Etymotic

The Etymotic ER6's are a set of in ear headphones designed for general listening purposes. They are isolation headphones, so they are designed to block out any and all noise. I know Etymotic's work from their ear plugs, but I guess that these are in the same vein as well. I generally don't like wearing in ear headphones for too long, but the ER6s are actually pretty comfortable. I've only used them for listening to music on my iPod, as opposed to using them for use in the recording studio or for professional audio. They definitely have a clean and full sound to them, with a good amount of low end response for a set of in ear headphones, but I wouldn't do any audio work on them unless it was basic editing. They would however be suitable for checking mixes on if you wanted to get a new perspective on your mix through a consumer set of headphones. I don't think that the ER6's would be my first choice for in ear headphones, but I definitely couldn't fault someone for going with them as they are a very solid set of headphones. Everybody's ears are different, and when it comes to choosing a set of in ear headphones especially, it's important that they fit well and that you're comfortable more than anything. For this reasoning I'd recommend testing out the ER6's as well as many other in ear headphones to see what will be most comfortable and what will sound best for you. While the ER6's aren't the cheapest in ear headphones on the market, they're also better than most of them out there as well. These are definitely a set of headphones that are worth a second glance for those interested in picking up a nice set of in ear headphones.

The Etymotic ER-20 are a set of universal fit ear plugs, designed for uses of all types. I have used the ER-20s during concerts as well as during band practices. I should say that I no longer use the ER-20s even though I still own them, as I have upgraded to a pair of custom fit Westone ES49 ear plugs. However, I did use the ER-20s frequently for a few years before getting my custom fit plugs. The ER-20s served me well in the time that I used them, as they did a good job of blocking out sound and were pretty comfortable to wear overall. The should fit well into just about anyone's ears, as I never had a problem getting them to fit comfortably. The only thing that I don't like about the way they fit is that they stick pretty far out of your ears while they are in there, which is more annoying than anything else. The ER-20s come with a small case as well as a piece of string to hold them together, which I never had a need to use. While the ER-20s do a decent enough job of blocking out sound, you can't hear everything all that well while they are in. So beyond just wanting a more comfortable set of ear plugs, the main reason that I got custom fit plugs was because they are much better at making it so you can actually hear what is going on around you, just at a much lower volume. So while the ER-20s will do the job for blocking out sound, if you're a musician or a frequent concert attender, I'd recommend spending some money to get proper hearing protection where you will be able to still hear all of the individual components of a sound. However, if you're just looking for some cheap ear plugs I'd definitley recommend the Etymotic ER-20s as the first place to look...