@SamGreenwood the issue with earbuds is they take a real beatin’ in daily use. (I am assuming you’re careful, but still, sh*t happens.) They’re almost like a consumable at this point… you know you will be replacing them every so many months. Based on the assumption they will break, I think it’s better to find something with reasonable quality that you can affordably replace when needed. That said, I haven’t used earphones since the 60G iPod with a HDD, so I have no advice to offer on what is current that is good enough quality.
These are too expensive to be a replacement for earbuds, but I did recently pick up a pair of the Sony noise cancelling WH-1000XM4’s on sale at BestBuy. (I may be crazy and planning too far ahead, but I hope to one day be able to get on a plane and travel again, and these seemed like a decent option for using on a plane… they’re the first ones to have USB-C which was keeping me from buying the XM3’s which had older USB connectors.) These are over ear instead of in ear, but they can be used wired or used wireless via Bluetooth. They have a carrying case for when you take them off, but if you were to use them wired I think it would be annoying to constantly have to connect and disconnect that wire… I don’t think you could leave it in while in the case.
(As an unrelated side note: Sony really missed a beat on these… they cannot operate as USB headphones… which is a shame really.)