Reviews

1

I was ready to buy the ER-6s then I stumbled up this less-than-thrilled review of them.

David wrote "The ER-6 earphones are no match for the full range of the Sony EX-70." Could this be? The Sonys are only 50 bucks- less than half the price of the ER-6s! So I went out and bought the Sony EX-70s based on David's recommendation.

Boy he was wrong. The Sonys were muddy and bass heavy. They distorted the mids and highs. In comparison to the iopd earbuds, I prefer them to the Sonys. Maybe the Sony could reach lower lows (as on the chart) but they sounded like crap. (and yes I had them properly seated in my ears).

Before I returned the Sonys, I thought maybe I would give the ER-6s a shot. So I ordered them- from a place that gave me a 30 day trial- (I think it was called "headroom.com") I got them yesterday and as soon as I stuck them in my ears- pow! These blew away anything else I have ever heard!

I really think you get what you pay for. I got the ER-6s for around 130 dollars. They are a bit expensive but WOW, what great sound.

I was less-than-thrilled with David's review.

Posted by Spankford on August 9, 2003 at 7:16 AM (PST)

2

What i would like to know is from those few that have had a chance to compare the 'Ultimate Ears' to the ER-6's.
Is there enough of a difference to make the UE's worth the extra cash? (BTW i would most likely get the UE-10's)

Posted by phil on November 25, 2003 at 9:56 AM (PST)

3

Hey, I purchased a pair of ER-6 almost 2 years ago, after considerable research. Simplely put, I love them. I find the sound very clear and precise, no mud! Etymotic Research even replaced, repaired on plug when it went heywire a little over a year after I purchased them.

Posted by joedotipod on December 30, 2003 at 7:56 PM (PST)

4

I bought a pair of EX70s about a year and a half ago. I recently purchased a pair of ER-6s. There is no comparison between the two. The EX70s are muddy and bass heavy while the ER-6s are bright and accurate. I now use the EX70s in the gym and that is about it. The ER-6s also offer a lot more isolation than the EX70s. But, as has been repeated often, you need to get a good seal with the ER-6s to get good performance.

Posted by Larry on January 26, 2004 at 2:09 PM (PST)

5

These earphones are fantastic...simply put. I was a little intimidated by them when I first got them because of the pressure in the ear, but tugging your ears like they say and making goofy faces works. They sound wonderful...perfectly solid bass, middle, and high ranges. I LOVE THEM.

Posted by Zero7607 in Rhode Island on August 5, 2004 at 5:36 PM (PST)

6

Well.. I have owned the ER-6's for over 4 weeks now and Ill be damned if i can fit them properly. They sound terrible. I push them into my ear, follow the instructions that came with them and they still sound terrible.

I push them so hard into my ear that it starts to hurt.

Im starting to wonder if it is possible that my ear canal is too small?? Anyone else have this problem?

Posted by Stephan on September 21, 2004 at 2:39 AM (PST)

7

It is clear to me that the individual who did this review has not idea what the purpose of a headphone amplifier is, especially the headroom product.

A while ago I sucked it up and bought the Etymotic ER 4-S (I know they are different than the 6's) and a Total Airhead amplifier. I was, and continue to be, stunned. I find it very difficult to believe anything made by Etymotic or Headroom would perform poorly compared to a pair of $50 headphones from Sony, a company that is know for having blown, muddy bass.

The puropose of the amplifier is NOT to make the signal louder, though it will do this if asked. The purpose is to provide a clean signal to the headphones, headphones that REQUIRE a clean signal to sound good. What I suspect was happening was the reviewer was listening to 128 kbps mp3s, with one of the ipod's equalizer presets engaged. The headphones will only sound as good as the recording! Also, he didn't mention whether he used the line-out from the dock (like he should have) or just plugged the amplifier into the headphone jack. In my experience, this alone makes a world of difference. Also, he knocks the crossfeed feature of the amplifier. Apparantly he has never listened to headphones for an extended period of time, like 4 or 5 hours. Listening fatigue is not BS. Think of it like this: if you have to read from a slightly blurry computer monitor for 10 minutes, it's no big deal. If you read from the same monitor for 4 hours, you will get a headache and be really uncomfortable, untill you finally have to stop reading. The same is true for headphone listening, and the Headroom amplifier- the amp lets you listen all day without problems.

I encode all my mp3s at 320 kbps, and the results when using the amplifier and etymotics are stunning!

I'm pretty sure Headroom has a 30 day money back guarantee, so what I propose is this: buy the earphones and the amp. Encode your favorite-of-all-time cd at 320 kbps. Make sure it is a CD you have listened to a million times before, something you know by heard. Plug the amp into the dock's line out, and listen. You will hear things you have never heard before. You will hear the artist shuffling around in the studio, you will hear how awsome cymbal crashes sound, and you will hear raspiness in vocals that you previously assumed were crystal clear.

Posted by craig on October 5, 2004 at 5:43 AM (PST)

8

The case sounds awesome. Finally a compact bag for iPod that has space for accesories yet keeps bulk to a minimum.

Posted by punkrockavocado in VA on February 26, 2005 at 4:57 PM (PST)

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