[AlphaHX]

I just got a pair of ER-6 and I was wondering if anyone could help me get the right seal with these. IMO they already sound pretty good since I've been exposed to crappy Sony headphones for so long.

So, even tho I think these headphones already sound good, I'm pretty sure most of you guys know I'm not getting the full effect. So if anyone can help me out, I'll appreciate it.

 

[Wes]

No need to assume that your seal is not ideal just because you're new to the process. Some of us have the "ears for Ety's" that was once a poll topic (q.v.).

Rather, you should assume that you do have the proper fit if:

--Everything sounds very good.

--The sound is stable, unchanging in quality during a long session. (Meaning that the insertion is not so loose or at such an odd place in your ear that it is slipping around.)

--Nothing hurts or becomes uncomfortable either at the first insertion or over time during a long session. (Meaning that the insertion is not too deep or at a poor angle.)

--They never fall out or even feel as if they might. (Meaning the fit is tight and deep enough.)

If you fulfill all of the above conditions, then you must either pat yourself on the back or congratulate yourself on your luck.

There is just one other issue, really a footnote. If you are bothered by the sound of your swallowing, breathing and the like because it seems very much louder than what you are listening to, then maybe you could try to find a deeper position that fulfills all the other conditions too. (Meaning that you have a good but shallow insertion that tends to exaggerate the occlusion effect. [Search on "occlusion effect" if that doesn't mean anything to you.])

 

[redshifter]

alphahx,
it took me a couple weeks before i got a good insertion with my ety er-6.

what i found was a shallow insertion works better than a deeper one. you get less isolation, but better sound. once they are in, listen to the sounds around you. you can tell by how much ambient sound is leaking in if the left or right plug needs adjusting. generally, wiggling them back and forth and up and down, listening for that better seal works better than shoving them deeper in your ears. sometimes when you insert them you will feel some air pressure on you eardrums. this is bad, so to equalize the pressure i will push down on the er-6's silicon flange creating a small gap, which lets the air out. looping the cord up and behind your ears helps prevent cord noise. if you loop them over your ears i found having the cord around the front of your neck helps keep them in place better.

everyone's ears are shaped different, but this is what works best for me. hope this helps.

 

[pedxing]

I found the ER-6 to be a challenge worth overcoming.

First, I had to do what red shifter said - shallow insertion. But I had to aim the ER-6 at an upward angle towards the front of the head. I could not get a seal that provided maximum isolation. I had quite a bit of sound leaking in. This was the only way I could get the bass response.

After my ear canals got tougher (changed shape?), I had to do a deeper insertion. This is better because now I get the full isolation of the ER-6.

Also, it took me three weeks to get use to the sound. After that, ety's sound super great.


Good luck

 

[Azumandus]

What I do is wet them a lil bit with water and then I open my mouth extremly wide and insert in a 45 degree. What opening the jaw extra wide does to me is also opens my ear canal a little wider so I don't need to shoove them hard or anything. Also while inserting do a little tiny twisting and that should seal them to. I don't know though I may have ety ear's because I usually don't have no problems getting a great sound to me it just keeps getting better and better. When you have them on play open your jaw as wide as you can again and you can gauge how much sound is around you if you hear more sound in one ear than another then adjust. Just remember don't shoove them way in just enough to get a good tight seal. I've found that just digging them in there won't give you the "perfect" sound. But the best advice I can give you is fool around with them, everyone's different so you may develope a different technic that we all do.

 

[AlphaHX]

Cool, thanx for all the suggestions.

 

[zowie]

My ear canals don't seem to match. On the left side, I get a great seal with the silicon tips, at leat if I wet them first (so I do believe I know how to insert properly). On the right, its horrible. I switched to the foam, which improves the right, but is not quite as good on the left as the silicon.

So now I'm using silicon on the left, and foam on the right. I don't really like this set up because I'm not getting identical sound from both sides. The seal on the right is still not quite as good. I've got a real noisy blower behind me at the office, and as I turn my head it fades in and out depending on which ear is pointing to it.

Any comments or suggestions?

Also, anyone know anything about dangers of inserting them TOO far? There's nothing about that in the manual or on the ETY website, and I'm a little worried?

BTW, I'm using 4's, but the question seemed on point for this board's discussion.

 

[redshifter]

zowie,
try foam on both sides.

 

[zowie]

Tried foam on both sides. Seal basically worked, but not really well (e.g. I can still cut out more noise while wearing them by covering my ears with my hands), and they were less comfortable. I may end up getting rid of them.

 

[pedxing]

Try getting custom molds for your ety er-4. Of course, its not a cheap solution but I think its the best one i can think of.

 

[Spad]

zowie,

Etymotic offers silicon tips in both jumbo and standard sizes. My 4Ps shipped with two sizes--something I didn't know for some weeks. The tips installed at the factory were larger than the other included sets and may have been jumbos. I found switching to the smaller size afforded a far better fit and ended any lingering reservations I had concerning the Etys. In your case, a combination of the two might offer a better solution.

Trust us, they are worth the hassle. Once you get the proper fit and seal, and allow a few weeks for your ears to become completely acclimated, you will hardly notice they're there. Like many (possibly even most) Ety owners, I seriously considered returning them for the first couple of weeks. Now I find them far more comfortable than my HD-600s or DT-990s and, IMO, the performance easily eclipses both--along with every other headphone I've tried.

 

[jcorkery]

Quote:

Originally posted by Spad My 4Ps shipped with two sizes--something I didn't know for some weeks. The tips installed at the factory were larger than the other included sets and may have been jumbos.

As soon as I read your post, I checked out my ER4 box and, sure enough, the tips I had been using were much larger than the other two sets in the box. I tried out a pair of the smaller tips and they seem to fit into my ears more easily. If I had known this to begin with, I think it would've taken me much less time to figure out how to get a consistently good fit!!

Etymotic really needs to work on the documentation they include with those things...!