ETYMOTIC RESEARCH ER6 Noise Isolating Earphones

Rating:
Summary: Great for the gym
Review: After trying many portable headphones for the last ten years, I've finally settled two: the Sennheiser PX100 (with the Koss Porta Pro a close runner up) and these Etymotic phones. The Sennheiser's are great for where you need a little sound to infiltrate the headphones, such as bike riding (not something I'd recomend to inexperienced bicyclists). But at the gym, where the machines are noisy, the spin cyclist class plays god-awful music at top volume and people talk (more on that later), these are the best. With the Sennheiser I had to turn the volume up so high that the batteries were quickly drained, not to mention the damage to my already fragile hearing.

A few pointers. I almost returned them after the first listen. But then I remembered that headphones need to be "broken in" by playing them for awhile. I hooked them up to my stereo and played CD's all night. Big difference the next day. Also, try the different ear plugs. The plastic ones were absolutely horrible for my ears. The grey foam pads worked better. On the Etymotic website they have white ones that are smaller than the grey ones. These worked best for me (narrow ear canals I guess). Order extra filters. I had one plug up on me fairly quickly. Finally, don't wear these where you need to speak with people. You can't hear people talk with these in your ears and music playing. You can barely hear people with the music off. Pulling them in and out is a pain (and people probably don't want to see your ear wax).

Oh, almost forgot. The sound. Great. With no outside noise, the sound comes through wonderfully. They may lack a bit on the bass, but compared to regular headphones at the gym, the improvement is astounding.


Rating:
Summary: I love them
Review: I love these Etymotics, I have the ER6. I bought them because in the office I work at there is no noise reduction and I found the various conversations going around me distracting. With these earplugs that has been significantly reduced. And for those pesky baritone voices that still make it through, I can turn the music on at a very minimal level to block them out the rest of the way. The volume can be set so low, I don't have to worry about damaging my ears with constant music. I recommend them particularly for people with ADHD, I am now using them for my graduate studies so I can block out noises on the train, or in waiting areas so that I can use that time to study. It has made a big difference.

I usually can't stand having things in my ears. From the foam plugs they give you at loud manufacturing sites, to the musicians earphones you can buy for concerts, or your average earbud cell phone or music headset. I have never liked any of them. These Etymontics are fine in my ears, the material is flexible, it doesn't cause the uncomfortable sensation I usually have with plastics, and if you wet them some when you put them in that also helps.

I think people who have trouble with earwax must have a lot, because I find that most of the time the volume of my earwax on the plugs is small. The only problem I have had is if I don't position them the right way when putting them in, the outer portion rubs on my outer ear, but I have found how to position them to avoid this.

Also note they have the ER6i's made for the IPOD but apparently good for use with portable devices. And the ER4's which have three flaps, they are higher end and more expensive, and provide a slightly higher sound isolation. ER4P bassed enhanced and made for portable players (a lower impedance?), and the ER4S for the highest quality of sound.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome sound isolation
Review: I'm using these headphones right now as I type on my fairly noisy Powerbook keyboard, and I can't hear a lick. These headphones keep sound out as good as the battery-powered headphones that I used to use, without the extra weight or hassle. If you can drop the cash on these, they're great. Some other people have complained about the fit of the earpieces, but I had no problem with the plastic buds myself (I guess I would suggest trying them on first on buying them from a place with a flexible return policy so you can make sure they fit your ear canals).

Pros: Great sound, great isolation, cool looking, lightweight.
Cons: Cord can get easily tangled, depending on how you stuff them back in your pocket.

Rating:
Summary: great quality and fantastic noise isolation
Review: I've been using these for about 3 years - since I start using an IPod. I listen to huge range of music, all classical styles - from renaissance to atonal, all rock styles, jazz, funk and R&B, rap, brit pop, punk etc. I rarely walk out of the door with my fully loaded 40gig IPod, and these are what goes with them.

Sound Quality is superb, much better than Sony funtopias, and Bose noise cancelling (and don't get me started on the virtually useless Apple headphones). I haven't tried the Shures, so no comment on them. Not as good as my Sennheiser HD 600, but that's to be expected.
They are extremely clear, and revealing, and have great frequency balance across the range. Some complain that the bass is not good enough, and it could be better, but at least it's accurate, this may not matter to some, but flabby artificial bass just annoys me and just becomes fatiguing. The quality is so good its easy to get use to them, but when I temporarily started using the Sony's (having stepped on and broken the ER6s) and then came back to these I realised how good they are. No going back again for me!

Noise isolation is amazing, when I'm on the subway without them I get to (sadly) remember how noisy the subway is, I just don't notice it with these headphones on. I use them when I'm flying, and I did a back-to-back with the Bose and the ER6s blew them away, in both quality and noise isolation. I even get to sleep. Using this style of 'phones when flying or travelling on subways is a must.

Points to note: You do have to put these into the ear canal to use them effectively, and this takes some getting use to. There is some microphony from the cable which may be intrusive especially during very quiet music. Filters may need changing fairly often. I just scrap of the muck off the filter and they last much longer. I know it sound disgusting but it does work. They don't appear to be that well made, but mine (2nd pair) are still going and I don't treat them well at all (see previous)

If you want to go better, try the ER4Ps, they give even better bass and isolation (for twice the money), possibly the Shure equivalents or top end 'phones like the HD 600, but no noise isolation from these beauties!

Rating:
Summary: Wishful thinking
Review: I've been wanting these headphones? earphones? since the first time I read about them. I'm a bit of a headphone purist, but at $129 I don't think my expectations are unfair. I'll compare these to Sony MDR-NC11 active noise cancelling earphones($99) which are the shove-into-your-brain type like the Etymotics, and a regular set of cans, Beyerdynamic DT-231's ($58.95). I am using a "real" headphone amp (Tascam).

SOUND: The Beyers just whip both headsets. There's really no comparison, which is probably to be expected. For all their hype the Etymotics are extremely bass-starved and treble-rich. The Sonys beat the Etymotics easily at bass response. Easily. The Etymotics have amazing, amazing detail in the *treble*, you'll hear things you never heard before. Loads of it. The Sonys are positively dull and muddy by comparison. Tiring shiploads of extremely detailed harsh tinfoil treble. Some of you might read this and think "you just didn't insert them or seal them properly". I've tried maybe 25 times. The Sonys have far better bass response at maybe 1/4 the distance toward my brain. I've pushed the Etymotics in to the point where I *can't hear* them, and they seal tight enough that when you belch you think they might shoot out. There's just no low-end to them, no kick to the kick drums, nothing in a James Brown bass-line.

COMFORT: The Etymotics are ... nearly unbearable. I feel like my ears have given birth after hours of labor. I think taking them in and out more than five times a day would give you ear scabs. not kidding. The foam eartips are better than the plastic flange ones, but they're not anywhere near as comfy as the Sony earphones, still rip your ears on removal, and the Beyers you could wear all day.

NOISE REDUCTION: Here the passive Etymotics rule. They're basically earplugs with a great tweeter in one end and a cord in the other. The active Sony system is pretty good, but you're deaf to anything but vibrations with the Etymotics in. The Beyers being non-covering cans aren't close here.

CONSTRUCTION: Etymotics: crap. Sony: crap. Beyer cans: what'd you'd expect or better (great). I bought the Etymotics because my Sonys were starting to hum, the volume dial doesn't work anymore, they're monaural and scratchy about half the time, the writing has rubbed off the case..... after less than a year. The Etys have thinner cords (if you can imagine) and would probably take a tug/drop maybe once. You could easily accidentally pull them to pieces. They also need filter replacement from time to time. The ER-6's captive cord is probably a foot shorter(!) than the short Sony set, which is wicked retarded.

CONCLUSION: Skip 'em unless you mow lawns or fly planes all day. They're an inch from terrible. I'm sending mine back.

Rating:
Summary: CORD TOO LONG AND THIN, EARWAX ON THE "IN"
Review: These are incredibly burdensome--the earwax prevents high quality sound so you must clean with soap and water daily. The cord is way too long and thin, so it's constantly tangled. Everytime you use them, plan on spending five frustrating minutes untangling the long (near-invisible) cord which destroys whatever good sound you decided to afford. I'm just going to use my cheap sony mdr-ex7's--they sound great and have a thicker far more manageable cord. I'm so happy with my sony's after this disappointment I decided to buy two.