The UK Government wants to push through ID Cards to use biometric data to connect the card, its data ("basic personal information") and its owner. Uh huh. While one can theoretically imagine how such a scheme would work (and the govn't is dealing in theory since its own site says it doesn't know yet what the cards will actually be like), you would be hard pressed to find any technologist (not funded by a biometrics company) who would say that such a scheme is practical at scale. Indeed, the summary of the consultation exercise on ID cards, which found largely against the practicality or efficacy of such a scheme is - no longer to be found on the Govn't web site. You can still find news articles quoting various computer science experts who spoke to the committee on the multiple problems with ID cards.
And you'd think that such concerns might be part of why the house of lords chucked out the ID Card Bill yesterday. Apparently, though, they were worried about costs - the fact that they weren't well enough defined by the government. Who knows, maybe that's a really good first act rejection: because if the government comes back with a better cost breakdown, perhaps the House will get to the gnarly question of "how can we trust those figures."
Why would they ask such a question? Because the Government has a lousy track record when it comes to specifying and delivering - no matter what the budget - national IT systems. And if they can't get a national database right on the smaller scale of specialist IT systems like the Magistrates court, Ambulance Services [additional research paper pdf], doctor's surgery systems, the police's IMPACT program or Tax Credits, how on earth can they be trusted to get an even more complex system like an ID registry with databases, specialized hardware for collection of biometric data, specialized hardware and software for matching biometric data, specialized training, and specialized secure documents delivered?
So the question is pretty simple the next time the house of lords gets the ID Card Bill back: even if delivering an excellent ID Card system were possible, and even if there were no questions about the technology, about the biometrics, the database security, the security layers between the system itself and humans accessing it, the hackability of the cards, and never mind the social, moral, or economic issues, or for that matter the political ones about whether or not such a system could even stop a terrorist [look here for a list of all these issues and the organizations that query them], disregarding all that and cutting to the chase, would the UK Government simply have the wherewithall to deliver it?
Two things can immediately improve the sounds coming from your ipod:
Indeed the better the headphones that you have, the more you'll hear the artefacts of lower bit rate encodings. So, suppose you have some nicely encoded, or indeed entirely lossless tracks on your ipod (try putting your fave album or set of tracks on your ipod imported direct from the CD rather than encoded. Play them up against encoded mp3's or aac's and see what you hear) and you'd like to hear as much of what's there as possible: what headphone style do you choose?
You can choose traditional cans (regular over the ear headphones) - Aside: Next time you're thinking about sony or seinheisser, give Ultrasone HIFI or DJ phones a try - hit "test reports" to read reviews - they're designed to preserve your hearing, too). These types of headphones are dandy for certain kinds of situations - long listening sessions; editing - but for being on the go, they're bulky to say the least, and not great if you want to fall asleep with your tunes.
Another style is the popular earbud phone that comes with most digital audio players like ipods. These sit levered in the ear. In ear phones, like apple's in ear ipod headphones, point more directly into the ear canal, and thus cut out more of the noise from the outside, improving perceptions of things like bass in particular.
Etymotic ER-6i
The next level up (or in) is full into-the-ear-canal phones. When you see musicians on stage at live events and see the lines leading up around their ears, you're seeing custom made in-ear monitors (iem's) where the earpieces fit into the ear canals . The custom fit isolates external sounds and directs sound from the monitors into the ears.
And this is how good headphones can save your hearing: by having the 'phones cut off outside noise by over 20db, you can turn the volume DOWN on the listening device. Add to the isolation effect great transducers to translate the impulses coming from the source (like an ipod) into great sound, and you have a super combination.
The etymotic 6i's, as reviewed by the formerly named "ipod lounge" represent an affordable combination (approx 140 USD/75GBP) of great (hearing-saving) isolation and super sound, designed specifically with digital audio players like ipods in mind. What does that mean?
Etymotics makes a number of great in-ear sound-isolating phones: the 4 as flagship, the 6 as more affordable but still cool cousin and the 6i for ipods. The main thing about the 6i over the 6 is that it provides some much appreciated bass boost, as shown in the chart comparing the 6 and the 6i. This boost is subtle - you won't experience it as the bass pumped up, but as an overall richer sound, where you can better pick out the distinct bass and drums textures from a track.
What sets these headphones apart from other "in ear" phones, however, is the kind of audio detail available across the spectrum, not just the bass. You may hear instruments and touches that you hadn't heard before. In vocals, i've found that i'm hearing much more of the expression of a phrase or a note than with standard earbud or apple's in ear phones or sony's in ear phones (any model) or many traditional cans.
Moving in the world with 6i's on: Isolation of in-ear phones like these means that you do not hear things outside yourself - if you're running or just walking down the street, you may want to think about not putting these in so they're fully seated - that will let you use these more like ear buds where you can still hear the traffic.
Getting used to Canal Phones. Some people do not like the idea of sticking something deep into their ears. If you're one of these folks, these headphones mayn't be for you. One way to check your tolerance is to try out a set of disposable ear plugs: how do you feel about putting these into your ears? If you're ok with that, you can be ok with the ety 6i's
The 6i's come with one set of flanged ear pieces and one set of "memory foam" ear pieces (same stuff used for ear plugs). Each fit slightly differently. Other sizes of foam or flanges are available and etymotic will send you a sample pair different size if you think you need it. You can then get sets of the sizes you want. The degree of isolation is also different: 22db with the flanges; up to 30db with the memory foam. I've found i like the feel of the flange better than the foam, and for the environments i work in, including planes, the 22db is more than adequate.
Fit is critical to the sound experience of these headphones. Some people have said they've made their own modification to the 6i's flanged ear pieces cutting off the top flange so the larger two are left (scroll down this review on ilounge to see comments by people of their pre and post mod experience of the phones - all post mods are "wow these ARE awesome." - perception of the bass is particularly noted.)
Isolation vs Noise Canceling/Noise Reduction. Another attribute of the 6i's or indeed any good isolating phone is that it is better at reducing plane/train noise than "noise cancelation" headphones like the popular bose model - which also require batteries.
Now, a lot of people are happy with their £275 Quiet Comfort bose phones even though their web site does not say how many db's of sound are cancelled, whereas Sony's 99USD fontopia earbud noise cancelling headphones make clear they offer only 10dbs (70% of noise); etymotic's foam ear plugs are 30dbs; their 6i flanges are 22db.
For £80, with etymotic ER-6i's, you'll get both a better sound floor and better sound isolation in a lighter package than either Sony or Bose and one that doesn't require batteries. If you don't believe that, try this simple test: go somewhere where you can try a pair of the bose quiet comforts. Try them on, turned on. Then, remove headphones and stick in a pair of memory foam disposable type ear plugs (you don't squish in these: you roll them first to kinda compress them, then insert into the ear and hold for 5 secs: they expand to fit the ear canal shape). Which produces better noise reduction? If it's the ear plugs, imagine great sound coming through those plugs...
Aside: If you want to spend £275 on in-ear/isolation headphones, though, you can, and you can do much better in terms of both sound and isolation with that cash. See the Next Level section further down for how-to's. For about half that price, you can get some awesome professional level audio headsets, too!
Any Negatives? Hate the case. Ok, hate is a strong negative, but really. 
Etymotics provides a wee neoprene pouch for the phones with a mesh divider. This means stuffing the cables and earpieces into the thing. It's a mess and timely. ( See update bottom: the case has been changed and is a much better zip case)
An alternative device for storing 6i's is the earPod - a generic earphone case. Not quite as cools as sony's winding cases that come with their own headphones, but more durable, and will definitely fit the etymotic 6is as shown in this review at ipoditude.
Overall. The 6i's are a very good set of headphones. Whether you're listening to classical or house, the degree of detail in sound is impressive. The better the encoding the better the sound, of course, but even with lower bitrate encodings, these phones improve the experience.
The isolation is a boon for being able to turn the sound down and still hear an impressive and enjoyable level of detail. The isolation is also great for cutting out travel noise of the train/plane.
They take a bit to get used to in terms of learning how to put them in and get them out; and as other reviewers have noted, the difference between great and crap sound experience is all in the fit. Taking the time to get that fit right, though, pays off.
If you are looking for
- an improvement in audio experience on your ipod
- an improvement in your travel-with-audio commute experience
- a way to ensure the ongoing protection of your hearing
then these phones are a great option.
The Next Level: "Pro" IEMs
At the start of this article, i claimed these 6i's are an "affordable" package worth the price. Well, at around 150USD, "affordable" may be eye popping for folks used to thinking in terms of 20 bucks for earbuds. But that price is only the beginning.
In Canada, where i hail from, the term "brilliant" is gnerally reserved for truly outstandingly genius-like demonstrations of talent, intelligence, wit - whatever. It's not a term you hear often. If someone says "that was brilliant" or "she is brilliant" it's pretty much the highest degree complement with respect to intelligence or excellence one can achieve.
Not so in Britain (not prepared to generalize to the UK yet...).
In Britain, everything and anything can be "brilliant." Brilliant seems to be used in a way very similarly to the way "excellent" is used in most parts of North America. The one difference between the interchangeability of brilliant/excellent is the rather ironic way that brilliant can be used in the uk to indicate its opposite: you'll hear "oh that's just brilliant, isn't it" when something's really "a complete cock up" (to use another great brit'ism).
You'd rarely find a Canadian saying "oh that's just excellent" when it's a disaster. "That's just great...just great" is more common when going for reversal.
So if you're in the UK and someone says something you've done is "brilliant" - it's still a compliment, but it's just not as hot as you think were that epithet to be used back home. Alas.
Another expression that seems to have no Canadian equivalent is "bless 'em" or "lord bless 'em" or more simply "bless"
It's been harder to get a handle on when and how this particular expression gets used, but it seems to have something to do with covering one's ass after offering a critique of a person. Someone might say something to the effect of "he's not the sharpest tool in the shed" and follow this immediately with "bless him." The desired effect of the apostrophe "bless him" seems to be to mitigate the perceived harshness of the critique - so much to say "doesn't mean i don't like him or that he's not in other ways a nice person, no doubt."
The above interpretation is just deduction on my part based on the contexts of hearing the expression, and also the cultural context of observing the british reluctance (relative to canadians) of saying anything critical of anyone or anything.
This could well lead into an observation on canadian/british behaviour rather than word usage, but it's interesting to see how the two might be related.
It's just these small kinds of differences between english word usage that is part of the culture shock a person coming from Canada experiences when hitting the UK: the word differences become clues to deeper cultural differences that are more challenging to decode, because it's not a case of equivalences like "biscuit" in britain means "cookie" in Canada; it's a case of differences where there aren't parallels between the two places. So it sounds the same, but it isn't the same.
Even being in Britain for a few years now, i don't know how to interpret all the differences, but am better at recognizing them, and the recognition at least allows more comfort; less disorientation. I'll have to think of some examples anon.
Who'd a thunk it, eh? that two such supposedly historically close nations would have these, what would you call them, gaps in connection? I'm not sure what it's like for Brits going the other way, from here to Canada, if there's the same sort of sense of slight twilight zone off set. I have the impression of Canadians being so exposed, our heart, thoughts, everything on our sleeves, without being boisterous about it, that there'd be no difficulty getting a read on Canadian customs, practices and rationales for same. huh.
Mind you, try asking a Westerner why a Quebec'er may be a "separatist" and you'll soon see that we're not always so clear about our own culture(s), either...bless us.
