[Thanos]

Hey everyone, I've just purchased a pair of ER6i's and am very happy with the sound quality. However, I'm curious to know if I'm getting a good seal or not. When they are in my ear canal, I can still hear a bit of noise from the outside. Is this supposed to be normal, or am I supposed to hear absolutely nothing at all? Thanks for your time.

 

[apnk]

All canal phones cant completly cut out the noise of the outside world. I never tried the ety's (yet, they're in the mail) so i dont know wheather you have a good seal.

With my E3C's the music sounds thin with out bass when you got a bad seal.

 

[jp11801]

for me they seal about 80%+ of the outside noise, this will vary based on what you use Foamies/Flanges (I prefer foamies all around).
if what they sent does not fit well if you call ety they will send out a sampler pack or ear tips for you to try out.

 

[Thanos]

Thanks for the quick replys everyone. I guess I have a pretty good seal then. For some reason I was under the impression that a good seal meant you could hear no outside noise.

 

[Teerawit]

With my ER-6i's properly inserted in my ear canals, I can still hear outside noise. However, when I have music playing at a normal level, I can't hear anything unless it's excessively loud (like a car horn or a firetruck). Also, with music playing, I can't hear anyone talking to me even if they are up in my face

 

[fiz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Teerawit With my ER-6i's properly inserted in my ear canals, I can still hear outside noise. However, when I have music playing at a normal level, I can't hear anything unless it's excessively loud (like a car horn or a firetruck). Also, with music playing, I can't hear anyone talking to me even if they are up in my face

Ditto, I have found I am getting better at lip reading since getting my 6i's

.

 

[warpdriver]

You can still hear outside noise, but it will be severely quieter. If you have the best possible seal, outside noise will sound 1/8th to 1/4 as loud. If somebody is standing 6 feet away (my music is off) and talking to me at normal voice volume, I can't understand what he is saying

 

[Sinbios]

They only offer around 20-30dB of isolation, no? Normal traffic is like 60-70dB.

 

[Teerawit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinbios They only offer around 20-30dB of isolation, no? Normal traffic is like 60-70dB.

Yeah, but keep in mind that the decibel scale is logarithmic. 20-30 dB attenuation is pretty significant -- even more so at higher dB levels.

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sinbios They only offer around 20-30dB of isolation, no? Normal traffic is like 60-70dB.

Decibels are logarithmic, not linear, so........going from 40 dBA to 80dBA is going from a very silent room to outside on the street traffic. Going from 80 dB to 120 is going from standing in the middle of traffic to standing in front row in a rock concert or being close to a jet engine.

If you are sitting in the quietest possible room in your house, it will probably measure around 30 dBA.

Every 10 dB increase in noise means your perceived noise level has doubled. Try it on your own receiver on your stereo (most have a digital indicator that reads in decibels). If you go from -30 to -20, the music will sound twice as loud.

So if the earphone reduces noise by 10 dB, it will halve the noise level.
If it reduces noise by 20 dB, it will knock off 3/4 of the total noise level.
If it reduces noise by 30 dB, it will knock off 7/8 of the total noise level.

So if outside noise is 70 dB, and the earphone is rated at -30dB, you've stepped out of traffic into a very quiet room in your house.

30 dB reduction is a LOT. Remember, hearing protection devices (like earmuffs for shooting guns) are rated typically between 30 and 36 dB which is comparable to a good canalphone.