cire
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 1, 2005
- Posts
- 993
- Likes
- 11
The Appearance
the 6i only come in "ipod" white, while the 3's come in that white and black. i black looks totally sexier in my opinion
. the driver on the 3's are friggin huge compared to the 6i's. its litterally like comparing david and goliath. the 6i driver with triflange tips on is barely shorter than the 3's driver without any tip on. when comparing the size of each phone's body (not counting the tip that the tip mounts on), the 6i's are half the size of the 3's.
The Fit
i've always loved the fit of the 6i. its perfect, tight, comfy and seals damn well. just stick the driver down into your ear canal. the 3's have the over-ear design that frankly, i find a pain in the ass. i'm used to just jamming the driver in and not having to route the wires anywhere, but i have to do that with the 3's. the 3's dont go very deep into my ear, while the 6i's go very deep. from the outside, the 3's are very noticeable, a big black (or white) mass hanging over the top of your earlobe. with the 6i's (for me), you can barely see the driver and it really just looks like white wires coming out my ear. the isolation on the 6i is a lot better than the 3's probably due to a larger tip and going deeper into the ear.
The Setup
HP ze4805us (laptop)
MINT w/ AD8620, 75 ohms of impedence
Archos 20gb Jukebox Recorder
Superfi 3 with dual flanges
Ety ER6i with tripple flanges
The Sounds
Relient K - various songs from Mhmm album
Opeth - various songs from Damnation
Offspring - various songs from the Greatest Hits album
Beatles - various songs from the Greatest Hits album
Billy Joel - various songs
the differences are very consistant. the 6i's are much more upfront, direct, full and filling. the 3's sound very laid back, shallow, hollow and the instruments and vocals feel seperated, whereas they sound very continuous and flowing with the 6i. when there is only one instrument or voice playing, it sounds isolated and far away. the highs and mids are about the same, but the bass is lacking with the 3's. its weak, indirect and not punchy, when the bass on the 6i's is tight and punchy.
overall, the ER6i's own. the Superfi 3's in my opinion simply can't compete. i'm going to spend another week with the 3's and see how it goes.
Thanks for reading
UPDATE
after a few days of more use, i've come to a happier conclusion. switching the tip from the dual flanged to the smallest nonflanged tip, i was able to stick it farther down my ear (still nowhere near as deep as ER6i) and get better bass response with more isolation. this is the canal phone for people afraid of canal phones. it doesnt go all that deep and doesnt put much pressure on the ear canal (read: fit isnt as tight as 6i).
as noted above, bass response was better, better than the 6i's bass. it was boomier, but not as tight or punchy as 6i. spending the last few days switching back and forth has shown me that the 3's highs arent as sharp or detailed as the 6i, but on crappily mastered records such as Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Californication and low bitrate MP3s (<160kbps), the nice detail and highs arent there in the songs anyways, so the 6i's sound about the same as the 3's. i'd actually prefer the 3's because of more bass. the 3's also sound a bit darker, not really dark but imagine the middle of the brightness specturm, the 3's are a smidge to the dark side.
why you should buy the 3's:
- don't like the tight fit of the 6i's
- don't like how deep in the ear the 6i's go
- don't mind the over ear design
- listen to a lot of rock or other genres that have often crappily mastered records
- often using a portable rig that has low bitrate (<160kbps)
i myself love the detail of the 6i's so i wont be ditching those any time soon. i also dislike the over-ear fit of the 3's.
the 6i only come in "ipod" white, while the 3's come in that white and black. i black looks totally sexier in my opinion
The Fit
i've always loved the fit of the 6i. its perfect, tight, comfy and seals damn well. just stick the driver down into your ear canal. the 3's have the over-ear design that frankly, i find a pain in the ass. i'm used to just jamming the driver in and not having to route the wires anywhere, but i have to do that with the 3's. the 3's dont go very deep into my ear, while the 6i's go very deep. from the outside, the 3's are very noticeable, a big black (or white) mass hanging over the top of your earlobe. with the 6i's (for me), you can barely see the driver and it really just looks like white wires coming out my ear. the isolation on the 6i is a lot better than the 3's probably due to a larger tip and going deeper into the ear.
The Setup
HP ze4805us (laptop)
MINT w/ AD8620, 75 ohms of impedence
Archos 20gb Jukebox Recorder
Superfi 3 with dual flanges
Ety ER6i with tripple flanges
The Sounds
Relient K - various songs from Mhmm album
Opeth - various songs from Damnation
Offspring - various songs from the Greatest Hits album
Beatles - various songs from the Greatest Hits album
Billy Joel - various songs
the differences are very consistant. the 6i's are much more upfront, direct, full and filling. the 3's sound very laid back, shallow, hollow and the instruments and vocals feel seperated, whereas they sound very continuous and flowing with the 6i. when there is only one instrument or voice playing, it sounds isolated and far away. the highs and mids are about the same, but the bass is lacking with the 3's. its weak, indirect and not punchy, when the bass on the 6i's is tight and punchy.
overall, the ER6i's own. the Superfi 3's in my opinion simply can't compete. i'm going to spend another week with the 3's and see how it goes.
Thanks for reading
UPDATE
after a few days of more use, i've come to a happier conclusion. switching the tip from the dual flanged to the smallest nonflanged tip, i was able to stick it farther down my ear (still nowhere near as deep as ER6i) and get better bass response with more isolation. this is the canal phone for people afraid of canal phones. it doesnt go all that deep and doesnt put much pressure on the ear canal (read: fit isnt as tight as 6i).
as noted above, bass response was better, better than the 6i's bass. it was boomier, but not as tight or punchy as 6i. spending the last few days switching back and forth has shown me that the 3's highs arent as sharp or detailed as the 6i, but on crappily mastered records such as Red Hot Chilli Pepper's Californication and low bitrate MP3s (<160kbps), the nice detail and highs arent there in the songs anyways, so the 6i's sound about the same as the 3's. i'd actually prefer the 3's because of more bass. the 3's also sound a bit darker, not really dark but imagine the middle of the brightness specturm, the 3's are a smidge to the dark side.
why you should buy the 3's:
- don't like the tight fit of the 6i's
- don't like how deep in the ear the 6i's go
- don't mind the over ear design
- listen to a lot of rock or other genres that have often crappily mastered records
- often using a portable rig that has low bitrate (<160kbps)
i myself love the detail of the 6i's so i wont be ditching those any time soon. i also dislike the over-ear fit of the 3's.
