Suhit Gupta
04-29-2004, 10:15 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,63199,00.html' target='_blank'>http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,63199,00.html</a><br /><br /></div>"Back in the '80s, Bauhaus front man Pete Murphy starred in an iconic ad for Maxell audiocassettes that had him weathering a speaker-powered typhoon to the strains of "Night on Bald Mountain." During my review of three mid-price canal phones, I just enjoyed the 2004 version of that experience: heart-thumping bass from a pair of diminutive earpieces. <br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/futuresonicsem3_f.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/e3c_laptop_f.12003.jpg" /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/er6-3x3_f.jpg" /> <br /><br />The bass generated by the canal phones is so strong and robust, it felt like my entire body cavity was thumping to the music in my ears. Of course, it was just an illusion, and it soon wore off. But the bass generated by the <a href="http://www.futuresonics.com/html/products.html#em3">Ears EM3</a> is truly astonishing. It doesn't disrupt your heartbeat, but it is incredibly muscular. Previously, I'd been using a pair of $180 <a href="http://www.shure.com/earphones/eseries_e3c.asp">Shure E3c</a> earpieces, which I thought incredible. But the difference in the bass response swung my preference to the Ears EM3. Then I received a pair of Etymotic Research's $130 <a href="http://www.etymotic.com/musicians/more6.asp">ER-6</a> canal phones for review, and suddenly evaluating the products became a complicated three-horse race."<br /><br />A nice comparison article between three top earbuds - the Ears EM3, the Shure E3C and the Etymotic ER-6. I just bought the Sony MDR EX71SL and would like to say that they are really good too if you are looking for budget earbuds. Anyways, read the article to find out which one Wired rates as the best among the lot.