The I paid $25 for these pretty decent ones, they go for $60 retail. Everything was fine and then I remembered the third reason this is trash technology: the screen thingie always comes off, or gets gummed up and has to be taken ‘ off, making it sound like something I wouldn’t even pay $5 for.
If it isn’t that, earbuds will either not stay put, or I’ll lose one, just one.
I use some bone conduction ones for regular podcast and music stuff, and I have some Shure SE215 wired IEMs for any loud noise or audio quality situation. Which is to say usually doubled up with earmuffs and running a chainsaw, riding a motorcycle (helmet instead of earmuffs), driving a tractor, running a grinder, etc and so forth. The Shures are expensive but my first pair lasted eight years before I replaced them and the originals still work the plastic body is just chunked up and has full passthroughs to the interior.