[orca-list] Possibly Off-Topic: Earphone recommendations.

[Mewtamer <mewtamer gmail com>]

Sorry if this qualifies as off-topic for any of the mailing lists I'm
sending it to, but I figure I'm not the only one on any of these lists
who wears earphones almost every waking moment and considers them one
of the most essential pieces of technology they use on a daily basis.

Anyways, as so often happens, frequent plugging and un plugging lead
to the wires on the plug of my Panasonic ear clips to fray to the
point one earpiece  is silent most of the time, and i have no spare
earphones, so I'm in the market for a new pair.

My initial thought is to just order a couple pairs of the same
Panasonic earclips I've been using for years. They're comfortable
enough for all day wear, have no sound quality issues I can detect,
are fairly inexpensive(~$12-15 on Amazon depending on color choice),
and I know what I'm going to get.

On the other hand, the Panasonics I've been using for the last 5 years
or so have always had an annoyingly short wire(I need to hike up my
pants for the wire to reach my portable media player in my pocket and
I more often than not have to use an extension cable with my desktop),
wrapping the wire around my neck when no plugged into anything is kind
of annoying, and they seem to be getting less durable(I've gone
through two pairs since last December, the three previous pairs each
averaged about a year-and-a-half based on my Amazon order history),
and it would be nice to be able to ditch the wire when it isn't
needed.

But it's nearly impossible to find wireless earphones that are ear
clip style, and even expanding to other form factors, it's hard to
find a pair with halfway decent battery life, for under $30, and I've
yet to find a pair that either had the option of using an aux cable
for connecting to devices without Bluetooth or a dongle you could just
plug into a 3.5mm jack, and best I can tell, Bluetooth adaptors aren't
all that affordable either.

So anyone have any recommendations for a good, inexpensive pair of
earphones that either has a long, rugged wire or which is wireless
with good battery life and a good solution for backwards compatibility
with wired-only audio sources? Preferably of the ear clip
style(regular earbuds are too insecure for my liking, earplug style
earbuds irritate my ear canals and leave me prone to ear infections, I
have big ears, so retro earmuff style headphones leave me with sore
cartilage after a few hours, and behind the head earphones sound like
they'd be uncomfortable with how much of my time is spent either
laying down with my head on a pillow, in a recliner with my had on the
headrest, or leaning against a wall.). And for wired solutions,
something with a built-in cord spool or recommendations for a third
part spool that could be added would be appreciated.