Phiaton PS200

Short-Term Use (4.00)

The Phiaton PS200s are comfortable enough, but they didn’t stay in our ears well at all. We pushed them in as far as they’d safely fit, but we never got the sense that they were locked in place. Even a gentle tug or pull would make them fall out of place. When we wore them sitting down we didn’t run into the issue, so the PS200s are probably better suited for use in the office rather than the gym.

Extended Use (3.00)

Typically when in-ears have an issue with popping out, over the course of six hours there isn’t much difference. Chances are, if we think we’re less comfortable than after an hour it’s because we’ve had to deal with the headphones popping out six times as much as our one-hour session, simply due to the longer length of time. In this case, however, we also noticed some slight discomfort from pressure. We wore the normal-sized sleeves, then switched to the smaller ones for a second trial: there wasn’t a significant difference in comfort level (and yes, we invested 12 hours of our time into this entirely subjective score, just so we could be sure before handing our knowledge over to you, our valued reader).

Of course, the heads used to test these headphones at the office are likely not yours and even more likely an entirely different shape altogether. Even without personal preference thrown in there’s enough justification for you to try on the headphones and make your own opinions before buying; after you calculate each permutation of personal preference, there’s significantly more justification to do so, so please, do try on all headphones for at least a few hours before you decide to buy/keep.

Customizability (2.25)

The Phiaton PS200s don’t have a lot in the way of customization. It has a neck split and three different sized sleeves to choose from, all of the same basic design. This is a standard offering from an entry-level set of in-ears, but typically headphones in the PS200s price range come with a few extras, such as extension cords, or different sleeve shapes.