Etymotic ER-6 Isolator (Black)

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!)