The world of Bluetooth is here stay, at least for phone headsets. What about Bluetooth stereo earphones? We have reviewed quite a few of them at pocketnow.com (under the Personal Audio category), however we have not found any that provided noise isolation high fidelity audio.
INTRODUCTION
and
WHAT’S HOT
SETUP
(all images link to higher resolution)
This is the ety8 iPod system retail package.
The ety8 iPod System retail package includes the left and right earphones, the 8Mate iPod adapter, a micro USB to USB charging cable, ear tips, earphone filters and tool, leather case, paper and CD copies of the manual.
The ety8 earphones and 8Mate iPod adapter are paired at the factory. They are ready to be used once a full charge as been applied.
The ety8 earphones and 8Mate iPod adapter are simple to use and operate.
PRODUCT FEATURES
The first step in using the earphones is selecting the ear tip size for your ear canal. Etymotic provides 1 foam tip and 4 different ear tips sizes. The ear tip at the bottom of the photo can be cut to size. Since the earphones fit into your ear canal, proper insertion is crucial. Etymotic provides a short audio slide presentation demonstrating the proper insertion technique. The presentation looks a little daunting, but once you get use to the earphones you should be able to easily know whether they are inserted correctly.
The left and right earphones. The right earphone has the micro USB plug used for charging.
The ety8 earphones are charged via a USB cable inserted into a powered USB connector on a PC or a USB compatible AC or car power adapter. A yellow LED on the right earphone is lit while charging. Once the charge is complete the LED turns off.
The right earphone has five controls. The button in the upper right corner provides the power on/off, pairing, play, and pause functionality. The four controls towards the bottom provide volume up/down, next/fast-forward track, and previous/rewind track functionality.
The 8Mate iPod adapter mated to my 5th generation iPod Video. The adapter width matches that of a Nano. The iPod controls are still functional while using the earphone/adapter combination. The only caveat is that 4th generation iPods and 1st generation iPod Minis must use the earphone controls to adjust the volume.
The ety8 earphones squarish looks won’t win any design awards, however they are comfortable to wear and the controls are easily accessible. The sound quality is excellent, and is definitely several steps up from other open air Bluetooth stereo headphones I have tested. The sound isolating property of the headphones is very good, I was able to comfortably listen to music while power washing my deck recently.
I have used Etymotic ER*6 earphones for quite a some time. Although I noticed that the ety8 earphones do not quite provide as accurate a frequency response of their wired brethren, I feel the wireless advantage outweighs the minor difference. After my test, I found that my observations were substantiated by Etymotic’s scientific testing which assigned an accuracy score of 90% for the ER*6 and 86% for the ety8.
An important component of the ety8 and other Etymotic earphones is the earphone filter. This is a little diaphragm which prevents ear wax from clogging the earphone’s transducer. It must be changed regularly to ensure adequate volume and frequency response. Your cue to change the filter will be a drop in volume and overall sound quality.
The ety8 are shipped with a filter removal tool and a pair of extra earphone filters. The directions above are a cinch to follow. I have found that I need to replace the filter on my ER*6 earphones about every 6 months, however this may vary depending on your use. I am assuming the same will be true with the ety8 earphones.
The ety8 is an approved "Made for iPod" product. I received the latest revision of the 8Mate iPod adapter which is compatible with the latest iPods and the iPhone. I plugged the 8Mate into my iPhone and received a warning that this accessory might not be compatible, however the message disappeared within 5 sec.
The ety8 earphones and 8Mate iPod adapter worked flawlessly with the iPhone. The one downside of using these earphones with a smartphone is their lack of microphone and phone support. When the phone rings the music pauses, however you must answer the call via the phone and remove one of the earphones and use the handset.
The ety8 earphones can also be purchased separately. They are designed to be used with other Bluetooth compatible devices with support the A2DP stereo profile. I was able to successfully pair the ety8 earphones with a Motorola DC800 Bluetooth home stereo adapter (see review here). I was not able to pair the 8Mate iPod adapter with Motorola DC800, it can only be used with the ety8 earphones it came with.
The ety8 earphones easily paired with my T-Mobile Wing running Windows Mobile 6. The sound quality is excellent.
The ety8 earphones are definitely the audiophiles answer to Bluetooth earphones. They provide excellent response accuracy, are well built, light, and very easy to use.
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Etymotic Research support can be reached by phone at 1-888-389-6684 or by email at customer-service@etymotic.com. The ety8 earphones can be purchased with or without the 8Mate iPod adapter. If you purchase the ety8 earphones with the iPod adapter you must have a Bluetooth 1.1 or greater compatible device which supports the A2DP stereo profile and optionally the AVCRP remote control profile. The ety8 earphones require Bluetooth 1.1 or greater compatible device which supports the A2DP stereo profile and optionally the AVCRP remote control profile or the 8Mate iPod adapter. The 8Mate iPod adapter requires the ety8 earphones and a compatible iPod or iPhone (see list). The ety8 earphones are an excellent choice of Bluetooth headphones. They are however missing a key component to be used with smartphones such as the iPhone or Windows Mobile phones; a microphone and the associated Bluetooth handset/hands free profile. The 8Mate iPod adapter provides the iPod and iPhone with missing Bluetooth functionality. The one downside to using the unit is its inability to automatically shutoff when the iPod is in standby mode. When the iPod is in standby mode, it will continue to draw power from the iPod and drain the battery at faster rate. The recommendation in the manual is to remove the adapter when you are not using your iPod. My wishes in future releases of the ety8 earphones and 8Mate iPod adapter are: The Etymotic ety8 earphones with 8Mate iPod adapter retails for $299.00, while the ety8 earphones alone retail for $199. They can be purchased from the Etymotic Research website. Amazon is currently selling the ety8 earphones with 8Mate iPod adapter for $219.99. type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
The ety8 earphones deliver on the promise of CD quality audio using Bluetooth technology. They provide excellent isolation in noisy environment. Although it does take a little time to get use to having the earphones in your ear canal, once you do the sound field will be very pleasing. The ety8 earphones paired with every compatible Bluetooth device I tried. The 8Mate iPod adapter works flawlessly with all the iPods and iPhone I tried it. The ety8 earphones are very light and very well constructed. I was a little concerned about the earphone connecting cord, once I saw the cable was in a heavy duty braided shield I was reassured that the risk of breaking the cord was minimal. If you are looking for the best in a noise isolating Bluetooth stereo headphones, the ety8 earphones should be at the top of your list. They are expensive, but in the end you get what you pay for.
HELP SUPPORT
OPTIONS
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
BUGS AND WISHES
PURCHASING
PROS
CD-quality Bluetooth stereo audio
Easy to use controls
Lightweight
CONS
No phone support on the ety8
No ability to pair 8Mate iPod adapter with other devices
The 8Mate iPod adapter has no power standby mode
Value
Ease
of Use 
Features
Overall
OVERALL IMPRESSION
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