Audio Bliss

Dec. 5th, 2002 01:50 am
tugrik: (Default)
[personal profile] tugrik
My etymotic transducers arrived today. They're clear-gel with blue sparkles in the casting. -28dB resin casting, and they fit better than the non-transducer plugs I've had for a month now. The cords are stout and tough with proper strain relief to keep 'em from breaking in normal motorcycling use.

Listening to them at my desk, they do an expert job of sealing out most all outside noise, just like the static plugs do. The actual audio they produce is refreshingly accurate and scarily deep. They lose a little up at the high end -- but this is partially to be expected given the type of casting-material used. It just naturally absorbs high frequencies, including in the resonation chamber between the transducer and the hole pointed towards the eardrum. It's a forgivably minor loss, though. Bass, however... these things happily burrow down into the basement and below, with no easily discernable fluttering, even with that wonderful Ambiance for a Journey track Inari gave me. In that reguard they surprass my until-now favorite Sony silicone-padded earplugs.

Tomorrow I find out what they're like on the bike, plugged into the bike comm system instead of a walkman. If they perform this well in a quiet environment, they should do amazing things in the noisy one they're built for. I'd put up a picture, but they'd just look like little lumps of plastic that are shaped like the insides of my ears, with cords stickin' out.

If you're one of those people who likes to listen to decently accurate music, and want to really keep out the entirety of the outside world... get some of these. Seriously. Expect to spend between $110-160 depending on the hearing doc you go to. They'd be perfect for folks who bus-commute or work in constant-whitenoise server rooms. The best feature is that they'll help save your hearing: as they lower the noise floor dramatically, you need much less signal to still hear the music clearly, allowing you to listen at lower volume levels in a much more satisfying way. Good and good for you. :)

Date: 2002-12-05 09:20 am (UTC)
ext_646: (Default)
From: [identity profile] shatterstripes.livejournal.com
Oooh, tempting! I'd love to not have to hear all the assorted drones and squeals involved in riding the bus... though a certain amount of awareness of the outside noises is valuable in a situation involving as many close-packed people as the bus does.

Date: 2002-12-06 10:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] protocat.livejournal.com
Which Etys did you score in particular? Ink has a real nice pair of ER-4Ses, if I recall. I'm still rather fond of my Sennheiser HD600s, which do nothing for noise canceling, being an open design. I'm looking at both a pair of Sony MDR-CD3000s which are closed, as well as some of the newer Audio Technicas (ATH-W100s, etc.). I simply don't like in-ear plugs, as they become uncomfortable over time. My HD600s I can fall asleep wearing without issue.

Date: 2002-12-06 11:48 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tugrik.livejournal.com
These are just the raw transducers they sell to OEMs for installation in custom ear-molds. They're a world different than the ear-plug-insert types included with the ER-4S's. The doc actually puts putty into your ear and takes a casting.

I'm not a big fan of in-ear plugs, comfortwise... but in-ear-molds are amazingly comfortable for all day wear. Amusingly, I fell asleep with them on last night. The player got to the end of the list and turned off, and I fell asleep without taking them out. Comfy indeed!

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