[Britbonic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think there are annonomous employees and boosters of the headphone companies that suspiciously thread crap/steer people. I have nothing to prove this. It's just a hunch, that's all. No one should be surprised. I know it's difficult to fully ascertain the complete thought of someone else solely through the written (typed) word but you just shake your head when you read some of these posts. Guys...I probably jumped the gun here. My fault. I guess I was taken aback when reading Britbonics post that he has had Etys 3 years and still thinks the bass is terrible...but wants to like them, etc....it just sounded like a snidely way to crap on Ety but after reading it a few more times I see what he is saying. Britbonic, I apologize. If you call Ety Headquarters they will probably send you a pair of large ER-6i bi-flanges for free (if you explain your difficulty). It just may work. If it wasn't for those, I probably wouldn't own Etys. Again, it's all that works for me.

Apologies accepted. No problem.

FWIW, I don't think most the reputable manufactures -Ety, Shure,UE, etc would take the time nor advocate that their employees thread crap or try to steer discussions. I suspect that most would fire anyone caught engaging in such practices.

Thanks for your suggestion of the flanges. Actually I called them today and the woman I spoke to said there wasn't any larger flange but that they had some redesigned triple flanges with a longer stem which they are sending me.

 

[Britbonic]

Ok, so since my post I decided to go back and try the original triple flanges that came with the ER 4s again. I had tried them when I first got the phones but concluded that they didn't fit me correctly. This time I got them wet and pushed them in as far as they can go. And...

Wow, these things really do have some bass!! Not only that the top end has smoothed out nicely as compared with the large yellow foamies. Is it possible that the long tubes in the foamies add some harshness to the top end?

Mind you, these things are really deep in my ears. You can't even see or feel the white flanges. They're also a bit uncomfortable but at least now I understand where some of the bass may have been hiding.

 

[thomaspf]

I just received a pair of new ER-4P which came with a new type of triple flange and yes they have a lot of bass.

I come from a pair of ER-4S with custom ear molds that got lost and switched since I wanted to use them on more portable devices.

I also have a pair of HD600's and the ER-4P have no less bass then these but work much better on most of my portable gear.

Cheers

Thomas

 

[countach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think there are annonomous employees and boosters of the headphone companies that suspiciously thread crap/steer people. I have nothing to prove this. It's just a hunch, that's all. No one should be surprised. I know it's difficult to fully ascertain the complete thought of someone else solely through the written (typed) word but you just shake your head when you read some of these posts. (...)

Yep, you may have a point there.

A similar on the other side thing could be how funny commercial issues makes, for example, earphonesolutions, treat the ER·4 like a non recommendable earphone, compared with that Shure and other stuff they sold.

Note that I understand their commercial politic and will buy in earphonesolutions and recommend them as always did. (V-Moda for a gift are in my view point...)

But, having owned very different IEMs and being headphone addict since my childhood, you bet my opinions have to be sincere! (And living in the north of Spain surrounded by green mountains makes me hard to work in Etymotic corp.) lol

Knowing this, I can fully say that, in my experience, ER-4 are the best sounding IEMs I ever heard.

BTW, I understand people when don't hear bass in the Etys. It's hard to get the seal and most of them don't have the trained ear need to enjoy the delicate sound of this thingys. I note it when sometimes let my friends listen to them, they only say "great sound" instead of "wow i cant believe my ears!" which is what I feel instead. Si it's a matter of implication too.

Other simply prefers a more musical sound (sound decay issues, other response curve, etc) than the clinical one of the ER.

 

[Spyro]

That's a good point.

For me, with Etys, and why once people check them out and appreciate them, they can't go back...here's how I look at it (and, of course, my point is debatable).

Big bass, boomy bass, tight bass, liquid midrange, forward midrange, soundstage, etc......I look at these traits as various degrees of interpretation or colorations of what a recording was intended to sound like. But once you ear that Ety detail...it seems obvious that THAT is exactly what was intended to be heard and anything less is a direct sacrifice to the recording.

Having said that, and without coming off like an Ety fan boy, I could almost say I love my Shure E4's equally. Not quite as much detail but still pretty damn good but I love the wider soundstage and "thicker" sound.

 

[BrotherMovesOn]

I've owned the etymotic er6 and shure e3c in the past and there's just a few things I'd like to add. As countach suggested, if you feel a bit of suction like a vacuum then you have a good seal. If you're able to achieve a good seal and you still feel the bass is lacking, in addition to giving yourself time to get used to the sound, I would also suggest trying your earphones with other sources. I felt that my er6's just weren't capable of producing a whole lot of bass until I plugged them into the headphone jack of my jvc mini stereo. I was stunned by the amount of bass they were kicking out. I had the same experience later with the shure e3c which led me to conclude that my ipod was the real culprit with respect to lack of bass.

Unfortunately, if you try to use the bass boost equalizer setting on your ipod you'll most likely get distortion. Once you're able to get a good seal, try listening to them with another source where you're able to increase the bass without too much distortion. Hopefully you'll be as pleasantly surprised as I was.

 

[bellsprout]

I'm a big fan of Etymotic earphones. However one thing I'm not happy about with my ER-4S, compared to other IEM's I've tried, is the bass decay. I've heard plenty of complaints about Ety lacking bass, most because of insertion problems. I hear the bass loud enough, it goes deep enough, and I can't really complain about the impact, being a balanced armature IEM, but it really doesn't have enough decay for me to really enjoy.

I suppose it's a tradeoff being decay and speed. Ety's are so detailed however, that until u get to the UE10 pros would u consider an "upgrade". Having never heard the UE10 pros, I still wouldn't trade my ER-4S's for any IEM.

 

[EFN]

Just to add a few more (most of them already mentioned above). ER-4 is strong with bass. No doubt about it. But to get them presented properly, I have to use a poperly inserted and sealed stock foamies and they seal in perfectly after sitting in my ear canals after 7 to 10 minutes. Later I am switching to Shure Softflex tips and I hope to achieve a consistent seal....and easy.

The strength of Ety bass is the articulate bass extension which is deeper than my previous Alessandro MS-1, Sony MDR-E888LP and KOSS PortaPro. Being a Sony and Koss basshead before, I did not find bass lacking with Etys. But I do admit that they are slightly weak in bass slam compared to Grado, Sony and KOSS - but I don't mind that at all because I have learned to appreciate the uber clean bass output from my Ety.

I didn't even use bass boost or EQ on my Rio Karma because I don't need to. For your Ipod I recommend switching to Rockbox because Rockbock have better and effective EQ compared to iPod's.

 

[igor21000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EFN /img/forum/go_quote.gif Later I am switching to Shure Softflex tips and I hope to achieve a consistent seal....and easy.

I donno if you're new to the shure's softflex tips, or if i am, and don't know how to use them properly.
But, i just recieved a set of them and can't find a good position for them where they will isolate and produce good bass at the same time.

If you've already owned a set of these tips or know how they sound, then disregard my comment.

 

[germanium]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Britbonic /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ok, so since my post I decided to go back and try the original triple flanges that came with the ER 4s again. I had tried them when I first got the phones but concluded that they didn't fit me correctly. This time I got them wet and pushed them in as far as they can go. And... Wow, these things really do have some bass!! Not only that the top end has smoothed out nicely as compared with the large yellow foamies. Is it possible that the long tubes in the foamies add some harshness to the top end? Mind you, these things are really deep in my ears. You can't even see or feel the white flanges. They're also a bit uncomfortable but at least now I understand where some of the bass may have been hiding.

Glad you found the bass in these wonderfull phones. It is actually very impressive the amount that they have especially considering the small size of the driver & these go all the way down to 20 Hz & below without any trace of tubbiness. Incredibly rich sound!!

 

[chihku]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dpippel /img/forum/go_quote.gif There's some good advice in this thread: * Some people find that using the foamie tips gives the ER-4P/S better low end. They tend to seal better than the silicon triflanges for some people as well. It all depends on the shape of your ear canal. * Make sure you take the time the learn the proper insertion technique to ensure a good seal. A good seal is of PARAMOUNT importance in getting the best sound out of an IEM. An improper seal will result in exactly what you've described - almost zero bass response. * Most IEMs, the ER-4P included, use transducers to produce sound and do not "break in" like a diaphragm-based headphone driver would. What you hear is what you get right out of the box. Enjoy your Etys! They're one of the best IEMs on the market.

Agree!!
I think the Shure yellow foam is a good choice~
The bass is tighter and the amount of the bass is also increased.
The foam is also very comfortable, personally think it is more comfortable than any other silicon tips I've tried.
But... I think it also sucks up a little bit of the highs, making it not as bright

 

[Spyro]

On my Nano, I have always used "rock" setting as the universal default setting for pretty much every IEM I've used but with Etys I use "hip hop" and it seems to boost the bass a few dB with no distortion or degradation of the highs or midrange.