[Ton]

Reading all the threads about "microphonics" with in-ear phones and particularly the Etymotics I wondered how "normal" headphones would perform.
I put my old Koss PortaPro, not connected to a device, on my ears, and the first thing I noticed was the noise I heard when I fumbled with the cords. After that I tried my Sennheiser PX200 with the same result. Imho there wasn't much difference with my Etymotic ER-4P ! Of course the effect with the latter will be a little bit stronger because of the better isolation, but not that much.
Having sold my Stax lately I couldn't try them anymore, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had microphonics too.
So isn't it nothing more than a hype or something like an obsession ?

 

[some1x]

HD600s have low microphonics: I don't hear any sound from the blue part of the Cardas cord.

The Grados have slightly higher microphonics because the cord is not fully secured at the ear cup...

 

[dotslashconfig]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ton Reading all the threads about "microphonics" with in-ear phones and particularly the Etymotics I wondered how "normal" headphones would perform. I put my old Koss PortaPro, not connected to a device, on my ears, and the first thing I noticed was the noise I heard when I fumbled with the cords. After that I tried my Sennheiser PX200 with the same result. Imho there wasn't much difference with my Etymotic ER-4P ! Of course the effect with the latter will be a little bit stronger because of the better isolation, but not that much. Having sold my Stax lately I couldn't try them anymore, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had microphonics too. So isn't it nothing more than a hype or something like an obsession ?

That's not the problem. The issue is that the Ety's, unlike virtually every other headphone, have a cable that's very thin and suscpetible to microphonics with even a gentle touch/brush.

Of the canal-phones I've heard thus far (ety er-4p, ety er-6, shure e3c, shure e2c, sony ex51), the Ety ER-6 was the worst for microphonics and occlusion, with the Ety ER-4p a close second.

The EX51 had some microphonics, but I didn't find it nearly as apparent/obtrusive as the noise I heard from the Ety cables. The Shure E3c does have microphonics issues if you wear them straight down; however, if you wear them over the ear, the microphonics are virtually eliminated. The E2c had no problems whatsoever with microphonics.

I wasn't rubbing the cable, trying to see how loud I could get the static/noise to go, I tested them as I would normally use them... walking around, sitting down, standing up, putting on/taking off a jacket.

 

[xand]

Ety's can be worn over the ears as well, and that *really* helps.