[Peppermint Duck]

How big is the difference between these two headphones? As I made clear in another thread I want some IEMs for (predominantly) rock music. However, £110 is still a lot to pay (for the e4s) considering I've never tried IEMs before. I thought about trying the e2c, but they'll cost me £45ish anyway, and for £10 more I could get a pair of er6i (which I assume are better than the er6?)

Is the difference between the er6i and e4 that great? Which do you think would be better suited to rock music?

 

[Mr Iriver]

I don't know about the E4c, but between the ER6i, the ER4, and the E3c, I found the E3c to be the better phone for rock. It has the best mids out of the three, and the bass is also really good. Once equalized the highs are pretty good too. THe other thing is that they have a fuller sound than the other two, making them more enjoyable. With this said I think the E4c should be much better for rock music.

 

[Peppermint Duck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr Iriver I don't know about the E4c, but between the ER6i, the ER4, and the E3c, I found the E3c to be the better phone for rock. It has the best mids out of the three, and the bass is also really good. Once equalized the highs are pretty good too. THe other thing is that they have a fuller sound than the other two, making them more enjoyable. With this said I think the E4c should be much better for rock music.

Interesting...my understanding from reading other posts on Head-fi is that the e3c's bass is somewhat underwhelming and you need an amp to even rectify that slightly.

 

[elephantman]

why not go for the e4 instead of buying e2/er6i then upgrade to a more expensive iem, u'll save money in long term.

 

[Peppermint Duck]

Your right, of course. How many people here own the e4 and use them for rock? There's a big 'Shure vs. Etymotic' debate on here at the moment...which is making it harder for me decide which phones to get. Really it's out of the e4 and er-4 (I think), but because I'm unsure I'm veering towards the cheaper alternatives to play it safe.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

If you are not doing any critical listening with them and you are mainly planning to listen to rock, then my recommendation is to get the shure E2. It provides fairly good bass with a forward presentation. The highs are severely rolled though. I would not get the E4. In the family of shure headphones, imho the 'rock' headphones are the E2 and E5.

 

[Mr Iriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peppermint Duck Interesting...my understanding from reading other posts on Head-fi is that the e3c's bass is somewhat underwhelming and you need an amp to even rectify that slightly.

The bass is somewhat underwhelming. Compared to the etys though the bass is a little more enjoyable. If you equalize the bass on the shures it can get heavy however. For rock however, I think you may prefer the UE superfi Pro, unless you can get some UM2s or E5cs. I have no experience with the dual drivers however

 

[Jmmmmm]

I have the er6i's and e4's (and 5pros), and I used to have the e2c's. The er6i's are much better headphones than the e2c, imo. I was never all that impressed with the e2c's; they sounded like all the music was smushed into the midrange, the music had no depth (or treble). However, I was pretty impressed with the er6i's when I got them, even though I had owned a number of more expensive IEMs. It certainly is possible for someone to prefer the e2c over the er6i, since the er6i's can be a little bright/fatiguing, and thin (depending on the source), but I think they are much higher quality than the e2c's.

I listen to rock about 95% of the time, so that is what all my decisions are based on.
Whether the e4's are worth the money is up to you. To me, they are worth it. I think the e4's have all the detail of the er6i's, but don't have any of the harshness or fatiguing-ness of the er6i's from it's upper-midrange freq peak. The e4's also have a much fuller sound, making them more enjoyable all around, to me.

So, for me, between e2 and er6i, go er6i. Between er6i and e4, go e4. It just depends on how much money you want to spend, and if you think you will end up upgrading anyway.

 

[Peppermint Duck]

Looks like you just finalised my decision.

My only quibble is that of the e4 vs. the er-4. You don't have any experience with the higher end Etymotic line do you Jmmmmm?

 

[Bolt San]

I think in terms of sound alone the ER-4s series sounds better than the e4c series, which sounds slightly better than the er-6i series. The e4cs are actually very close to the 6is in terms of sound, at least for me. Slightly rolled off treble and slightly louder bass, but not very much of either.

In terms of build quality the e4s are great, though.

 

[Peppermint Duck]

Perhaps it's also worth mentioning I'd be using these phones unamped (for the time being anyway) and not strictly for portable use. Infact I don't own a portable atm, though I plan to buy either a flash player or mini hard drive player in the near future. These would be predominantly used with my computer (main source).

 

[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peppermint Duck Looks like you just finalised my decision. My only quibble is that of the e4 vs. the er-4. You don't have any experience with the higher end Etymotic line do you Jmmmmm?

No, unfortunatley I have not been able to get my hands on the er4's. er4 vs e4 is another big debate, I'm sure. I'd bet that the er4 are technically superior headphones (more detailed), but to me, the e4's are the best compromise I've heard between detail, balance, and fun. But of course, this is just me, and ymmv.

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peppermint Duck However, £110 is still a lot to pay (for the e4s) considering I've never tried IEMs before. .......... Is the difference between the er6i and e4 that great? Which do you think would be better suited to rock music?

Reading this, I think you should go for the 6i's. Yes, the E4's are marginally better but you are paying £50 extra for the E4's, and honestly, that money could easily be made better use of. And for all I know, you may dislike using IEM"s due to discomfort, or the extra work in inserting them into your ear, or the issue of microphonics.

If you don't already have a good set of cans for home use, consider buying something like Alessandro MS-1's, for $99 USD. Those will easily outshine the E4's for rock when you don't need isolation. For the price of ONE set of E4's, you have *BOTH* MS-1 and ER6i's, which is a far more versatile setup.

 

[Peppermint Duck]

Quote:

Originally Posted by warpdriver Reading this, I think you should go for the 6i's. Yes, the E4's are marginally better but you are paying £50 extra for the E4's, and honestly, that money could easily be made better use of. And for all I know, you may dislike using IEM"s due to discomfort, or the extra work in inserting them into your ear, or the issue of microphonics. If you don't already have a good set of cans for home use, consider buying something like Alessandro MS-1's, for $99 USD. Those will easily outshine the E4's for rock when you don't need isolation. For the price of ONE set of E4's, you have *BOTH* MS-1 and ER6i's, which is a far more versatile setup.

You'll never guess what I just sold...

 

[warpdriver]

At my computer, I have both a set of Grado SR60's, and have used IEM's including the ER4, E3, ER6i, and very often, I'd rather reach for the Grados just because they are great rocking headphones and are more convenient to use.