My experience using Etymotic ER 6i in-ear headphones
I recently purchased a pair of Etymotic ER 6i in-ear headphones for my 2G 8gb Touch. I was able to obtain a brand new pair for $56 with free shipping, so the deal was simply too good to pass up.
The largest set of silicon tips formed a perfect seal, but the music I was playing (Radiohead) sounded like total garbage. The earphones were shoved in my ear canals as far as they could safely go, so I knew that the position of the earphones wasn't the issue. I also knew that it wasn't recording quality of the music (Radiohead) causing the issue. Radiohead had always sounded decent when I used the stock ear buds and I was using a retail CD. The sound coming from the ER 6i's was distorted and literally made me cringe.
I then re-ripped a couple of CD's from my collection using AIFF & Apple Lossless, but the issue was still present. Just when I was about to throw in the towel, I read that the volume level from in-ear headphones can be deceiving and that they require a little time to "break-in". I moved the volume slider down a mere 1/8" and everything sounded very clear and the bass was even pretty good. Mind you I am not talking 16" sub-woofer bass, but more than I would expect from a set of headphones. I then tried various EQ settings and ended up choosing "Lounge". The sound was not as "bright" as the stock ear buds, which I have been told is actually a good thing (Truer to the source CD). Long story short, it took me a little while to get used to the sound from higher quality headphones.
Then came the interesting part. Removing the in-ear headphones from my ear-canals was a pain in the rear end. In the end I had to very, and I do mean VERY gently tug on the wires to each earphone while simultaneously pulling my ear back and to the left to finally break the seal. I now use the foam tips and they work very well. The foam tips are about 95%+ as good as the silicone tips when it comes to bass, but are 110% easier to remove. I plan to contact Etymotic to see if they offer any other styles of silicone tips that will give me the best possible bass, but also allow for ease of removal. I have already checked their site and it looks like they may.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my findings on using in-ear headphones. I assume that most will have a similar experience even if the headphones are made by another brand.
The largest set of silicon tips formed a perfect seal, but the music I was playing (Radiohead) sounded like total garbage. The earphones were shoved in my ear canals as far as they could safely go, so I knew that the position of the earphones wasn't the issue. I also knew that it wasn't recording quality of the music (Radiohead) causing the issue. Radiohead had always sounded decent when I used the stock ear buds and I was using a retail CD. The sound coming from the ER 6i's was distorted and literally made me cringe.
I then re-ripped a couple of CD's from my collection using AIFF & Apple Lossless, but the issue was still present. Just when I was about to throw in the towel, I read that the volume level from in-ear headphones can be deceiving and that they require a little time to "break-in". I moved the volume slider down a mere 1/8" and everything sounded very clear and the bass was even pretty good. Mind you I am not talking 16" sub-woofer bass, but more than I would expect from a set of headphones. I then tried various EQ settings and ended up choosing "Lounge". The sound was not as "bright" as the stock ear buds, which I have been told is actually a good thing (Truer to the source CD). Long story short, it took me a little while to get used to the sound from higher quality headphones.
Then came the interesting part. Removing the in-ear headphones from my ear-canals was a pain in the rear end. In the end I had to very, and I do mean VERY gently tug on the wires to each earphone while simultaneously pulling my ear back and to the left to finally break the seal. I now use the foam tips and they work very well. The foam tips are about 95%+ as good as the silicone tips when it comes to bass, but are 110% easier to remove. I plan to contact Etymotic to see if they offer any other styles of silicone tips that will give me the best possible bass, but also allow for ease of removal. I have already checked their site and it looks like they may.
Anyway, I just wanted to share my findings on using in-ear headphones. I assume that most will have a similar experience even if the headphones are made by another brand.
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