Etymotic ER6i Headphones and Potential Sadness

Aug 21, 2008 at 11:07 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 14

Flammadeao

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Hey, so I've been lurking and trying to find the best earphones that I can (for an ipod) and so far It looks like my best option is the Etymotic Research ER6i. I am on a budget, and $80 is definitely pushing it, so I can't really go any higher. BUT, I have read several reviews that are saying it's hard to get the earbuds out of your ears short of pulling on the wire - and if you resort to that they end up going KABLEWIE.

Baseline, I really want to get these, but am wondering if the thin wires/ fragile connection with the earbuds might end up being a problem.

I'm thinking that maybe I can coat the junction point between the two with something like plastidip (Shown Here).

If anyone has thoughts on other canal earphones or the like that they think are better for a similar price then that'd be awesome too. Thanks
 
Aug 21, 2008 at 11:30 PM Post #2 of 14
The ER-6i's are great IEMs. Buy them,;enjoy them. Don't try to fix a problem that does not exist. Use them for a while before trying to tweak them.

If you tend to abuse IEMs, these will fail as soon as others. Learn to take care of your audio products and they will last for a long time. How long? I have no idea.
 
Aug 21, 2008 at 11:39 PM Post #3 of 14
I have had about 8 pairs of ER-6i's and the connection to the earpiece has never been a problem even though i pull them by the wire. The plug generally fails after less than 6 months heavy use ( as did my Shure E2s) or I sever the cord on something sharp. Etymotic have replaced all that i have sent back. I bought all on ebay and used Paypal receipt as proof of purchase.
 
Aug 21, 2008 at 11:47 PM Post #4 of 14
A couple of things:

1) I don't find it the case that I need to pull by the wire to get these things out of my ears - grabbing the buds themselves, as well as a bit of the flanges, and then pulling/twisting works fine.

2) The wire is a bit thin, true, but I have pulled them out by the wires a few times and they are still in one piece.

As a slight aside, I have never been thrilled by the sound of these things (they sound too thin, especially in the lower end), though I will admit that the isolation is excellent and they are perfect for my annual long plane rides between Hawaii and New Jersey,

As a final aside, be aware that the white turns a sickly yellow after a while (if you get the white version).
 
Aug 21, 2008 at 11:59 PM Post #5 of 14
Sounds like wires won't be a problem then
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One other thing that meteorman brought up and I've heard from others as well is that the bass leaves plenty to be desired even if you arn't interested in heavy bass. I don't need loads of bass, I basically just want it to exist. So, my question to you - how's the bass? Is it low? sufficient? or not a problem at all?
 
Aug 22, 2008 at 1:24 AM Post #6 of 14
I use the ER6 (not i). I mostly use mine while in bed to give me peace and quiet(music). I believe the ER6 is more accurate based on reviews here and what is stated at the Etymotic website.

I sometimes see the ER6i priced higher than the ER6 which I don't understand.

Anyway, I use my ER6 sometimes with a 1G shuffle which of course has no EQ and the bass is plentiful with electro/techno.

With my iaudio7, which is what I use in bed , I use EQ and other sound enhancements to give them a very big sound while at a low volume (7/40).

I've had my ER6 for about 16 months with no problems with the wires.
 
Aug 22, 2008 at 2:01 AM Post #7 of 14
You could try tying a little string around the area where you put the ear-tip onto the body. Then, put the ear-tip back on. Now you can pull the little string to easily take out your ER 6i earphones. I, however, just removed them by holding onto the main body.

Unfortunately, my ER 6i earphones died after a year due to a weak soldering connection. Hence, I decided to buy some UM1s. The Etymotic had great sound, but I need something more durable. I took decent care of my earphones, there were just times when they would get caught which strains the connections.
 
Aug 22, 2008 at 9:29 AM Post #10 of 14
I found the the triple flanges, although the most comfortable, gave up the least bass. Switching to the comfies (foam) the bass was improved.
Still a tad bass shy (hey I use BD DT770 in my main rig!) but a nice tonal balance. At the price, they are hard to beat.

BT
 
Aug 22, 2008 at 10:34 AM Post #11 of 14
No worries. Bass is present and tight in the ER-6is but you're not going to be blown away by it. Nice IEMS that I enjoyed for two years before selling them. A great introduction to good IEMs and my favorite for classical, though they do fine with other genres as well.
 
Aug 22, 2008 at 8:14 PM Post #12 of 14
The ER-6is are my first (not last, of course!
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) IEMs and I've been very happy with them. They are very detailed and while the bass isn't deep it is accurate and acceptable. For the price these IEMs are hard to fault.

I've had no problems with pulling them out of my ears - I use the foamies as they are more comfortable and give me a better seal.

I wouldn't worry about potential shortcomings....most IEMs have at least one and these are damn fine canalphones.
 
Aug 22, 2008 at 8:28 PM Post #13 of 14
If you're not using an amp, the iM616 might perform better than the ER6i or iM716. The iM716 will still perform [size=xx-large]SIGNIFICANTLY[/size] better than the ER6i, and will have more headroom for modification and improvement over the other two. Don't bother with the ER6i unless you can score them at a much cheaper price than the iMx16.
 
Aug 23, 2008 at 4:20 PM Post #14 of 14
The bass quantity really depends on the seal you get. If you can manage a really tight and solid seal, the bass is very deep, accurate, and reasonably high. If you don't get a good seal though, bye bye bass.
 

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