I only use them while working or mowing the lawn...either one of those is usually a noisy environment so the sound quality definitely doesn't have to be as good as the wired headphones that I'll use at home....but I've heard lots of earphones that weren't up to my minimum standards even in noisy environments.
Staying in my ears is important, I got some free lg tone Bluetooth earbuds and they wouldn't stay in my ears and sounded terrible, plus the battery lasted half an hour. Thanks Koodo mobile for the free e waste!
I've never tried noise cancellation but it sounds like it would be nice on the lawn tractor but I'm not sure I want to pay the extra for it. As you know you usually get better sound for the same price if you don't need certain features.
I guess a good compromise between everything and in my price range noise cancellation is probably out.
So pretty much you are looking for exactly what I wanted out of an earbud.
All of the ones I have mentioned I managed to pay less then $150 for.
Here is the cool thing, no matter what I say, with earbuds you can try out as many as you like, most give you 30 days to 90 days to return if you dont like them. Careful with Best Buy, if your not en elite member its only 15 days though with the Holidays now it maybe extended. Amazon now gives you to the end of Jan this time of year. Target is 30 days and they have some good sales at times.
Ok there are two styles, the first two I am going to mention pretty much sit on top of your ear canal and they are out of these world comfortable and surprisingly they are by far the most secure. I ONLY checked out wireless earbuds, I didnt want any wires. These are my favorites and I might keep all three. BY far, if I had to choose just one, it would be #1 the Powerbeats pro as best all around, think no longer, they are awesome in everyday. Just amazing.
1. Beats Powerbeats Pro (owed by Apple) They are amazing, heck, you will forget you are even wearing them, long battery life too, for wireless buds. You will be aware of your surroundings, no noise cancellation, they are sport buds they are not made to cancel out noise, they will NEVER fall off your head as it has an over the ear hook.
You can buy them onsale at Amazon, Best Buy, Apple.com Keep an eye on Amazon, sometimes they put different colors nodal at great prices.
I only paid $125 for mine while at the time Best Buy and Target was selling them for $250. I bought a color that was on sale for $173, then by using my Discover card Amazon asked me if I wanted to use my Discover Cashback and if I did, I would be given another $50 off the purchase price, it was a no brainer.
2. Bose Sport Buds, Awesome sound, Unbelievable comfortable, no noise cancellation and they block out very little outside noise, Powerbeats Pro blocks a little more. Doesnt matter to me, I really like them, no over the ear hook but does have a large, super comfy in ear wing to keep it stable. Battery life before recharging is less the #1 but not bad at 4+ hours. YOU can buy direct from Bose website, in fact you can buy a Bose Refurbished for only $119 comes with a 90 day trial and 1 year warranty too. or buy on sale new for $149.
3. Jaybird Vista 2 SE (SE is Costco exclusive) Vista 2 for everyone else. Bought at Costco for $149 but will cost you on sale $169 at other places Best Buy ect ect. This one I am on the fence about and only had a few days so far but it is R-E-A-L-L-Y growing on me. I wasnt thrilled about the sound, but adjusted it to my liking, ever so slightly with the AWESOME Jaybird phone app.
It fits my ear really well and my wife likes it so much that I will be being one for her on her birthday.
Its full of features such as waterproof, Military specs for durability ect. What I do like about it for a second set is that it inserts a bit more into the ear canal and REALLY seals out noise if noise is a concern. NOT ONLY THAT but it has Noice Cancelation Circuit which you can turn on and off in the app, it also have voce through which allows you to hear outside around you. Keep in mind that on any earbud when you use extra features battery life will be shortened between charges. They will stick in your ear.
That is my official list for now, the three above, pick and choose or get all three and return what you do not like.
Earbuds and headsets in general are very subjective, we are all deficient in some part of the audio spectrum, so they will always sound different to different people. I can tell you #1 and #2 will stay in your ear no matter what. My left ear sometimes gives me a problem with ear buds staying in and those two never do. #3 is the first of that style that I do not THINK will give me an issue, it certainly seems secure, I LOVE the features of #3, really amazing and tiny too. Respected in the jogging magazines ...
Battery life between charging isnt critical because you just pop them in the case and they recharge. But it bothers me a TINY bit that of the three the Bose around 4 to 5 hours is the least but they are amazing how comfy, same with the Powerbeats.
You will notice #3 being in your ear for sure, but it passively seals out noise even without the NC turned on.