Author: Jack Cook

Vender: Etymotic Research

Price: $299 with iPod Adapter  $199 earphones only (a little searching on the net will yield some great prices)

Rating: 90/100

Finding the right headset that will enhance your ability to Experience Mobility often times seems like a never ending task. There are so many headsets available that offer you a variety of features and often it is difficult to determine just what is the best choice for your particular circumstance.

For the most part I tend to steer away from “in the ear” types of headsets because I find they are uncomfortable over the long run and frankly I just prefer a “regular” headset. But travel makes carrying a “regular” headset difficult if you want to be truly mobile, so having an “in the ear” pair is important. For most of my travels, I can easily carry my “regular” headset because I keep them in a travel bag that I just throw in my car as we travel along the East Coast.

The problem exists when you want to travel light and eliminate the “bulk” of carrying a variety of larger items. An “in the ear” type of headset just makes the traveling easy … you just wind them up and stick them in your pocket. Now I have tried a variety of different headsets but I hate the wires … it is always a pain. In fact, over time I began to use the Bluetooth headset I used for my phone to listen to music just because it was a lot more convenient but I did miss hearing that stereo sound. It was something I decided to give up on when I traveled because it was just a lot easier to use my phones Bluetooth headset for music (and video).

But then I saw a possible solution of having wireless stereo in a small diminutive package from Etymotic Research, the Ety8. Not only did it meet my requirement of NO WIRES but it was WIRELESS STEREO. However I was unsure if it was the right choice so I continued to look but I kept coming back to the Ety8.  It's size, looks and specs just made it seem like the best choice ... and it was!

What did it offer?

First I liked the size and design. I don’t care what anyone says, looks are important and if something does not look right then no matter how good it is, you won’t buy it. The ety8 was one of the smallest stereo Bluetooth headsets that I had seen and it had slick rectangular designed ear buds that were a matte black finish color with a silvery accent band. The ear buds were connected by a substantial cloth covered wire that eliminated the worry of them ever breaking and the right ear bud had a variety of controls to enable you to play your music while your device was neatly tucked away. It looked good!

Now my initial desire was to have an ear bud that I could use with my laptop but I also wanted to be able to seamlessly use it with all my mobile devices so having an ear bud that supported the all important the A2DP stereo Bluetooth profile was a must have feature and it had that! There was also a surprise option available. If you have an iPod, there was the option of getting the ety8 bundled with an iPod adapter for an additional $100. At first that seemed a little rich but I can tell you that using it with an iPod truly enriched the iPod experience.

All the technical specs promised that the experience would be good. A 110 dB SPL Max Output seemed to be more than enough to satisfy any experience and the weight was reasonable at 14 grams. However I was more concerned with the battery life and was pleased at its rating of up to 10 hours on a non-iPod device (slightly less for an iPod). Like most Bluetooth devices, the range was approximately 30 feet which is pretty much the standard expectation.

So all the “basics” were there: looks, usability and the initial promise of a good experience. It had what appeared to be everything I wanted so it was time to commit and give it a try.

The Box

Packaging does not make a device good but it does tell you a little about the vendor and just what they feel about their product. Etymotic took the time to make the user start the experience feeling good with a nicely designed package. A silver box that opens up revealing the two ear buds and a nice leather pouch is what you are initially greeted with. Of course the initial desire was to remove the ear buds but I soon realized that it was so tightly packaged that I needed to remove the leather pouch to get at the ear buds.

The leather pouch was nicely made for looks and durability. The Etymotic Researh logo was embossed in the leather flap giving it a stylish look. Opening the flap revealed a magnetic clip for easy and secure closure. The interior of the pouch was a soft black velour type material that protects the ear buds when they are comfortably resting inside.

Packed inside the pouch was a package of extra tips and a filter changing tool with 2 extra filters. The filters are there to prevent ear wax from entering the sound chamber of the ear bud (and you thought I was kidding about ear wax in the unboxing video).

The stereo ear buds were neatly placed above and on either side of the leather pouch and gave an immediate “ooh” as I saw them. They were small (about 1 ?inches long and ? of an inch wide with a thickness slightly more than ¼ of an inch). They were about the same size as my thumb up to the first knuckle.

Between the two ear buds placed below a flap in the box was the iPod adapter which was very lightweight with a connector at the top for insertion into the iPod. The adapter is powered by the iPod battery which accounts for its extreme lightness.

Also included was a USB charging cable, a disk with the user manual and a 30 page User Guide booklet.

The Controls

The right ear bud has all the controls which include a USB Port for charging, an LED indicating power on/off, a Power, Play/Pause Button, +/- Volume Control Buttons, Previous/Rewind Button and a Next/Fast-forward Button. They are all placed for convenient use and they all worked flawlessly!

Charging

Charging was easily accomplished by attaching the supplied USB cable to the device and my PC. An amber LED lit indicating the charge process was going on and at the end on about an hour and a half, the light went out indicating that the ear buds were fully charged. I would have preferred to see the light turn green indicating the charge was at peak level.

Pairing Process

I could not have been happier with the ease of pairing with multiple devices and the absolute immediate connection when in use. It was fast, easy and flawless. If you did not see the Pairing Video, take a moment and you can see how easy it was to pair, connect and listen to music on my laptop and Mobile device.

The Fit, The Feel, and The Experience

The supplied extra tips certainly afford the opportunity to have a variety of fits and comfort levels for individuals. I have only used the tips that came installed on the ear buds because I have found them to be comfortable and did not feel the need to try the others. They insert easily and with a twisting motion you can have then inserted to a comfortable fit and have most of the extraneous sounds from noisy areas blocked.

The buds are so light that you hardly notice them … you can almost forget they are there. However, for me, after a couple of hours, I need to remove them not because they are uncomfortable but because of my own desire to have nothing stuck in my ears.

The sound experience has been quite interesting. I have a variety of music files from some very old converted Beatles Albums that were low quality recordings to some current albums that are encoded with high-bit-rates. On either end of the spectrum the sound was enjoyable but particularly enjoyable with the better recordings.

As I am writing this, I have a DVD playing in my laptop (HEAT –Pacino, DeNiro and Kilmer) and am incredible impressed with the stereo separation, clarity of sound and the absence of any distortion of any type. This is good!

Conclusion

Etymotic Research’s Ety8 has been a good experience. I have enjoyed using them on a variety of trips as well as at home. The battery life has been extraordinary and has always lasted on the higher end of the rated expectation or longer. If you were to ask me to quickly say why I like them so much I would say because of the excellent noise isolation, great battery life, and quality of sound (especially on high quality recordings).

I think they are expensive in comparison to other models but they do perform and if an “in the ear” style earphone is what you are looking for, the ety8 is worth looking at. Make sure you look at the built in remote control … it is very good and a distinct benefit if your device is across the room.

If you were to ask me if I would use these everyday my answer would be no but that is because of my preference for an “over the ear” headset. If you were to ask me if they would be my choice on a trip when I need a light weight, highly portable headphone that produced very good sound, my answer would be yes. I like them; they have provided me with hours of high quality audio enjoyment.

If you have not seen the unboxing or Pairing Video, you can check them out here.

Technical Specifications

Transducer Type: Balanced armature
Frequency Response Accuracy: 50 Hz -6 kHz ± 3 dB; 20 Hz -15 kHz ± 6 dB
Noise Isolation: 35 dB with flanged eartip, deeply inserted
                              40 dB with foam eartip, deeply inserted
Max Output: 110 dB SPL
Weight: < 14 gms each earphone
Battery Life (iPod): 6-9 hours depending on the iPod model
Battery Life (non iPod): 7 to 10 hours depending on the connected BT device
Charging Time: 1 hour to 80% charge. 2-3 hours from empty battery to full charge
Range: >10 meters in free space
             Body absorption: The body blocks transmission.
             Use the music player on the same side of the body as the R earphone.
Volume Control Range (iPod): 50 dB
Volume Control Range (non-iPod): 40 dB
Total Harmonic Distortion: < 4% at 1 kHz at a nominal output of 100 dB SPL
Sampling Rate: 44.1 kHz, 16 bit resolution
Antenna: Internal

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