[eeyssjr]

Ok, i have am earmax pro, and havent been able to get it to work particularly well with my Sony Cd1700.

I'm thinking of buying some new headphones (well, i definitely will within next 2 weeks), and am torn between some Etys and CD3000.

Both are supposed to provide excellent sound quality, and i have no doubt of this. I love my CD1700s, but just want a step up.

I dont know whether the earmax pro can drive either Ety 4P or S very well. I cant see there being a problem with the 4S 100Ohm impedance, but others may be able to shed some light.

I am willing to sell the earmax pro, should the etys be the better choice over CD3000 + EMP (if you know what i mean!).

So which is it to be?

Many thanks
Stephen

 

[jatinder]

Hi,

When you say that the EarMax Pro has problems driving the CD1700 - what do you mean? What are the issues with the sound? Doesn't the CD1700 have the same/similar impedance as the CD3000 and R10?

I used the EarMax Pro for a while with a CD3000 (32 Ohm?) and an R10 (40 Ohm). It coped extremely well - as good as, if not better than the Sugden HeadMaster and X-Cans V2. (The X-Cans V1 was outclassed by all of the above amps, but its midrange was so much more enjoyable.)

--Jatinder

 

[eeyssjr]

Well, i think i probably worded things wrongly. I don't think the EMP has problems driving the CD1700 - i just think they don't suit each other.

What i found is that the sound is overly smooth, the leading edge or beats goes mushy, midrange is set back a little and the bass less defined. When i go back to the headphone socket of my Audiolab 8000S, the sound picks up pace, and becomes more alive, and ultimately more enjoyable.

The CD3000 has 32 Ohm impedance i think, as are all the sonys fairly low impedance. So i don't think the EMP has problems driving - it was designed for Grado and Sony Low imp phones.

From what i've heard, in the series CD700, 3000 and R10, the CD3000 stands out. It's supposed to be less warm, more lively. If this is the case, the EMP + CD3000 should be great.

I really would loive to use the EMP everyday, but at the moment its sitting there alone, and turned off. Which is a shame. So i ideally want to be using it, for its liquid sound. I like the smoothness and musicality, but dont want things to go mushy.

EMP + Etys must seem like an odd combination, and i'm concerned mildly that in the ear types are uncomfortable, but mainly that the EMP will just hate driving them, for some unkown reason. There's also hum on the EMP which i can hear with my CD1700 - i'm thinking the etys will be even more revealing of this (note that i run the MEP fro mthe 8000S pre-amp outputs to gain volume and source remote control - i've tried without ie: direct from Cd source, and the difference is minimal, if even noticable.)

As far as the R10s go, i'll have to take you up on that demo Jatinder.

 

[Vertigo-1]

eeyssjr, if you're going to have a chance to demo jatinder's R10s, then take absolutely any pair of dynamic headphones with you, listen to them first, then listen to the R10s, and then go back to whatever other headphone you want. That'll be the guaranteed quickest way to see the difference the R10s make to the midrange clarity, particularly with vocals.

I think if you compare them to your CD1700s, you'll find it hard to go back to your 1700s afterwards.

Looking forward to what you think...

 

[eeyssjr]

Don't say that Vertigo, i can't afford the R10s yet!

 

[markl]

When I owned the ER4S, I tried to use them with the EMP. The bass clipped very badly.

markl

 

[eeyssjr]

Thanks Mark.

Thats all i really needed to know about them. this means i'd have to buy ety and use with 8000S headphone socket, sell EMP, Or CD3000 with the EMP.

 

[jatinder]

eeyssjr,

I've just received some DVD-A disks, so will be playing with those over the next few weeks.

My SACD player should be back any day now, and I'll pick up the CD3000s next weekend.

So I should be able to arrange an evening (food, drink, music) within the next few weeks.

Make sure you bring along your EarMax Pro and anything else you fancy. I actually quite liked the EMP with the R10 - the major problem it has, is, it's weight. A gust of wind could blow it off the rack!

--Jatinder

 

[MacDEF]

jatinder, you have an SACD player? You should respond in the "General" forum -- there's a thread there taking "rollcall" on SACD owners.

 

[jeremymayf]

EMP will drive the Ety 4P's, i have not experienced any clipping, are these two the perfect match?. . . . Well, i just got my senn hd-600's and i now understand why so many have praised this combo

 

[eeyssjr]

Jatinder, I'll be in touch to make meeting arrangements. Look Forward.

Regards
Stephen

 

[Matt]

....Ety 4S's + EMP extensively and experienced no clipping whatsoever and some of the best damned sound I've ever heard. It seems some people get clipping, some don't. I was using stock tubes, if that helps.

- Matt

 

[joelongwood]

I never had much success with the EMP/Ety ER4s combo........the sound was strained, as if the EMP was running out of steam. The CD1700s do, indeed, sound "mushy and soft" to me. Overly warm describes it pretty well. But with the CD3000s, it's a whole new ballgame. As a matter of fact, of all the headphones I have, to my ears, it is THE headphone that matches up best with the EMP. Glorious sound!

 

[Matt]

...if you consider "the EMP dot pointing directly at the middle tube protector wire" to be "12:00 o'clock," where about were you listening to the Etys at?

- Matt

 

[88Sound]

My EMP/ETY4S combo sounds fine together and does not clip at all at normal to loud volumes. This is also with the stock tubes. I'm listening to Dave Holland Quintet through this combo as I type this, the volume control is about halfway, it's pretty loud on the loud passages, can't beat that ETY isolation on the quiet passages, and sounds great.