Etymotic Research ER6i

Summary
In general, we think the 6isolators hold up well during long wear sessions. Our ears never felt assaulted. The array of sleeves should help many users get a similar experience; there should be a sleeve to fit most types and sizes of ears.

In addition to being very portable with a great case, we're impressed with the inclusion of replacement wax guards. This is important, as a build up of gunky ear wax inside the headphones (you do stick them in your ears, after all) can block them. If that happens with the ER6i, just replace the wax guard and you're good to go. This ability should go a long way toward keeping your headphones in good condition.

Comfort (6.0)
We performed this entirely subjective comfort test with the medium-sized, double-flanged sleeves, since we feel they are the most comfortable. The foam sleeves tend to expand a bit too far, putting pressure on the walls of our ear canal; the smaller set of double-flanges simply didn't provide a good fit; the 3-tiered flanges extend a bit too far into the canal to be comfortable.

The double-flanged sleeves are the most comfortable. After a while the sensation there was something in our ears dissipated almost entirely. Our short-term use test only lasts an hour, and we felt no discomfort from using these for that period of time.

In terms of cord length, we thought it was appropriate for use with most computer setups or portable music players. It would be especially good for exercising, since the buds stayed in our ears despite moderate tugging. The cord might not be long enough for use with home theater setups, however. As these headphones aren't intended for such use, however, we doubt this issue will put off many potential buyers. We never felt the cord was overly long.

Extended Use (5.0)
The 6isolators hold up surprisingly well during extended listening sessions. Typically in-ear headphones exert pressure on the inside of your ear canal, which gets increasingly irritating over time. Even after six hours, however, we didn't notice much difference. These are good in-ear headphones for a long listening session.

Cable Connectivity (4.44)
The 6i's cable is five feet long in total, with the split located about 16 inches away from the buds. As mentioned in the durability section, the cable on the 6i system isn't particularly robust. It is a relatively thin gauge, measuring a mere 0.05 inches in diameter, and its casing doesn't feel like it would stand up to much punishment. The cable holds a bend, which is exacerbated by the lack of a cable management tool. This means users will have to fold up the cable themselves before putting it in a pocket; chances are the cord will look wrinkled when the user pulls them out.

The 6i's plug doesn't fit into the iPhone; if your device's jack is recessed at all, the headphones won't click into place fully correctly, causing them to not work or fall out easily.

Portability (9.0)

As in-ear headphones, the 6i headphones are very portable. The included case is a nice addition, but only helps slightly with portability. We like its mesh pocket, since it gives a separate, sealed-off storage location for the sleeves. The case is also very small, which is a big help. The only real feature we would've liked was some kind of cord management. The cord is a bit unruly as it is, and bunching it up in a pouch will only make matters worse.

Customizability (4.00)

The 6i system comes with three different types of sleeves: double-flanged, triple-flanged, and foam. Both the double-flanged and foam sleeves come with two different sizes. The double-flanged has a small and medium size, while the foam sleeves have a medium and large size.

The cord cannot be customized; while the Shure SE210s come with a cord extender, there is nothing similar on the E6i. There is no expansion jack near the neck split, and the neck split itself isn't movable. There is a shirt clip included to help manage the cord while in use.

Maintenance (5.50)

The 6i system comes with two replacement filters that fit inside the nozzle. Also included is a pointy metal stick you can use to extract a filter with. Since the removal process requires you to impale the filter, removing one destroy it. The impaling device isn't particularly good at cleaning the edges of the sleeves, but it is good for scrubbing out the interiors. The fact that you can remove the sleeves definitely aids in cleaning them. A new pack of six filters costs $15.

Though the kit has five sets of removable sleeves, it contains no duplicates. The sleeves break down over time (your ear is not a nice place in some ways), but the replacement sleeves are cheap; $14 for five.

Other Features (5.00)

Battery Dependency
Because the 6i headphones don't rely on battery, they get an automatic five points. Besides this bonus for battery independence, the 6i headphones have no additional features.