Sony's dissapointing headphones have made a great market for head and earphones, because it would be hard to do much worse. There's a cast of earphones from a variety of companies that also produce cases and other accessories. What Etymotic Research brings to the table is 20 years of earphone development experience. For some of you this may be overkill, but if you enjoy your music, movies and gaming audio, then plonking down $90 for the Etymotic ER-6 earphones is a worthwhile investment for a set of great quality earphones from a company that specializes solely in this field.
The package comes with a tiny leather-like bag which includes a pair of foam eartips, 2 replacement filters, a filter changing tool and a shirt clip. The earphones have a 5 ft cord with a gold-tip 3.5mm stereo plug. The bag helps to keep everything in one place, including the earphones and the manual which helps you with filter changing, warranty info and a few other bits you'll want to keep handy.
Technically, the ER-6 has a frequency response of 20 Hz to 16 kHz and a max output of 120 dB SPL. The earphones themselves weigh less than one ounce, so you're not going to be weighed down. The buds are quite soft and comfortable, which is important because they'll be sitting somewhat deep in your ear canal. This not only helps to deliver a richer sound, it also drowns out external noise. With less external noise, you won't have to crank up the volume as much, unlike other earphones and headphones which may slowly cause ear damage due to high volumes.
The sound is absolutely beautiful. Mid-range and treble is very clear and balanced. Typically, the treble can be overpowering on some headphones, but the ER-6 earphones sound smooth across not only the highs, but the entire range. Even bass is audible and present in the mix. A touch more bass would've made this a perfect pair of earphones, but given how beautiful the rest of the mix is and the price, it's hard to complain too much.
For $90, the Etymotic ER-6 earphones are excellent and you would be hard-pressed to find a pair as aurally rich, balanced, crisp and physically light in this price range. If you're tired of tinny sound, missing bass and damaging your ears with inferior headphones or earphones, invest in these, you won't be dissapointed.
I can't even imagine how these tiny earplugs could be better than my impressive and steady KOSS Porta pro sound.
I already imagine what some of you think reading these lines but it fits as well on your ears than folded in your jacket pocket.
It comes with lifetime warranty for a bit cheaper and I couldn't get a better time on Wipeout Pure without it.
I remember someone stating these "in ear" headphones were bad for your hearing, because of the sound not being able to leave the ear/bounce out of it, but i dont remember ever seeing any links or any posts of information backing this up, other than well written text... Anyone have any new clues as to whether or not these are actually bad for our hearing??
corpsman : your statement is actually true, that is also why I posted my thoughts to this review.
I disagree with captain when when he writes that if you don't have to crank up the volume, it is better for your ears. Actually, with such products, you can do as much or more damage to your hearing with less volume than headphones because sound waves are directly sent to your tympanums with no possibility to get attenuated. It has also been revealed that the number of impaired youth has severely increased with the use of earplugs.
That's how more 'efficient' solutions can become more dangerous than others...
Question @ MadArcher - Is the standard PSP earphone also an "in ear" model? They don't cling to the inside of your ear like the Etymotic - they are however inside your ear. Are the dangers similar?
zigster : it is typically the kind of stuff I am talking about because these have been the target of the study revealing the increased dangers of portable music in an urban environment with earphones you insert in your ears. I have minor problems to my ears which are due childhood illnesses so I want to keep my ears potential as long as possible and thus prefer using headphones that cover them. Moreover, experience keeps telling me that larger quality equipment still delivers better sound anyway.
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