[Sugano-san]

I've a question for those with lots of experience with IEMs:

In your (subjective) view, and based on your personal experience, what are the best sounding single-driver IEMs you are aware of, and why?

If possible, please include a brief summary of your favorite's pros and cons as compared to the Etymotic ER-4 P/S. Unless of course, that's your favorite, in which case I would be grateful if you could write what you like about them as compared to other IEMs.

Thanks in advance and best regards.

 

[kukrisna]

Hey

I have the Shure E4's and I love them to death. Bass is decent (very accurate), and the mids are really sweet. You'll be missing a bit of soundstage, but detail and separation are all there. Nice thick cord too that isnt really affected by microphonics. I haven't heard the etymotics but I do want to give them a try one day for a comparison, but I am very happy with my Shures currently.

 

[kin0kin]

it's not quite possible to say which is best...and to show you why...I dislike the e4 as much as the above poster likes it. I personally refer the er4. to me, the e4 sounded veil due to shure's treble roll-off (house sound), the bass is definitely better than the er4 in terms of quantity and quality...the er4 has little to no bass imho. The er4 also has some sort of tonal imbalance (a slight coloration in the mid range), aside from the bass and this coloration (as well as the very fungly look), I really like the er4 very much and it seems to be able to convey some details that is not easily heard even on the hd650. it really depends on the house sound that you prefer.

 

[jpelg]

Etymotic ER4P/S.

 

[BK89]

Check out Westone UM-1 (search for the "appreciation" thread). Just got a pair of these and they are sweet (my first IEM). Great looking, very low pro and comfortable. Have good bass and very detailed and accurate mid and highs.

 

[Jam_Master_J]

From a purely sonic standpoint I'd say the ety er-4 are slightly superior to Shure E4. E4 has fuller bass and pleasing mids but the ER-4 has great detail and texture. From a build quality/usability point of view, I greatly prefer the E4. The ER-4 seems cheap and brittle compared to the E4, and the microphonics are not well controlled.

 

[Sugano-san]

Thanks very much so far. Keep it coming!

 

[Mrvile]

Well, everyone's going to have different opinions. Each IEM is very good at a certain thing, so in the end it depends on what you like.

Anyway, I just got the E4's today and one cool thing about it is it controls microphonics very well - better than most IEMs. It does this is several different ways: it has a nice thick cord to dampen the sounds; it has the plastic adjuster so you can tighten it against your chin to prevent the cord from bouncing around; and most importantly, it's designed so the cords wrap around the ears, which takes a lot of stress off the cords.

Soundwise, the mids sound amazing, the bass is very tight and accurate but not "bumpin" in any way, and the highs are adequate. I did notice some slight rolloff in the highest piano notes of one of my favorite songs, which is pretty bad, but the rest of it sounds too good for it to be a major problem