The name Etymotic means 'true to the ear' and is pronounced 'et-im-oh-tik'. We're huge fans of the company's ER-4P headphone set, but it retails for a whopping £170. The ER-6 Isolator is available for around £80 and is designed to offer most of the performance and features of its pricier sibling for much less moolah. The original Isolator model was only available in black, but iPod completists can now opt for its all-white doppelgänger, the ER-6i.
The ER-6i comes with both silicone rubber and foam eartips, which the user can swap. They're designed to fit into your ear canals, like earplugs, to block out ambient noise. We judged their effectiveness to be the equal of active or battery-powered noise-cancelling headphones. There's just one caveat: some buyers, particularly those with smaller ear canals, may find the eartip insertion rituals daunting or unpleasant (you really have to jam them in). Also, the rubber eartips in particular have a tendency to attract earwax and will have to be cleaned regularly. But we found the ER-6i to be highly comfortable -- arguably more so than other top in-ear headphones, including the Shure E3c or the Etymotic ER-4P. On the other hand, other people we spoke to preferred the fit of Shure's E3c and Sony's less expensive MDR-EX71SL.
As with those in-ear models, when we walked or moved, we heard the ER-6i's wires rubbing against our clothing. You get used to the sounds over time, but they're there, and the ER-6i's very thin and superflexible wires are prone to tangle -- ours did, even after we carefully stored the headphones in their carrying pouch. Also, many will find the 1.5m cord length to be too long -- especially if you use a player with an in-line remote.
Ah, but the ER-6's sound is extraordinarily fine. Because of its noise-isolation attributes, we were able to listen to our iPod at very moderate volume levels on a roaring train -- we didn't have to blast our ears to enjoy our music. Then again, if you want to play loud, the ER-6i can achieve fairly high levels with a portable MP3 player, though the ER-4P was able to play louder.
Listen, and you'll hear a purity to the sound that few 'phones can match. We were constantly surprised by the ER-6i's ability to resolve even the most subtle details of our music collection. Bass response is excellent -- deep and well defined -- for an earbud-type headphone. Bass buffs will be happier with a full-size Grado SR60 (around £70). However, the ER-6i's sonics are overall cleaner and far more resolved than the SR60's. As always, your buying decision is a matter of identifying your priorities.
Additional editing by Nick Hide
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User reviews2
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Zafonic 10 August 2008
Good: Value for money/clarity/isolation/comfort
Bad: Could do with a bit more oomph
Comment: Having tried the Shure SE210 in-ear phones I found them very good at sound isolation and good overall sound, but there was just something lacking....probably the clarity to justify their £70-£90 price tag.
I was pretty sure the Etymotic Research ER-6i would be better and I was not disappointed.
The units are small and can fit in your ears in the normal way, so you are not forced to wear them upside down and over your ears like the Shures and Ultimate Ears. I tried the flanges but they did not give me a great seal. The foam tips were much better. You just squeeze, pull your ear lobes back and fit them in and wait a few seconds for them to expand. Once in they are very comfortable. You can also buy different sized foams OR even buy the black olive foams that Shure use!
Now for the sound: I listen to mostly acoustic and light rock, and these are a great match. They are very detailed and offer excellent clarity. Don't forget that these are designed to replicate how the source music was recorded - they will not give you extra bass or artificial enhancements. The main criticism seems to be a lack of bass, however, I find the bass tight and natural. It could do with a bit more bite, but for the type of music I listen to it's perfectly acceptable.
I would highly recommend these headphones - at a web price of around £60 they are light years ahead of the iPod buds and in my opinion, anything else in the price range for IEMs.
Batteryhq 12 February 2008
Good: sound quality
Bad: build quality, flange tips
Comment: Good enough sound wise. Though more bas definition would have been nice.
Main flaw for me was the fact that the flange tips supplied came off far too easily inside my ear canals and it was a physical impossibility to get them out with my fingers. In the end needlenose pliers had to be used (PAIN!). On one occasion when, oddly enough, i didnt have pliers with me, i had to walk around sheffield city centre for hours with a flange tip wedged in my head.
Conclusion: use with caution.
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