Hey audiophiles, listen up! Etymotic ER-6 Review
I use the multimedia capabilities of the Treo daily, especially the MP3 player. While the standard Palm headset that accompanies the Treo is fine for some, serious audiophiles will want to upgrade. I recently had the pleasure of reviewing the Etymotic Research ER-6 Earbuds.
Design
The Etymotic Research ER-6 earbuds are extremely well built noise cancelling earbuds designed for in-ear use. While some noise cancelling headphones use white nose to filter outside noise, the ER-6 headphones cancel noise by sealing the ear canal. The eartips are made of a silicone material that when inserted properly into the ear canal, form a seal that effectively blocks outside noise. The fit of the ER-6 earbuds is similar to earplugs. For those who dislike the in-ear style of earbuds, the ER-6 also comes with foam eartips. The foam eartips fit like standard earbuds.
Measuring just 2.5cm long and 3cm wide, these earbuds are tiny. The ER-6 earbuds are also very lightweight, weighing only about 2 grams. In comparison, the ER-6 earbuds are both lighter and smaller than the Palm hybrid headset that accompanies the Treo 700P.
The connector is gold plated to ensure the highest quality audio transfer. Because the connector of the ER-6 is 3.5mm, an adapter is necessary to use the ER-6 with the Treo.
Function
The ER-6 earbuds perform extremely well at both reducing outside noise and producing high quality audio. During my time with the ER-6 earbuds, I tested the noise canceling capabilities in three common situations; in my home, in my car and at the gym. The ER-6 earbuds successfully blocked all the common household noises such as dishwashers, televisions, hair dryers and HVAC systems. The ER-6 also blocked all road and engine noises while riding in my Honda Element. Probably the biggest test of the noise canceling capabilities of the ER-6 earbuds came while I was at the gym. Like most gyms, the one I attend is very loud with piped in music, loud weight machines, and shouting. I find these noises to be extremely distracting so to help me concentrate I listen to music with my Treo. The ER-6 blocked all of these noises allowing me to concentrate on my workout.
I used Audio Test Bench by HigherFi to test the sound quality of the ER-6 earbuds. I found that the ER-6 can produce frequencies between 18Hz and 16500Hz. What this means is the ER-6 earbuds can produce very rich lows and very clear highs. The ER-6 also produces very nice warm midranges. The ER-6 earbuds made for a wonderful audio experience; I heard subtleties in my MP3s with these earbuds that I had never noticed before using other headsets. I was also unable to detect any distortion when playing music at very high volumes.
In The Box
The Etymotic Er-6 earbuds ships with several extras including foam earbuds, extra filters and a carrying case. Unlike previous Etymotic models, I very much liked the case provided by Etymotic for the ER-6 earbuds. The case is made of a neoprene-like material and has a small pocket inside.
Along with what is included in the box, Etymotic has many accessories for these earbuds and their other fine products on the Etymotic website.
Conclusion
I highly recommend the Etymotic ER-6 earbuds for their noise cancellation and sound quality. I also liked the accessories that accompanied the earbuds. While I got acclimated to the in-ear style of the ER-6, some may not like this style. For those who don’t want to put the earbuds in their ear canals, Etymotic has provided foam ear-pads for the ER-6. I found the foam ear-pads to not have the same sound quality as the silicone, but this is to be expected. Also, the foam ear-pads are much more fragile and are considered to be disposable which may become an annoyance. Another small complaint I have is the lack of any cable management for the ER-6. As with all headphones and cords in general, the cords on the ER-6 tend to tangle even when put in the provided case. I would have appreciated a retractor device such as the one found on many of the Seidio products. In conclusion, the Etymotic ER-6 are the best noise canceling earbuds I have ever tried with the Treo.
Related Links
Buy the Etymotic ER-6
Buy the 2.5mm to 3.5mm adapter.
Browse headsets in mytreo.net/store.
Filed under: Accessory reviews
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These are NOT ‘noise-cancelling’ headphones, as they do NOT have the active circuitry needed in order to ‘cancel’ noise.
These are ‘noise-ISOLATING’ headphones, ones that fill the ear canal and ‘block’ outside noise.
True ‘noise-cancelling’ headphones require an added power source ( i.e.– a battery) to listen for the unwanted ‘noise’ and produce a sound to ‘ cancel’ that unwanted ‘noise’.
All these headphones do is fill the ear canal, not letting outside ‘noise’ in with the music.
Please adjust your review, to reflect correct information. Otherwise, please show me how these headphones ‘cancel’ a noise, as opposed to just blocking ( isolating ) it.
2.5mm-> 3.5mm adapter required. Bleh.
Nice review, but it’s that nagging problem of the Treo’s 2.5mm jack that basically kills it as anything resembling a viable audio player.
No matter how nice the 3.5mm earpiece - you still have to kludge on a port-destroying adapter to make it work in the Treo. Adding insult, the port’s at the bottom… as though Palm *WANTS* you to break it!
I wonder if Ipod would have gotten where they are if they put the jack on the bottom of the player and made you buy a special adapter to use anything but their own headphones…..
Boom,
I did state specifically that these are not active noise cancelling earbuds. I explained the difference between active noise cancellation which uses white noise to filter sound opposed to this in-ear system which seals the ear canal to filter out sound. In my opinion, your argument is a matter of semantics.