[EdipisReks]

holy crap!!!











i will post a more detailed review later

 

[Knocturnal]

is that good or bad?

 

[ducducpham]

"holy", that is a lot of "crap" impression that you wrote.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knocturnal is that good or bad?

you'll find out later

 

[ReDVsion]

I'm going to wager... good.

 

[quke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knocturnal is that good or bad?

Holy crap would be bad but in a very good way.

 

[EdipisReks]

now that i've had a chance to listen to these phones with a variety of music, i have a preliminary conclusion. they kick ass! before i get into a little more detail, let me express a couple caveats. the bass, while tight and deep, is not super evident, so these phones are not for bassheads. having said that, songs with good bass sound very good. listening to Bjork's Hyperballad, for instance, i swear that there is a layer of bass in the song that i never heard before. is the bass as "big" as with portapros? absolutely not. is it somewhat muddy like Shure E2c's? absolutely not. the bass isn't perfect, i would like just a hair more for some songs, but it's very nice.

the other caveat is that they do go pretty far in your ears. i've used Sony (EX-70 and EX-71) and Shure canalphones (E2c) before, and these go much deeper. i had a chance to try ER-4S canalphones about a month ago, and the ER6i goes about the same depth. however, the tube in the ER6i's isn't as long as the ER-4s, so the tips of the triflange is much more flexible. these enhances comfort. personally, i find these phones to be VERY comfortable, so far at least. having had them in for a couple hours, i feel no discomfort. however, having said that, i think that if they went any further into the ear they would hurt. they are right at the edge, but for me they work very well.

i've mentioned the sound a bit already, but let me get into a little more detail. the sound can best be called "balanced". the highs, mids, and bass all work very well together. to my ears, the transitions are also very smooth. i don't hear a lot of separation between the highs, mids, and bass like i do with some other phones. i find the highs to be slightly accentuated and details, but not particularly fatiguing. just like the fit, however, it's on the edge. if the highs were just SLIGHTLY more accentuated, i think i would find them to be fatiguing. once again, however, it works very well for me. the mids are full, but i haven't listened to music with a pronounced midrange yet, so i have a hard time describing it exactly. it is a real mid range, however, not just an overemphasised upper bass. as i said earlier, the bass is deep and tight, but not overly present. on a good thumping song you certainly know it's there. to me, the bass is about the same as the Grado SR-60's. whether that is a good thing depends on the listeners. while i tend to like a slight emphasis on bass, i find myself liking these a lot.

the music i've listened to so far has varied between electronica and baroque, and all of it sounds very good. i'm able to discern a little extra detail. for instance, in The Postal Services song The District Sleeps Tonight there is an echo effect about half a beat behind the main vocals in certain parts that play very softly. i can hear the echo with my SR-60's, but it is much clearer with the Etys. i have also noticed the effect that some people have talked about where the decay between notes seems to be truncated. for instance, on the Song The Becoming on NIN's Still (which is a somewhat rare live CD), there is a section of piano followed by electronic tones. those electronic tones are very distinct and clear with the Etys, whereas the Grados have more of a "meld" between the notes. i personally like the effect with the Etys, but i'm also glad that i have the Grados as well, as both effects are nice.

one thing i have noticed that is a downside is a slight tendancy to be sibilant. it's not on everything, and really it seems that it is emphasizing sibilance that is already in the recording. non sibilant music doesn't become sibilant, but slight sibilance becomes more pronounced. to me, it's not awful, but it might be fatiguing and irritating for some people. in a portable situation, i doubt it would be a problem.

the phones isolate very well, and i think the triflanges do a better job than the foams. the triflanges are, for me, slightly hard to insert. one of my ear canals is slightly larger than the other and has a little bit of an angle, so i have to really tug my ear lobe down to straighen the canal before i insert. i find that slightly moisening the tip helps a lot. once they are inserted, however, the seal is very strong and stays put. the seal isn't uncomfortable, however, and i haven't gotten the sensation of "vacuum" that i got with the clear flexisleeves on the E2c's. the foams are somewhat more comfortable, and are very easy to insert, but i haven't listened to them that much. i think the triflanges give a better overall experience due to durability, so i've been working on getting a good seal with the tri flanges. i'll compare the tri flanges and the foamies more when i do my more indepth review.

in terms of physical characteristics, these things are tiny! i mean tiny! the cables are very thin, but seem durable, and the drivers themselves are quite small. the pouch seems fairly useful, and i think i will use it more than i ever used the Shure wind up case. the packaging is nice and professional, overall.

one last thing before i go: these phones are harder to drive with my iPodthan i expected. they are about on par with the E2c's in this regard. while it is fine with most songs, some, especially softer classical music, just don't get loud enough. i'm going to experiment with itunes to see if i can fix this. directly from my PowerBook, the phones are driven fine, and can go WAY too loud. i do, however, think that the iPod drives the etys better than it does my Grado SR-60's, but no where near as well as it drives my Koss Portapros. it's good enough, however. i will probably get an amp at some point, but i don't think it is pressing right now.

thanks for reading my somwhat disjointed mini review. at some point in the near future i will make a more in depth review, and i will compare these to the SR-60's, the Porta Pros, the Shure E2c's and the infamous Yamaha RH5Ma. i also have a set of Sony E821's, which are lower end earbuds, if anyone thinks a comparison to these will be worthwhile.

in conclusion, preliminarily, the ER6i are a blast. fun to listen to, very accurate, comfortable, and nice looking. i love them. one of the best $120 i've ever spent. if anyone has any questions they would like addressed, list them in this thread and i'll do my best to answer them.

 

[CamelBackCinema]

Great overview and detail of the er6i. I do hope to get some before school starts. Oh well. Still saving up I guess.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CamelBackCinema Great overview and detail of the er6i. I do hope to get some before school starts. Oh well. Still saving up I guess.

they are definitely worth saving your pennies for. i see that you are a Radiohead fan. these are great phones for Radiohead. with the Japanese Limited Edition of Hail to the Thief, for instance, the little details that have been added to the mix really stand out. these are definitely phones for audibly sophisticated and layered music.

 

[flamingantichimp]

I have an iPod with Koss (35's) right now, and I still need to decide what headphones I have. On one level, isolation isn't a huge deal for me, but if I spent $150 on a pair of open headphones, I'd have to spend another 100 at least on an amp.

But isolation would be nice, and I'm kinda thinking I need a pair of canalphones. So maybe I'll buy the 6i's? Oh, decisions, decisions.

Are the SR-60's the best phones you've owned, Edipis?

 

[EdipisReks]

i would say that the SR-60's are the best cans i've owned, unless the ER6i takes that spot. i have fairly extensive experience with the Beyerdynamic 880's, as well.

 

[batracom]

quick question, edipis: how do they compare with the sony ex-71? are they a world apart, as most people have said?

 

[SilentServices]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks =at some point in the near future i will make a more in depth review, and i will compare these to the SR-60's, the Porta Pros, the Shure E2c's and the infamous Yamaha RH5Ma.

I heard that!

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by batracom quick question, edipis: how do they compare with the sony ex-71? are they a world apart, as most people have said?

in my opnion, they are many times better than the EX-71. your ears may be different, though.

Quote:

=SilentServices]I heard that!

i was counting on that! bwahahahahah

 

[EdipisReks]

oh my, Coltrane's Newport '63 sounds amazing with these! the Grados just had too much....something. the Etys just sound pure. makes me want to listen to the ER-4's from a good amp. *MUST NOT UPGRADE 6 HOURS AFTER RECIEVING NEW CANALPHONES*