I posted this question in the "JH-13 Appreciation Thread", but it in a few hours it got buried in several pages of bickering about a completely different topic, so I'm reposting here.
Can anyone compare the JH-13 or ES3X with the ER-4P? The only comparison I have seen is Rdr. Seraphim's comparison with the ES3X.
I've owned the Etymotic ER-4P for almost a decade, but for various reasons (see last paragraph) haven't used them much in years. I've always wanted a custom-fit monitor, but I've never felt it was a justified expenditure until recently. I'll explain what I like about the ER-4P as a frame of reference, and then I'm hoping some folks who have heard both the ER-4P/S and either the JH-13 or ES3X can compare them.
I listen mostly to classical, and mostly through speakers. For me, classical of all genres is the most difficult to "get right". The ER-4P I find to be extremely good. I dug my pair out recently and gave it a whirl with a Vierne organ symphony (Ben van Oosten on MD&G), and it all came back to me. That symphony can sound "mushy" through a less-than-perfect audio system or with any background noise interfering. But with the isolation and detail of the ER4P, I could hear all the nuances of the instrument through the reverberation of the church. The movement of the stops, the subtle shading of the registers, and so forth. For music like this, being able to resolve all of that information makes the difference between truly listening to it and not listening to it at all, if you know what I mean. I am one of those folks who thinks that the ER4P is very bass-deficient. For me, bass is the Achilles Heel of the Etys. But I would much much rather headphone/speakers to lack bass then to have too much of it or for it to be at all muddy or loose. With the ER4P I feel like I'm getting a nearly transparent window into the recording, except that it's blocking out the bass. I'm not an equipment nut and haven't heard too many other headphones, but the ones I have heard are unsatisfying compared to the ER4P. Sennheiser HD600: horribly veiled. Beyerdynamic DT880: better but still quite veiled. Grado SR225: one of the most colored transducers I've ever heard. AKG K501 (own): nothing special. Sony MDR-SA5000 (own): the most Ety-like of the lot and with better bass, but somehow colored.
So that brings me to my question. Will the JH-13 or ES3X have the transparency (resolving power, lack of coloration, harmonic correctness, "nothing added") that I like about the ER-4P? For me, words like "warm", "fun", "forgiving", and "laid-back" are usually (but not always) bad words. But there have also been raves that would lead me to believe that the JH-13 and the ES3X put the Etys quite in the shade in every single aspect of sound reproduction.
Someone may ask why I'm considering the purchase at all if I'm so happy with the Etys. In short, three reasons, in decreasing order of priority: (1) microphonics, (2) comfort, (3) bass.
Can anyone compare the JH-13 or ES3X with the ER-4P? The only comparison I have seen is Rdr. Seraphim's comparison with the ES3X.
I've owned the Etymotic ER-4P for almost a decade, but for various reasons (see last paragraph) haven't used them much in years. I've always wanted a custom-fit monitor, but I've never felt it was a justified expenditure until recently. I'll explain what I like about the ER-4P as a frame of reference, and then I'm hoping some folks who have heard both the ER-4P/S and either the JH-13 or ES3X can compare them.
I listen mostly to classical, and mostly through speakers. For me, classical of all genres is the most difficult to "get right". The ER-4P I find to be extremely good. I dug my pair out recently and gave it a whirl with a Vierne organ symphony (Ben van Oosten on MD&G), and it all came back to me. That symphony can sound "mushy" through a less-than-perfect audio system or with any background noise interfering. But with the isolation and detail of the ER4P, I could hear all the nuances of the instrument through the reverberation of the church. The movement of the stops, the subtle shading of the registers, and so forth. For music like this, being able to resolve all of that information makes the difference between truly listening to it and not listening to it at all, if you know what I mean. I am one of those folks who thinks that the ER4P is very bass-deficient. For me, bass is the Achilles Heel of the Etys. But I would much much rather headphone/speakers to lack bass then to have too much of it or for it to be at all muddy or loose. With the ER4P I feel like I'm getting a nearly transparent window into the recording, except that it's blocking out the bass. I'm not an equipment nut and haven't heard too many other headphones, but the ones I have heard are unsatisfying compared to the ER4P. Sennheiser HD600: horribly veiled. Beyerdynamic DT880: better but still quite veiled. Grado SR225: one of the most colored transducers I've ever heard. AKG K501 (own): nothing special. Sony MDR-SA5000 (own): the most Ety-like of the lot and with better bass, but somehow colored.
So that brings me to my question. Will the JH-13 or ES3X have the transparency (resolving power, lack of coloration, harmonic correctness, "nothing added") that I like about the ER-4P? For me, words like "warm", "fun", "forgiving", and "laid-back" are usually (but not always) bad words. But there have also been raves that would lead me to believe that the JH-13 and the ES3X put the Etys quite in the shade in every single aspect of sound reproduction.
Someone may ask why I'm considering the purchase at all if I'm so happy with the Etys. In short, three reasons, in decreasing order of priority: (1) microphonics, (2) comfort, (3) bass.
