Dept. of Annoying Disappointments | Miscellaneous Heathen

So, I got a new iPhone, and it’s big enough to also be a reasonable iPod (32 gigabytes). This requires the acquisition of some new Serious Headphones, since the Serious Headphones I already own have no mic or switch; while they work with the iPhone, I have to take them off to take calls, and I can’t pause the music without touching the phone.

I’ve been very pleased with my existing Etymotics, but had heard good things about Ultimate Ears, so I thought I’d give them a go. MISTAKE. for one thing, even the smallest of their silicon earbud tips made my ear canals ache, and — odder — listening for more than a few minutes produced a vague sense of nausea, which is just plain weird. All symptoms went away when I switched back to my ER-6i set.

Fortunately, Amazon has a liberal return policy, so my UEs will go back tomorrow for a full refund (minus a $5 shipping charge) in favor of a new set of Ety HF2s.

Lesson learned? Stick with what works. Heathen faithful — or, at least, those of you interested in fancy headphones — take note.

3 thoughts on “Dept. of Annoying Disappointments”

I like my Ety HF2s! Have not tried the UE’s. Thanks for the review.

exactly what Duncan bought me for xmas a few years ago. Perhaps he consulted you.

Surprisingly, no. Or, at least, not that I recall. Ety was all alone in this market for a long time, actually — even before the coming of the iPod. Ultimate Ears is newer (and, sad to say, is also owned by Logitech). There are other players in the “in-ear monitor” market, but none reviewed as consistently well as UE and Ety.

The UEs do sound better than my ER-6i set — but they’re also upmarket from them, and the Etys are 5 years old. My guess is that the HF2 set will sound a bit better, though they’ll still have the Ety sound — ie, bright, without the boosted bass common in headsets now.

Karlott on July 8, 2009 at 10:27 am said:

I like my Ety HF2s! Have not tried the UE’s. Thanks for the review.
Your Attorney on July 8, 2009 at 12:21 pm said:

exactly what Duncan bought me for xmas a few years ago. Perhaps he consulted you.
Chet on July 8, 2009 at 12:38 pm said:

Surprisingly, no. Or, at least, not that I recall. Ety was all alone in this market for a long time, actually — even before the coming of the iPod. Ultimate Ears is newer (and, sad to say, is also owned by Logitech). There are other players in the “in-ear monitor” market, but none reviewed as consistently well as UE and Ety.

The UEs do sound better than my ER-6i set — but they’re also upmarket from them, and the Etys are 5 years old. My guess is that the HF2 set will sound a bit better, though they’ll still have the Ety sound — ie, bright, without the boosted bass common in headsets now.