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"Phenomenal sound & isolation" on by permionix
Pros: The Sound. Required for airline travel, no wind noise when skiing
Cons: cords could be shorter.
Summary: After your first plane trip using these, you will kill before you give them back. During airplane flights i can hear more nuances in songs than i can hear on my home theater setup!
My first plane trip using them, i remember taking them off finally, when i stood up to ask someone to hand me my jacket in the bin across the aisle, and boy was i shocked by how loud the ambient noise in the plane was (and this was with the engines off & half the plane already gone!)
It's weird the first time you use these, as once you get them inserted, you can't hear yourself talking except as vibrations in your head.
Ah, getting them inserted! I first tried them on(or should i say in) at a computer conference on the exhibit showfloor, and couldn't understand why others were raving about them. After a couple minutes trying to get them in my ear, I wasn't getting any bass, Nada, nothing - And they were in further than anything has a right to be stuck in my ear. The guy said i didn't have them in far enough. Stick your left arm over your head and pull back on your right ear while twisting the right earplug in with your right hand (while rubbing your stomach with your right foot & patting your head with your left). OK now it sounds better - about the same as my $40 Sony earbuds (i had them with me & doing A-B tests on my iPod). The guy asked me if i could still hear him, i said sorta, and he said "they still weren't in far enough - Some people have small, weirdly shaped or convoluted ear canals" Another five minutes of huffing and puffing and suddenly i could only hear him in my left ear. OK time to go to work on REALLY getting the left earpiece in place.
It took about 15-20 minutes to get them fully in the first time, BUT THE SOUND! It doesn't take nearly as long to get them in with practice, but some days are more difficult than others.
You can spend more money to get a custom ear mold made & i'll probably break down and do that.
The guys reviewing thsese that complain of no bass probably didn't have them in far enough. (The instructions should read insert earplugs until they touch one another, then back off 1/4 turn!
Unless you're one of those who can make their car jump up and down by turning up the bass, these headphones have enuf bass, IF INSERTED FAR ENOUGH.
I don't think i would wear these while bicycling as the isolation probably makes them unsafe (can't hear the traffic noise - ie skidding, horns or sirens). I run with them but take extra precaution at intersections and run agains traffic. They're great skiing as there's absolutely no wind noise, but i find myself looking over my shoulder a lot for safety reasons.
I have two iPods a full size one, and one of the new $99 shuffles. Well i went skiing and didn't want the weight of the full sized iPod, so i spent 5 minutes intertwining the headphone cord with the shuffle lanyard. (did i say the headphone cord could be shorter? Five feet! what were they thinking? who's ever five feet away from their player?). Now that it's intertwined, i've barely used my expensive iPod!
Does it make sense i spent more on the headphones than the iPod? Dunno. But i think that anyone who spends more than $150 on a player without buying these is wasting their money on the player! (or at least the 20% they're spending for music they can't hear!) -
"GREAT (use the alternate foam plugs)" on by byrdjr
Pros: clear, wide spectrum of sound. excellent sound isolation.
Cons: default ear pieces are VERY uncomfortable. bass is sacrificed for clarity and range
Summary: Tough one to review... so many asterisks. I got these to replace the iPod earbuds. They were OK, but I got tired of replacing them and I got tired of seeing every person everywhere with the white earbuds dangling from their ears. Apple has pretty successfully diluted the brand with all the new iPds so I bet the new hotness will be iPods WITHOUT the white chords... just wait. I kid you not.
Anyways, I wanted a pair that cut out the background noise of Manhattan... I read a lot of reviews of these, the Sony in-ear and the SHURE brand (BOSE was out of the question... I tried them and the active canceling stuff just creates a lot of dead noise... and they’re too expensive). I went to J&R to check out the selection of in ear. I brought my iPod so I could test them out with my favorite music.
It took a while. I had a hard time figuring out the most affective way to jam them into my ear. The ER-6’s were uncomfortable and I couldn’t get a decent sound. The SHURE 3c and 4c’s were slightly more comfortable. The Sony’s were so hard to work with I almost gave up... then I tried the Shures again. Once I got them in right, the sound was so nice that I almost got them. Instead, I went back through the options with the same method. The ER-6 won. Less work to get them in and out, and more range of sound.
It sucks that you have to work so hard to get a good sound, but when you do, it’s worth it.
Best part about the ER-6: They’re actually earplugs so they actually BLOCK out everything (funny that they try and make it all fancy by calling it ‘sound isolation’). No noise canceling backwash noise.
Worst part about the ER-6: They come with these rubber ear pieces attached. They hurt after a while. If you buy these, take them off and use the foam earpieces (included). They’re the same material as earplugs and mold to the inner ear. (you also get more bass with these).
Recommendation: I was patient enough to figure out how to wear the ER-6. If you are, too, get them. If you aren’t, use the iPod earbuds. No real justification to buy the BOSE... my own Sony studio ear phones are just as good. -
"Tried against Bose & Shure" on
Pros: Sound accuracy and richness! Portability. Price compared to others in same level. Tried against Bose “QuietComfort2” and Shure E3. Carefully listened to same tracks with all three: from punk and bassy techno, to classical and country. The Bose phones w
Cons: Not as efficient as Shure units. Of the same MP3 players (RIO portable & IBM notebook) the Shures are louder. This is what made me keep the Shures for a few more weeks. After all, the fussy-but-real deficiencies in sound quality compared to the Etymo
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"These things are awesome!" on by JudgmentDay
Pros: Excellent sound, fit, noise isolation, small size and cost
Cons: Cord is long and tends to be microphonic
Summary: First off, let me just say that these things are wonderful! They are pefect for any situation, and here's why:
Build Quality:
These things are very well made. You can tell that etymotic really put a great product out there that will last for a long time to come. These earphones also look great. The only little problem I have run into has been the cord. It is quite long at 5 feet, but it has never gotten in my way. I can see how this would be a problem if you use an in line remote, but again, I haven't experienced any real negatives about this. The only other thing about it is the microphonics. Yes, it does pick up sounds, but is has an included shirt clip to keep this down to a minimum. Simply put, if you use any type of IEM or in ear earphone, you are going to have microphonics, though some will be better than others.
Isolation:
The isolation on these things are really great, provided you can get a good fit. For me, I had absolutley no trouble fitting these things in my ear. I followed the instructions and instantly I couldn't hear anything! I know that some people have trouble with the fit, so to give you some reference, I use the medium tips on all of the earphones that I have tried. They fit me perfectly and are the most pleasing and comfortable fit that I have tried out of every other earphone product. When it's in my ear, I can't hear anything around me, which is great with my roomate when I am trying to do homework in the dorm or when I am studying at the library; I can finally study in peace!
Size:
Oh ya, did I mention these things are small? It's perfect for anyone, especially those that don't want earphones sticking out of their ears. When you get a proper fit the entire thing lies in the entire ear, with just the very very little end of it sticking out. Don't worry though, it isn't noticeable at all. People don't even know I'm wearing these things until they notice I'm not responding when they talk to me or they see the wires dangling out of my ears.
Comfort:
I know I already said how great these things feel, but I'll just mention it one more time. These are AWESOME! I don't even notice them in my ears once I have put them in. For reference, I have owned the Sony MDR-ex71, the ex81lp, shure e4c, ultimate ears super.fi 5 pro, and the etymotic er-6i. These are by far the most comfortable, but again I can see how this depends on your ear size. The earphones next to these in comfort would be the sony line, but again, nothing touches these in terms of comfort.
Sound Quality:
Now onto the most important thing, the sound quality. These things are AMAZING. I can't believe what I'm hearing out of them. The detail is incredible and the sound is very, very accurate. Just go to the etymotic website and look at the earphone comparison. The only thing that surpasses the accuracy are the er-4's. It even surpasses the er-4p's, although I have heard that they do offer a little more clarity and detail. I listen to these using an unamped mp3 player and everything encoded at 192 - 320 kbps, so don't be afraid of the other reviews saying that you need an amp to use these things, although if you did use one you would even get better results. Next is the bass, which some people have complained of. The reason why is because the people do not get a proper seal. The bass is perfect, very accurate and tight. Not a huge thump like the sony's, but much cleaner and appropriate. If you have used the sony's and are used to the bass, just give yourself some time with these. I promise you will get used to be bass and will be very happy that you did, as the sony's bass is enhanced and over represented, making the rest of the music muddy. Simply put, the entire sound range is represented perfectly. Never bright or shrill, these things are the real deal.
Cost:
The last thing I am going to talk about is the cost. I got mine from buy.com for $89.99. They have a great 30-day no hassle return policy on these, as well as most of the products in their store. Needless to say, I am not going to send them back, so I won't need to worry about that anyway. But in case you do, they are very helpful with returns. The cost is great with this item, and very cheap compared to many similiar audiophile earphone products. And, the cheapest place I could find the 4p's were around $199, so they are less than half the cost of them. A great bargain, especially considering the low cost for such a high quality product.
In summary, I would like to say you should give these a shot if you are considering them. You will not be sorry as long as you get a good seal. Again, like I said, go to buy.com to try them out if you're not sure. As a quick side not, I didn't bother with the etymotic er-4p because of the price and also the comfort/build. I hated the er-6i's triple flange tips. They were so uncomfortable to me and that's what the e4's use, so I didn't even bother. But, if there is a way to use the 2 flange tips with them then they would be a lot better. Also, the earphones stick out of your ears and are not the best looking things in the world. Anway, if you do decide on these things, give a few days to break in and I promise they will deliver on all fronts. I highly recommend these little earbuds. They do exactly what they are supposed to do at an affordable price. A perfect 10. -
"Grab a sony or shure over these" on
Pros: Blocks out noise well
Cons: After trying these for a few weeks, I went back to my Sony MDR-EX71SL ($32 @ pricewatch.com). My sony sounds better (not to mention it has a fit kit so that ears of any size can get quality and it has a useful plastic piece to reduce tangles). Although
Etymotic ER-6 Isolator user reviews (Black)
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