So, I picked up a set and thought I might post up some thoughts here in case you are thinking about buying a pair.
First impressions are quite good. The packaging lends itself to a quality air. When you first try out the headphones you'll notice the very subtle looks. Personally, I think its brilliant to have a $200 pair of headphones not draw too much attention. So, I approve. There's a carrying case, a few different tips to help you get the feel you are comfortable with.
On to the sound, before you even turn them on you'll notice these block a lot of background noise when properly inserted. Etymotic claims roughly 40db of noise reduction and I believe it. If you aren't noticing this then you probably don't have them far enough into your ears or you have on tips that don't fit properly.
How do they sound when you start playing music? Well, I've listened to a variety of music through them ranging from Jazz to Blue, Rock to Metal, Club to Pop, Country to Western so far and have gotten a good feel for their style of sound reproduction. Its very restrained and accurate as is fitting for in ear monitors. These are not Beats by Dre and you will not be impressed if you connect them to a low quality source or you play poorly stored music. Now, if you have a good source and good music you'll start to hear the music the way it was recorded. Meaning a well engineered track will reveal things you've never heard before and a poorly recorded track will sound like warm dog poop.
Whether thats appealing to you or not really depends on the kind of music you want to hear so I'm not going to pass judgement on it other than to say that I like accurate monitors and these are just great.
If you read online you'll hear a lot of reviews on these and other Etymotic's that complain about a lack of bass response so I think a few comments on that are needed. If you compare these to a pair of Bose, Beats, Sony's and the like you'll not be impressed with the bass since they are accurate. The Etymotic's will not over-emphasize the bass and drown out the mids and highs. You'll hear a nicely balanced bass, mids and treble. I've got a pounding house beat going as I type this and it just rocks albeit softly. Its also a very accurate bass. I've picked up a few things in well known songs that I've never hear. Now, I'm used to that in the vocals or instruments but I was a bit surprised to have that happen with the bass line.
All in all I'm impressed and happy. They are a bit pricey at $198 including tax from my local Apple store but if they last they will be well worth it.
If you have any questions or comment post below and I'll try to respond quickly.
First impressions are quite good. The packaging lends itself to a quality air. When you first try out the headphones you'll notice the very subtle looks. Personally, I think its brilliant to have a $200 pair of headphones not draw too much attention. So, I approve. There's a carrying case, a few different tips to help you get the feel you are comfortable with.
On to the sound, before you even turn them on you'll notice these block a lot of background noise when properly inserted. Etymotic claims roughly 40db of noise reduction and I believe it. If you aren't noticing this then you probably don't have them far enough into your ears or you have on tips that don't fit properly.
How do they sound when you start playing music? Well, I've listened to a variety of music through them ranging from Jazz to Blue, Rock to Metal, Club to Pop, Country to Western so far and have gotten a good feel for their style of sound reproduction. Its very restrained and accurate as is fitting for in ear monitors. These are not Beats by Dre and you will not be impressed if you connect them to a low quality source or you play poorly stored music. Now, if you have a good source and good music you'll start to hear the music the way it was recorded. Meaning a well engineered track will reveal things you've never heard before and a poorly recorded track will sound like warm dog poop.
Whether thats appealing to you or not really depends on the kind of music you want to hear so I'm not going to pass judgement on it other than to say that I like accurate monitors and these are just great.
If you read online you'll hear a lot of reviews on these and other Etymotic's that complain about a lack of bass response so I think a few comments on that are needed. If you compare these to a pair of Bose, Beats, Sony's and the like you'll not be impressed with the bass since they are accurate. The Etymotic's will not over-emphasize the bass and drown out the mids and highs. You'll hear a nicely balanced bass, mids and treble. I've got a pounding house beat going as I type this and it just rocks albeit softly. Its also a very accurate bass. I've picked up a few things in well known songs that I've never hear. Now, I'm used to that in the vocals or instruments but I was a bit surprised to have that happen with the bass line.
All in all I'm impressed and happy. They are a bit pricey at $198 including tax from my local Apple store but if they last they will be well worth it.
If you have any questions or comment post below and I'll try to respond quickly.
