Etymotic ER6i earbuds discontinued: now what??

I think I got stupid-lucky with the Sugru repairing my last set of ER6i's. They work fine now and don't cut out when I wiggle the cord as they did before. I just wadded some of the Sugru up around the existing crack in the strain relief and let it setup. I used a chunk about the size of two peas and it encapsulated the old strain relief fully. This stuff is fanstastic.

I may not have needed to buy a new set, but I had serious doubts as to whether I could save the old pair. So - I've got a spare set now.

I have way too many sets of earbuds. I took a business trip to Berlin this week and forgot to bring any headphones at all. I ended up buying a relatively cheap set at the Brookstone store in the airport. They will be my backup, backup set.

I used lightweight fishing line. That might make it less disgusting for you. I even put a few teeny beads on mine so I could feel it when I was trying to locate the line to pull them out. I would wet mine by putting them up to my lips :eek1 before insertion to get a really good seal. Pulling them out, though, was tough and the earphone would pull away from the little silicone flanges, leaving those in my ear, at times. So I'd have to dig around to gain purchase on those little fu*kers and try and get them out.

FWIW, I loved the ER6i buds but they would get very uncomfortable when used on long rides. Anybody tried these Klipsch units?

IMAGE S4 In-Ear Enhanced Bass Noise-Isolating Headphones



http://www.amazon.com/Klipsch-IMAGE-S4-Noise-Isolating-Headphones/dp/B001V9LPT4/ref=sr_1_3?s=aht&ie=UTF8&qid=1323465039&sr=1-3

I always lick mine when putting them in - if I don't they hurt like buggery putting them in and they don't sound as good.

Ewww...

Trust me it works a treat....

+1 a quick lick and they slide right in.

I replaced my ER6i's with a pair or the HF5's. I've worn them on all day rides, two week trips, daily use on my bicycle commute, and they fit fine under both the dirt and full face helmets, and sound great. The cord is way more durable than the ER6i's. The filters are different than the ER6i's, so if you've stocked up, you'll take a hit. Also, I wasn't able to find aftermarket filters like you could with the ER6i's.

I have a pair of Shure SE102's that are bulletproof but I'm less than enamored of the sound quality. They lack much bass response at all. Useful for listening to podcasts but not much fun for music. A pair of $10 Sony buds have better sound. So I've ordered a pair from this outfit

http://www.earfuze.com/

the motorsports version. Included is some sort of goop to make your own molded earpieces. And for only $50. Wonderful though they may be, if I showed up with a $350 set of earbuds, I bet my KLR would refuse to start out of embarrassment. Haven't got them yet but when I do I'll pass along what I've learned even if it is just "don't waste your money"

I tried custom molded ear plugs (no audio), made at the BMW rally in TN a couple of years ago by these guys: http://www.britears.com/. Seems like the same company?

To be fair, they did say that making them on-site would result in slightly stiffer product, and the softer molds would be better but would take a couple of weeks. I took the on-the-spot, cheaper option and was never happy with them. They would often become leaky during a ride, not all that comfortable, and are quite stiff and hard to insert and remove. Others here on this forum have said to wear the helmet while the mold is curing, which I didn't.

So, given that my experience may be a get-what-you-paid-for outcome, can anyone confirm that the better molds are relatively soft, and tend to seal even over a range of temps - from cold to hot and humid?

I am 90% about to return these MC5's for the HF5 particularly if I can get a good deal on an open box pair. After giving the MC5s a chance to burn in, then listening to both sets of buds today, the ER6 is simply in a different league. I believe the MC5s moving coil construction is inferior technology.

I like them, they're a dynamic driver rather than armature, so they have the bass they should have.

FWIW I've had the SE105, the 210, the 420, and the 530 (predecessors to the current Shure line, but essentially the same). 530's were hard to fit under a helmet, and the 210's had pretty weak bass. The S4 sounded better than both (on a bike, in motion, behind a windscreen). I still have the 210 and 530.

You get better isolation with the Shure three-flange tips than the Klipsch two-flange, but I think I can swap one in with minor surgery (and I have spares).

For me, at least, low end is what gets drowned out the most on a bike, and while the bass of the SE530s is good, it just isn't good enough.


Plus, the s4's are cheap enough that I don't worry that I'll destroy them commuting/travelling like I worried with the 530's.

My girlfriend and I both had the Klipsch S4s between the two of us we went through 3 pair in about 6-8 months. The just couldn't stand up to using them at the gym and on the bike. Plus, I didn't think they fit all that well under a helmet. They would often fall out while putting on/taking my helmet off...which got annoying.

I've moved to Westone. I'm hard on shit. These take it, fit well, and sound great.

They're not the same company, but look like a distributor for them.

If you're wanting to order from these people and not the link I posted, here's the link to the monitors I have.

http://www.britears.com/new_page_72.htm

They're soft and very comfortable. Took about two to three weeks to be delivered.

And in order to remember which one goes in what ear more quickly. I ordered each earpiece in a different color.

Red for Right and black for left.

Another ER6i dood here with a fray-ing cable to 1 earbud. Bought em in '06 so they have some miles on em but I'm too cheep to git more $$$$$ units. I may try glopping some sugru on em.

So 2 pairs of $14.99 Sennheiser CX200s are on their way from these guys. We shall see...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ries-_-Sennheiser+Electronic+corp.-_-26106241

Those will be comfortable, but they won't be noise reducing like the Etymotics. I like the lighter-weight plugs for commuting because they are easier to put in. They certainly aren't comparable, though.

Let us know if the tips from ER-6i's fit onto the Sennheiser? i use the triple flange smalls, which do most of the heavy lifting when it comes to isolation (unless there are open ports out the back of the earbud?).

Well dangit! My ER6i's bit the dust today. Happened at the 1/8" plug. I bought a new plug, stripped the wires in order to fix it. Even w/ the small diameter wire, I managed to solder it up. Worked fine until i try to put the connector together.
Decided to abandon surgery and get a new pair (of something). I loved the sound of the Etymotics. Guess I'll give the HF5's a shot.

Same here. Mine died last week and was going to repair them. Stripped the wires then had to abort. I'm in a state of shock. I feel like a dumbass for not picking up a spare when they were on sale last year.

I checked eBay this morning and there was only one set up for bids - and they didn't work properly!! Nothing on Amazon either.

Looks like the end of the ER6i is finally here.

I wonder why Etymotic stopped production of such a popular product