Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones (Black)
by Etymotic Research
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones (Black)
Customer Review: Unmatched isolation, great sound.
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had this product for about six months now. I've used them primarily for air travel. I generally use the included optional foam tips, while my wife uses the standard tips. It's generally a comfort issue - it's hard to predict which will be more comfortable for you, but both tips provide isolation comparable to top-notch earplugs.
The sound quality is excellent - when I listen to music using these I notice elements of familiar songs that I have never heard before. And as I said, the isolation is great - I've used these as earplugs on the plane when not plugged into anything. No matter how much Bose spends on marketing, the simple reality is that "active" noise cancelling is far less effective than the passive noise blocking provided by in-ear phones such as these, and the noise cancelling hurts sound quality, too.
The big difference between these and the other etymotic phones in this price range is that these are much easier to drive (i.e. get high volume output) using low power devices. My wife and I will often watch a DVD on her laptop during flights, and despite splitting the signal from a single headphone jack, we rarely have the volume up to half. I would strongly recommend the 6i's over the 6's if you intend to use them for portable use without a headphone amplifier.
I'm not sure why others have had trouble taking these in and out. I can only assume they have narrower or deeper ear canals than I do. I have had little difficulty getting them in and out, or in getting a good seal. They do sometimes become uncomfortable (irritate my ear canal) if I am taking them on and off a lot, but this is more or less the same with any earplug. Also, I don't recommend using these if you are exercizing or moving around where ther are cars. I still use some standard earbuds when I go jogging.
Customer Review: Great Earphones!
Summary: 5 Stars
These Earphones are awsome for any player. They have the best sound quality and noise canceling of any Earbud I have had. They are comfortable, have several earplug options, and they sound amazing with no outside noise! Just to give you an idea I wore these on the race track on my motorcycle a cbr600rr at 175 mph you can hear a little wind and some engine hum but thats all! Music is still loud and clear! Now thats saying something! At normal speeds like city and freeway no wind sound at all! you still hear the light engine huming noise around the time its ready to shift after shifting the hum gos away the fact that the earbuds dont cancel out engine hum is great still can hear when to shift just listen for the light hum as it winds out. You wont hear the engine hum till it gets ready to be shifted or your going realy fast. Youl feel when to shift too after you get use to your bike at that point like me I dont notice the hum anymore just shift when I feel it. Now I just listen to great crystal clear music! Now even tho they are pricy there worth every cent and if your a Biker like me wanting to listen to toons not wind then get these youl be amazed I sure was! and if your worried abought comfortability in your helmet they go inside the base of your ear so no more struggling to ceep the earbud in your ear when puting your helmet on and they never have once fallen out there super secure! they are so small they dont stick out past the ear at all. So when you put your helmet on nothing gets bumped. Infact if a person looked at you from the front they would just see the two wires hanging out your ear. I would be shocked if one ever fell out during any ride! Oh and incase your worried they dont get stuck in your ear and they come out just as easy as they went in. So get these and enjoy the music on your ride!Customer Review: Excellent sub-$100 earbuds
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm generally a cheap earbud headphones user, because I tend to lose them every few months, or torque the cord at the plug eventually so they break. In the past I've stuck with Skullcandy's various sub-$50 styles, and recently got a pair of the JBuds that are on here for thirty bucks or so. The Skullcandies are good, the various driver sizes, they seem a bit bass-heavy but I like that. I had a bad enough experience with the JBuds that I just sprung for these, even though they're about twice the cost of what I usually get. I have friends who swear by the pricier Ety and Shure earbuds, but I can't bring myself to spend more than $100 on earbuds I might lose any day.
Man, the quality difference you get stepping up to these from the Skullcandy / sub-$50 range is tremendous.
One thing I've noticed about the bass response is the buds need to be inserted deep into the ear. Other reviews noted this and said it's because you need an airtight seal, but that's not it. I can get an airtight seal without driving them too far in, but then the driver portion is hanging out, not well anchored. If I shove them in far enough the driver is resting soundly against the tragus of my ear (little cartilage nub) then it produces remarkable bass. I assume when it's not as well-anchored, when it tries to produce those low-frequency vibrations, instead it just shakes the driver and they get canceled out.
The clip built into the cord is a nice touch. I use it to hold the cords right below the earbuds together when I wind up and put them away so they don't get tangled, and use it to clip to my shirt when I workout or my messenger bag when I'm walking around. And the minijack end has a 90-degree turn and seems sturdy, so hopefully I won't torque it off as easily as I do the Skullcandies.
Customer Review: Good sound isolation with right ear tips
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for good sound isolation so I could listen to pod casts and music on the bus without turning up the volume and damaging my ears. The ER6i works well with the correct ear tips.
My research suggested that good sound isolation is a matter of getting the right ear tips for your ear. So I was pleased to find the ER6i I purchased from Amazon was bundled with four different ear tips: gray 3-flange, frost 3-flange (small), glider, and foam (see http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er6i-acc.aspx).
The gray 3-flange, glider, and foam ear tips all provide excellent isolation once they are fully inserted. On a scale of 0-50 I listen to pod casts in a quiet environment at volume level 6, and on the bus or a busy street at volume levels of 6-8. The frost 3-flange (small) ear tip was too small for my ear canal and did not provide isolation even when fully inserted.
The ear tips need to be *fully* inserted before they work correctly. You need to push them in as far as you think they can go, then push them in a bit futher. I found the foam and glider ear tips easy to insert and remove. The 3-flange ear tips were more difficult for me because they seem to rely on an air-tight seal to work correctly. I find inserting the flange tips far enough to make a good seal uncomfortable because it *feels* like it creates pressure on my ear drum. Removing the flange tips is difficult without pulling on the wire because they behave like a suction cup when a good seal is formed.
When I first started using these ear tips I found they caused some discomfort after 20-40 minutes. This discomfort went away after using them for about a week on a daily basis for an hour a day.
Sound quality is good for pod casts. I haven't listened to music on them yet.
Customer Review: Great for the airlines or a noisy office
Summary: 5 Stars
I got these headphones to use on a 15 hour plane ride to Europe. The sound quality (including bass) is way better than the iPod headphones as long as they fit well in your ears. If there is even the slightest leak, the sound will be total crap, but once you have them properly inserted they sound absolutely wonderful. Don't expect tooth-rattling bass from these or ANY pair of small headphones. Only speakers can deliver that.
They block outside noise as well as a good set of earplugs, maybe a little better. With these I was able to listen to music on a plane with the same volume setting I use at home. A small amount of low-rumble from the plane gets in, but there's no way to avoid that even with electronic noise canceling. If you wear them on a plane, remember not to put them in till your ears stop popping after take off, and pull them out when the plane starts to come down. Otherwise the air pressure changes can hurt!
I think these are better than electronic noise canceling headphones because the electronic ones only block lower frequencies so you can still hear people talking babies crying...etc. These block ALL sound equally, just like earplugs. Not to mention they are cheaper, don't need batteries and take up less space in your bag than a pack of gum.
The only drawback to them is that because they block out all sound, if you want to talk to someone you do have to take them out (or the person will have to really yell). I'd also be careful using them on a bicycle or walking busy streets, because you won't be able to hear ANYTHING that's going on around you. In an office, you won't be able to hear your own phone ringing even if it is right next to you.