Comment by camgunz | Hacker News Reader

Comment by camgunz | Hacker News Reader

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I have Etymotic ER4SRs which came with this clip [1]. It broke, and I soon found out the microphonics (sound traveling through the cable) were strong, and the extra weight the cable put on the drivers in my ears was surprisingly distracting. I bought a new one and, even though it's super nerdy, wear it.

There are cables that are less microphonic, and I think it might be possible that if you wrap the cable around your ear instead of going straight up it's supposed to help also. I don't personally like the around the ear thing--feels like a bridge too far for me look-wise, but I'm not everyone.

But I'll get on my shtick for a second: I love my ER4SRs. They've basically saved my career. They're small, there's no latency, there's infinite battery life, essentially everything is replaceable, the sound _perfect_. I super wish they made a (non-Lightning) cable that had a mic in it (I know there's 3rd party ones but haven't had a lot of success there yet and quit trying), but it's a small inconvenience. I can mostly work anywhere under almost any conditions, which has turned out to be important.

[1]: https://www.etymotic.com/product/shirt-clip-for-er-series-ea...

The effect isn't produced by wire microphonics, but instead by movement of the sealed headphone in the ear canal causing air pressure changes which are large compared to typical sound vibrations in air.

The solution is to ensure that they are never jostled, which I achieved by staying still. Probably going wireless would also eliminate the issue.

Well, yeah I guess that's an absolute solution. But the clip more or less makes it such that any jostling below it is muted, so you only have to worry about the individual wires going to each driver. I find those don't get touched that often. That said, my use is practically always sitting in front of a computer. If I were doing other physical activity I'd probably get the cheapest Airpods and forget about it.

I bought some Etymotics last year and I was frankly disappointing given the price. They broke not too long after getting them. The right earpiece seems to have bad contact with the cable and don't cant get any sound in that ear.

It may be as simple as replacing the cable though, I'm not entirely sure.

I had a similar problem, and the solution was to change out the filter in the non-functioning earpiece [0] with the tool and replacement filters that came with the device.

I also bought a replacement cable, which didn't work, then contacted support for a replacement. Their suggested fix of changing the filter worked. I suspect the reason may have been moisture; I washed the silicon tip with soap and water, then put it back on the earpiece and filter without waiting for it to fully dry.

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbDgTa8Htzo

Ah damn, I immediately recognized the bag containing the tool and filter replacements. Now I have to see if I can find it.

They sell replacements for cheap; I had basically the same experience as you and had a very sad moment, then yeah, (re)discovered filters and everything worked again. They also come in different tunings if you want to try and tweak things.

I loved my etymotics ER when I had them. Forgot which one it was. I have yet to find a quality sounding in-ears( tried a few without success) . I have moved to AirPods Pro for their convenience but those etymotics were great.

I also loved my Etys. Problem for me is that they would only last a year before failing. I’ve since switch over to RHAs which are not quite as good but they have a 3 year warranty.

If you haven't already tried it, a filter replacement with the tool and filters that come with the device could do the trick [0] (fixed a problem I experienced myself). Another common fix is to switch out the cable, though I've only experienced failure due to old filters (3 years usage).

[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbDgTa8Htzo

Yeah my issues were due to failing cables e.g. fraying insulation and exposed wires. I would use them heavily on daily commutes. Now since I primarily work from home it might be less of an issue.

I avoid (non-cheap) headphones without replaceable cables these days. There’s no good reason to have to replace an entire headphone pair/headset because of a bad wire

I actually experienced a similar issue between the jack and the cable with exposed wires. It didn't affect audio quality for me, so it was just cosmetic; I wrapped electrical tape around the exposure as a fix.

This shouldn't happen considering the price, but it wasn't a dealbreaker for my personal preferences (as the fix wasn't too noticeable, and I enjoy the noise isolation and sound quality).

Oh definitely get the replacement cable, I'm on my 3rd. I picked up their bluetooth neckbuds thing (this is the depth of my commitment haha) to try, but as soon as I confirmed the wires weren't replaceable I sent it straight back--instantly limited the lifetime to < 1 year.

I loved my Etys, too. But they were very fragile.

I’ve ended up switching to Shure IEMs, but I use the Etymotic triple-flange silicone ear tips. I’ve tried everything else I can find, and nothing else works as well to keep them in my ears.

Comply foam ear tips are a good idea, but don’t work nearly so well as my 32dB NRR earplugs at staying in my ears. And the triple flange silicone tips actually let me hear something instead of just blocking out noise.

I’ve recently discovered that Shure now has a couple of different “totally wireless” devices that you can plug into whatever modern Shure IEMs you have, so I’m trying those out now, both as a way to actively block out the sound of my wife snoring with white noise from my iPhone, and I’m also going to try them in combination with a Røde Wireless Go II lavalier mic setup for Zoom and Chime teleconferences.

Oh, yeah that's a good point. If you _really_ need legit sound isolation (e.g. your hearing is at stake) or have tricky ears you'll have to venture into the pro audio realm--or just straight up get quality ear plugs. I'm lucky enough to have an OK fit with the stock tips, but even so I look at the custom ear tip companies from time to time.

Something else to really pay attention to is listening to music all day. 85 dB might not "sound" (hehe) like much, but more than a couple hours of that and you'll damage your hearing [1]. Do that for a year, say, and it adds up. And 85 dB doesn't sound that loud, especially if you work up to it.

This is where I'm jealous of Apple's Airpods ecosystem, where they know the SPL of the drivers and what volume you're driving them at, so they can avoid damaging your hearing. I really wish more laptop/phone/etc. manufacturers would post more detailed headphone jack stats so you could just plug in your SPL and set the volume accordingly. I had a hell of a time figuring it out for my 2018 MBP; I can only imagine what it's like for less ubiquitous hardware.

[1]: https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss

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