Initial response to the Etymotic ER-6 earphones

Today I got my ER-6’s in from FedEx. I was not expecting them until Monday so that came as a pleasant surprise. Here I sit during my lunch break giving them a bit of a torture test with various bits of music that I have with me. I have to say that I’m impressed – they offer amazing bass for being earbuds, and the noise isolation is incredible. I put them on and the normal noise of a busy phone sales office vanishes away leaving me with no phone conversations, no computers beeping – NOTHING! They are a tad annoying to insert given that you have to pull your ear out in a weird way to expose your ear canal to get them in there far enough to create a good seal and give real bass. I'm using the foam tips rather than the rubberised plastic ones because they seem to be a bit more comfortable and I'm used to putting in foam earplugs so It's a more comforting motion for me.

Once I had them inserted I plugged into my iPod and started off with a few tracks that I’m very familiar with and know exactly how they should sound. Good bass response – could be a little tighter, but impressive given their size. The midrange is slightly less clear than other high-end headphones I’ve used, but certainly acceptable given the $100 range on the price. The high end is crisp and accurate – the psytrance tracks I’m throwing at them are coming through with every detail. The only real complaint I could have with the sound is it might be a touch brighter than I tend to like, but that’s more of a subjective thing than a comment on their quality.

Given their difficulty of insertion (supposedly that will get easier over time) I’m not sure if these make ideal all-purpose headphones but they certainly have their uses for any noisy environment. I would hesitate to use them while doing vigorous exercise outside given that I would completely unable to hear any thing but my music, but they should make excellent buds for walking and ignoring my co-workers.