Ultimate Buds Apple-Etymotic ER-6i iPhone Earphones

I've had my 6i's for a year or so and I love them. So I did the swap - put my iPhone headphone cable on the 6i's.

The procedure was pretty painless. Only a couple of things to watch out for:

1. The area in which you will be soldering is TINY so you'll need a soldering iron with small tip

2. I went out and bought ($15 at Radio Shack) a third-hand + magnifying glass rig. I don't think I couldd have done it without this thing.

3. The cable diameter on the iPhone cable is larger than the channel in the 6i casing. I drilled it out with a 1/16" drill bit. This worked fine and did not damage the case.

But, it worked great. The microphone and clicker both work and the sound quality is great as usual.

After reading the iLounge review of this product and the base 6i review, I enthusiastically placed an order for my very own iPhone-6i headset this morning. I was originally waiting for the new V-Moda unit but changed my mind after reading reviews of both on iLounge. What swayed me was the higher quality and more consistent sound of the 6is vs the V-Moda. Since I had some special handling requirements, I called Ultimate Ears to make sure all was understood. Well, I just got off the phone with Brad at Ultimate Buds. All I can say is 'what a class act -- great customer service, great human being!' They are a small family owned business doing us iPhone owners a great service. Each product is hand-crafted by people who care. How rare these days. I for one will do my best to support these hardware artisans. I encourage others to do the same as well.

V-moda is supposedly to release a new version of their Vibe Duo with iPhone controls on the cable sometime this month. Worth a look.

http://www.v-moda.com/collection/modaphones/vibe%20duo.aspx

I'm not affiliated with v-moda, I'm just an anxious customer-to-be (hurry up with these, v-moda!).

Apple is so innovative in so many areas, why can't they ship a decent pair of ear buds? Are they in fact propping up the secondary ear bud market?

Just want to apologise publicly to Scott McNulty for suggesting anything underhand being behind the item - I'm all for personal recommendations of products people are happy with...

Martin

No way I am letting them slice my ER-6i's. I have had them for 2 1/2 years and love them.

I agree with Martin. I've tried the ER-6is and they're really nothing special. Even when you can get them in far enough to (presumably) do what they're supposed to do. And when you can get them in far enough to make them seem like you have ANY bass set up on your iPod at all, they are so uncomfortably painful that you have to (try to) fish them out or start coughing and wondering if the damage they're doing to your eardrums is going to be permanent or not. They warn you not to pull them out by the wires but to get them in far enough to seemingly 'work', the only way to get them out again is to pull them by the wires as it's next to impossible to get your fingertips in to grab the little units themselves. Then of course, as they say, continual pulling out by the wires leaves you with a couple of £100 pieces of ear-wax coated plastic.

I think that once people have paid the way over the odds price for them, they have to die in a ditch and say they're fantastic, or seem like fools for blowing so much cash on them. I've also tried the Sharp things and have a large collection of in-ear and over ear 'phones. The best for iPod on the move/at work are Sennheiser CX300 and other places (or if you wanna look extra-cool on the street) Sennheiser HD25-1 or the Grado SR80 (though these aren't totally enclosed and can annoy the wife, especially when she may not wish to hear How The West Was Won again).

I had a pair of these but sold them on eBay. Yes, they isolate well and sound great...when you can get them to fit correctly. And if you wear them when walking or running, every footfall thunders through your head like a big bass drum. And if you get sweaty while running they slip out.

A lot of hype in this TUAW advertisement of yours.

Since I haven't seen any comments from owners, I thought I'd give my 2-cents. I bought a pair of Ultimate Buds a few weeks ago and I love them. They sound as good as my old ER6's (and without the cable microphonics), and the clicker works great, as you'd expect. There isn't any audio feedback and these do isolate sound, but I've gotten used to speak regularly and trust that it all works.

In terms of sound and fit, I do like my Future Sonics more than the Etymotics, but these are definitely a massive improvement over the default iPod bugs on both counts. Also, so far they've taken the stuffed-in-my-pocket treatment OK.

(Micah, I thought these were cheap too, since I remembered my ER6s costing more than what the Ultimate Buds were selling for, but it looks like the ER6s are retailing for about $75 these days, and w/ design improvements, which is a nice surprise.)

You could try doing it yourself...
http://www.engadget.com/2007/07/05/diy-iphone-earbud-replacement/

Different buds of course. But it's the same idea.

Alas, my hands shake too much for such small work. Oh and I don't have any ER-6i's. Or an iPhone (Yay Canada). So I guess I'm out.