Etymotic ER-6 Isolator (Black)

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.