FWIW the E530's do not hiss. No IEM hisses. Hiss comes from the source and IEMs that are on the sensitive side (such as the E530) simply tend to reveal it more. Get a quiet DAP and you won't hear any hiss (I hear virtually none from my ZVM.)
I also can't agree that the E530 do not respond to EQ. On the contrary, they respond very well to some treble boost (along with slight mid-bass cut) which will make them sound more balanced and pretty near perfect... albeit without the extreme high-end resolution of the ER-4 which just about nothing else can match. Too bad that characteristic comes at so high a sonic price though (thin presentation everywhere else), as others have noted.
Otherwise I agree with the balance of the comments in the thread and those about the ER-4 in particular. Superb transducer when backed up up with the right source, amp, and EQ, but without these they're a one-trick pony and sadly not very suitable for a barefoot DAP.
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