ETYMOTIC RESEARCH ER6i Isolator Earphones

Rating:
Summary: Mabe not for everyone...but an audiophile's dream.
Review: A previous reviewer noted the lack of bass response in the ER-6i's, and he's probably right that if you're someone who cranks the bass on your home stereo you're likely to be disappointed in these phones.

If like me, however, you like a clean, flat frequency response - you will LOVE the ER-6i's. I'm a composer and recording studio owner and I work all day in front of industry standard studio monitor speakers. In recording sessions I use the best professional headphones. So my standards are pretty high, even when listening to compressed MP3's and AAC's on my iPod. I WAS using the Sony Fontopias, and liked them pretty well, even though the bass was too exaggerated for my taste. (If you're an aforementioned bass lover, you'll probably prefer the Sony's.) I just received a pair of the ER-6i's for a Christmas present, and I am in earbud heaven. To me, the bass response is clean and natural (despite Etymotic's accentuation of the low frequencies vs. the ER-6's.) More importantly, the mids and highs are clean and un-hyped. When it comes to music I've composed, arranged and produced - I KNOW what it's supposed to sound like. For in-ear phones, these reflect my mixes better than anything I've heard so far.

I like ER-6i's SO much, in fact, I suspect I'll even use them for work when I want to shut out the outside world and have nothing but the music inside my head.

Bravo, Etymotic! I may even start saving up for a pair of those ER-4's!

Fred Story
Charlotte, North Carolina

Rating:
Summary: eek Technology
Review: eek Technology handled a return promptly and with care. They and you are to be congratulated.

Sue Buckner

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding sound and noise reduction
Review: I bought these after returning a pair of Sennheiser PCX250--their active noise reduction wasn't as good as I wanted (but it did the job in the airplane). The bulky wand that holds the batteries did not help, either. I did not even try the Bose QC2 for two reasons: (1) the price tag is plain ridiculous; (2) audiophiles weren't too thrilled by them.

Up until yesterday I thought I didn't like the ER6i all that much: I wasn't getting the sound I wanted. After a bit of trying I got the hang of inserting them in my ear and I have to say they now sound VERY well at all ranges.

The only thing I wish they weren't is in-ear, and that's why I initially went with the Sennheiser. These earphones are protected from earwax with filters that need to be replaced every now and then (they even include a tool to do so). I guess the cost of replacing them should be at or lower than replacing the batteries of the Sennheiser or the Bose.

Overall I am very satisfied. Oh--and I love the white color :)

Rating:
Summary: good clarity, light bass
Review: I normally use Koss PortaPros for travel, and Sennheiser HD580 at home. I bought the ER6i primarily for its noise isolation and sound quality. Koss PortaPros are great but they're not very useful in loud environments like trains and airplanes.

The ER6i's have really good sound clarity all across the frequency range. With a range of 20hz - 16 khz, I was expecting muddled highs. Not at all. Instead though, I found the bass somewhat lacking. While Etymotic claims that the 6i version has an 8db bass improvement over the original ER6, I can't imagine what the original ER6 sounds like, because at low volume levels, the bass is virtually non-existent! At moderate listening levels, you can hear the bass but it's light and a little less than I'm used to (more like 60hz at the lowend instead of 20hz according to the specs). The manual says to insert the plug even deeper into your ear for greater bass response, but I doubt this will do much good.

I also don't like in-the-ear plugs so I was expecting some period of comfort adjustment, but I was surprised to find that these earphones are very comfortable (using the foam tips). But despite the comfort, I don't think these are good for long periods of use because the seal prevents air from going into your ear canal and after a while your ear feels somewhat clamy.

In a nutshell, if you're a bass head, then you'll be severely disappointed. I found the bass lacking, but the sound clarity and good isolation makes up for it. The price is more expensive than its worth, but decide for yourself.

*** UPDATE ***

Using a supermacro amp with opa134 opamps *signficantly* changes the sound of the ER-6i. Before, they sounded bright and shrill (even brighter than Grados!) and at low volume sounds very tiny. Using the amp, the bass is *perfect* and the highs are significantly warmer and the shrill-ness is completely gone. They sound much like the Sennheiser HD580.

By the way, these earphones do not have a flat frequency response (just look at the graph from etymotic research) so they do not sound the way the studio/artist intended to be. If you think Grados are too bright, then this is not the earphone for you.

Also, if you use the foam earplugs you will need to replace them about once a month, because after a while they lose their elasticity and fall out easily. They are not cheap!



Rating:
Summary: I don't hear it.....
Review: These are some of the worst earphones I have ever had. They are not just uncomfortable...they hurt when I try to insert them in my ears. (Maybe I have small ears) The sound is so awful...boom box quality at best.
I read the reviews here and I thought these earphones would deliver high quality sound. I was wrong. Perhaps I don't have them stuck far enough in my ear and that is why they sound so terrible. I don't want to have to suffer so much discomfort to hear the sound "properly". It is not worth it. I spent $129.00 and I am upset. I would have been better off buying a pair of $19.95 Sony earphones.

I wish I could find something nice to say. I really can't think of anything. Sorry guys....that is my 2 cents worth.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: These in-earphones are just perfect, the midrange is so tight and clear that you can hear things you didn't know were there! I use it with a Total Airhead portable Amp hooked to my 4th gen iPod with a SIK line-out and Ear Candy mini to mini cable.
I noticed that some people don't know how to create a perfect seal, but you really need to moisten the flanges to seal your ears, it is critical. The difference is shocking, the isolation is superb, MUCH better than active-noise cancelling phones. Also try using a crossfeeder, it really extends the soundstage, effectively cancelling the "in your head" stereo sound of headphones/earphones because in real-life-stereo-sound your right and left ears always get some music from the opposite side; if they don't you get kind of tired after few hours of right and left music.. check it out.

BTW, be aware that songs encoded at 128kbps (either "standard" MP3's or iTunes' ACCs) are not good enough for this phones. With high quality phones and amps you will hear some dullness, specially in the mid and high range, therefore try to rip your songs at AT LEAST 192kbps, personally I prefer Apples Loseless or MP3s at 256kbps; but then you have to balance quality vs file size.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME noise isolation, not cancellation
Review: While I admit that I am no audiophile, I didn't clearly understand that these were noise isolating headphones, NOT noise cancelling--just wanted to warn anybody who is confused by the terminology. I believe in audiophile parlance this is referred to as passive noise reduction. If you are looking for noise cancelling headphones that block out noise even while you are not listening to music, these headphones offer little more than regular earplugs. Turn on some music, however, and you will be ASTOUNDED how little environmental noise comes in, they are truly fantastic.

I live in New York City and am a daily subway rider. I also fly quite a bit. For several years, I have had Brookstone's noise-cancelling headphones (which by the way, are cheaply made and hardly work--not worth it!). When riding the subway or flying, the etymotics (remember, while listening to music) are vastly superior to any noise-cancelling headphones out there including the $300 bulky Bose ones. You will not believe it!! The subway is reduced to vibrations only, I cannot hear a single person talking even if they are right next to me. (Now if etymotics only made smell-cancelling products, I would be all set on the subway!)On airplanes, the difference is more than just a noise-break for your eardrums. I know this sounds crazy, but I could swear that with the headphones in, my ears "pop" less with altitude changes. Also, I just seem to be less tired and irritable after flights when I keep the etymotics in for as much of the flight as possible.

As for sound quality, I agree with the reviewer from North Carolina. They deliver a well-balanced, pure sound that is most like what the recording engineer intended. The highs are crisp, the mids are well defined, and the lows are clear as a bell. I have heard from some of my audiophile friends that the headphones have a "break-in" period? Not sure about that, but I did notice that the high end seemed somewhat cleaner after a couple of weeks. I can't be sure, though.

A couple of bad things: the foam earpieces are the ones to use as the white-ribbed rubber earpieces do not work as well and are quite uncomfortable to insert and adjust (think brain-worm entering through ear). The foam earpieces are pretty comfortable, except when inserting in cold weather-they get a bit unpliable. At first, the rather girthy size of the foam earpiece left my ear canals feeling, well, "violated"--but you get used to it quickly. In addition, the foam is an unsightly orange color that I assure you no matter how often you Qtip WILL become discolored. Mine sort of look like a micro-sized orange with some mold on one end and I am not a particularly ear wax heavy guy. The replacement foam pieces are hard to come by, so if you can buy some extra ones when you purchase the headphones. The etymotic website sells them directly. www.etymotic.com

As for cleaning the filter: unless you're really picky, you don't need to replace the filter as often as recommended. BTW, the filters are kinda expensive and inconvenient to get. Just scrape off the gunk with your fingernail or a scraping implement of your choice every once in a while. I've used mine daily for the past 4 months or so and have cleaned them twice with no appreciable loss in fidelity.

Overall, AWESOME noise isolating headphones for a slightly inflated price. I am quite satisfied with mine.