One of the best canalphones in this price range.

The Etymotic Research ER-6i is an entry level earphone from the company that has made a reputation on audiophile quality earphones. These are "noise isolating" earphones as Shure calls their own product, that is, they block noise up to a remarkable 30+ decibels when fitted correctly. This has the effect of making outside sounds 1/8 as loud *minimum*. When you put these earphones on, all you hear is the music, even the noise of an airplane engine is a very distant muted roar. You are really in your own private concert hall, with the hustle and bustle of the outside world only a distant memory.

This newest model is derived from their ER-6 model, and has been tweaked for portable device usage. It is a marketed as an iPod accessory with its white color scheme but it will work well with all other portables. It has a lowered 16 ohm impedance which makes it an easier load for the average portable music device. Also, they have raised sensitivity at the bass and midrange frequencies by up to 8 decibels for a more punchy and volumous sound compared to the ER-6 model.

The ER-6i comes with a vinyl padded pouch, an extra set of filters, and a filter changing tool. The filters are little plastic plugs (looks like a little rivet) that help block debris from entering into the nozzle where the sound comes out of. You have to replace the filters (they are not reusable) when they get clogged. So the cleaner your ears, the longer they will last. Also, you get two types of sleeves (also called eartips) that cover the nozzle. You get a set of rubber tri-flange sleeves and a set of disposable foam sleeves. The sleeves are inserted into your ear canal and you can choose between the two based on what you find more comfortable and give you the best seal. A good seal is tremendously important as the sound will be extremely tinny otherwise (no bass whatsoever). The act of inserting these earphones is similar to inserting earplugs into your ears, you have to do it carefully and deliberately. You do get better with some practice. I only use these earphones if I expect to have 30 minutes or more uninterrupted isolation, otherwise, I just go with a different pair (yes, I have many)

Fitting the earphone into your ear is a not as easy as other earphones, you have to insert the earphone deep into your ear canal. They recommend you pull back your ear with one hand to straighten your ear canal, and then insert the earphone with the other hand. So these headphones are not convenient to use if you expect to be interrupted. Taking them out may be a bit of work too, as they tend to go in pretty deep into you ear and requires a few seconds to coerce them out.

The foam sleeves provided the best seal for me, and best comfort. The rubber tri-flanges did not provide a good seal for me at all, and they were a bit less comfortable. Even when I put the earphones into my ear so deep that I could barely get them out, there was little bass. But the foam sleeves worked perfectly, a nice full bodied sound. The foam tips require you to roll them to compress them, insert them into your ear, and they will expand to form a great seal.

As far as the sound, these earphones are very clean and balanced sounding. It is a smooth but yet superbly detailed sounding set of earphones. You can pick out individual instruments easily, and every note is distinct and uncolored. The bass is very tight sounding, you never *feel* the bass, but the bass is heard without sounding loose or bloated. I think many people may find the bass to be too light sounding, but I think the bass is just nicely balanced, coherent, and free of resonances. The midrange is nicely represented, with voices sounding very natural and not overly distant like other cheaper headphones. The high frequencies are mostly there..it's missing a bit of the highest of highs, but what's there is clean and very precise. The overall sound character is smooth. This is the "Goldilocks" of headphones, not too much of anything tonally, immensely listenable and non-fatiguing. I'd think these headphones work well for all except die-hard dance track fans.

There are three reservations I have with these earphones. One is that the wires will rub against your body and you will hear them rubbing as the sound travels up the cords to your earpiece. They give you a wire clip to help this, but you cannot really use these headphones for any active activity like running. Secondly, the replacement foams and filters are priced pretty exhorbatantly, with a set of 3 pairs of foams around $15 and 3 pairs of those tiny filters are about $15 also. Lastly, the cables are pretty thin, they tend to tangle easily and have the appearance they are fragile.

All in all, if you want to listen to music and need your privacy and noise isolation, there are THE earphones to get. I am no stranger to good earphones, I also own some very good headphones from Grado SR225, AKG K340 electrostatics, and other well respected headphones like the Shure E3C, Sennheiser HD497, PX100 and Etymotic's top model, the $330 MSRP ER4S. I can safely say these although these ER-6i seem pricey to be sure, but they give you a hint of what a good sounding earphone should be like.

Edit: I knocked down the durability score. My wire at the earpiece has a slight gouge in it due to the fact that the housing has a ridge that can make contact with the wire where the wire enters the housing. This looks a bit precarious if the wire is tugged at too hard.

BTW: Etymotic Research has excellent customer service, so any issues with build quality are sure to be addressed well.

The warranty is 1 year if you register the headphones with them.