9 out of 9 people found this review helpful.
ER-6i not bad but could be better
Date of Review: Mar 8, 2006
The Bottom Line: Not bad for loud places but keep looking if you want bass
I bought these about 9 months ago and have been pleased with them in some situations and disappointed in others. The ear phones that came with the 3G iPod were ok if the ambient noise level was fairly low but not very good if it was loud. I looked into some of the noise cancelling earbuds and earphones but decided to give the ER6i's a chance since they were cheaper.
I first tried them with the soft, rubber ear pieces and had read that you need to moisten them a little to get a good seal. I have to use ear plugs daily at work and these require the same procedure to get them firmly in the ear canal with a good seal. If you don't get a good seal the bass is non-existent and the ambient noise reduction is compromised. After trying that for a few months I switched to the foam ear tips and found it much easier to get a good seal with those. The only problem with those was that you don't want anyone to see those ear tips out of your ear since dirt and wax cling to them.
The whole reason I got these was that I was going to lose my hearing using my iPod while mowing the lawn or flying because I had to turn the volume way up to hear the music. With these on I could use a much more reasonable volume and the ambient noise was barely audible over the music.
I honestly don't remember how much these set me back but it was not cheap. They were cheaper than the noise cancellation ear buds and ear phones I looked at. I also did not do a lot of comparison listening in the stores. I have used the Bose noise canceling head phones and it is hard to beat those but they are bulky and cost $300.
The cord on the ER6i is 5 feet long, which is almost too long, but I'll take that over the 4 foot long standard Apple ear phones any day.
I know sound quality is the most important thing but honestly I can never hear the things that audiophiles claim they can hear. I know tinny, boomy, good and bad but that's about it. If you have it installed correctly it has good sound and a little bass but I can't confidently say it's better than the standard ear phones in quiet settings. In loud environments it does a great job of sound isolation and is so much better than the standard.
So all in all it could have more bass for my taste and it could use a few extra tips to take care of the ear wax problem (I do clean my ears regularly BTW).
