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I am trying out my new Apuresound Ety S cable with my Lisa III, and I have found with some tweaking that it sounds very warm and yet still detailed. The midrange and treble are very natural sounding, but I would say the bass is maybe a little slow and thick.(Correction: See the following post) The bass boost on the Lisa does allow a rich filling in of the bass, and it does sound way better with the bass boost turned up. The overall tonal balance is good with the added bass, and it is an easy to listen to and fun feeling to the low end. I just sense it could be a little tighter, but the midrange and treble are sounding so good that I am not really missing my tricked out home setup that included a Yamamoto amp, AT-W1000s and an Echofone (see my review of the Echofone which is a kind of supertweeter for headphones here:Echofone, a super-tweeter for headphone users or the hearing impaired
Overall the Apuresound S cable is a definite improvement over the stock P cable. Also on the Lisa, the P is so sensitive that there is not much range to the volume control. The levels are way high even with the volume turned up just 10-15%. So in that respect the S cable is a better match with the Lisa.
Another factor that improves my enjoyment is taking my whole rig out in the backyard which gets me away from all of the energetic influences of the environment indoors, as per the Belt's theories. That is why I am switching over to a more portable rig. You can read more about my motivation on this thread on Audio Asylum: Isolation Ward
and more about the Belts at: P.W.B. Electronics Home Page
For a little context, here is my setup right now:
Dell laptop with Vista (SP1) and WMP with Burwen Bobcat, All files in WAV format
Trends UD10 (using the built in DAC which sounds amazingly good for the price)
Dakiom stabilizer
Signal Cable Silver Reference IC with Z-Cable Z-Sleeve Extra Heavy
Lisa III
Etys with Apuresound S cable
I mentioned tweaking and I have the EQ in WMP set to approximate the frequency curve mentioned here: Reference earphones
I say approximate because the sliders in WMP are at 2KHZ and 8Khz instead of 2.5 and 7.5 as suggested on the linkwitz lab page.
I also use the SRS Wow feature in WMP very sparingly to give a little more space and fullness to the sound. This works as long as you do not overdo it.
Last edited by Nirmalanow; 04-13-2008 at 11:52 PM.
Correction: It was not the Lisa III that was fuzzing up my bass. It was either the bass boost in the SRS feature of Windows Media Player or else the combination of the bass boost in SRS with the Bass boost on the Lisa was overdriving my Etys. This is a completely new setup for me and so I am still learning how to get the most out of it. But without the bass boost on in the SRS and the bass on the Lisa turned down a bit, the bass tightens right up and there is nice detail from top to bottom. As usual with these kinds of signal modifiers, I find I like the change in sound, but then I get tired of the effect usually due to some distortion or as in this case blurring of the sound. I am still using the Wow feature by itself as it does add a nice fullness and 3D effect to the sound. Without it the sound is a little too much in my head.
And overall, I am really loving this combination of Lisa III with the Ety/Apuresound headphones. It is amazing to me how close it comes to the sound I was getting with my Yamamoto and AT-W1000s with the Echofone. And for about half the price. I would say the Yammy setup had a certain tone the Etys can't match, and the Echofone added a truly amazing three dimensional quality to the sound. But as I tweak my new setup, I keep getting closer and closer. And as my memory of the other system fades, it matters less and less. As I mentioned I like having it semi-portable so I can take it outside and listen in the back yard. What a treat to have such great music while watching the clouds and sun and trees swaying in the wind.
Last edited by Nirmalanow; 04-14-2008 at 12:08 AM.
By the way, those EQ settings really make a nice difference. Without the EQ the Etys still sound a bit bright and thin, even with the Apuresound cable. But with the EQ the sound fills in very nicely.
The idea of running the cable up over your ears to reduce microphonics works wonders with the regular Ety cable also.
How does this work with the ER4P? The cables come out of the driver housing at a 45-degree angle.
I tried to wear my ER6i upside-down and run the cable over my ears, but it changed the position of the driver housing in my outer ear (angled up instead of down) and I couldn't maintain a seal.
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How does this work with the ER4P? The cables come out of the driver housing at a 45-degree angle.
I tried to wear my ER6i upside-down and run the cable over my ears, but it changed the position of the driver housing in my outer ear (angled up instead of down) and I couldn't maintain a seal.
I've never tried the ER6i, so I can't comment on them. The ER4 can be inserted so that the cord exits toward the top/front of your head, and you can wrap it around the top of your ear. It is not nearly as elegant as the E500/SE530, which is intended to be worn that way (as you say, the ER4 cable exits outward at an angle, so it sticks out a bit), but it does the trick. It eliminated microphonics for me, which were a real problem for me before. It helps if you have glasses on, so you can insert the cord between your glasses and head as it passes the back of your ear to help keep things in place.
Linear Mode
