Anyone know anything about these?
I'm getting a creative nomad mp3 player and wanna know if it would be
worth the extra $50 for the Etymotics
Etymotic 6i : $150
Shure E2 : $100
Thanks
Luke

"Luke" wrote:
Anyone know anything about these?
I'm getting a creative nomad mp3 player and wanna know if it would be
worth the extra $50 for the Etymotics
Etymotic 6i : $150
Shure E2 : $100

I got both. The Etymotics wins if you like clarity and treble. You can
hear things like the pick on the guitar string as well as vocals.

The Shure's favor more bass and aren't as crisp at the top end. Depends on
the player as well. Some do not put out ample power to drive a hard bass
and some's equalizer won't compensate enough. Usually, and I suspect the
manufactures pick phones to do this, the bassy phones mask the player's
noise and clicks.

I had custom sleeves (i.e. molded earpieces) made by Sensaphonics for the
Ety's (their 6i model) as I wear them under a helmet. The flanges tended to
get pinched off in my odd shaped ear canal. I also have their prior 6 model
(black one) which has slightly less bass than the 6i (white one) has. I got
them online at the earplugstore for less money.

The odd thing, since the Shure's are more bassy, is I hear more op-amp
"white noise" out of them on my iRiver flash player than with the Etymotics
(??). I thought that would occur with the Ety's but it was the Shure's that
made it more apparent - almost annoyingly so. That said, I use the Shure's
on the Archo's AV420 media player and it has the power to drive them and
they are quiet there (no background noise on the Archos, just silence).

Ear canal phones are pretty individual. I'm waiting to see what some custom
Sensaphonic's Poly 2x are like (~$900).

B~

"Luke" wrote in message
oups.com

Anyone know anything about these?
I'm getting a creative nomad mp3 player and wanna know if it would be
worth the extra $50 for the Etymotics
Etymotic 6i : $150
Shure E2 : $100

I bought ER6s before the 6is came out. Not too long after I bought them,
people started posting on the digital player groups how bad the ER6s were as
a match for iPods in particular and digital players in general. Etymotic
then came out with the 6is.

Of course since I just invested in 6's, my enthusiasm for running right out
and buying 6is is a little damped.

After I had my Etymotic ER6 misadeventure, I discovered Futuresonics. Oddly
my Futuresonics were sold to me as Sennheisers. It turns out that Sennheiser
OEMs Futuresonics. I like my Futuresonics just fine. Let me recommend them
to you as they are in the price range you're working.

Later on a picked up a real deal on Shure E3s - such a good deal they were
right near the low end of your price range.

I have both E2s and E3s and they are both smooth solid performers. Study,
robust little troopers. The E3s seem to be more extended and more efficient
than the E2s. Getting a MP3 player to play loud loud enough is not a slam
dunk given that many of them run off a single alkaline cell.

However, on the same grounds, I still prefer the Futuresonics. E3s are
closer.

Bent Peg,

I saw your post on the custom molded ear pieces by Sensaphonics. How
do you like them? I have the Er-6i and would like to get custom molds
as well. I've already called the audiologist and as you can tell I'm a
bit anxious to find out how well they work. Does the sleeve affect the
sound quality? I read that the ear-pieces that fit the Er-4 series
provide incredible sound-isolation. Do you find this to be the case?
Anything you can tell me about your experience with the 6i's and the
custom molds (how do you insert the Er-6i into the mold, for example)
would be much appreciated.

Thanks again,

Barry

I saw your post on the custom molded ear pieces by Sensaphonics. How
do you like them?

I like them. Fit is excellent as was overall finish. Took about 3 weeks to
get them back. I sent a check in along with the impressions for $105 ($100
plus $5 shipping). They came back with a small vinyl case too.

Does the sleeve affect the sound quality?

In my case it improved quality as the regular flanged tips were getting
pinched off at the small opening due to the shape of my canal. As I wear
them under a helmet, it was gruling to get them to fit properly and not get
pinched off once I put the helmet on. The Sensaphonics have a much larger
opening (it's oval in shape) and the pinch-off of the flanged tips doesn't
happen.

I read that the ear-pieces that fit the Er-4 series
provide incredible sound-isolation. Do you find this to be the case?


The sleeves (as Sensaphonics call them) due provide better sound isolation
as they fit better overall

Anything you can tell me about your experience with the 6i's and the
custom molds (how do you insert the Er-6i into the mold, for example)
would be much appreciated.

You do need the adapter piece to keep the Etymotics attached. I'm still
awaiting the piece from them (it's been 5 weeks now!), meanwhile I used a
small vinyl sleeve I got from the hobby shop and slipped over the tip of the
ER-6i to hold it in place. It increases the diameter slightly so they do
not fall out of the sleeve. You can twist the ER-6i to allow the cord to
face whatever direction once it is in place.

They do not stick out any further than the stock unit. Sleeve looks larger
but the fit length is maybe 1/8" longer. When you put them in, they sort of
corkscrew into place, they get suddenly cool feeling when they seat properly
and fully. The bass is also improved. They do take some getting used to as
they seal so well that when you take them out you feel as though you're
getting off a plane.

B~

Bent Peg wrote:


You do need the adapter piece to keep the Etymotics attached. I'm
still
awaiting the piece from them (it's been 5 weeks now!), meanwhile I
used a
small vinyl sleeve I got from the hobby shop and slipped over the tip
of the
ER-6i to hold it in place. It increases the diameter slightly so
they do
not fall out of the sleeve. You can twist the ER-6i to allow the
cord to
face whatever direction once it is in place.


Is the adapter piece the cap on outside end of the earpiece? I've heard
it makes the phones look a little bit bulbous but that doesn't bother
me that much. I'm interested in the sound quality and comfort.

Thank you for your comments. They've really been helpful. I
appreciate it a lot!

Barry

Is the adapter piece the cap on outside end of the earpiece?

The adapter slips on over where the flanged ear sleeve normally would be.
Twist off the flanged sleeve and the adapter is supposed to slip on and make
the thing maybe another .025" larger in diameter so if fits as an
interference fit inside the Sensaphonics. It isn't much and you might be
able to wrap some narrow electrical tape to build up the diameter until they
get you the adapter. The adapter may have a lip on it too to help it seat
into the Sensaphonic's sleeve. Still don't have mine to compare it to.

Nothing looks bulbous and you cannot tell it once they are in your ears.
They are made of a really soft clear silicon so they fit pretty well. You
may want to chew some chewing gum while they are making the impressions so
the mold stuff will form well to your canal. Ask you hearing aid guy about
this.

Supposedly some of the non-silicon mold impression stuff shrinks in transit
to Sensaphonics and they want you to have them made with the silicon
impression stuff which doesn't shrink as much - else they will fit a bit
tight once made and may irritate you. Mail them off quick.

Fwiw, I also got a custom molded pair at a motorcycle show from some vendor.
They were a dual-driver type and sound similar to the Shures I have but with
a bit more treble and lot more bass than the Etymotics. Cost at the show
was around $350 and they came from Westone (westone.com).

I just found the vendor's website:
http://www.myearplugz.com/Event_Dates_Static.htm

They are a lot more expensive on the Westone website than they were at the
show by maybe $200. Cords exited differently too, straight down for
helmets, where the Westone series goes up over the ear. They are a bit
harder silicon than the Sensaphonics and much larger in size as they fill
more of the outer ear than the Sensaphonics. The exit port to your eardrum
is also smaller and more circular than the Sensaphonic's which is larger and
more oval in shape. I'd say the Sensaphonic's is more polished in
appearance too.

B~