Sound Isolation

[tavilach]

I bought the Shure E3c's, and I really enjoy the extreme sound isolation, but they're just too cumbersome to set up (cord behind the ear, cord down my back...). I like to wear headphones while walking around campus (I obviously don't set up a wonderful isolation seal when walking, for safety purposes), and I like to be able to pop them in and out as I please.

Furthermore, whenever I turn my neck, the cords get pulled, which is very uncomfortable.

So...

How do they Etymotics, or other headphones, compare to the Shures in terms of raw decibel isolation? I know that the Etymotics block out 15-20 dB, but I don't know how that compares to the Shures.

If I were to switch to the Etymotics, I'd need to be sure of a few things. First of all, the sound isolation needs to be great (see above). Second, the cord needs to be sturdy. Third, for that price, the sound better be great (like the Shures). Finally, the shirt clip better work extremely well.

On that note, can anyone with Etymotics take a picture of the headphones being held by the shirt clip when not in use? That would be fantastic!

 

[cire]

15-20db? the Ety site says 34-36db of isolation

the shirt clip works very well, hell i even took a picture of me wearing it for you but my damn card reader seems to be broken

 

[ILUVIPODS]

I like th ety comfort and style better. Shure and etys sound alot different IMO, the etys being good in the highs mids with less bass, while the shures beings better at lows mids. IDK to me they have a totaly different sound.

 

[ken36]

Ety/flanged tips seem to do the best for me. Don't bother with shirt clip. If only the cable was shorter.

 

[osoucy]

Hi tavilach,

from what you just posted, I'm not sure if switching to etymotic would be the best solution to your problems.

I own ER6i and they are really great and offers good sound isolation, I would recommand them to anyone. Nonetheless, I cannot compare to shure since I never heard them.

From what you are asking, I think that you should get some high-end earbuds instead of a new pair of IEM. These will allow you to put them on/out really easily and won't offer much sound isolation. I think it would be better to have a pair of high-end earbud for campus use and a pair of IEM when you want sound isolation.

In fact, I had the same problem and I decided to order a pair of earbud. I suggest that you take a look a these models:

- Audio-Technica ATH-CM3
- Audio-Technica ATH-CM7
- Audio-Technica ATH-CM7ti

They are in increasing price order.

If you want a more secure fit, you can opt for a model with earclip:
- Audio-Technica ATH-EM7
- Audio-Technica ATH-EC7
- Bang & Olufsen A8
- Audio-Technica ATH-EM9d
- Audio-Technica ATH-EW9


I personnaly hesitated between the ATH-EC7 and the B&O A8. I know that I won't get a sound quality as good as with my ety, but they are more convenient in environnement when I need to interact with others or be aware of what is going on. I finally choosed the A8 because of practical reasons:
- They seems to be more durable and come with a nice case which is good since I'm gonna carry them from home to school, work, bus, metro, etc.

- If I have a problem, it is a lot easier to deal with Bang & Olufsen than with a Japan based company that don't even sells the EC7 in North America. There is a retail store of B&O in Montreal (20 mins from home).

- They were a little bit less expensive.

I heard that they do not sound as good as EC7, but I choosed them for practical reasons like I said. For really good sound, I always have my ER6i.
There is a nice comparison between the two, here.

I hope that helped.