[wiped]

Hello

I have been reading trough a massive amounts of threads here while trying to decide what headphones to get.
In sweden i can't try the ER4P so... i need a few things answered
One of the most common "complaints" on the etys seams top be the lack of bass, now im wondering if:

- The bass is true to the recording or if it's "lower" than should be from the recording, the reason for asking is that many people say that shte shures 5's have so much bass, BUT is the bass truo to the recording or is the bass in the 5's to much? I know that some people just LOVE bass and listen to music with to much bass... My goal is to get phones that has bass as the music/artist wanted to have in the recording.
For example if the bass guitarr in a recording is at . level 5 i don't want it on level 6 and above, but i don't want it on level 4 or below either.
Perhaps someone could give me a figure on the actuall bass troughput..
4-6 would be ok i guess, and yes i know that it differes depending on the insertion etc, but answer from your experience and please also write what foam you use etc..

- The bass is better than in the sony ex-70's or if it's equal to this headphone, this i need answered since i have those phones and it can give me something to compare it to, i would be happy if someone owning both phones could give me the differences regarding bass.

- The phones is confy enough to use 2-3 hours each day without problems, with many ins and out's (which is most interesting to know); does it work ok to take themn out and put them in 10-20 times per day?

- If they isolate so much that if you sit next to a phone at normal phone signal level , you don't hear the phoen ring when you listen, strange question perhaps but perhaps someone has an intersting answer.

 

[plainsong]

I find the bass to be true to the recording, no more, no less. The bass isn't exagerated, nor is it recessed (like say, on the d66 eggos)...the low notes are there just like the high notes. Now obviously the sound becomes more full as you're able to plug your etys into a nicer setup with a headphone amp, but you should still be able to get your truth even with something like an ipod. Of course, the truth may not be what you want to hear if you haven't been encoding your music at a high enough bitrate.

I've not ever heard the Shure E5s, but I get an exagerated sound from my Shure E3s. I'm not sure what was really wrong. Was it a bass hump that made the midrange and treble sound wrong? I don't know, but whatever it was, it wasn't for me.

I don't have the ex71's either, but have read that they have a bloated bass. I'm sure some others can jump in here and give you a better comparison.

These are canalphones so how comfy they are will depend mostly on you. For my part, I can use them for a 3 hour session easily. The only annoying thing is that sometimes it's hsrd to get a seal, like the canalphone gods are against you on that day. Then the next day, no problems at all, and my ears don't really produce enough wax as it is, so it's not that. I think people experience this no matter what brand they choose. I don't have to take them in and out so often, it could maybe irritate your ears, but I'm not sure.

And with music playing, and using the silicone tips, I think I might...might hear the phone. It depends on what music's playing. But with the foamies with music playing, no I wouldn't hear the phone.

Hope this helps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wiped Hello - The bass is true to the recording or if it's "lower" than should be from the recording, the reason for asking is that many people say that shte shures 5's have so much bass, BUT is the bass truo to the recording or is the bass in the 5's to much? I know that some people just LOVE bass and listen to music with to much bass... My goal is to get phones that has bass as the music/artist wanted to have in the recording. For example if the bass guitarr in a recording is at . level 5 i don't want it on level 6 and above, but i don't want it on level 4 or below either. Perhaps someone could give me a figure on the actuall bass troughput.. 4-6 would be ok i guess, and yes i know that it differes depending on the insertion etc, but answer from your experience and please also write what foam you use etc.. - The bass is better than in the sony ex-70's or if it's equal to this headphone, this i need answered since i have those phones and it can give me something to compare it to, i would be happy if someone owning both phones could give me the differences regarding bass. - The phones is confy enough to use 2-3 hours each day without problems, with many ins and out's (which is most interesting to know); does it work ok to take themn out and put them in 10-20 times per day? - If they isolate so much that if you sit next to a phone at normal phone signal level , you don't hear the phoen ring when you listen, strange question perhaps but perhaps someone has an intersting answer.

 

[Vertigo-1]

1. I wouldn't call the 4P's bass true to the recording, although the 4Ps do have the most bass out of the three ER-4s, to the point where I'd call its bass bloated. The 4S and 4B on the other hand have a bass response that's closer to what I would consider flat. However, you do need a very good amp to get a deep bass response out of the ER-4S/B.


2. The 4P would still have a better and truer bass response than the EX70s, which pretty much have a one note bass response. The 4P just doesn't have as defined a bass response as the 4S/B.

3. My ears get pretty irritated if I try to take the Etys out and reinsert them 3-5 times in a row, as I find the original Etymotic tips pretty abrasive. What I ended up doing was modding my ER-4Bs so that I could use the EX70 tips on them (you can find the thread about it probably on page 2-3). With the EX70 tips, I don't have a problem with taking off and putting the Etymotics back on.

4. Yes, if you had music playing with the Etymotics on, chances are you wouldn't hear the phone ringing, even if it were right next to you. When I let someone else try my Etymotics, the first thing I'll do after they put it on is clap my hands to see if they can hear the claps. If they have a good seal, they won't even notice I clapped my hands.

 

[TonyTripleA]

Well, you are asking the right questions:

- comfort = for me the foamies (rather than the silicone plugs) are heaps comfy. I wear them for 7 hours a day with about a 10 minute break every hour or two (and I only have the break cause the phone rings).

- you will have trouble hearing a telephone if you like volume high. I have the volume low at work and usually manage to hear the phone. The problem is often that I am concentrating on work stuff... the etys then make distractions dissappear (including the noise of office conversations, and that has to be a plus).

Sometimes I don't even hear someone walk into my office... but I do know that the silicone plugs don't isolate as much. Me, I LOVE the isolation and besides voicemail (a flash answering machine) is useless if you don't use it.

- I don't think its fair to say the recessed bass in the etys is a problem. Its a characteristic, its got bass but not with "punch". Nevertheless, sometimes I find I'm grooving along to led zeplin with unparralled clarity, and its the clarity that makes etys soooo gooood. Lyrics you could never hear become, well clear. Sounds in the symphony suddenly become apparent, like you never heard it before.


My guess is that most people who get etys will never get rid of them no matter how good the sound of speakers or other headphones might be (I sure wouldn't). Because, on clarity, I just don't think they are easily beaten, and if they are I'd sure like to know by what.

Have fun deciding then get 'em!

Cheers,

TonyAAA

 

[ampgalore]

I have owned the ER4P with the 4P to 4S adapter for almost a month now. I did a bit of comparison with the HD600. Yes, it is true that ER4's bass response cannot compare with the HD600. But after many hours of listening to the ER4, I feel the bass response is adequate.

I am using foamies, not the silicone tips. The foamies are very comfortable. And they block out outside noise extremely well.

 

[ampgalore]

Almost forgot about the EX71, I have a pair of those as well. Even to my untrained ears, I can tell there is a substantial trebble/midrange roll off on these earbuds, the bass is bloated. For non-critical listening, they are okay. But after I've spent soemtime with the ER4, I can't bear to listen to them anymore.

But the EX71 is very comfortable to wear, more so than the ER4.

 

[TonyTripleA]

I agree with you Ampgalore, I forgot about my ex71 buds as well and I share your sentiments. The midrange is removed at the factory. The bass is overblown but comfort is terrific and for vigorous exercise they are my preference (I use them for cycling as they don't fall out, fit is very good).

Not sure the cable will last on the ex71s, but two months of cycling most days has not caused it to fail.

Cheers,

TonyAAA

 

[ampgalore]

I second Tony on the EX71. They are adequate for non-critical listening, for listening on the go. And I don't really mind if I accidentally lose them.

As for the Etys, I will always keep them, because they block out outside noise so well. In a noisy environment such as a lab with all kinds of equipment running, the Etys are a godsend to protect my hearing, and sanity.

As to not hearing the phone ringing with the Etys on, that can really happen. A couple of times when I had my Etys on, I couldn't hear my roommate walking up to me until he tapped me on my shoulder (live in a dorm).

 

[DJGeorgeT]

IMHO, the ety ER4S has the right amount of bass. In other words, not too much and not too litte. I use the ER4P+S cable almost all the time. Foamies provide the best seal and the best bass sound.

I think the E5 is not neutral. Aside from it lacking detail in comparison to the ER4, the bass IMHO is exagerated a bit, the mids are moved forward and the treble is recessed a bit. IMHO, the E5 is not intended for audiophile/critical listening. It is more for musicians using wireless IEM systems.

 

[pedxing]

EX-70/71 has no articulation in the bass region and the treble is beyond shrilly.

If you are about to get the ER-4, I advice getting the ER-4P and somehow get a special adapter to turn into ER-4S. Then you get the best of both worlds. Most people first find the ER-4's to be bass shy, but that is probably because the visceral content is missing.

I have never heard the E5, but many people have said it sounds less analytical, but more musical.

 

[kunwar]

as all the learned and experienced peole above have mentioned , the bass is heard not felt.
It is a case of music inside your head and if the bass had thump then you would get a serious headache which happened to me with Koss Plugs.
With ety's the music is natural, with instruments in yor head and around you .
great earpiece and fantastc music, that is what ety's are all about.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

with a good source/amp and the ER4S, the bass is felt as well. Without these things and only with the ER4P, the bass is not detailed and does not reach deep enough to produce visceral impact.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJGeorgeT with a good source/amp and the ER4S...

That's really the thing. Ety's are nowhere near their full potential on portable gear, which is what most people get them for and use them on, and improve vastly even on my modest home setup (i.e. from "no bass" to "WOW, there's bass!"). With a real high-end setup I can only imagine how much better they get.

 

[swalker]

I think ER4S has the best bass quality among the headphones I've heard so far - just right amount of bass that goes deep although much of it gets lost when you hook it up to a portable.

I don't know why, but when I got my Etys repaired Etymotics sent me the Etys back with a pair of rubber tips on them and they weren't mine. I cannot tell you how much they improved my appreciation of the Etys! These rubber tips were very soft and well broken in compared to the tips out of the box and i haven't touched the foamies since I got these rubber tips. I have no idea who was using them or why they were so soft but my ears haven't been infected and I'm still using the same pair almost a year later so no complaint here.

 

[Mr.PD]

I have the 4s Etys, and I have a pair of EX70 (or are they 71?) somewhere around here. The Sony phones seemed to me to be all bass. Very bloated and a general deep dark bassy sound all the way with them.
My ER4s seem to be well balanced in the bass department. It's all there, it's just not in your face bass. They do take a very long time to burn in and get that bass though. I don't remember ever trying them with out an amplifier.
I wear them as little as 2 hours some days and as long as 12 hours once in a while. I have to use the foam tips, since the silicon flange type tips don't seal for me at all. Foams are very easy on the ears for removing and replacing. They aren't a simple stick them in, in one motion thing though. It takes a few seconds to get them in your ear, okay it's few seconds rolling them, then a simple stick 'em in your ear deal.

I wear mine in a very noisy environment, and often I have them too loud to hear some things. But thats only due to the high decibel levels of my surroundings. There aren't any phones where I work.