Almost enough money to upgrade...finally.

[pez]

Ok guys I need help, and I'm relying on you guys to help me. So as some of you may know, in the past, I've always loved my Etymotic ER-6i's and my Super.fi 3's, but I've always wanted something around their sound sigs with more bass. I don't want muddy CX300 bass (bleh). I want Ety-like bass, but more of it. It can have a lot of bass, but I want to have details. I'm basically describing an Etymotic ER-6i with more bass. I want that, but I also want to take a step up. I want a REAL step-up. Price range is, say $180 tops, and from what I've read here are the ones that I am highly considering:

Jays q-JAYS $180

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro $170

Etymotic ER-4P $170

Futuresonics Atrio M5/M8 $160-180?

I would like to note, that I listen to metal, alternative, screamo, and some of the less crappy (c)rap. Also, if you guys have a used pair of these that you can cut me a good deal on, It would be appreciated.

Thanks, pez.

 

[Bull Moose]

Hey there! Well, I can speak from experience on the Atrio M5s. They are without a doubt the best value on IEMs that you'll find on the market at the moment. Their bass is ridiculously detailed and DEEP and they are particularly fantastic for Metal (I have oodles of metal). Bass drum kicks slam and guitars sing. Also, these are particularly awesome for live tracks because they have almost headphone-like soundstage (very unique for an IEM). Most people would say that they are on par with IEMs like the $300 Westone UM2 and I would definitely agree since I sold those to my brother once I got the atrios. Oddly enough I just bought a new pair of upgrade IEMs (Sleek Audio SA6) and I was thinking of putting my Atrios up for sale this week at probably $130 shipped with paypal fees included. Hit me up if you end up wanting these! Best of luck finding your sound!

 

[pez]

mmm, that does sound good, I'm leaning less torwards the super.fi's b/c of the over the ear fit, I like my sf3's, but I really like not having to do that. Anyone else? also, can't you wear the futuresonics straigth down? anyone have photos of this please?

 

[Bull Moose]

I don't have photos of it, but I'm sure you're bound to find a couple on the net. The great thing about them is that they work equally well in front and behind. They've got a memory wire near the earphones that are quite pliable so if you decide you would rather not wear them behind the ear, you can just straiten out the memory portion. Pretty sweet if you ask me.

 

[KUNFUCHOPSTICKS]

I went through the same thing about 2 weeks ago man. I had er-6i for over a year. I did decent amount of thread digging and I(many people) ruled out the UE superfi 5 because they are no where near the mid and high SQ of ETY ER-4p - bottom line.

Now i have no experience of Q-Jay and the other one. The Q-Jay is a bit suspicious to me in terms of size. They some how fit 2 balanced armature in a IEM smaller than 6i; either thats some crazy engineering that cost more than $180 or they sacrificed SQ in comparison to other double drivers.

So of course you know what my recommendation is. I find 4ps are a noticeable step over 6i, especially in bass.

 

[pez]

I've always meant to ask you kunfu, how would you compare the er-4p's to the er-6i? And how much more bass is there?

 

[pez]

Hmmm, I've thought about saving more until I've come to the option of putting th Triple.fi 10's in to play, but I've also heard that the Ety's are still preffered over those....so out of the ER-4P's and the TF10's, what should i do, Get the Ety's and have what seems to be exactly what I want, or the TF10's which I've heard to be the same?

 

[filipelli]

I find the livewires have a highly accurate sound like the etys with more bass to boot. Not in anyway muddy...just more crisp present bass.

 

[pez]

Ya, know, It almost drives me wild that I'd think this, but I just all of a sudden have a thought saying that if I have this money, I should upgrade my headphones. Maybe this is becasue they get more use....hmmm.

 

[KUNFUCHOPSTICKS]

There is a considerable wow factor between the 6i and 4p. Of course not as big of a wow factor when you upgraded from stock buds to 6i, but it's an improvement. I don't know if that improvement will be worth $170 to you. However, i don't think you will ever be able to find an upgrade from 6i that will give you the wow factor that same as upgrading from stock buds to 6i- 6is are that good. But the bass is better on 4p, more present, and even sharper mids and highs. Be prepared not to only hear, but to distinguish every single cymbal clash in every single song with the 4ps.
Also the value. For $170 you can have what was once $330 and what is still now the king of IEM with unmatched accuracy.- basically the bottom line. Of course you can spend $300+ more to get a triple driver; 2 of which are for bass (WHY?) and have the other mid driver be not good as ety 4p single driver.

 

[pez]

Yeah, now I'm fighting myself to see if I should get HP's or new IEM's, I'm happy with my ER-6i's, and I'll probably sell the SF3's to fund for new things, so I'll have to see what feedback I get on my other thread for HP's. Oh, also, have you gotten those tips yet kunfu?