Toy Review: Etymotic ER-6

Once I got my iPod and while I was doing some business travel I became interested in the Bose QuietComfort 2 headphones, mostly because of their advertising. Seemed like a good thing, cancel out the noise of the plane and hear music sounding good. I borrowed a pair of the first version from a friend and they were good, though they're large and bulky in your carry on luggage and they're $300.

I did some research online mostly at a Head-Fi forums and at HeadRoom which has good product guides including one on noise cancelling headphones. There I learned that the active noise cancelling system used by Bose achieves about 10 dB of isolation but another kind of headphone, in-ear-monitors, fit inside the ear canal like ear plugs and can achieve over 20 dB of isolation and apparently sound great.

I bought the Etymotic ER-6 for about $120 about a year and a half ago. First off they're tiny, like ear-buds, so they're perfect for plane travel. Second they block out almost all outside sound. Engine rumbles, babies, etc. Third, they sound great. You can get more expensive models that sound better, but I'm no audiophile and these are fine, though clearly better then the earbuds that came with my iPod. Fourth, unlike the Bose, no batteries are needed. The downsides are that they are little uncomfortable. They're fine for a few hours, but by the end of a flight to Provo (about 5 hours), it's nice to get them out of my ears. I use them at the gym because the iPod earbuds didn't block out the obnoxious music they play, with these I don't hear anything else. I'm very cautious wearing them while walking to and from the gym to be on the lookout for traffic. I walked by a leaf-blower one day and didn't hear it, I wouldn't hear a screeching car headed for me.

One last story. I wore them at the airport waiting for my plane at the gate. It was great, I was sitting there listening to my music (or a podcast) and then saw everyone at the gate get up and walk away. I didn't hear the announcement of a gate change for my flight. Now when I fly I bring the iPod earbuds for the airport and the Etymotic's for the plane.

The ER-6's are great. If you get them you might want the ER6-16 Airline Jack Adapter so you can listen to the inflight movie. Or there's now the ER-6i's which are designed for the iPod, which I think just means they're white. Then again, many folks are avoiding iPod white headphones since it makes them a target for theft.