Earbuds for work

[Boyiee]

I'm basically looking for an earbud recommendation that DOES NOT noise cancel/isolate/block outside sound.

Basically I need to have some idea of whats going on around me and I absolutely hate my iem buds that came with my samsung S3 with the rubber tip that goes into my ear. One, it fits funny and two it blocks way too much sound. I prefer the shitty OLD iphone/ipod earbuds but they are hard and hurt after a while.

These will be exclusively for work, sitting around, my 3DS and maybe watching a movie or something during downtime. They will not be active or moving around a lot.

Any recommendations? Was just going to suck it up and get MEE M6's or CX 300B's but I'd prefer something without that rubber end. So far these PK3's are the most suggested but I'd like to keep it under $30.

I'm not looking for amazing sound here, I have phones for that, I just need something that doesn't stick directly into my ear canal blocking/muffling outside noise. Sure, turning the volume down works, but with the rubber tipped buds that go into the ear I still drastically lose hearing. I've already been through the head-fi lists but they aren't really capable of narrowing it down into my specific niche.

Thanks.

[The Stig]

Oddly enough, your absolute best solution is to buy whatever is the cheapest you can pick up if sound is not important. I brought some that was worth £2 (probably even cheaper in US, maybe $1 or less) that basically was cushioned slightly and fit in my ear. It was never uncomfortable, and played sound into my ear, meanwhile retaining my ability to hear everything else around me on medium-low volume. They lasted me 3 years, with accidental submerges into pepsi/water and still worked fine.

I think you're still looking too high end. I suggest going to your local supermarket and or dollar shop (if they exist) and see what they sell there. If you're a regular buyer of tech or know someone with lots of devices, I suggest sniffing out anyone who's brought a phone or tablet recently whom have not touched their supplied headphones.

My current earbuds for work comes from some crappy samsung pretend-to-be smartphone that was unused. I salvaged it from home. It's got a soft cushion on it, and doesn't block any noise. I also don't have my music loud enough to block noise either, just, as you wanted, background music until something happens.