Peter’s Musings

Etymotic has invented these ear-canal phones for the iPod generation: The Etymotic ER6i’s have greater sensitivity and more bass than the ER6. They come with three-flange rubber eartips and foam eartips. Since a excellent seal is essential to good bass performance, the foam tips were more beneficial and more comfortable. Foam eartips are a minor bother, though, as you have to compress them with your fingers before inserting them, then wait until the warmth of your ear expands them. We opt for the Etymotic foam eartip material to that of the Shure E3c/E4c. Replaceable filters shield the drivers from ear wax and provide damping to smooth out peaks in the drivers’ response.

The Etymotic ER6i’s are highly useful at blocking outside noise. We heard brilliant clarity throughout the audio range, but we had hoped for more bass. The ER6i’s react well to EQ, however, and a little bass boost or loudness compensation brings the bottom end into line. During testing, we heard buzzing in one ear on bass notes; a filter was loose. We pressed it back in, and all was fine. Quieting: 12 dB; Frequency response: Smooth and bright; Comfort: Very good.

Though Bluetooth stereo headsets are not new to the market, there hasn’t been a high-end model targeted toward audiophiles—until now. The Etymotic Ety8 provides high-resolution sound to your iPod or smartphone and does so without all those annoying wires. Still, the Etymotic Ety8 is burdened with plenty unfavourable quirks.

The most major issue with the Ety8 is obvious at first glance. If you’re sensitive to style, there’s no way you’re going to be thrilled with what you see, unless you like the idea of hanging a pair of microprocessors from your ears. Etymotic puts the odd black rectangles (1.3 by 1.3 by 0.9 inch, 5 ounces) to good use by building a remote control into the right unit, letting you keep the music player tucked away in a bag or pocket. That is nice, but in my humble opinion, it doesn’t make good for the look of the earphones.

Notwithstanding their bizarre appearance, the Ety8 is lightweight. The nylon cord connecting the two earbuds isn’t heavy, but it is uncomfortable. If you hang it behind your neck, it feels irritating and transmits booming sounds into the earphones. If you hang it in front, you’ll be comfortable, but look even sillier.

To fit each Ety8 in-ear earphone properly, pull your ear up and back slightly, then insert the eartip with a firm twisting motion until you get a complete seal. At this point, you shouldn’t hear any outside noise. Etymotic Research claims a 35-dB noise reduction with any of its stock rubber eartips and a 40-dB reduction with the company’s foam tips (included in the box). That may be optimistic, but I nonetheless experienced a dramatic reduction in outside interference.