Customer Reviews

Altec Lansing inMotion iM616 Headphones

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I can't believe anyone would review these negatively. At least no one is questioning the sound quality. In fact, they are an amazing bargain.

This is my first pair of IEMs, so I can't personally make comparisons to others, but from talking to people and reading reviews and some posts on headfi, there seems to be no question that these can easily hold their own with IEMs costing twice as much or more (at least, based on Amazon's price).

I first tried them with the flanged tips, and I have to say at that point I thought they were just OK. I switched to the foamies, and it was a whole different story. The sound is definitely very good.

Personally I find them very comfortable. I'm used to wearing earplugs, though, so maybe there was less of an adjustment for me. It's surprising that AL only has one size of foamies, but others at headfi have confirmed that replacements for the Etys (but not the regular ER6s) and Shure (not the E2) will fit these, so that should give you lots of options for fit. As far as the AL replacement parts and the website, whatever problems others might have had with those when the model first came out, they're online now.

The isolation with the foamies is extremely, extremely good (I actually bought them specifically for use on an airplane). I would not wear them walking outside or anywhere that total isolation could be dangerous. The flanged tips don't provide as much isolation, but that may be because I can't get an ideal seal with them.

The cord is quite long. Nice if you have it plugged into your desktop, but a bit of a pain walking around with an MP3 player. There definitely are microphonics issues with the cord, but that's an issue with IEMs in general, and I'm told the 616s are better than others with this.

It is true that the case is ridiculous. I guess having a case at all is a bonus, but the thing is bigger than my 30 gig mp3 player! I guess it's OK if you're just tossing it in a backpack or something.

Overall, I can't understand why Amazon is virtually giving away this fantastic set of earphones, but I highly recommend grabbing a pair before they wise up and start charging what they're worth.

Isolation:
I had to use the foam inserts because the plastic ones were a little too large for my ears. With the foam, it completely sealed my ear canal and blocked out most noise. My commute home on the J train (light-rail) was quite silent. I was listening to classical music for the first time on the train. With earbuds, I had to put the volume level around 50%. With the Sony MDR-EX71 model, I could to keep it around 40%. The noise attenuation wasn't that good with the Sony model, but definitely better than earbuds (but the sound quality was quite terrible though.)


Sound Quality:
Superb sound. The partnership with Etymotic Research is evident. Everything sounded great: rock, grunge, classical. The Sonys sounded really muddy while these had a really bright sound with good bass (when the seal was good). Very balanced sound.

Cord/Construction:
I string my earphones through an REI One jacket, so this was more or less perfect length. The cord is symmetric so it's not weirdly strung behind your neck like the Sonys, and the connection to the ear pieces is solid, not fragile-looking like the ER6. The earphones connect to the replaceable eartips very tightly. The included case is ridiculous though; it's way too bulky for portability.

Comfort/Fit:
Sadly, this is primary reason I'm returning these. Both the flanged rubber tips and the included foam tips were too big. The foam models got the seal, but they were too big, so I felt an uncomfortable amount of pressure in my ear canals. Those were my only two options with the included package. The other problem is that I cannot find replacements that are smaller, anywhere on the web, including the Altec Lansing site.

Documentation:
Another reason I am returning these is the documentation. The manual says that I can get replacement ear tips and accessories at alteclansing.com/inmotionearphones, and I get a 404 error when I visit the link. That is pretty pathetic.

Update: (1/19/2006)I emailed Altec Lansing regarding this issue on 1/10/2006, and I have yet to get a response from them.

Bottom Line:
If you have large ears, these may suit you. But if you know that you have smaller ears, then stay away from these, and go for something else.

You may love these phones, or the Ety version, or the Shures. Chances are, if you like the Shure or the Etymotic phones, you'll like these.

However, no matter how wonderful those $500 Shure in-ear phones are, there are people who absolutely hate them. If you can't tolerate something stuck in your ear, you do not want any of these in-ear products.

If you can't tolerate the experimentation with different eartips, insertion depths and strategies needed to fit the endless variety of ear canal shapes among humans, you are very unlikely to have a positive experience with these unless you're one of the lucky ones who got a perfect seal the first time you put them in.

If your ear canals are in that minority that just flat out can't seal no matter what you try you will not be impressed with these phones.

I have fairly deep and wide flaring canals, and I thought no in-ear phone would work for me. Then I found Etymotic Research makes the three-flanged silicon eartip with an extra long tube for its ety.com hands-free phone headset. Whaddya know--it fits these things perfectly, and they sent me a pouch of ten tips for eight bucks. It gives me an extra quarter inch of insertion depth. You may not need this. But I do, to get a correct seal.

Once I got it, I was able to hear what these phones actually sound like.

Lack of bass? Yeah, sure--if you're one of those idiots who insists on enough bass to shake the mirrors, moldings and lug nuts off his car. However, if you are a rational human being who wants the music to sound LIVE--meaning it sounds just like it did when it was performed--you are going to be more than satisfied with the bass output here.

Why people think turning up the bass all the way has anything to do with sound quality is a complete mystery to a musician and hi-fi enthusiast like me. I own perhaps the deepest-reaching home subwoofer ever made for under ten grand--the famous passive Alòn. That baby can take you down to subsonic frequencies, and if you have the watts to drive it correctly it can just about shake the fillings out of your teeth. I LOVE GREAT, FULL BASS. With a proper seal you get great, full bass with these, though of course you will not receive the physical hit you will get when my sub moves massive quantities of air on a big concert bass drum hit. You'll hear it though.

My suspicion is that those who say these phones lack bass did not get a proper seal in their ear canals. If they did not like the fit, or it felt uncomfortable to them, they may not have wanted to do the experimentation necessary to get the sound these little wonders are capable of. They were right to return them if they could get a full refund, and go with a more conventional design.

If you want an amazingly compact set of phones capable of delivering high fidelity sound for about a third of what Ety charges for the ER4, and can put up with the feeling of these plugs in your ears, and can get the proper seal, you will love these.

If you do not fit into this category, you will regret your purchase.

The only way to find out is to try them. Make sure you buy them from an outfit that will take them back for a refund if you're not satisfied.

Finally, I hope I've conveyed my opinion that none of the weaknesses found by those who hate the iM616 result from design flaws. Rather, they result from faulty insertion, intolerance of weird things in one's ear canal, and the most common problem: the wrong size eartips.

You can probably find eartips that will fit these phones and your own ears. Ety has a wide variety of styles and sizes. If you find the one that fits you, you're going to love the sound these make.

My favorite cans are my Senn HD300s. I can take them with me, but I have to use my little headphone amp with them--they have such large diaphragms that no ipod or other portable device will drive them properly. Furthermore, they are open air phones that let in all kinds of external noise. They are best suited to listening to classical or quartet jazz at night when all the ambient noise has calmed down.

For your mass-transit ride and walking around town, these are the only way to go as far as I'm concerned. You must make sure to take extra care to be aware of what is around you--because you're not going to hear it.

i got a new ipod nano for my birthday and HATED the stock earphones--they fit poorly and kept falling out. i almost got the etymotic 6i in white (before the black model came out) and cancelled my order when the im616's became available. they take some getting used to, especially when fitting correctly, and you need to make sure your ears are clean of wax. but when they're in right, THEY SOUND FANTASTIC! i use them in the shop working on project with power tools--all i hear is sweet music! bass response is nice too, although not overwhelming. i also sent in the coupon for the free earplugs which i got--real nice bonus! all in all, an excellent product.

These phones are simply addictive. I am a user of various audiophile equipment. I have used B&W 802s, Dynaudio Contours, Grado 80s etc... and I must say these phones provide probably if not the best, very top quality details. There's even more monitor quality details than my speakers or larger phones, which at first surprised me. But don't get me wrong, they have their weaknesses compared with these much expensive equipment, for example, they don't provide the oomph on the lower-end (which could be a good thing if neutrality is important to you, like me) They are also microphonic, but you simply get used to it in no time, that you mentally filter out your thumping/walking noise. Good thing they included a nice little clip, so at least the microphonic effect from rubbing the cable against your shirt won't occur.

In terms of sound quality, lots of detail (after all, these are improved/modified version of the Etymotics 6s), very neutral response, open and airy, great channel seperation, extends effortlessly into the high and low ends. Just has a sense of elegance and control. For bass freaks, avoid at all costs, coz you'll definitely end up returning them. But beware, even bass freaks may easily be charmed simply by the qualities mentioned above which makes you think twice whether your approach was right.

The package comes very nicely in black color, great for matching my Black Ipod nano 8GB version. I was subconsciously looking for something NOT white, coz they just look cheap these days when everyone is wearing white phones. Quality and build is top notch, seems like it'll last at least a few years with good care, unlike the Ety's 6.

About the in-ear canal aspect, great for commuting on subways. In fact I think it's the best isolation out there. Because you will notice a significant lack of detail, distorted uppers and lowers with active noise-cancellation phones, simply can't perform at full potential. Also, experts (check CNET article as well) also recommend in-ear, as these blocks out outside/environmental noise and allows you to listen purely to your music at lower volumes, thus protecting your ear from fatique and long-term damage (avoid phones if you can at all for damage-free listening though). For joggers, not advised, since the thumping noise in microphonics; for cyclers/motorists, not advised, there is wind noise in microphonics. But if you're like me, commuting everyday, wants peace and purity within your listening world, values details and neutrality over massive bass, these are for you, my friend!

these headphones were a collaboration between altec lansing and etymotic. Basically, altec lansing took etymotic's technology and design and changed it slightly.

unfortunately, the change was bad. I'm comparing this to the etymotic er-6i which costs roughly eighty-five dollars at amazon. the worst part is that the part of the headphone that the earpieces attach to are at least double the diameter of the ones on the er6i.

This wouldn't be a problem with most headphones, except these headphones are DESIGNED to be pushed deep into the ear to create the isolation and seal that the etymotic headphones are renowned for. As a result, you can feel the plastic stub (that the eartips attach to) on your ear, and that is uncomfortable.

it is like i can feel a hard plastic tube in my ear. The er-6i does not have this problem at all, since the stub is much smaller in diameter.

i returned these headphones after a couple days of trying to get used to them. I have since bought my 2nd pair of er6i and have not looked back.

A great pair of headphones is the poor man's version of a high-end speaker system since you get all of the quality and signal purity but with a much friendlier price tag. After using these extensively for the last three months or so, I thought I'd share my thoughts:

Noise-cancelling: Those fancy active noise-cancelling models (i.e; Bose) get all the press but they are actually pretty inferior to these in terms of how much outside sound they block out. The high end Bose ones block up to 20 db for $300; these can block up to 35 db. This is like the difference in the sound of your TV when you have the dishwasher/laundry running. Basically, the less outside noise, the purer the sound you're hearing. These are top-notch in that regard.

Sound Quality: One thing that jumped out at me was how clear you could hear individual instruments. I'm a sucker for lush, complex arrangements (think Radiohead) and with these headphones, each instrument has it's own distinct place in the mix. I regularly discover harmonies/riffs/effects in songs that I had never been able to hear before. The bass is tight and the treble is very clear. Subjectively, I would compare the improvement in sound/experience over a $20-30 pair to be like going from a standard-def TV to HD.

Style: You can pretty much throw away the included case because of its morbid obesity. Beyond that, the headphones themselves are distinct and attractive.

Functionality: I have sworn off my factory Honda sound system and use my Zune and these for car travel and general errands. They're perfect for this because a.) They block out most engine/road noise and b.) they're inconspicuous if you're worried about being pulled over for wearing headphones. Also, just as they can block sound out, they can keep sound in making them library-friendly.

Cost/Benefit Analysis: $50-75 Range. I would say that with this purchase, I didn't just upgrade my headphones, I upgraded all the things that I use my headphones with. My Zune with factory headphones was nice and functional, but these phones make it sound like a high-end system. I've rediscovered alot of my back catalog just to hear how it sounds with these and what new things I can find. Again, the closest comparison I can make is stepping up from a CRT TV to HD; the former was pleasant enough but the latter is what gets your jaw dropping.

Notes/Tips:
*The sound quality of in-ear phones is greatly affected by how well they are inserted into the ear. FOLLOW THE MANUAL'S INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO INSERT THEM. Essentially, you're looking to form a seal between the headphone and the outside world. Make sure to test both included earbuds to see what gives the better fit. While the winged earbud (as pictured) looks cool, I'd highly advise trying the included foam earplugs to see what's a better fit.

For those rating these one star, you must be using them improperly. Admittedly, I got mine for $40 at a competitor site (I buy plenty at Amazon, but that deal was amazing and last all of one day). I had and sold my Ety ER4ps for a pair of Atrio M5s, but I missed the Ety sound sig, so these fit the bill. With the Futuresonic foamies, these sound simply awesome, and best of all, you don't need an amp to make them sparkle, through they do sound even better with a decent headphone amp.

They deliver clear, crisp mids and highs, and the bass can easily be maximized with a little EQing. Of course, as has been repeated here over and over, you need to get the proper seal for max SQ.

Again, if you hate something stuck in your ears, then stay away (get a pair of Yuin PK2 or PK3 ear buds instead). But if you don't mind the isolation and ear closure, these babies are a tremendous value, even at double the price I paid.

first thing you need to know is these headphones need to be wiped every couple of days with alcohol swabs.this helps with the seal in your ears which is very important to get good bass and keep noise out.I hear things I didn't hear with my sony 71's.the price is right too on amazon.

These are amazing earbuds. I have listened to some high end sennheiser's and beyerdynamic full headphones and the high end details these bring out rivals them. Be prepared to be very disapointed with your low quality mp3 files or crappy player as these earbuds will bring out all the details you may not want to hear. The bass response is fine on these and when seated properly in your ear is more than adequate. I can't understand those who review these and say they have no bass response (turn down your headphones morons and you wouldnt have ruined ears!!). The noise isolation on these is incredible, completely drown out airplane rumble on very low volume, ditch the noise isolation tech and go with in ear plugs, better isolation and cleaner sound.