[OT] iPod Headphones...

["Phil Harris" <phil@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Just wanted to share a bit of info with you all in case it=92s of
use=85

=20

Some people think I=92m a bit anal about things on occasions =85 one
things=
has
been trying to get decent sound out of my 160Gb iPod Classic after I
finall=
y
succumbed to the appeal of Apple (no, I don=92t use that piece of crap
iTun=
es
though =96 I use XPlay3 to manage the content on it). My issue with the
sou=
nd
on the iPod has been that firstly the supplied =91phones are a stunning
combination of bad physical and bad audio design. The bloody things just
wouldn=92t stay in my ears and they also sounded pants (plus they didn=92t
=
have
enough volume for my liking).

=20

I have a much loved pair of Senheiser HD580s that sound lovely but the iPod
just doesn=92t have the guts to drive properly and I=92ve used various
exte=
rnal
portable headphone amplifiers feeding from the dock connector (bypassing
th=
e
crappy headphone amplifier stages) to very good effect but it=92s not
reall=
y a
convenient solution as the =91phones themselves make you look like a
Cyberm=
an
and you end up with what is effectively a separates system in your pocket!

=20

I bought a set of Stax SR-001 portable electrostatic headphones which are
less bulky and do sound stunning but you still have the separate energizer
box for them which uses a set of batteries which don=92t last long and the
thought of using them when it could start raining and you have 580v dc just
millimetres from your eardrums just didn=92t sit well with me. (OK =96
hone=
stly
the SR-001s are stunning and I still have them and use them but the
separat=
e
energizer box is a pain and they look like the equivalent of the 1970=92s
N=
HS
glasses that someone you were at school with wore and which were always
=93repaired=94 with sellotape or elastoplast=85)

=20

Anyway, after talking to a couple of the guys at work about the =93problem=
=94
and just about settling on a set of Grado SR-60 or SR-80 headphones - the
iPod drives these phones pretty well from its own amp circuits and the
Grados do fold flat so they=92re semi portable-friendly =96 one of them
mentioned the Etymotic Research ER-6i=92s which are an in-the-ear unit.
Now=
,
he really rated them and even though I *LOATHE* in the ear phones I did
decide to give them a try. Anyway, yes, they were better than I expected
bu=
t
I still found them uncomfortable for all the same reasons that I find other
in the ear phones uncomfortable and was just about to order up the Grados
and pass the ER-6i=92s on to a friend when a came across this:

=20

http://www.customearphones.co.uk/about-er6c.php

=20

Custom earmoulds for the ER-6i=92s =85 not =93cheap=94 as such - =A385 for
=
the
earmoulds on top of about =A370 for the phones themselves but I thought it
=
was
probably worth a punt. I bought a voucher to get the moulds done, the guy
from the audiologists turned up at my home one evening to squirt blue goop
in my ears and a couple of weeks later the postman left me an =93Oi you
pri=
ck,
you ordered some sh*t and then weren=92t around for us to deliver it so get
off your arse and fetch it from us=94 card. I picked up the package from
th=
e
post office at the sparrows fart on a Saturday morning just as I was about
to set off on a five hour drive in the works company van, popped the ER-6i=
=92s
into the moulds, applied a little bit of the supplied lube (no dodgy
comments guys) and slipped =91em in to see how they felt and how long I
cou=
ld
handle having them in for given that the longest I could hack the ER-6i=92s
with the normal rubber flange type tips was about 30 minutes before they
drove me nuts=85

=20

=85five hours later I rolled up at the customers door, popped out the
ER-6c=
=92s
(as is the designation of the ER-6i=92s with the custom moulds) and thought
=93They were OK=94.

=20

Been using them pretty much every day since then and I have to say
they=92r=
e
bloody fantastic =85 more than sensitive enough to get good volume from the
standard iPod headphone amplifier circuitry and good enough to respond very
well to being driven from one of the portable headphone amps I have or from
one of the dedicated home headphone amps such as the one that my employers
make. I=92ve compared them to the Grado SR-60 and the Senheiser HD-580 of
course but also to some much more expensive =91phones from Ultrasone and
th=
ey
really do hold their own very well =85 the top end is a bit splashy
compare=
d
to the high end Ultrasone units (but they were nearly a grand) but
otherwis=
e
the ER-6c=92s are a phenomial bit of kit =96 they sound superb and also are
*VERY* comfortable to wear for long periods of time (oh, and they also cut
out a huge amount of outside noise too so they=92re brilliant for use on
planes).

=20

Anyway =96 hopefully that might be of use to someone here if you=92re
looki=
ng
for a damn good set of headphones=85

=20

Phil=20



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