Press Release:

Etymotic Research Introduces Industry’s First In-the-Ear Wireless Bluetooth® Stereo Earphones

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Etymotic Research, the inventor of in-the-ear high-fidelity earphones, today introduced the ety•8™ Bluetooth stereo earphones, the industry’s first and only in-the-ear wireless earphones. The ety•8 earphones also are the only Bluetooth earphones with high-accuracy sound reproduction and full noise exclusion.

The new earphones are the smallest stereo Bluetooth earphones, able to fit easily in a pocket or purse. Each earphone weighs less than half an ounce; one contains the battery and the other the circuit antenna and controls. The ety•8 earphones, which work with iPod devices and other Bluetooth-enabled music players, are supported completely by the ear canal – with no external support required – for comfortable long-term use. A large selection of eartips is supplied to accommodate different ear sizes.

As the first wireless in-the-ear earphones, the ety•8 Bluetooth earphones give users much more freedom of movement and flexibility in how they listen to their music players. For example, users can place their iPod® players in a pocket or armband or on a nearby desk or table – and listen to music wirelessly and privately while exercising or moving about, without having to manage wires between the iPod and the earphones.

Smallest and first in-the-ear Bluetooth stereo earphones

“The reason no one has previously introduced an in-the-ear Bluetooth stereo earphone is that it’s extremely difficult to achieve a small enough design that works effectively,” said Mead C. Killion, Ph.D., founder and president of Etymotic Research and adjunct professor of audiology at Northwestern University. “We were able to overcome the technological hurdles – and to deliver Bluetooth stereo without any compromises – by applying our expertise in miniaturized sound transducers and electronics and by taking advantage of newly developed components.”

In particular, Etymotic took advantage of the following:

* The earphones use the new low-power, full-bandwidth Broadcom BCM-2037 chip set, which represents a major advance in Bluetooth technology. The small size and low current drain of the Broadcom chip set helped Etymotic to reduce the size of its stereo Bluetooth earphones and minimize power consumption
* Etymotic was able to make its in-the-ear wireless earphones extremely small – without sacrificing efficiency – thanks to its patent-pending antenna design that folds to fit into the tiny earphone case without losing efficiency. Existing Bluetooth devices require much longer antennas and thus significantly larger packages.
* The battery in the ety•8 earphones offers very high efficiency and lasts seven to 10 hours per charge.

Innovative iPod adapter

A unique feature of the ety•8 Bluetooth earphones is Etymotic’s 8Mate™ iPod adapter, which provides two-way communication with the newest iPod players (including first- and second-generation Nano and fifth-generation iPod players). This first-of-its-kind Bluetooth adapter wirelessly connects the iPod to the earphones and lets users control the sound volume, track selection, play/pause and previous/next functions from both the earphone and the iPod.

The patent-pending 8Mate iPod adapter represents a sophisticated enhancement to current accessories (both docking speakers and wireless earphones) that connect to the iPod, which require the volume to be controlled at the receiving end, not at the iPod. In contrast, the Made for iPod® 8Mate adapter ensures that the iPod display shows the correct volume or track setting, regardless of which control location is used.

Better sound brought to wireless operation

The new ety•8 Bluetooth earphones join Etymotic’s existing line of noise isolating earphones:

* the ER•4 MicroPro Earphones – offering the highest accuracy and greatest noise isolation, designed for audiophiles, musicians and recording engineers
* ER•6 Isolator Earphones – next highest accuracy and noise isolation, a lower-cost alternative to the ER•4
* the 6i Isolator Earphones – offering enhanced bass response and higher sensitivity for personal digital music players

“We invented in-the-ear technology in 1984 as an outgrowth of our work in the hearing aid industry, specifically the design of products that measure, improve and protect hearing,” explained Killion. “Our in-the-ear Bluetooth earphones – which arose from this same innovative line of research – reproduce the original sound more accurately than any other wireless earphone technology available today.”

The ety•8 Bluetooth earphones also provide users with the highest fidelity Bluetooth listening experience, sampling the sound at 44.1K bits per second (bps).

ety•8 Bluetooth earphones promote safe listening

In addition to being the first in-the-ear Bluetooth stereo earphones, the ety•8 earphones are also the first Bluetooth earphones to provide 35 dB to 40 dB noise exclusion. This level of noise exclusion drops the typical 80 dB airplane cabin noise level down to the 40-45 dB level of a typical living room, which greatly improves users’ ability to hear the sounds coming through the earphones. It is more than twice as effective as over-the-ear headphones with electronic noise canceling circuitry and equals that of Etymotic’s other earphones, known for their high degree of noise isolation.

Thanks to these noise-excluding capabilities, users of the ety•8 earphones do not feel the need to turn up the volume too high: Recent studies show that when outside noise is excluded, people tend to naturally choose a listening level safe for their ears.

Price and Availability

The ety•8 Bluetooth earphones will ship in early December and will be sold through Etymotic’s usual retail, distribution and reseller channels, including Amazon.com, J&R Music and Etymotic.com. The retail price will be $299 for iPod versions that include the 8Mate iPod adapter and $199 for the earphones alone. Both versions are supplied with an assortment of earphone tips, extra filters and a pocket-size leather carrying case.