Etymotic ER-4P, UE Triple.fi 10, Super.fi 5 Pro, Shure SE310, SE420, or SE530.

Ety ER4P bass is very deep. Midrange is very musica. Bass is lacking without EQ/amp.

With your 400$ budget, I vote for the ER4S and a good amp. My ER4S/Hornet combo is fantastic and the bass goes very deep. It's not as loud as the ER4P, but it's crispier bass and the treble is as wonderful as it gets. It's not for bassheads though...

If you look for a more portable solution, Triple.fi Pro are another interesting choice, most people say they have more bass than the Etymotic and keep the great treble. A lot of people, including me, have had problems with the UE fit and isolation, but YMMV. There seems to be a problem with recessed midrange too.

There's also the E500/530 which have great bass, but I wasn't fond of their sound signature. They're very warm and dark and they have trouble reproducing the high frequencies correctly. It seems they're kind of a love it/hate it affair on this forum.

In my quest to find a good sounding, isolating pair of IEM's, I recently purchased and demo'd several of the top contenders available from Shure and Ultimate Ears:

Shure SE530
Shure SE420
Shure SE310
Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10's

The two aspects I was looking for in a pair of IEMS were:

1. Sound Isolation - as my most frequent use of IEM is for cross country flights to California

2. Balanced / Neutral Presentation - I appreciate an accurate presentation, with little coloration to any aspect of the frequencies. My full sized headphones of choice are Beyer DT880's (600 ohm) and AKG K701's

In listening to each of the above referenced earphones, I do so using a flat equalizer setting on my Cowon iAudio 7 player.

The top two models from Shure (SE530 and SE420), are great earphones...with an emphasis though on presenting a warm sound. On both models the Bass / lower frequency were outstanding. Kind of reminded me of way a number of the Sennheiser Headphones sound. Out of the SE530 and SE420, I preferred the SE530...as the highs were better represented.


Next, I tried the Ultimate Ears Triple.Fi 10's...

The Triple.fi 10's are really great sounding IEM...amazing sound reproduction throughout the entire musical spectrum (lows, mids and highs). Definitely more balanced than either of the top Shure models (SE530 / SE420). The highs of the Triple.Fi 10's were excellent, not being far behind the highs presented in my Etymotic ER-4P's...

The two reasons negitive aspects of the UE Triple.Fi 10's were:

1. They didn't provide good sound isolation from the outside world I needed

2. Vocal representation - I felt on some songs, the vocals were "slightly" recessed (a common signature trait of UE's)

Both of these issues were really minor, but the more important of the two was the sound isolation.

So next...I decided to try the Shure SE310 model (after reading the review on Headroom). Additionally Tyll gave the SE310's high praise.

In listening to the Shure SE310, I felt this IEM provided excellent balance between the frequency spectrums (lows, mids and highs). Bass was not overpronounced like I felt on the SE530 and SE420. Clarity on the SE310 is excellent and the vocal presentation crystal clear and upfront.

In the end, I surprisingly chose the Shure SE310 as the keeper. For my purpose and musical preference, it met all the criteria. If I want to add a bit more warmth to the sound of the SE310, I simply tweek the equalizer on my iAudio slightly...that all. Additionally, the SE310 was the cheapest IEM of the group.

Considering that I allocated a budget of $500 for an IEM purchase, I must say that I surprised that my choice was the cheapest of the three...the SE310.

The Shure SE310 is probably the best if you plug in the headphone directly to the headphone out of your MP3 player. The Etymotic Research ER-4P (not reviewed by poster) is great sounding on a direct headphone port connection, but it is quite a bit more expensive than the SE310.

However, if you're willing to sacrifice a little sound quality you could save quite a bit more and get either the new Sennheiser CX-400 or the Shure SE110, both of which should be reaching retailers within the next few weeks.

I was surprised with the ER-4P. They are somewhat close to the Sennheiser HD600s I use, though for long term listening I much prefer non-in ear cans. For total portability and convenience those little ERs are fantastic for the $.

the shures are the best iem's in the list by a snippet but for highs the er4p have yet to be overtaken,anyway as the best in the list i voted se530 and if i could id put the triple fi in a very close 2nd and the er4 in a very good 3rd

maybe you should try the livewires, 250 dollar customs

Good job, guys... he wants more bass out of his ER-6i, and you recommend him the ER-4...

x2 its like what the hell????

Triple.Fi 10 Pro.


Only caveat would be comfort of the ear tips. But since you are fine with Super.Fi, and they share the same ear tips, you're golden.

-Ed

Yeah... I really don't want to sound cocky, but... if you want more bass, I suggest you go with something other than the ER-4. I can't tell you which, as I haven't heard any of the others.

er4 has very deeeep bass. Just not a whole lot of punch.

I'll take a deep, detailed bass over uncontrolled and punchy any day.


but unamped out of a DAP, go with e500. ER4 want a good source and amp to really sound good.