[filhej]

New to Headfi and I've done a little searching but have yet to find anyone discussing my question/concern. I have had the ER6i for a couple years and have not used them much because of the physical noise that occurs when the cable bumps against another object or rubs up against your body. They seen to be fine when I am sitting virtually motionless, but when you want to rock out or work out the noise is, from my perspective at least, almost unbearable. Please pardon my ignorance as the new guy, but at one point I though I remembered this occurance being referred to as "michrophoning" Is that the correct term? Does this occur with many other (sealed) IEM's? Does a thicker jacket on the cable or a different type of cable make a difference? (For instance the twisted pais I see on some of the UE's) Am I crazy? Should I just monitor Headfi, stop asking stupid questions and leave you all alone?

I've certainly enjoyed reading headfi up until now. Any insight into this phenomenon is greatly appreciate

 

[Arainach]

That's Microphonics. It's been discussed extensively. It's what the Clip is for. Other than that ou could try wrapping them behind your ears ala Shure.

Strangely, I've never gotten the slightest hint of Microphonics from my er6i. They don't have the clip and even when I intentionally shake the cable I get nothing.

 

[milkpowder]

Hi there and welcome to Head-fi! Please do not shy away from asking questions. We are all here to help and give advice, as well as share opinions. It would be a shame if your questions are not heard by the community because there are bound to be other people with similar questions!

I'm surprised you experience microphonics from the ER6i cable. I have two ER6i's and neither cable is microphonic at all! I also have the ER4P/S and the cable from the cable pod to the transducer is what I call microphonic. Literally every single brush or bump against the twisted/braided cable is conveyed to the listener. OK, I may have slightly exaggerated the problem there

. Luckily, the shirt clip almost completely eliminates this problem. I would suggest to you the same solution to your microphonics problem. Use the supplied shirtclip. A thicker jacket may not necessarily eliminate microphonics. The exact reason to that I am unsure of, but I am certain that adding additional or thicker jackets does not solve the problem in all cases. To add to the complication, my ER4P/S cable from the jack to the cable pod is completely void of microphonics! Someone ought to explain this.

 

[iSleipnir]

To me there is a difference of sound you can head when you shake the cord and you get a metalic sound through the speaker, vs. sound you get when the cord rubs against your skin. To me the er6 is devoid of the first but the secound can get annoying. Take the cable pull it infront of you the wrap it up, over and behind your ear. That should prevent swinging of the cable from moving the actuall ear piece and cut down on a lot of the anoyance.

 

[filhej]

Milkpowder. Maybe I am focusing on the worng cause of michrophnics, but from the picture you sent of the ER4's, I would think that just the sheer size of the cable pod would dampen any vibrations between the jack and pod. I am now eperimenting with methods of wrapping the cord behind my ears and it is effective provided I can keep it in contact with the space between my outer ear and skull. I guess I may have mistaken some of what michrophincs is for the sound of my own breathing/heart beating which can become quite evident with IEM's. I was additionally mistaken that these is er6, not 6i. I don't know if that should create any difference as they phsically look exactly the same.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

 

[milkpowder]

Ahh I see what you mean now! Yes I can hear myself swallowing when using IEMs. I don't think that can really be avoided though...

Regarding the ER4, I think it is the shiny covering on the cable between the jack and pod that prevents any microphonics. UE uses the same cabling on their custom IEM. One problem is that it is a little too stiff.

 

[gremlin]

You think the sound of swallowing is irritating when you're whereing IEMs? Try just wearing ear plugs for 8 hours. By the end of the day, you are so sick of listening to yourself breath, you want to ax murder yourself.

 

[bony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by filhej I am now eperimenting with methods of wrapping the cord behind my ears and it is effective provided I can keep it in contact with the space between my outer ear and skull.

You can attach a small elastic rubber band to the cords, so you can tighten them behind your head by pushing it upwards.



The microphonic effects can be reduced further with custom earmolds. They're very comfortable and the sealing is perfect. But they're more expensive than the ER-6s

(luckily Santa was nice to me last year

).