Interesting looking earbuds on sale

[eddd]

I recently purchased a set of ER6i earbuds, and have been pleased with their sound reproduction. It is really amazing...better sound at 70mph with the windshield all the way down than sitting in the living room.

 

That being said, I am concerned about the fragile wires and the cost. Sure don't want to have to buy a set every 6 months.

 

While looking to order the Radio Shack volume control to use with my XM, I ran across these earbuds on sale:

 

earbuds

 

At $20.00 they might be worth a look (normally $40.00). Sale ends on 3-3-07, so you need to hustle.

 

Anyone tried these already?

[tgiffel]

The Radio Shack earbuds look a lot like the Koss "The Plug" earphones I ordered from Amazon.com for $14.50. The description appears to be very similar.

TG

[Joel]

Dunno about the RS buds, but I've had my ER6is for ~2 years and used them a lot, without durability problems. I try never to remove them by tugging on the wires. I keep my iPod in my jacket pocket, so the wires aren't out in the wind, except for the short length between the bottom of my helmet and the top of my jacket collar. The jackets on the wires have gotten a bit discolored in that area, and seem to be stiffer, but they're not brittle and everything works fine. All I've had to do over time is replace the filters once in a while, and clean or replace the ear tips.

[Crazy_Canuck]

I have a pair of Koss which look alot like the Radio Shack.

In terms of quality and noise cancelation there is NO comparison to the ER6's.

[bakerzdosen]

In terms of quality and noise cancelation there is NO comparison to the ER6's.

Except maybe er-4's.

 

I actually just bought some er-6's because they are a bit smaller than my venerable er-4's and thus fit a bit better in a helmet.

[Mike O]

Let's see...

 

First tried the Koss (Radio Shack). The Koss would not stay in my ear, provided negligible noise isolation (maybe that's what you want?), and I had to glue the foam back on the Koss's every once in a while. And sound quality? Don't expect much on a motorcycle but these were marginal at best.

 

Next I bought the Sony Fontopia... A step up from the Koss, but I shredded the cord under the helmet. They just aren't designed for under helmet use (too fragile). But they sounded ok and provided a bit more noise isolation.

 

And then I received the ER6i for a Christmas Gift. It's night and day and you get what you pay for. Don't have as many miles as Joel has on his but it was partially his recommendation that I asked for the ER6i's. Have used them on and off the bike and they're quite comfortable and the sound quality is way ahead of the Koss and somewhat better than the Sony's. Mind you, I don't have great expectations for sound quality on the bike at 70+ MPH with wind, under a helmet and listening to lower quality MP3 recordings But the ER6i's are pretty darn good. But as someone else mentioned, I'm leary of the cord becoming frayed or tangled. Only time will tell.

 

Bottom line...the sum of 2-3 iterations of trying to save money would be better spent on quality to begin with.

 

Mike O

[smiller]

The most important consideration for use on a motorcycle is adequate noise isolation which is critical to hearing preservation over the long term if you spend a lot of time on a motorcycle. The ER6i are the only suitable phones I know of that have a real NRR (noise reduction rating) figure from the manufacturer, and as others have noted they are very effective in this regard. That, in addition to the superb sound they provide for their price range makes them a near unbeatable choice.

 

With respect to reliability, after nearly two years of constant use my set are holding up well. Getting a little grungy by now, but otherwise OK.

[W8NONU]

Received my new ear buds in the mail today. They are Koss modified with the ER6 in ear sound isolation tips. I found them on Ebay for $18 plus shipping. They came with the soft rubber tips and the foam tips. I will have to give them a try this weekend to see if they give the noise protection of the ER6 as expected with a reasonable sound quality.

[Mike O]

Could you provide a link to those? I've never heard of "Koss modified with the ER6 in ear sound isolation tip". I'm curious what those look like.

 

TIA

 

Mike O

[fossil]

Slightly different question on this topic I would appreciate your help on. The Hearos foam plug that I use has a 32 NRR. If I wanted to upgrade to ear buds like the ER6i do they or is there a product that would give me a NRR of at least equal to or better NRR as the Hearos? R

[smiller]

Slightly different question on this topic I would appreciate your help on. The Hearos foam plug that I use has a 32 NRR. If I wanted to upgrade to ear buds like the ER6i do they or is there a product that would give me a NRR of at least equal to or better NRR as the Hearos? R

A 32 dB NRR is not easy to achieve (although I believe that the ER6i are rated close to that figure) by earphones because unlike earplugs there is a hard element that can conduct noise through to the ear (in addition to cable microphonics.) Earplugs on the other hand can be made completely of sound isolating material thus will always have a physical advantage. But AFAIK the ER6i provide the best NRR figure available in earphones suitable for use under a helmet.

 

In the real world I find the ER6i to be not quite as effective as a brand-new set of foam plugs, but about the same as foam plugs that have seen a little use.

[hANNAbONE]

i jUST rECEIVED my order this week of Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro...nice stuff...much better than my molded earplugs...more definition and more bass and highs.

 

Went thru "www.headroom.com" - nice folks..

[fossil]

ER6i

freq response 50hz to 16 khz

noise isolation 34 - 36 db

$149.00

 

Super.fi 5 pro

freq response 20hz to 16khz

noise isolation 26 db

$249.99

 

Hmmmm

[bakerzdosen]

OK, the UE's aren't really in the same league as the ER6i's (meaning they're better than the ER6i's). Also, you really shouldn't be paying much more than $80 shipped for er6i's. It's been a while since I priced UE's, so I can't comment on decent prices there.

 

I'd also like to point out that with my ipod and ER-4p's, I can distinguish between 128kbps and 256kbps encoding at highway speeds, but Etymotic quotes a slightly higher isolation (aka noise reduction) with the er-4p's than the er6i's - especially with the foam tips instead of the rubber triple flange ones. I just can't remove my helmet with the foam tips still in my ears making them a bad option for riding.

[W8NONU]

Item number: 290087631711

 

If you type in the number above in the upper right search box on Ebay it will take you to a set of the ear buds. I have been a little under the weather so I have not had a chance to try them on the bike yet. Hope to get out tomorrow for a short ride.

[realshelby]

noise isolation 34 - 36 db

 

I wonder if there is a difference between noise isolation and noise cancellation? 34db sounds unrealistic for noise cancellation. I ran heavy equipment for many years and have tried about every "ear plug" available. As I remember around 32db was the best claimed reduction in noise.

[fossil]

noise isolation 34 - 36 db

 

I wonder if there is a difference between noise isolation and noise cancellation? 34db sounds unrealistic for noise cancellation. I ran heavy equipment for many years and have tried about every "ear plug" available. As I remember around 32db was the best claimed reduction in noise.

 

According to their web site NRR and Noise Isolation are the same but both of these terms are different than Noise Cancellation. The ER6i's are not Noise Canceling. Somebody can confirm or correct me.

 

http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/epcomp.aspx

 

 

How We Measure Noise Isolation

Real-Ear-Attenuation-at-Threshold (REAT) Measurement Method

The ANSI standard method of measuring the noise attenuation of hearing protectors and earphones is to compare the quietest sound that can be heard with the earphones in place to the quietest sound that can be heard with the ears open. This Real-Ear-Attenuation-at-Threshold (REAT) method is the basis for all OSHA Noise Reduction Ratings (NRR). ER-4 and ER-6 earphones were measured with the REAT method at E-A-RCALSM Laboratory, Indianapolis, IN. Virtually identical results were obtained on these earplugs by the TNO laboratory in the Netherlands.

[Mike O]

Interesting... Wonder if Etymotic cares?

 

(Got your PM as well... Thanks)

 

Mike O

[Todd_Z1]

I have two pairs of ER6s. They provide excellent sound quality and they provide better hearing protection than any other hearing protection ear plug that I have tried. I have used mine for three years and over 40,000 miles and they are still going strong. I pull them out by the wires, up close to the base of the ear bud and I have not had any problems. If you do have problems out of warranty you can send them into Etymotics and they will usually provide a new pair at cost which is about $67 last I checked. I sent mine in for repair and found out I was supposed to change the tips and filter. Oops! They changed the tips and filter and did not charge me a penny for the return mail.

 

Cheers!