Hello, I'm quite new to head-fi, so bear with me.

I've spent the last week and a half searching the internet for a set of headphones. I originally set a very high budget for the AT W1000's and a gilmore amp. However, since my funds ended up being a little more limited, I decided to go with headphone's under $200. I searched the forums, and considered the AT-ATH900's, but also considered a pair of canalphone's for their isolation and portability. I ended up going with the Shure E1c's. I was considering the Ety ER6's, but from what I've read here, people seemed to prefer the E1's.

After buying, of course, I came across the threads describing Shure's and Westone's treatment of Ety Research and what seemed to be some really disturbing information about the E1's frequency response.

At the moment, I have the 'plugs plugged into a low-end pioneer reciever (which I can imagine sounds horrible in it's own right.) My source is a low-end pioneer cd player (I'll probably upgrade to something nicer, but would like to wait for SACD players to come down in price).

I've never spent so much money on headphone's before, and the nicest one's I've owned before were a set of Koss KSC35's a few years back. At the moment, the only 'phones I have to compare the E1's to are a set of really cheap sony street style's (which I can only describe as weak and boring...)

Strangely, however, when listening to music, I can enjoy the music for much longer periods of time with the cheap sony's. When I insert the E1c's, I must say that I'm very impressed with the bass. The higher end, however, doesn't fare too well. They seem perfectly capable of hitting the higher end of the spectrum, but the sound coming out of them is very "harsh" to the point where my ears hurt when listening at roughly the same volume as with the sony's. For instance, the "s" sound sounds more like a very high pitched "screech" with the E1's. With the sony's, an "s" is, more or less, an "s." I've tried distorting the treble and bass with the reciever, and at the default settings, the sound remains quite harsh.

Edit: I tried plugging them into a portable cd player. I also tried listening to a cd with a lot of acoustic guitar. I honestly think that the street style headphone's, on this portable player, reproduce the acoustic guitar more accurately than the E1's. The E1's just sound a bit muffled, while certain tone's seem to jump up to a very high pitch. For instance, when the performer taps on his guitar, each tap, as seen with other sounds, hurts the ears, even at lower volumes.

Does this have anything to do with the "spiked" frequency curve claimed by the Ety engineer?

Might these be defective headphones? Or, might this just be their characteristic sound? Or, might my sense of sound be distorted with the use of the sony headphone's?

I'm seriously considering putting a bid on a Marantz 1060 integrated amp just for the headphones, as I also notice a loud (surprisingly loud) hiss with my current reciever (and an added hiss when I turn the volume up).

Would a different headphone output take away the painful harshness? Or should I look elsewhere for a set of headphones? I probably should have ordered the ATH900's.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated,

O wow, sounds like the e1cs have lots of problems. I was just about to order the e2c's too. The model down from the pair that you have. Can any one offer advice / comments? Hmmm...

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derek

It's a little complicated, because the shure's are closed headphones. Closed 'phones seem to have a different sound to them. The sound from a guitar has to travel quite a long distance through the air before the sound waves hit your ear drums. Open headphones, for this same reason seem to have a much "lighter" sound to them.

The E1's are also very sensitive 'phones. They play much louder than the sony's using a regular a portable cd player.

No matter, amplifiers do make a difference. The E1's might just be bringing out the limitations of the amps I have at my disposal. That wouldn't surprise me at all.

For all I know, I could hook these up to an MG Head or a Gilmore and be knocked onto the floor by the sound quality.

I've never heard the E2c's, but from what other's have said, I chose to steer clear from them because of the supposed drop off on the high end. Lack of high end = bad in my book.

You might also want to look into a pair of Ety ER4s paired with a Marantz 1060 Integrated Amp. That might be a good route to go for low priced hi fi. The ER4p's can be driven from portable players also, and I hear you can get an adaptor for use with headphone amplifiers.

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That is only if consider a few recent posts. All in all when it comes to a legacy of good reputation the Ety's have it.

It definitely isn't an easy time to be a newbie on Head-fi...back in the day you didn't have so many phones or ears or mouths. There is no good consensus lately, you are really on your own to figure things out.

I can assure you however that looking for a flat neutral response has been overshadowed quite a bit lately for impact, big bass, and sparkling treble.

I love the E1's, but I can see what you're saying about the sound of say, an acoustic guitar. It is a wood bodied instrument, and I think that my portapros end up sounding fuller and easier on the ears than the E1's when it comes to stuff like that. The E1's are sort of like an in-ear version of the Sony V6/7506. Being that they are intended for use as in-ear monitors, the sound they produce can be very accurate and in your face, just like the V6's, although I think they're better at producing the mid-range than the V6/7506's do...

appar11, do the ety's have the same sort of "in-your-face" sound? I'm not getting that impression, but what have you experiences been with them, aside from bass response?

By the way, what sort of music do you listen to?

I ordered these 'phones directly from Shure. Do they have a good return policy? Having the E1's compared to Sony V6's makes me wonder if another set of 'phones would be a huge leap forward...

If all works well, I might return them, get my money back, and go with a safe bet. Here's what I have in mind:

AKG 501
Senn HD580
Grado SR225
Audio Technica ATH900

I listen to quite a variety of music, from classical to acoustic, world and quite a bit of electronic (especially bjork).

I might possibly consider the Ety ER6's, but I just don't trust the canalphone's anymore for a good presentation. I could be proven wrong though.

I also just ordered a vintage Marantz 1060 to power a pair of headphones. From what I have read, that amp should easily driver just about anything, including the AKG 1000.

I guess I'll be feeling my way through the dark for some time, but some day, I'll surely reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

spring-
I found them a little on the anemic side, straight out of the headphone out of a pcdp or md player. thin would be the best word to describe them. perhaps the ER6's really bloom with an amp, but I never use them in that situation. I think straight out of the headphone out, the E1's would be better. I don't think the E1's have "lots of problems" as pengin commented.

But to you, if the Sonys sound better than the E1's, then go with what sounds best to you. I can't tell you how many times I've tried headphones based on some of the recommendations here, only to be disappointed that they didn't live up to their expectations (the ER6's being the prime example).

appar111

It seems to be the semi-consensus around here that the ER6's really bloom with an amp, which is fine, as far as I'm concerned. I can always get some portapro's for portable listening.

I have a Marantz 1060 (1060B, actually), and the phone that seemed to "click" with it was the Senn 600. You should try and hear the phones you listed above with the amp to see what you like best, but I can tell you that given the four phones you listed the Senn 580 would make the best choice for use with the Marantz 1060.