Altec Lansing inMotion iM716 Headphones

by Altec Lansing

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 3 inches ; 1 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BKE8QQ
• Item model number: IM716
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

Sound and silence in perfect harmony! InMotion earphones with Etymotic Research technology deliver a perfect combination of near-perfect sound reproduction and dead-quiet noise isolation. While musicians, audiophiles and acoustic engineers have utilized this (ER) technology since the mid 80s, it is now available to enthusiasts anywhere with the introduction of the new inMotion earphones. Engineered to provide a genuinely accurate music stream, these micro earphones assure smooth treble, clear and natural piano, crisp percussion and rich orchestral music. The earphones are shaped to comfort-fit like earplugs, capturing awesome bass within the ear. Importantly, this earplug design blocks out external sound, allowing lower level listening volume and preventing hearing damage and overload distortion from otherwise excessive noise. Perfect silence for beautiful music. Just listen

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars iM716 Earphones, May 3, 2006

By 

JAS (Calif) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altec Lansing inMotion iM716 Headphones (Electronics)

Strengths: Sound quality; HD / Bass Mode selector; Isolation
Weaknesses: Low output; Pod not detachable; Microphonics
Summary: The sound from the iM716s is extraordinarily detailed. Transient response is excellent. Vocals will just jump out at you. An eerie experience on first listen.

TIPS and FIT: I was unable to get a good comfortable fit with the included tri-flange tips. Everything sounded canned, tinny. The highs were good, but weren't nearly balanced with the rest of the range. Everything changed dramatically with the foam tips. Very comfortable, and from the mid range down, the sound signature filled out. FYI- I have large ear canals. I later cut off the smaller of the 3 flanges, and the now bi-flanges fit perfectly. People with small ear canals have reported similar beneficial effects from trimming off the larger flange. The foam tips can cover a wider size range.

Inner ear monitors (IEMs) are 'very' sensitive to getting a good seal. Think of it this way, a small 2-way speaker system can sound wonderful in a small room. In a larger room it will not effectively load the much larger space, and bass will seem deficient. The same is true for IEMs. If you properly seal off your ear canal, the IEM will be loading a very small space. Improper seal will decimate bass. For those reviewers that graded these phones poorly, poor sealing of the ear canal due to lack of experience with IEMs is the issue. Anyone can get a proper fit with IEMs. It may take a little more time to adjust these phones, they do not just slip over your ears like full size cans. When properly inserted the wires should go straight down, or toe in a little towards your neck. Therefore the phones are inserted at an upwards angle, NOT straight in and sticking out of your ears like carrots. ;-)

NOTE: Many people believe that balanced armature transducers like those in the iM716 do not require a burn-in period. I found these to flesh out after running them for a full week hooked up to a sound source. Balanced armature transducers are more costly than normal dynamic drivers, and are the transducers of choice in the most expensive IEMs.

SOUND: Upper mid to highs: Exceptional. These are very fast. Articulation is outstanding due to the fast transient response. You will hear fingers sliding down the neck of a guitar, the breathing of vocalists. Exciting.

Mid-bass to mids: With the foam tips or modified bi-flanges, this was in very good balance with the highs. Gives good `body' to vocals.

Bass: Very fast and tight. No one-thump, boomy bass. Acoustic bass is realistic. But if you love the visceral impact of subwoofers, you may prefer a full sized, over the ear set of cans. These are not overly warm, rolled off phones. They almost demand you sit up and notice.

OTHER: HD / Bass modes: Very nice. HD is perfect for quiet surroundings listening to vocals and/or instrumentals. Bass adds more fundamentals. Better for rock and hip-hop and/or surroundings that have higher ambient noise level, like the gym. The volume potentiometer, which I originally disliked having in-line (an audiophile quirk), is actually much easier to control than the iPod wheel.

These earphones are not efficient. I need to increase the volume to get a similar volume level as the stock iPod earbuds. I typically run at about 75% volume.

The isolation factor with these on, with music, is very high. Do not jog, drive or bike in a crowded area with these on. You won't hear a bus 10 feet away. Great for travel or the gym (maybe not the treadmill, due to microphonics inherent in IEMs, dunno, never tried).

OVERALL: These phones will show the limits of your DAP, and not the other way around. Hooked up to a good source and amp, these really shine. I would rate the sound 9 out of 10. Although keep in mind my tastes prefer a fast transient response at the expense of a deep and prominent bottom end. If you are running 15" woofers in your ride, or you prefer tinnitus inducing volume levels, this may not be the phone for you.

To get opinions from people that spend a lot of time with headphones, please go to head-fi.org . These headphones in head to head comparisons have bettered the Etymotics ER6 and ER6i (and Shure e2 and e3), and have come close to the sound quility and refinement of the much more expensive ER4 series (and Shure e4). It should not be too surprising as they were originally reported to be a `tweaked version' of the famous ER4S.

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great headphones!, December 30, 2005

By 

I like music - See all my reviews

This review is from: Altec Lansing inMotion iM716 Headphones (Electronics)

Just received a pair of the Altec Lansing IM716 from Amazon. Here are my initial impressions:

Packaging:
The headphones came in a very simple styrofoam box. Can't say it was the most attractive package, but hey, it much easier to open than the sharp plastic packaging which has become the norm as of late. Inside the box were the headphones, a plastic carrying case, 2 triflanges (already installed), 2 foam tips, a pair of filters, and a filter changing tool. The included instructions were fairly straight forward enough for the first time user of IEMs. There was also a voucher included for a free pair of etymotic earplugs. Although the website given on the voucher is either down or non-existant as I got a 404 error each time I tried.

The Headphones:
Design:
Fairly well built, although I am suspect of the inline volume control. The clip included on volume control is of very little use. It looks basically like the metal clip you find on some pen caps. The headphones themselves are very lightweight. The included triflange tips insert very easily in the ears and isolate from the outside world just as well if not better than the Shure E2C and E3C.

Sound:
The Altecs are some of the clearest headphones that I have ever listened to. Maybe it might be because I have grown used to the rolled off highs of the E2C and E3C, but I was amazed when listening to some smooth jazz saxophone solos. Small details were heard for the very first time.
The headphone actually contains a small switch on the inline volume control that allows the listener to switch between HD and Bass modes. I can honestly say that there is a distinct difference between each. The HD mode gives a flat sound, lows aren't overpowering nor are the highs. Great when listening to classical and jazz. One thing to note is that the HD mode sounds even better when the headphones are amped. The use of an Onkyo receiver brought out the lowend as well created a much more full sound. These headphones need some power behind them in order to shine. Whereas I only needed about a level 10 volume on my Creative Zen touch when listening to the Shures, I needed about a 15 in order to reach the same level of loudness on the Altecs.
The Bass mode does exactly as it advertises. It increases the level of the low end considerably without muddying. Great when listening to Rap and R&B. This creates a much more "fun" sound, if you will. Bass seemed much tighter and cleaner through the Altecs than the E3Cs. When comparing loudness of the low-end, it was pretty comparable with the E2Cs, although the Altecs were not as muddy.
Microphonics can be a problem with these headphones though. I have a feeling this is an issue that may bother some more than others though. The noise that is transmitted through the cord and to the ear is more prominent in the altecs than in either of the shures. This is probably due to the volume control. Not a huge annoyance, but it's noticeable.

Conclusion:
These are a great pair of IEMs for the price. I only wish I had a pair of ER4s or ER4P to compare them to. I can appreciate the sound of these headphones even at low volumes which is something I could have never said about my E2C's. Although the microphonics can be an issue, the great sound coming out of the IM716 will quickly make you forget about it. Remember, you are pretty much getting two headphones in one as the switch creates two different personalities. I recommend these as an alternative to look at if you're in the market for a headphone in this price range.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars iM716 ..........current bargain amongst iem's, July 8, 2006

By 

R. Reeves "BushGuy" (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Altec Lansing inMotion iM716 Headphones (Electronics)

This is not my first InEarMonitor purchase. Prior to the iM716, I have been using Etymotics er-6i (both amped and unamped), which I had considered the absolute best-bang for the buck monitors. My background includes an interest in "hi-fi" since around 1960, and several years with guitar, string bass, piano etc....anyway..........these are the new champs in the under $250 price category, and strongly comparable to Shure E4, and Ety ER-4S. Negative reviews here reflect that some folks have little idea of how iem's are inserted/fit. Insertion is directed to the front and upwards (this is the natural direction of the ear canal). Also, don't be afraid of going too deep with them - you cannot hurt yourself with them and they demand a good seal. The iM716 is very good in presenting the details of a recording (they are derived from Etymotic drivers), but they are also very musical-sounding. My personal choice of tips for them is Shure Softflex (they fit perfectly). If you need foamies, then Comply works very well. The only questionable choice made by Altec Lansing was to put an in-line resistor module with them (giving you a choice of using them unamped from a power-weak player or switching the module to HD position for more refined sound which is best when amped (imo)(module also has a volume control). The downside for having this module is that it adds a bit of weight to the line. While I don't like this module for my usage, I can see where others could rejoice in its' inclusion.
The design is very attractive and I sometimes think of getting a second pair of them, simply because they are soo cheap and comfortable to me. These iM716's are now my go-to choice for portable listening.