Etymotic ER6 headphones Review

My new ER6 earphones arrived this morning, and I've been using them for around the last four hours. Here's my initial feedback

PRO - The sound reproduction is cleaner and brighter than my Sony EX71's (Fontopias); the sound isolation certainly helps this.

PRO - Better sound isolation than my Sony EX71's. It takes a little fiddling to get a good fit in your ear, but it comes with experience (see first minor con).

MINOR PRO - Checking the impedance I was slightly worried the Etymotic's would need more drive than the Sony's; the ER6's have a much higher impedance than the ER6i's (more targetted at iPod use). I found they only needed about 5% more, when played through my iRiver IHP-120 mp3 player, which is negligible really.

MINOR CON - The earphones do take a little getting used to, but after a couple of dozen times putting them in it's easy enough. I find pulling them down in my ear helps to get a better seal. Wearing them is no horrible experience, which to be honest I worried they might be - they feel fine, even after only half a day.

MINOR CON - The wire does look very thin, and I can imagine it getting tangled fairly easily. I may use the shirt clip to wrap it up though.

MINOR CON - The earphones are definitely good quality, but they are a tad on the expensive side. I think that's just across the board with this quality of earphone however.

NOTE - The ER6's, compared to the ER6i's, seem to match real music more accurately, according to Etymotic, at least. If you're choosing between the ER6 and ER6i you might like to try Etymotic's website for a side-by-side technical comparison. Of course, if you desperately want white, you'll have to choose the ER6i's anyway!