ear canal to get the proper fidelity. You cannot simply fit them into the opening of the ear and get any bass response at all. I knew this but didn't know how you were supposed to get them inserted properly and I struggled in the absence of any pertinent guidance. I understand that everyone's ears are shaped a little differently but what I found that worked for me was to insert the bud into the opening of my ear canal and rotate it while applying inward pressure (kind of like turning a screw) until the cable/shaft points upwards (see my pic). When the bud is situated this way it slides into my ear canal and makes the appropriate seal and I can run the cable behind my ear. No amount of inward pressure could get the proper seal with the cables hanging downward like you would think it is intended. It took me a while to figure this out. I also discovered that there is a fine line between pushing it in just enough to create the seal and pushing it in too far. Go too far and they begin to hurt rather quickly... and they hurt pretty bad. So find the spot where they seal but go no further. Again, it took me a while to figure this out. When positioned correctly I can wear them for extended periods. That being said, once fitted correctly - sealed in the ear canal - these buds provide an adequate (quite a bit actually) amount of bass and sound isolation compared to the regular headphones that simply rest in front of the ear opening. The bass was too much at first. I realized I had my EQ settings on my device set to a high bass boost to compensate for my old headphones. Once adjusted to flatten out the bass they sounded fantastic. I've never had any other high-end earbuds to compare these to but I feel that these sound great especially for the price. They do a very good job of keeping out surrounding noise. I used them on a recent flight and they did a MUCH better job keeping out the background noise of the jet than my old phones. Use caution when walking/running as they can block the sound of traffic and other hazards you would otherwise hear. Summary: These Panasonic in-ear earbuds are a great value and have exceptional sound... once you learn how to properly use them. Experiment to achieve the correct and comfortable fit.