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Etymotic 6isolator Headphones Review - Intro

By Mark Brezinski
Published on April 04, 2008
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Intro	Tour & Design
Performance	In Use
Value & Comparisons	Conclusion
Ratings & Specs

The 6isolator headphones are an in-ear offering from Etymotic Research. As in-ear headphones, they're tiny and very portable, but they have very strong performance for a low cost pair of cans. The size of these headphones is really minute: the buds are barely visible outside your ears. The lack of a cable guard between the buds and the thin cable just makes them even more inconspicuous. The cable is of questionable quality, however, as it's thin and tends to hold wrinkles easily. After you unwrap these, they'll hold their initial bends for a very long time, causing the cord to hang from your ears in a zig-zag down to the device. The included case helps keep the headphones contained a bit, but some kind of wheel to keep the cord wrinkle free would've been appreciated. While wrangling the headphones into or out of the case, your sleeves will be kept safe in a separate mesh pocket, which will definitely help you hang onto them.

The headphones are comfortable. We were able to wear them for six hours without really noticing any negative effects of the wear. The variety of sleeves should help most people find something their ears agree with. If your ears end up dirtying up the headphones in the process, you have the option of replacing the wax guards that protect the nozzle.

The 6isolator headphones had good audio quality for an in-ear set.; we found only minor issues with distortion, and, like all -in-ear headphones, they do a great job blocking sound from the outside world. The Etymotic Research 6isolator headphones are available for $139.

Section	The Good	The Bad
Tour & Design	These headphones are tiny and discrete.	The cord really likes to hold its shape and bunch up, which is both annoying to wear and a bit of an eyesore.
Performance	The frequency response score is far above average for a pair of in-ear headphones. Also, they help reduce a lot of outside noise.	A small amount of distortion across the board.
In Use	The 6i headphones are both comfortable and portable. They have a good array of sleeves and a great case to keep everything organized.	There really isn't anything included to help manage the cord. The cord will also easily wrinkle if you just shove it in a pocket, and it could be easily snapped.
Value & Comparisons	The 6isolator headphones offer a good in-ear headphone experience and solid extras for a reasonable price.	Though the price is reasonable, we thought it should've been slightly cheaper.

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