They make air travel bearable.

Unusable if you can't tolerate ear plugs, not much extreme low bass or high treble.

This is an outstanding product for a specific purpose: listening to music on airplanes or similarly noisy environments. It consists essentially of high quality, miniature headphones inserted into ear plugs. They block outside sound exactly as ordinary ear plugs do, and so cannot be used, for example, if you need to be able to hear what the person next to you is saying. There are two main drawbacks to these headphones: First, if you find ear plugs uncomfortable, you will find these uncomfortable. I have never found ear plugs very comfortable (either the rubber or the sponge type, both of which are supplied), but gladly put up with slight discomfort to be able to listen to music on long flights despite the endless roar of the plane, something that cannot be done with any conventional headphones I have tried. Second, these phones seem to lack the lowest bass and highest treble. However, if you use them with a portable cd player as I do, this is hardly a major issue. At home, I use Sennheiser HD 590s that are far more comfortable and supply the frequency extremes. These phones also weigh almost nothing and take up almost no space. In short, they are a must-buy for any frequent traveller.

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Nothing comparable to these.

isolate - fanatastic on airplane or at Starbuck's, clean sound, alternate ear pads, pretty high tech, good enuf to care about- these days everything is crap

thin wires, not high quality plug (no gold), bits and pieces seem not up to Sony quality plastic, cute packaging, but ugly pouch, not really supercool, but more like for the insider to appreciate, not a good deal unless u need the sound isolation (for privacy and luxury of hearing what you want to hear)

I love music of almost any kind so I listen to everything. These phones are very interesting. My background with noise isolation: I have a pair of supraural active noise reduction and even those are a godsend on an airplane. I feel sorry for the ear damage and irritation for those who don't use any noise reduction on airplanes. For a 5 hour flight, it is like an audio assalt! Back to the review: I have been wearing airport earplugs to isolate my ears from excessive noise for many years (my dad works at the airport in the hangars) and I also wear them to sleep soundly in any environment. These Etymotic phones uses the exact same type of noise isolation as my airport plugs. Except that these are a bit more firm, but maybe more durable. I find that I like the foam (included pads) better because they are softer. The foam pads, however, make the phones sound slightly muddier and hollower. The overall sound quality is a little forward and bright. It does sound detailed and a tiny, tiny bit bright (but now with the foam pads, they are easier for long sessions). Detailed does not equate to openess, though. My Grados sound so much more open and dispersed. There is some sound pressure from these phones into your ear- I am somewhat sensitive to this. All said, the sound is clean and seemingly accurate. The sound isolation is the key thing here- I use them for studying and sometimes just to isolate myself from a noisy environment. Again, the sound is somewhat direct and no dispersed (no large air volume to resonate thru). The wires are very thin and don't work well as an antennae on radio portables. After awhile, all the fit probs and direct sound- you will get used to it because the sound is very clean and you don't need to increase the volume to hear the details in the music. There is no high frequency sizzle for those ppl who like that metallic stratospheric zing.

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consumer stuff, but now no more crappy stuff- I'm not going to live forever, not going to live on crap

Isolation Detail and clarity Comfort Light weight Lots better with a headphone amplifier...

Lacking in bass A little 'bright' Over priced Cheapo feel and presentation Physical vibration/noise travels along the cable and can be intrusive when moving around

A mixture of good and not-so-good.... As reported by most of the other reviewers these phones have to be fitted correctly in the ear canal. This is a tad fiddly and getting them out is worse, so if you dislike earplugs then avoid these phones. I use these on my iPod (3G 10GB) in place of the suppied Apple earbuds. The Etymotics are very detailed, a little over-bright in the upper midrange, lack bass and have a slightly 'lifeless' sound. They come in a cheap nylon case and are fitted with a very cheap bit of cable - they certainly don't feel like $130 worth of equipment. Isolation of external noise is excellent and this is really the main reason for using these phones. Comfort is very good once you have them inserted, getting one out to answer the mobile is not easy... ;-) My iPod has to be at volume 90% or more to get a reasonable listening level and they require the 'bass boost' setting to compensate for their lack of bottom end. Used with an MTR HPA-2 headphone amp they really come alive - plenty of level and good tight bass, so some of my criticisms may be due to the iPod not the Etymotics... Great for travelling, not ideal for general everyday use.

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iPod earbuds Various Sony earbuds Sennheiser SP25 phones Grado, Beyer, AKG phones

Easy to use, comfortable for long-term wear. Great for airline travel -- wires sticking out of ears let others know you can't hear them and they leave you alone (blessed relief!).

Sound of wires rubbing against clothing conducts to earbud body and into ear. A little pricey for earphones -- these cost more than anything I have ever plugged them into!

Great sound from any source, the "passive" noise rejection is very effective, sealing out background noise.

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Most types of earphones.

Excellent sound isolation, sound much better than regular earbuds. Very compact

MUST be inserted firmly into the ear canals for proper sound and sound isolation, so may not be comfortable for all people

Great for some people, like me, but probably not for everyone. Great for planes because they really do isolate more sound than very expensive sound cancelling fonez. Poor, thin sound unless you insert them properly, so take care to do so, and hopefully your ear canal is the right shape. If so, they can be quite comfortable, and great for movies and music on planes. Be careful when jogging or biking w/ these, because it is difficult to hear cars, and maybe even attacking dogs! If you like them will depend a lot on if you are comparing them to earbuds (much much better than the cheap garbage normally found), or full sized stuff like Grados or Sennheisers. They sound better than my Grado SR60's on an airplane because I can actually hear the music and not the engines, but off the plane, the Grados sound better. And the Grados take up too much space for travel anyway. If you like fake, hyped up bass (that "super bass" button was designed by the marketing dept., you know), then avoid these, and save some money. Go buy some Sony fonez and match the color to your cell phone so the thugs will think you are "kewl."

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Sennheiser HD-580 (w/ Cardas cable) and Grado SR-60, both w/ Grado headphone amp

Sound quality Extreme portability Durability (so far) Dual function - headphone and ear plug Comfort

They're ear plugs. If you can't stand putting wearing ear plugs, look elsewhere because the other benefits of these headphones will IN NO WAY offset a dislike of wearing ear plugs.

I've been using these for over a year exclusively as my air travel headphones. I made my purchased these in an effort to balance sound quality, convenience, and noise isolation benefits in one product. For the use I've chosen, they are simply the best. Just enough noise isolation to listen to airline movies and music without blowing out one's ear drums. Comfortable enough to wear without any sound source just to keep the deafening/deadening airplane noise at bay. I've worn these for 13 hour international flights and they make my business travel VASTLY more tolerable. I've also tried the Bose Quiet Comfort headphones which sound almost as good (don't like the muddled bass), but found them too: costly, bulky, compicated, and hot.

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Bose Quiet Comfort

1) Outstanding noise reduction. (Perhaps dangerously good in certain situations.) 2) Great sound quality, particularly for the price. 3) Work well with portable devices. 4) Convienent carrying case.

1) Insertion in ear may be uncomfotable. 2) Require more maintances than most headphones.

I bought these earbuds after reading several reviews on them. I did my homework and it has paid off! The Etymotics ER-6's are an excellent pair of earbuds. They block virtually all sound while music is in play. I'm not an expert in the field, but in my opinion the quality of sound reproduction is very high. Because the ER-6's are earbuds, they require little amp power. This means it's easy to blast those little suckers and enter a the state of pure music bliss using only a portable music player. (I cannot contest for an MP3 player, however, because I do not own one.) Also, the ER-6's come in this convient little nylon carrying case which make for safe keeping. I must note here, however, the biggest drawback of the Etymotics ER-6's. IF YOU DETEST OBJECTS INSERTED IN YOUR EARS, THESE ARE THE WRONG HEADPHONES FOR YOU! The ER-6's have silicone tips that fit far and tightly into the ear canal; thus, they create a seal which blocks about 20 decibles of outside noise. In fact, you are supposed to wet these critters before insertion. Because every ear canal is different, they require a bit of adjustment once inserted to get them pointed in the right direction. For me this is not problem, but I can only speak for myself. I quickly learned how to get optimal performance from my ER-6's and enjoy rich quality sound. (I like them best on airplanes.) The second draw back of the ER-6's is that they require some maintance. Because these earbuds fit far into the ear canal, they collect wax. Etymotics Technologies includes a tool kit with the headphones to assist in changing the filters onboard the earbuds.

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Sony, Sennheiser, Optimus, Aiwa

The primary strength of the ER6 is its size---nice and small to stay out of the way. Midrange is a bit better than my Sony's as well.

The ER6 are very pricy considering their sound quality. The Sony's sound quality is far superior to the ER6, and they are only $40. The ER6 feel jammed inside the ear canal---and for the best "bass", you have to cram them in even further, according to many other reviewers. Personally, I've jammed and crammed all the way to my brain and still have not gotten any of the lower sound frequencies. The headphone cord is cheap...looks and feels like a $2 headphone's cord. The cord is difficult to manage as well. The Sony has a cord with varied lengths between the left and right earphones that is at first annoying. But, after using the ER6 which get all tangled, I now appreciate the Sony's cord design. The ER6 earphone is also bigger than the Sony's. Maybe the ER6 is too big for my ear? Wouldn't seem so since I have no problem getting a good "seal."

After reading what seemed to be a plethora of positive reviews, I decided to purchase the Etymotic ER6 headphones. Actually, they will serve to replace my Sony MDR-EX51LP Fontopia Headphones that have broken. Unfortunately, Discount Electronic has an "all sales final" policy. So, I'm stuck with the crappy ER6. I will eventually replace them with a new pair of Sony's---good thing they are about 1/3 the price of the ER6. Overall, I have been greatly unimpressed and disappointed with the Etymotic ER6. They are uncomfortable and have poor reproduction of the lower frequencies.

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As mentioned, I have used the Sony MDR-EX51LP Fontopia Headphones. I believe these headphones sound much better and are much more comfortable than the Etymotics ER6.

Clarity, tight, no fatigue, good deal compared to the EP4:) Noise isolation is awesome. I could barely hear anything. Once you put on music? Can't hear anythng but my tunes.

Putting them in took a little while. Once they are inserted properly, bass became much more tight and lower frequencies were much better reproduced.

I just got these for my iPod. I was worried that they would reveal the limitations of my mp3 files, but so far I am loving these. I found the bass to be tight and treble/vocals clear and vibrant. I haven't heard the Ety EP4 yet, but have read they give about 85% of the sound for less than half the price. I listen to mostly jazz and the separation these provide are admirable.

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My first high-end headphones... If you have an iPod, these absolutely blow away the apple headphones provided.

Excellent detail Bass much better than any earbud Excellent isolation

Must be inserted properly to work. I suspect that the reviewer who did not like the bass did not use them long enough to find the "sweet spot" where the ER6 is well enough inserted to deliver powerful bass, but still comfortable. Instructions should be more detailed about how to insert. Ear canals are not straight, and the ends must be wetted and inserted in a wobbling motion to get deeply enough inside to produce the excellent bass these cans are capable of.

These are the best earphones I have used for a portable device. The key is how you insert them.