Just bought first pair of nice IEMs

DigMe · #1 08-31-2008, 11:28 AM

I've lately been desiring some decent headphones for listening to music on-the-go. I've never spent much on headphones. I thought I'd eventually get some Head-direct RE2s (currently on sale for $79 and have a ton of great reviews at Head-fi.org) but then I won a $100 Wal-Mart gift card at my convocation and so I decided to buy some Etymotic ER6i's from walmart.com since it would cost me nothing but shipping (walmart.com has a much better selection than you'll find in-store).

Anyway...I'm excited to get them and start my journey into quality headphones.

I think they'll go well with the Sansa Clip that I got on Woot.com for $20 the other day and is said to have very good sound quality.

Anyone else have ER6i's? I imagine I'll really like them but if not well...we all know how easy it is to return stuff to Wal-Mart.

bc

jon118 · #2 08-31-2008, 11:44 AM

From my experience with Etymotics they're quite enjoyable. Quite bass shy as well but pretty accurate, which is really what's important to me with a IEMs. The isolation with tri-flanges is fantastic, but they do tend to get uncomfortable after an hour or so of use. You'll eventually get used to it though. Just make sure you don't turn them up too loud, it's surprisingly easy to do with IEMs, I'm always very careful about that. The ER6i's have more pronounced bass than some other Etys though, I imagine they would be fine for me in that department, but if you're used to bass heavy headphones or speakers you may be a bit disappointed. Just remember that while first impressions are important, it takes a little while to get used to the sound signature on any headphone or speaker set. Even if you don't like them a lot at first, you'll warm up to them. (I didn't like my desktop monitors when I first got them or my current IEMs, absolutely love both of them now)

msquared · #3 08-31-2008, 12:45 PM

I liked mine quite a bit.

DigMe · #4 08-31-2008, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msquared

I liked mine quite a bit.

Why don't you have them anymore?

bc

msquared · #5 08-31-2008, 03:26 PM

I was sufficiently taken with how they sounded that I wanted to see what a few extra hundred dollars would get me. So I exchanged them for a set of ER-4S buds and a portable headphone amp (Headroom Total Bithead).

Shelling out for the ER-6 was saucy. Doing so for the ER-4S plus headphone amp was ridiculous. I am fond of ridiculous.

The ER-6 gear is a hell of a buy for your first IEMs. I can't imagine that you won't love them.

**smperry** · #6 08-31-2008, 04:23 PM

I'm not thrilled with my ER6i headphones...I've tried my best to fit them in my ear (using all of the options) and while I have a good seal (and they knock out extraneous noise quite well) they don't have good bass response. Very good midrange though. I've also had to replace the filters twice in the time I've had them.

On the whole, they sound pretty good (better for movies) but I think I'm going to get some over the ear headphones for commuting/work travel. The design just doesn't work for me...apparently I have small ear canals or something.

BTW, the Sansa mp3 players do sound great IMO.

Marshall

DigMe · #7 08-31-2008, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smperry

On the whole, they sound pretty good (better for movies) but I think I'm going to get some over the ear headphones for commuting/work travel. The design just doesn't work for me...apparently I have small ear canals or something.

Thanks for the input.

Quote:

BTW, the Sansa mp3 players do sound great IMO.

Marshall

I didn't know that the rest of the Sansa line had a good rep overall but all the reviews that I read before I bought the clip raved about the sound of that one in particular.

bc

DigMe · #8 08-31-2008, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by msquared

I was sufficiently taken with how they sounded that I wanted to see what a few extra hundred dollars would get me. So I exchanged them for a set of ER-4S buds and a portable headphone amp (Headroom Total Bithead).

Shelling out for the ER-6 was saucy. Doing so for the ER-4S plus headphone amp was ridiculous. I am fond of ridiculous.

The ER-6 gear is a hell of a buy for your first IEMs. I can't imagine that you won't love them.

Cool. If I end up not liking them that much I might return them and if they give me cash maybe try the Head-Direct RE2s. I've heard that the ER-4s were awesome. How'd you end up settling on those over, say...the Triple-fis or something?

bc

msquared · #9 08-31-2008, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigMe

How'd you end up settling on those over, say...the Triple-fis or something?

The ER-4S had a pretty good pedigree. I couldn't exactly A/B everything on the market so I figured I'd get the "proven winner" and sell them if they weren't worth the money I spent to upgrade. They were, so I kept them.

eutgard · #10 08-31-2008, 06:48 PM

I've used ER6 with iPod & other MP3Ps for 3 years.

They are more flat than ER6i and very very accurate, that means even more bass-shy than ER6i.

ER6i is tuned for iPod specially.

For flanged tips...

Use sponge tips!

Sponge tips are more comfortable and isolation is greater than the silicone flanged tips.

And if you have some cash...

You can connect ERs to custom earmold.

http://www.etymotic.com/pdf/er6-instructions.pdf

It's on page 9.

invisiman · #11 08-31-2008, 11:14 PM

I have Alessandro MS-1's, Etymotic ER6i's, and Westone Um1's. Love 'em all.

DigMe · #12 09-06-2008, 09:17 PM

I'm loving these so far but haven't gotten to use them extensively. The only drawback is that now I hear any problems with the sound source and/or problems with the original recording. When I plugged them into my high-end PC I could hear the slight interference of the other components with the sound card. That was inaudible with my old cheapo phones and also on my PC speakers. I am also hearing some recording distortion in some recordings where it had previously gone unnoticed.

The sound is great. I don't think they are too shy on the bass. It's just a good reproduction of the music IMO. They pair great with the Sansa Clip I just picked up off woot.com. The clarity of sound is outstanding compared to anything I've owned before.

I prefer the foam over the rubber triple-flange tips just for comfort's sake.

bc

iamlowsound · #13 09-06-2008, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DigMe

I'm loving these so far but haven't gotten to use them extensively. The only drawback is that now I hear any problems with the sound source and/or problems with the original recording. When I plugged them into my high-end PC I could hear the slight interference of the other components with the sound card. That was inaudible with my old cheapo phones and also on my PC speakers. I am also hearing some recording distortion in some recordings where it had previously gone unnoticed.

bc

That was my biggest problem when I first got good headphones. I had music that I just couldn't listen to anymore. Now I just get better quality stuff.

lowsound