[Closed] In-ear or over-ear headphones, sound quality comparison?

In general in acoustics, bigger is better.

I'd reckon the top of the range over-ear would always be better than the top of the range in-ear. However in the mid-range it's not going to be so clear cut.

One other advantage over-ear headphones have over in-ear is fit (unless the in-ear are custom fit). In-ear have to fit a broad range of ears. If they don't fit very well then this can affect audio quality, especially the low end response.

In my experience, over-ear have always been better than in-ear. I find over-ear much more comfortable. However, I think the only way to be sure is to demo the headphones if you can

not much help as i dont use over ears but i would say good in-ears can be incredible. Ive been running Shure SE425's for ages and the quality is exceptional (although the sound profile not for everyone). Helps that they are wired but the shure aonic system looks interesting. Anyway, i guess im saying dont be put off in ears, they can be great and you dont walk around looking like your at a silent disco 😛

Over ear open backed with 50mm+ drivers give the best soundstage and imaging IME.

I wouldn't consider in-ear for high quality listening pleasure.

I had some Shure in-ears that were brilliant. Then they were replaced under warranty with a different model, which weren't so good. I've lost them now.... but I still always preferred my over-ear Sennheiser.

Thanks. Good to know there's some decent in-ear options.

I'm procrastinating over whether to get wireless in-ears (safe option) which I know I'll get on with, or whether to jump into the world of over-ear headphones for better sound quality. I'll get more use from in-ear I imagine, but when I'm spending £150-200 on headphones its hard to ignore 'proper' over-ear headphones.

I'm happy with my Sony EX650s and can continue using them out and about if I didn't want to use over-ears; I'm just looking for something similar but wireless.

Really happy with my Shure SE215s running with a FiiO DAC. Sometimes voices can sound a little harsh but for pure acoustic music they’re sublime.

I have audio technica ath-m50 and the in ear ath-e50.
Both are monitor headphones but the over ear ones do sound better, not by a massive amount but they do sound a bit more open and a bit more surrounding

Tangential thread hi-jack... Are there over-ear (wireless) headphones that wont rot when used in high sweat turbo trainer sessions?
Ta

I have some decent over ear headphones (ath m50 and wireless Master & Dynamic mw60) and my Jaybird Vista in ears compare pretty well.

Also interested in sweat safe over ear options!

Probably depends on price point, but my ancient £40 Panasonic RPHTF600ES (over ear, semi open back, big drivers) sound a lot better than my newer in ear Sony MDR-EX650AP , although I do like them and they are also good.

Are there over-ear (wireless) headphones that wont rot when used in high sweat turbo trainer sessions?

The forums at https://www.head-fi.org might be a good place to look, a lot of people botch upgrade to different ear cushions depending on what model you have for similar reasons, better cover material and better cushioning, etc.

There are plenty of great in-ear that can compete with similar priced full size, eg by etymotic. But will be outperform them in some aspects eg detail and then underperform in others eg soundstage.

I wouldn’t consider in-ear for high quality listening pleasure.

No? There are IEM’s with multiple drivers, and a set of custom-fit IEM’s can cost well north of £1000, and it’s worth pointing out that custom IEM’s are what professional musicians wear.
I’ve got a number of pairs of Ultimate Ears IEM’s, including a pair of TripleFi 10 Studio Pro, which used to retail at around £350, and they’re superb, excellent passive noise reduction, although that’s with triple-flange eartips - custom eartips would be better and more comfortable, but cost about £130/pair. They are very neutral in their sound, nicely detailed with great bass extension, but they’re also a bit of a faff to get in and out, which is why I tend to often wear my EarPods or a pair of Taotronics Soundcore BT over-ear ‘phones when I go into town, they’re just so much easier to take off and talk to people.
My UE’s will easily show up poor mastering, even at 320Kb - I’ve done comparisons between 320Kb, Lossless and original CD with them, and the quality of the mastering makes more of a difference than the bitrate, to my ears at least.
I’ve also got some MeeAudio Pinnacle P1 IEM’s, much cheaper, and also with a neutral balance, which can be fitted with a BT wireless cable instead of 3.5mm jack - it has to be admitted though, that IEM’s can irritate, and getting them to fit properly can be frustrating with a fair amount of trial-and-error, and some people never manage to get them to really fit properly; over-ear ‘phones are generally much more forgiving of fit, and easier to get along with, which I won’t argue against at all.
Another point, though; it’s easy to sleep wearing IEM’s, not so much with a bulky pair of Sony or Bose over-ear ‘phones on!

In response to the OP's original question...

In ears vs. over ears for the same price will generally sound worse.

That doesn't mean you can't enjoy listening to in ears, and you'll typically forget the difference once you've been listening for a few tracks.

I've got some RHA True connect wireless buds, and they're actually pretty amazing. Retail was like £140. They've decent clean bass, ok soundstage and bright highs.

They aren't a patch on my closed-back wireless that were £350, and they're miles away from my £150 Philips Fidelio open backs.

If you're looking at IEMs, you're buying for a different reason than you would open or closed back over ears. So it's almost pointless comparing the sound quality.

I’m procrastinating over whether to get wireless in-ears (safe option) which I know I’ll get on with, or whether to jump into the world of over-ear headphones for better sound quality. I’ll get more use from in-ear I imagine, but when I’m spending £150-200 on headphones its hard to ignore ‘proper’ over-ear headphones.

I'd say at that price point it's most about personal preference and where you'll be using them. Wearing them out and about then in-ears are a bit more discrete, also better when sunbathing :p Over-ears are more comfy for longer periods (at least for me) and I can see say when at work in an office then over-ears are more convenient (if someone walks up to your desk to talk to you - I used to hate having to keep taking my in-ears out then re-squishing the foam and putting them back in every few minutes) - although you'd need closed-back over-ears in an office setting (and any public setting really, you're not going to win many friends commuting on a train with open-back over-ears.