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Review on ๐ŸŽง Etymotion Wireless Bluetooth Cable with AKM Velvet Sound DAC and Amplifier by Etymotic, ERETYMOTION-BT, Black by Rodney Bullock

Revainrating 1 out of 5

First one died after a few months, second after 3 uses

Let me start by saying that I really LOVE my ER4XRs and have had them for about 2 or 3 years but have had a pair of ER4Ps for over 20 years own 15 years. years ago. But my experience with Etymotions was just terrible. The biggest problem is that the 2 batteries I had don't last long and are not user replaceable. The first one I got, the battery or battery controller in the headphones died after a few months of use, when I then plugged it into the charger it appeared to be charging, the indicator light started red then turned green But when I turned them off and tried using them as a pair more than 90% of the time they were on, after a second or two I heard a voice saying they would turn off and then they would be on. out. I was then able to put it back on the charger and the light was red for a long time and then turned green, making me wonder if it was actually charging or if the battery was bad. And then I could try them and there was over a 90% chance that the save would happen again and then a less than 10% chance that they would work. And each time they worked, they worked from a few minutes to an hour or two, never coming close to the original duration. I got them replaced under warranty with no issues or issues with the return process. I only had to pay them for shipping but they ended up sending me a brand new Etymotion in a shrink-wrapped retail box like the first pair I bought with all new accessories (they told me not to return any accessories from the first pair). I thought it was a good sign, but I shouldn't have done it. I have used this second pair 3 times with no problems. The first two were only at home for about 15 to 30 minutes each and the third lasted about 5.5 hours in a chair at my oncologist's office getting chemotherapy. After the meeting I put them on the charger and when I used them again a few hours later and after the green light came on I tried to use them and I heard a voice and they immediately turned off. There are a few other annoyances with them as well, as the range of the 2 paid ones I tried was pretty poor. They won't turn off completely, just toggle the encoding and bitrate to very significantly lower audio quality settings, but they'll never turn them back on unless I turn the headphones off and on again, or turn Bluetooth off and on again. Source (phone, computer, tablet, etc.). It is also very difficult to turn on audio sources. On some devices they don't unpair easily, for example when paired with my Samsung Note 20 Ultra, when I put Etymotions in pairing mode they immediately reconnect to my phone, so I have to turn off Bluetooth on my phone when I want to combine them with something else. They also often fail to pair, and this has happened with some devices (Samsung Note, Dell G7, MacBook Pro, iPad, 2 Chromebooks and a desktop), more so than most other Bluetooth devices (the only other device that I have). which does the same - it's my device, but it works with multiple devices, so you only need to pair it when you buy a new phone or device, so not too bad). Right now I wish I had bought them and just kept using the adapters. I change devices/sources often enough that a cable with a small USB-C adapter is much more convenient and that without concern for breakage and replacement, especially since the warranty only lasts from the date of purchase on the first pair and if this continues I'll probably stay short after the warranty had expired on a defective device and was only able to use it partially beforehand when it kept breaking. I'll try to come back and update this if I have to keep replacing it if I get one that works or something else happens.

Pros
  • Confident
Cons
  • Out of fashion