 Isolation Therapy |
| Review Date: June 28, 2005 |
| Reviewer: Nathaniel C. Moffat, Bethesda, MD United States |
The white wires suggest Etymotic Research wants a bigger piece of the iPod upgrade market. But rather than simply giving the black-wired ER-6 a cosmetic makeover, they designed the ER-6i from the ground up to work around portables' puny output. Thus, they offer higher sensitivity (more sound for a given volume setting) and boosted bass response.
But despite their light weight and sporty appearance, these phones are optimized for home listening, commuting, and plane trips; applications where sound isolation is a benefit, not a hazard. Compare them, therefore, to active noise-canceling headphones, not conventional earbuds.
FIT & COMFORT
Because these phones go in your ear canal and require an airtight seal, proper fit is essential. Without it, you will get no bass at all. None. I prefer the disposable foam ear tips to the 3-flange ones (both kinds are included). Your results may vary.
Here's the trick: After you compress the foam and insert them in your ears, it takes several seconds for the foam to expand. Focus on available background noise. When the sound drops suddenly over a second or two, you know a seal has been formed. Conversely, with music playing, you should notice the sound suddenly fill out, first in one ear and then the next.
The foam ear tips may feel uncomfortable for 2-3 minutes, but you quickly get used to them. This naturally depends on ear geometry and other factors, but be aware that you wouldn't buy these phones on comfort alone.
SOUND DAMPING
Properly inserted, the foam ear tips provide 34-36 dB noise reduction (the triple flanged ear tips are a few decibels less effective). To put this in perspective, this is even better than the 29-31 dB NRR (Noise Reduction Rating) provided by better-quality shooting ear muffs. They also quiet more than active noise canceling headphones (which feature feedback circuitry that noticeably degrades the sound).
With this level of damping, you may be aware that a TV is on in the same room, but just barely. You will also save your hearing because you won't feel the need to turn up the volume to drown out environmental noise.
The downside of this isolation is that you will miss doorbells, telephones, etc. Common sense argues strongly against using these jogging, bicycling, or even walking around city streets. You're giving up a sense entirely. The "look out, you idiot" you don't hear could be the "look out, you idiot" you absolutely, positively needed to hear.
SOUND QUALITY
Putting these phones through their paces with music I'm familiar with, the first thing that stood out was their neutral-to-bright balance. These are slightly more "forward" sounding than the more "laid back" or "polite" German headphones you might think of.
The second thing I noticed was that they get the midrange right. Without the response peaks, valleys or ripples that so often mar the critical 1,000 Hz. region, you will hear singers sound more "present" than with the vast majority of headphones (and most audiophile speakers for that matter).
If you are a bass junkie, you will find the bass lean. This is difficult to say, but it's not the headphones. It's you. You are addicted to heavy one-note bass (it's an epidemic - note how rental cars always have the bass at +10). Go cold turkey and listen with these for a week, however, and you will discover that there are actually, ahem, different bass notes.
As for treble, there are conventional open headphones (usually more expensive) with more "air" at the top end, but the ER-6i's treble extension is as good as sound-isolating headphones go - certainly better than the Bose. There's a minor response notch at 7 kHz, but nothing I really noticed.
BTW, don't be alarmed by their funny-looking frequency response curve. Remember, because they're in your ear, they are voiced to compensate for the missing frequency shaping ordinarily provided by your outer ear.
The sound damping has another beneficial effect: You will hear things in familiar recordings you have never heard before, even with high quality open headphones. Not just fingers over guitar strings, but sounds way, way down in the mix.
DESIGN & BUILD
These fingernail-sized phones are white with transparent side panels that reveal wires and the metal flanks of their balanced armature transducers. There is a small port topside, presumably for audio tuning, but perhaps also to reduce negative pressure caused by yanking the phones out (not a good idea - always remove them slowly). The front-facing side has the model number with a red dot separating the ER and 6i. The backs feature an oversized L and R, just like your first pair of sneakers.
The wires are lightweight, which is a more important factor on canal phones than with ear buds that allow the outer ear to bear the weight. The cord is a bit longer than some joggers might like, but then again, you shouldn't be using these jogging. The 1/8" headphone jack termination is gold-plated for long-term corrosion-resistance.
The removable shirt clip (included) should be used when practicable to avoid the sudden pressure on your eardrums that might result from yanking them out.
CONCLUSION
The ER-6i offers exceptionally involving, neutral sound for the money, with accurate bass and a commendably smooth midrange. I am also not aware of any headphones that provide better isolation from environmental noise. Recommended.
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Blocks the noise, lets the music sing through
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| Review Date: February 9, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Chris Boylan, Astoria, NY USA |
This is the black version of the popular Etymotic er-6i headphones, previously available only in white. Etymotic Research introduced this color to complement the iPod Nano and other new iPod models which are available in colors other than white. The ER6i's increased sensitivity over the standard ER6 makes them an excellent choice for an iPod or any other portable MP3 or portable media player.
The er-6i is Etymotic's entry-level noise-isolating earphone. Unlike "noise-cancelling" headphones, which use electronic circuitry to cancel noise (and which can interfere with music and movie playback sound quality), "noise-isolating" earphones like the ER-6i work like earplugs. They are inserted all the way into the ear, forming a tight seal which blocks out external noise but lets pure sound come through the integrated ear-speakers.
Because they reduce external noise levels, they make an excellent choice for frequent fliers. No longer must you crank up the volume to drown out the aircraft engine noise. Now you can simply insert the etymotics into your ears and listen to your music or movies at a comfortable level. They're also much smaller than bulky around-the-ear headphones and come with a compact travelling case for greater portability.
All-in-all, an excellent value and a good choice for those who don't want to sacrifice quality for the sake of portability. For more details, check out the complete review on BigPictureBigSound.com. |
Mabe not for everyone...but an audiophile's dream.
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| Review Date: December 25, 2004 |
| Reviewer: Fred Story, Charlotte, NC USA |
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 |
Big sound, very pleased.
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| Review Date: April 4, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Yosef Adde, |
These headphones will not dissapoint unless you like your deep bass in classical or similar types of music. They don't really have the ability to reproduce sound under 45Hz all that well, but all in all, it's an excellent set of headphones for listening to an ipod or such at the gym.
I have no problem hearing clear bass from Bob Marley reggae tracks, popular music like Black Eyed Peas, etc that are usually bass-heavy in the 50-80Hz range. Pop and dance music with bass in the 80-120Hz range is more then adequete.
In order to get the bass to sound well, you will have to experiment a bit with the various headphone plugs that come with it. I find the best bass to be from the foam earplugs. The other earplugs in the picture are more comfortable but do not isolate the sound as much, but still do a very good job overall.
The vocals and general clarity of these headphones are fantastic, they are by far the best headphones I've ever owned. I'd like to try the models with the dual and triple drivers (bass/high or bass/mid/high) but they are in the $300+ price range so that's not in my budget.
Overall I'm extremely pleased with these headphones and I'm looking forward to hitting the gym again.... (one less excuse now!) :) |
The Search Is Over...Maybe
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| Review Date: December 29, 2006 |
| Reviewer: Terrance H. Heath, Washington, DC |
I haven't had these for very long, so I should probably reserve judgment. However, I am notoriously picky about my earbuds. Being a daily commuter who doesn't go anywhere without my iPod, and a stickler for good sound, I've been through countless earbuds.
After reading about possible hearing loss from iPod use, I switched to noise reducing earbuds. I tried Sony's model, and they worked alright, but eventually one of the buds went silent. So I switched to Phillips' slightly cheaper brand. The sound quality wasn't as good. If I used sound check on the iPod, I'd have to turn the volume all the way up to avoid hearing a lot of external noise.
I finally got these, based on recommendations from a co-worker, and they're great. The flanged tips that came already on the earbuds were a perfect fit. When I followed the directions for inserting them, I got a perfect seal the first time.
When a co-worker came in and spoke to me while I was using them, I couldn't hear her, even when I paused the music. I had to take them out to hear her. And I had no trouble getting them out by twisting them according to the directions. The true test was wearing them on the subway, and they passed with flying colors. I heard very little external noise.
What's more, I have sound check on again, and I find I now actually have to lower the volume on the iPod where I had to turn it all the way up before. Now I'm getting great sound and I feel like I'm saving my hearing too. Plus I'm hearing details in my music that I hadn't heard before! |
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