iPod Noise Pollution Irks Those Nearby

Associated Press via MyWay.com ^ | July 31, 2007 | Erin Carlson

[RayChuang88]

NEW YORK (AP) - Dave Legeret silently fumed as the man seated beside him on the plane blasted techno music on his iPod at full volume.

"It was kind of rude," recalled Legeret, 38, a jewelry designer from Sandy Hook, Conn., who was forced to listen while flying from New York City to Disney World with his wife and 8-year-old son. "Listen to it at a level that just you can hear it and everyone else doesn't have to be subject to it."

Apple Inc. (AAPL)'s ubiquitous iPod is best known as an instrument of solitude - unless the user ignores standards of etiquette by invading the eardrums of fellow commuters, officemates or other innocent bystanders. Then it starts to get annoying. Especially when you're stuck in close proximity.

Amped to its highest volume, the iPod is not nearly as invasive the classic loud cell phone conversation. But it can have its moments. Like when you're standing in an elevator at 9 a.m. and a co-worker cranks up Amy Winehouse's "Rehab." (Too early for that song.) Or when an ear-budded subway rider belts what sounds like a Whitney Houston tune with careless abandon, causing other riders to inch away or flee into another car altogether. (True story.)

[RayChuang88]

I think people why wear open-ear headphones to listen to their iPod (or MP3 player) don't realize at higher volume settings on your player, the sound can travel quite a ways. This is why instead of wearing open-ear headphones I use this set of headphones to listen to my iPod nano:

Etymotic Research ER6i

These set of headphones don't leak out sound to others, and because they're noise-isolating you block out a lot of ambient noise, which means you don't have to crank up the volume of your player to get decent sound quality, preserving your ears and extending the battery life of your player. However, you do want to be careful, because the noise isolation could cause you to miss warning sounds such as automobile horns or emergency vehicle sirens.

[martin_fierro]

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[CarrotAndStick]

Etymotic Research canalphones. Don’t they cost something like $600 a pair?

[RayChuang88]

I got my ER6i’s for US$75 from an online retailer.

[CarrotAndStick]

Oh, that's sweet!

I had only seen a review of this, and when it had debuted, it was around 600 dollars. Now for $495:

Etymotic ER-4 microPro Reference-Quality Earphones Manufacturer Id: ER4-P Manufacturer Name: Etymotic Noise isolation far surpassing that of active noise canceling earphonesTransparent, reference-quality sound Frequency response: 20Hz-16kHz, 4dBImpedance (ER-4P): 27 Ohms nominal.

[RayChuang88]

You can get the ER4 models for US$299 nowadays. Nice model, but ridiculous overkill for an iPod nano.

[CarrotAndStick]

I agree!

[martin_fierro]

Got a pair of these Bose Triports as a Christmas gift. Not bad!

[RayChuang88]

I nearly bought the Bose TriPort in-ear headphone but I didn't like the fact you needed to turn up the volume on the player to get decent sound quality, the sound isolation was not really that great, and most places sell it for US$100. I got my Etymotic ER6i's for much less from an online retailer.