[electronicmaji]

Initial opinions...

I was overjoyed, my new great headphones had finally arrived; oh they joy! The Etymotic 6isolitar or the ER6i as they are commonly referred are packed in a sturdy plastic case that’s easy to open and come with a carrying case that looks well made. Inside are several different earpieces. And you all know this already.

Initial Listening Test:
The King of Carrot Flowers by Nuetral Milk Hotel

Big Flanged: I found it a bit harder to get these to form a seal, but had stronger bass response. More noise cancelling.

Small Flanged: I found it easy to form a seal with these, they had a bit less bass then the Big Flange. Less noise cancelling.

Foam: Were in between The Big Flanged and Small Flanged in seal ease. Least noise cancelling of the three yet the most comfortable. Easily the most bass of the three.

 

[tpc41]

when i got mine i couldn't get a good fit from any of the included tips and i was ready to return them until i found the shure olives, really made these headphones shine

 

[steviebee]

Congratulations! Glad you like em. It's always nice to get fine-sounding goodies.

So now sign up on the Ety owners thread & you're all set...tho I'm not sure the owner list is updated anymore?

 

[electronicmaji]

Does burn in make a major difference in these etis?

 

[caek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by electronicmaji /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does burn in make a major difference in these etis?

I've had mine for three months and they do seem to sound a bit better now. I also prefer the foam earpieces for comfort and bass, but three flanged have proven to be quite good too.

 

[breakfastchef]

I very much enjoy my ER-6i's, particularly after I got hold of a pair of bi-flange silicone tips from Sleek Audio. I demo'ed the SA6 at CanJam '08 and asked if I could keep the tips I used. I brought them home with a pair of shure black olives I also got at CanJam. Well, the black olives were a bitch to put on and really did not seal as well as I wanted. The Sleek Audio tips just needed a slight shove from my thumb and they were super secure. An added bonus to a bi-flange tip is the entire IEM body of the gi no longer protrudes from my ear. Contact Sleek audio and see if they will mail you a free sample of the bi-flange tip.

 

[hellopanda]

I felt that foamies are still the best. Try the Shure Black Olives, at least they don't look so gross after some time.

 

[electronicmaji]

After an hour and a half of burn in (give or take)

(Btw all these tracks are recompressed from Flace Into Apple Lossless player on my iPod. Most are Vinyl Rips.)

The Who - Tommy (I'm listening only with large flared)

Overture- Lots of highs are coming out its all very clean, theres a good bass and mid response too. I can't complain about lack of bass. The drums in the middle of this track sound very well pronounced. Mind you this is a vinyl and the sounds of the original vinyl are much softer and layed back then the recent remasters. The drums have less kick. The vocals sound very clear and I'm finally getting a feeling for the sound stage which is actually decent despite all the reports.

Switching to the recent Remaster for the next track:

1921- Sounds less bright on the CD but theres more depth on the bass side of the album here and theres deffinetly a distinct bass signutare to the etis. The are not bass heavy by any means but they feel very well balanced, or just a bit unbalanced on the bass side. It still sounds excellent for 60 bucks imo.

I'm gonna switch to a bass heavy album and track for the next part

Massive Attack - Mezzanine

Angel: I deffinetly feel a strong bass signature here. I can't even begin to beleive why people say the bass is weak on these buds. The bass in this song is very strong and moving; albeit neutral. The highs are also very exact and trebbly, without being thin.

Teardrop: The highs are very beautiful on the knocking snare in this song. The piano sounds very distinct from all the other sounds. Something that other earbuds tend to have problems with. The vocals are haunting and don't sound Nuetral; which is the first time I've noticed a sun found from these buds.

Switching for layering tests....

Sufjan Stevens - Illinois

Come on Feel the Illinoise Part 1- I consider this one of the more complex tracks on this album. It has several instruments and they mix flawlessly. Even with these headphones I have problems picking apart the piano and bells on this piece. Frankly I don't know if its the original mixing or the headphones; so far no headphones I've owned have been able to present a more dynamic range.

Chicago- It has a good range during the beggining and I was able to distinguish the orchestra from the suttle guitars and bells at the beggining. Later on the choir doesn't make it harder, althought at some points the electric riffs get lost in the mix.

Bonus: EXTREME MUDDY BASS TEST

The National - Boxer

Guest Room - This track has very deep bass that has caused major problems for three of my stereos. They are easily muddled by the strength and the mix. Here I found that even these bass weak earphones were unable to escape the muddled bass phasing. Althought it did do a better job with dealing it at points.

 

[electronicmaji]

Also BTW, is there anyway to make the seal more comfortable, for some reason it kind of bugs me....

 

[GreatDane]

Hello fellow Ety user. I've never heard the ER6i but I use ER6 almost every night to go to sleep...and keep them in the entire night. I use the stock foamies which remain comfortable.

I use an iAudio 7 with volume at 10~12/40 which is quite low. I bump up the bass & treble for a loudness effect.

I agree that the bass is not lacking. I feel that it is accurate and not hyped up which a lot of people prefer...like me at times.

Earlier tonight I was using my ER4P at the gym and an Infected Mushroom track came up. Holy crap! THE BASS! Deep and tight. For these I use Shure yellow foamies.

 

[electronicmaji]

I don't like the feeling of foam on my ears....

 

[LaBreaHead]

is there anyway to make the seal more comfortable, for some reason it kind of bugs me....

__________


Comply foams improve the fit, comfort, and sound, over the stock Ety foams -- IMO (as always, your mileage may vary ... but the flanges produce a mega seal that's great until it shifts ... the Complys and Shure foamies tend to keep a more consistent seal, with the Complys being the softer of the two and the Shures the most durable -- both denser than the Ety foams).


__________________________
Phones (in order of purchase):
Sony MDR71, Sony MDR51, Etymotic ER6, Panasonic RP-HJ50, Shure E3C, Koss PortaPro 2, Creative EP630, Etymotic ER6i, Sennheiser PX-100, Sennheiser HD555, Future Sonics Atrio M5