klipsch S4, Fiio E5, Ety MC5, Ety er6i
Jul 7, 2010 at 1:13 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 11

NR76

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Some of this is probably obvious to the more experienced folks here, but I would like to share my impressions anyhow for anyone who is relative novice like me.
 
I am working with limited budget and am currently in the process of selecting betwen Klipsch S4 and Ety MC5 (awaiting arrival). And, while I was at it, I decided to order Fiio E5 to find out myself if I could hear any difference with the inexpensive amp. My only experience with good earphones prior to this is with er6i that I had for three years until a few weeks back and hearing two tracks on Shure SE530.
 
So, here are my findings so far. You will notice that I have nothing for MC5 yet, but I hope to get them tomorrow and will post my impressions then.
 
1. Klipsch S4 vs. er6i- I have had S4 for about a week now. Burnt in for 100+ hours. I had er6i for three years, but they broke a few weeks back.
 
SQ:
ER6i: Great clarity of sound. Never felt overwhelmed by the lows, mids or the highs. The lows were lacking sometimes - there were some tracks that demanded bass quantity and they didn't sound that great without the bass.
 
S4:Initially, the sound on S4 seemed muddy enough to me for me to contemplate returning right after listening in the parking lot. The bass seemed too overwhelming on a few tracks. Also, more than my ety er6i, they really seemed to bring out the weaknesses in some of my poorly recorded / older tracks. However, after a week of listening, they sound much better to me now. I do not have my er6i to compare, but I do not miss the clear highs as much now as I was missing the first day. I cannot tell if they have grown on me or if the sound quality has improved with burn in. In terms of bass, the quantity is way more than ety er6i and I was amazed at what I was missing on some tracks that really demanded good bass presentation. Also, the sound stage on S4 seems wider / better to me than er6i.
 
Score: S4 = er6i, so far for me. Might be different if I could do A/B between S4 and er6i. From my memory, loved the clarity of er6i; like the bass and sound stage of S4.
 
Comfort: I am using the medium tips that come with S4 now. They are a lot more comfortable than the tri flange or any other tips I used with my ety er6i. With the tri flange in er6i, my ears always felt sore after long hours of listening on flights.
 
Score: S4 > er6i
 
Isolation: I used tri flange with er6i and they take isolate way better than S4 with any tip. With er6i, it used to be close to silence even when I was not playing any music. I loved them especially on long flights. S4 seem a tad better than normal earbuds but not as good as er6i.
 
I did realize, though, that the isolation from S4 may be enough too. I was listening music on S4 when my house burglar alarm system went off, and I did not hear anything until the music stopped. And even then, it took me a while to realize that the soft intermittent sound I was hearing was the blaring burglar alarm! I would love to try these on a long flight to see if they work out well enough or not.
 
Score: er6i > S4
 
2. S4 vs. S4 amped with FiiO e5:
I cannot tell the difference. It there is any, I am still missing it after testing for a day. Maybe my impressions will change after some more listening, but right now, I would say that getting FiiO E5 is a waste of money for a non trained ear like mine. E5 is actually very small - almost like iPod shuffle - but I don't think it is worth carrying aroudn with the extra wiring, charging etc. for a sound difference that is almost impreceptible.
 
Thanks.
 
Jul 7, 2010 at 10:54 AM Post #2 of 11
THe Klipsch Image S4's were the first set of headphones(of any variety) that I spent more than $30 on.  The reviews all lead me to think it was the best buy I could make for the money (under $100).  I am not disappointed.  It's mind boggling to me that I spent so long listening with stock headphones.  Night and Day doesn't even begin to describe it.  The high bitrate acoustic songs, especially, blow me away.  I'm not a big Eagles guy, but the first high bitrate song I heard was a live acoustic version of Hotel California.  Incredible.
 
I'm confused about the burn-in, though.  I emailed Klipsch after I bought the S4's because I had heard mixed reviews of the burn-in process.  I heard many different ways to burn in, different lengths of time, and quite a few people even said that there is no difference in sound quality after burn in.  One manufacturer suggested that all it does is eject dust and other particles that were built in to the housing at the factory.
 
When I emailed Klipsch, they replied that they put (at least the) S4's through a short burn-in period at the factory prior to packaging and that I may or may not perceive any noticeable difference in sound quality.  Pretty ambiguous.
 
Did you listen to the S4's, even for a second, before burning them in?  Did you notice a definite difference in sound quality?
 
I didn't burn in my first pair, and they sounded incredible the whole time I owned them.  But, I've never owned a pair of quality headphones, so my perception is skewed.
 
I will have a new pair of S4's within a month and I am weighing the merits of burning them in.
 
Thanks.
 
Jul 7, 2010 at 11:03 AM Post #3 of 11
I am new to the forums and recently bought myself a fiio E5  as a starter amp to go with my ipod.
-Do you use a (LOD) Line Out Dock ? -it makes a big difference.
 
What I have found is that the quality of my bad music (low kbps MP3s etc ) definitely has more SQ and sounds fuller.
 
There is not much difference straight from ipod  instead of  via fiio E5 for lossless music via CD burning.
 
Jul 8, 2010 at 2:17 AM Post #4 of 11
@NegativeAtheist: I do not know if burning in made a lot of difference in sound quality for S4 or not. It may be that I just got used to the sound signature. However, I have seen posts on this forum that burning in S4 at a slightly higher volume that you would usually listen them at helps. Ofcourse, there is no reason you could not hear them while they burn in.
 
ExpatinJapan: I am no audiophile really. I would like to get good sound, but buying / carrying around another piece of equipment doesn't sound like a good idea to me. S4 sound good enough for my purposes even now.
 
Jul 8, 2010 at 2:22 AM Post #5 of 11
I got my ER MC5 today. And, to put it mildly, I am not overwhelmed by them. The bass on MC5 is certainly thinner than S4. When I amp them with FiiO E5, the bass is better, but not as much in quantity as S4. It may be that I am a bass head (despite having loved my er6i for three years), but S4 sound much sweeter to me right now. I have heard a lot here about how the highs roll off on S4 or how they are clear with Ety, but I cannot hear anything on the highs with Ety MC5 that I is not present with S4. On the other hand, S4 sound much more rounded/complete (warmer?) than Ety. I cannot tell if er6i sounded better, but MC5 and Fiio E5 are going back.
 
Jul 8, 2010 at 8:32 AM Post #6 of 11
Too bad. I recently had a pair of er6i (bought them used, they were my second pair) for my Ety stock, and to me, the MC5s have it all over the er6i. I sold my S4s awhile ago, but with my players (J3, Touch) the MC5s have plenty of bass for my tastes. I also use a pretty decent amp, the iBasso T3, with the Touch LOD and sometimes use the bass EQ, which I am not against using now and again, to boost the bass without the amp. But I am a real believer in burn-in, and I hated the S4s out of the box until they crossed the 100-hour mark, and I am not alone (if you read the early S4 thread pages). To me, they were as harsh (sibiliant) as any IEMs I had ever owned until I ran them in. Sorry you didn't like the MC5s, but I really do believe 50+ hours of constant play at a decent volume shakes them up a bit. Glad you can get your money back though.
 
Jul 8, 2010 at 5:59 PM Post #9 of 11
hi to all, i'm a newbie here
happy_face1.gif

 
i'm planning to buy Klipsch s4i, do anyone here have one? i just need some reviews or feedback. thanks!
 
Jul 9, 2010 at 12:29 AM Post #11 of 11
I have owned the s4i's for more than six months. I wear them at work in a noisy environment up to ten hours a day, my droid as the source. Not only are these comfortable for extended periods but they block out so much machine noise that I listen to them at much lower levels and my ears thank me for that. When I listen to the same music in my car on the way home from work I'm so disappointed in the sound quality I can't wait to get home and put on my hd650's. Can't go wrong with these iem's for the price.
 

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