[TDRKZ]

Hey Head-Fi,
 
It's been a good 2-3 years since I put my wallet away but now my ER6i's have finally broken down. My left earpiece connection isn't working well and I'm not seeing any real way of fixing it. As I have been out of the fold for quite a long time, I went to the 140 something review sticky and went nuts through all the choices. In the end though, I want to hear from the community.
 
Budget is fairly flexible but I'd like to stay within the $50-100 range as this is simply going to be replacing my ER6i's (aka moving sideways) rather than a straight upgrade. I know a lot of people are wondering why I don't simply purchase another pair of ER6i's, however, I would really like to experience different headphones and I simply feel like it would be a waste to buy what I know. That said, I enjoy my headphones extremely detailed and "clinical". I don't like bloated bass and enjoy vocals/mids most in my music. I'm a little weary of sibilance and extreme sparkles in highs. Obviously the bigger the soundstage the better, and same with imaging. Isolation is important as is comfort. If I can keep using my Shure Black Olives that would be perfect. Less microphonics would be nice, but the ER6i has quite a bit of it that I eventually got used to so it's not a priority. Also know that I will not be using any sort of Amp/Dac.
 
Other than my portables, I also own and enjoy AD700's. There are a couple in-ears I have on mind, however I won't bring any up in the first post as I would like to see if my sentiments match the communities.
 
Glad to be back! (Though my Wallet isn't)
 
TDRKZ

 

[ClieOS]

I'll recommend Sunrise SW-Xcape. Beside being slightly warmer than ER6i, the overall presentation is similar, but better at detail, bass depth and soundstage. No sibilance and extreme sparkles to speak of, but doesn't isolate quite as good as Etymotic (then again, no other IEM really isolates better than Etymotic). It won't fit the olive though, no unless you de-cored it first.

 

[TDRKZ]

Is it more than just the Tips that create good isolation? I was always under the impression that it didn't matter what In Ears they were as long as the tips isolated well. What stands out the most with the SW-Xcape frequency wise?

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Is it more than just the Tips that create good isolation? I was always under the impression that it didn't matter what In Ears they were as long as the tips isolated well. What stands out the most with the SW-Xcape frequency wise?

Eartips are just part of the isolation equation. A big part of it is how the earpiece itself isolates, and you can't really change that.
 
The mid is slightly more pronounced, but I won't really call it a mid focus sound, overall it is still fairly flat and even.

 

[TDRKZ]

How is the Reliability? Are the wire connections to the earpieces reliable? The re-0 was something I was looking at but hearing about the breakdowns scared me.

 

[Berkovajazz]

Try new Meelectronics A151

 

[ClieOS]

I have not problem with the build quality, but obviously it really isn't something build to last forever. Overall, I think it is on par with ER6i cable, which is also not the most durable cable around but it will last if you treat it right.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Try new Meelectronics A151

Have you tried it yourself?

 

[kmhaynes]

If you like the Ety sound (clear details, strong mids, clean but sufficient bass), I would suggest you stay in the Ety family and move up to the HF5.  It is over your price range, but very much worth it.

 

[TDRKZ]

My friend has ER4p's that I have tried and didn't find any reason to move up to them when I tried it. HF5's weren't around back then so I don't know much about them. That said, I would likely stick with ER6i's if I were to stick with Ety. I wanted to explore a bit though into a slightly different sound signature or perhaps get an upgrade for the same price (better SQrice ratio).

 

[kmhaynes]

Quote:

My friend has ER4p's that I have tried and didn't find any reason to move up to them when I tried it. HF5's weren't around back then so I don't know much about them. That said, I would likely stick with ER6i's if I were to stick with Ety. I wanted to explore a bit though into a slightly different sound signature or perhaps get an upgrade for the same price (better SQrice ratio).

Gotcha.  The SW-Xcape and RE0 both are dynamic phones that sound very close to the Ety-type clear, lean, detail-oriented sound.  If you are wanting a try something different, you might want to look thru |joker|'s big thread here .
 

 

[Bones13]

Before you toss your ER6s be sure to check the filter.  The first thing that will stop one side is a clogged filter.
 
Yep, I have 2 pairs, one with new filters....

 

[TDRKZ]

When I wiggle the left wire and get it at a certain angle, sound is back again so I doubt it's the filter. If it's the filter then that would be great, I would just replace the filter. Unfortunately, I would have to buy some more to test so unless someone has had a similar problem and found that the loose connection was fixed by a filter change, I'm probably going to assume the wire connection is just frayed inside the earpiece.

 

[Berkovajazz]

Quote:

 
Budget is fairly flexible but I'd like to stay within the $50-100 range as this is simply going to be replacing my ER6i's (aka moving sideways) rather than a straight upgrade. I know a lot of people are wondering why I don't simply purchase another pair of ER6i's, however, I would really like to experience different headphones and I simply feel like it would be a waste to buy what I know. That said, I enjoy my headphones extremely detailed and "clinical". I don't like bloated bass and enjoy vocals/mids most in my music. I'm a little weary of sibilance and extreme sparkles in highs. Obviously the bigger the soundstage the better, and same with imaging. Isolation is important as is comfort. If I can keep using my Shure Black Olives that would be perfect. Less microphonics would be nice, but the ER6i has quite a bit of it that I eventually got used to so it's not a priority. Also know that I will not be using any sort of Amp/Dac.
 

Maybe MC Ety series will be good for you?
 
 
 
 

 

[Berkovajazz]

Waiting for them