Heret1c
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
- Posts
- 366
- Likes
- 11
Quote:
Are you drinking tea and lemon ?
Started off with that, now I'm moving on to the harder stuff as the anticipation is making me antsy!! LOL
Earsonics EM4
- Thread starter le masseur aveugle
- Start date
Quote:
Started off with that, now I'm moving on to the harder stuff as the anticipation is making me antsy!! LOL
davidplmlsn
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 27, 2011
- Posts
- 19
- Likes
- 0
Quote:
Awesome, cant wait! Re the noise, that's par for the course with most sensitive IEMs and I bet those babies are sensitive. The hiss is coming from the source IINM and the only way to get rid of it is to use a source which has lower noise floor (not sure which is best for that) or put an amp in between. I'm surprised the EM4s hiss so much as the SM3s hardly hiss much. But then again, they are 2 different beasts.
*sitting patiently in anticipation*
Quote:
Ok, so I guess I need to make a visit to a HiFi store and see if an amp reduces the noise.
No, my power adapter is not connected to my iPad while listening.
The iPad should pretty much be the same as the Touch, yes. Personally I find the background noise extremely annoying in songs such as "Sound of Silence" where a close to pitch black background is important in order to gain a full listening experience.
Here is the pictures as promised.
http://imgur.com/uursz
http://i.imgur.com/GEE5W.jpg
loopfreak
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2009
- Posts
- 1,039
- Likes
- 187
Aero Dynamik
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Posts
- 1,064
- Likes
- 201
[size=medium]Just want to report back on what’s going on. My first listening session reminded me of listening to the kind of two inch speaker that you would normally find in a stationary computer some years ago. No bass, too little mid, no excitement, shrill, no body, no mass. Pretty much what happens when you listen to IEMs just outside of your ears. No, of course that doesn’t really describe the sound, but the feeling it produced. Poor fitting you may think? No, they fit like a glove, and the build (as far as I can tell, these are my only custom IEMs) is fantastic, but I have the feeling they aren’t penetrating the ear canals deep enough. Then again, EarSonics’s IEMs don’t penetrate as deep as some other custom IEMs such as JH Audio’s, I’ve heard. However, the phenomenal resolution begged me not to give up. The resolution of the EM4s outshines the SM3’s![/size]
[size=medium]So, I’ve kept going, trying to burn in my brain (and possibly the cans themselves) and had a small break through last night after having cranked up the volume on my amp (TTVJ slim) by 10 dB, using the gain switch. It would seem (at least at this stage) that they lose their ability to shine on too low volumes. Not that I have to burst my ear drums to get some of the quality that I’m looking for, but low volume doesn’t seem to be where the EM4s deliver what they probably can deliver.[/size]
[size=medium]I have deliberately not used my SM3s to avoid bewildering my brain even more, but I still don’t feel the EM4s deliver the kind of excitement and musicality the SM3s do. Anyway, I have far from given up, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if after some undefined number of hours down the road my perception will be completely different. Anyway, that’s what happened with the SM3s, which I considered a joke after my first listening session and now wouldn’t consider living without.[/size]
[size=medium]If only people knew the hardships of an aspiring audiophile…
[/size]
[size=medium]So, I’ve kept going, trying to burn in my brain (and possibly the cans themselves) and had a small break through last night after having cranked up the volume on my amp (TTVJ slim) by 10 dB, using the gain switch. It would seem (at least at this stage) that they lose their ability to shine on too low volumes. Not that I have to burst my ear drums to get some of the quality that I’m looking for, but low volume doesn’t seem to be where the EM4s deliver what they probably can deliver.[/size]
[size=medium]I have deliberately not used my SM3s to avoid bewildering my brain even more, but I still don’t feel the EM4s deliver the kind of excitement and musicality the SM3s do. Anyway, I have far from given up, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if after some undefined number of hours down the road my perception will be completely different. Anyway, that’s what happened with the SM3s, which I considered a joke after my first listening session and now wouldn’t consider living without.[/size]
[size=medium]If only people knew the hardships of an aspiring audiophile…
Aero Dynamik
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Posts
- 1,064
- Likes
- 201
Quote:
[size=9.5pt][size=medium]Thanks for the pictures![/size][/size]
[size=9.5pt][size=medium]I don’t get it with your iPad. An ever so slight hiss can be expected, but if it bothers you while playing music, then something is wrong and something must be done. Are you positively sure the hiss isn't in the music? Without playing any music, connect you IEMs to your iPad, crank up the volume to a reasonable level, then disconnect and reconnect your IEMs a few times. How much hiss do you really hear? At this stage I think an amp would be overkill just to solve the hissing problem. My amp, the TTVJ Slim hisses just as little (or as much) as my iPod Touch. If you want to stay with iTunes, go to a store where they sell iPod Touch and try one. Don't worry about what music is on it. All you want to do is listen to hiss, but don't tell the shop assistants, they may not be familiar with the concept.
loopfreak
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 10, 2009
- Posts
- 1,039
- Likes
- 187
It seams that with earsonics everyone has problem in adopting specific signature but only on start.
Quote:
I am very curious about two specific signatures from the same manufacture, maybe a little too much, but I would definitely try them side by side. Try one for like two hours with relaxed listening not trying to remember anything and than try the other one for same amount of time. When you cross between phones you will detect differences instantly and further everything will be clear, of course this is my thing, maybe you have your own.
Regardless of the sensitivity and resistance I don't like the fact that it needs to be cranked up to get the details,petty, good comfort, good isolation it could be very interesting at low volumes, but that could change during burn in keep us posted.
One thing you did not mention, the soundstage, what do you think ?
Quote:
Quote:
I am very curious about two specific signatures from the same manufacture, maybe a little too much, but I would definitely try them side by side. Try one for like two hours with relaxed listening not trying to remember anything and than try the other one for same amount of time. When you cross between phones you will detect differences instantly and further everything will be clear, of course this is my thing, maybe you have your own.
Regardless of the sensitivity and resistance I don't like the fact that it needs to be cranked up to get the details,petty, good comfort, good isolation it could be very interesting at low volumes, but that could change during burn in keep us posted.
One thing you did not mention, the soundstage, what do you think ?
Quote:
miprasetya
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2009
- Posts
- 177
- Likes
- 12
@Aero Dynammik : how about the soundstage? do you find something special or different compares to others IEM that only able to produce inside the head sounds?
Heret1c
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
- Posts
- 366
- Likes
- 11
Quote:
[size=medium]Just want to report back on what’s going on. My first listening session reminded me of listening to the kind of two inch speaker that you would normally find in a stationary computer some years ago. No bass, too little mid, no excitement, shrill, no body, no mass. Pretty much what happens when you listen to IEMs just outside of your ears. No, of course that doesn’t really describe the sound, but the feeling it produced. Poor fitting you may think? No, they fit like a glove, and the build (as far as I can tell, these are my only custom IEMs) is fantastic, but I have the feeling they aren’t penetrating the ear canals deep enough. Then again, EarSonics’s IEMs don’t penetrate as deep as some other custom IEMs such as JH Audio’s, I’ve heard. However, the phenomenal resolution begged me not to give up. The resolution of the EM4s outshines the SM3’s![/size]
[size=medium]So, I’ve kept going, trying to burn in my brain (and possibly the cans themselves) and had a small break through last night after having cranked up the volume on my amp (TTVJ slim) by 10 dB, using the gain switch. It would seem (at least at this stage) that they lose their ability to shine on too low volumes. Not that I have to burst my ear drums to get some of the quality that I’m looking for, but low volume doesn’t seem to be where the EM4s deliver what they probably can deliver.[/size]
[size=medium]I have deliberately not used my SM3s to avoid bewildering my brain even more, but I still don’t feel the EM4s deliver the kind of excitement and musicality the SM3s do. Anyway, I have far from given up, and I wouldn’t be too surprised if after some undefined number of hours down the road my perception will be completely different. Anyway, that’s what happened with the SM3s, which I considered a joke after my first listening session and now wouldn’t consider living without.[/size]
[size=medium]If only people knew the hardships of an aspiring audiophile…[/size]
Umm...I'm disappointed? I dunno. I know the SM3s take some getting used to wrap your brain around the sound they put out but don't think I've read anywhere of anyone having a similar experience with the EM3pro. So, naturally I assumed the EM4 experienced would be similar to the EM3pro.Likening it to a crummy 2inch desktop spkr is somewhat of a terrifying notion to me as that wold mean the Em4s are something of a failure. Either I'll wait to see how your brain adapts to its sound and report back.
Oh and yes, please do tell us about the soundstage. Is it really out-of-head sounds or just the words of an overly active marketing dept in Earsonics?
Aero Dynamik
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Posts
- 1,064
- Likes
- 201
Quote:
Quote:
[size=medium]So, you want to know about the soundstage of the EM4s? Glad you asked! During the listening sessions of the last 24 hours, things have started to change, big time, and I have come to suspect that soundstage is what’s been playing tricks with my brain from the very first moment.[/size]
[size=medium]With the SM3s, voices and instruments are planted within the brain (Magic! Love it!). With the EM4s, voices and instruments are instead placed somewhat on the outside, creating a soundstage that sort of resembles regular headphones (That’s not a perfect description, but as close as I can get.). No wonder my brain has been, and to some extent still is, bewildered. Remember I told you about the lack of bass and mids? In a sense that is perfectly true, because after hundreds and hundreds of hours with the SM3s, the bass and mids are no longer “planted within my brain”. The bass and mids have now been relocated, and up until now my brain has been unable to recognize that, feeling there are no bass and mids! However, now that my brain is beginning to get to grips with the new soundstage, the mids and bass are indeed there, and they are beginning to shine big time! I’m beginning to sense that (for me and in due time) a new sound age may actually be dawning.[/size]
[size=medium][size=medium]It is all beginning to make sense. Cranking up the volume (as mentioned in a previous post) probably helped the brain to better locate the bass and the mids. I’m now beginning to be able to lower the volume without “losing sight” of the various sound elements and their quality.[/size][/size]
[size=medium]At this stage I don’t want to go into trying to describe too many details about the soundstage. However, except from what I've already stated above, depth is deeper and separation is wider and more defined on the EM4s than they are on the SM3s. Lovely![/size]
[size=medium]BTW, and in this context, “Tricks of the Light” is a very catchy song from the album “Discovery” from 1984 by Mike Oldfield. Recommend it![/size]
Aero Dynamik
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Posts
- 1,064
- Likes
- 201
Quote:
I'm taking one for the team on the EM4, will post my thoughts in average-joes customs thread when i get them.
Did you get them yet, and can you please provide a link to "average-joes customs thread" once you've posted your thoughts? Thanks!
Aero Dynamik
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Posts
- 1,064
- Likes
- 201
Quote:
Received my EM4's the other day.
Can you list that you own of them? Right now it looks as if I'm the only owner!
Glad to see you are happy with them. I beginning to think that I'll eventually be too!
Thanks!
Heret1c
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 25, 2011
- Posts
- 366
- Likes
- 11
Quote:
Aero Dynamik
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Posts
- 1,064
- Likes
- 201
Quote:
Now, THAT's more along the lines of what I was hoping to hear! Sounds promising! Thanks for that, Aero Dynamik!
[size=medium]You’re welcome! Glad to hear!
[size=medium]Now I’m going to listen a lot more before I continue writing about my experiences. Eventually I’ll try to compare and write about all the various audiophile aspects of the sound compared to the SM3s. For that I’ll be using “The Ultimate Demonstration Disc - Chesky Records' Guide To Critical Listening”. However, I want to tuck a couple of hundred hours of EM4 listening into my brain before starting that endeavor.[/size]
[size=medium]I'd wish more head-fiers would write about their EM4 experiences. What happend to [size=small]Guidostrunk[/size]?!
davidplmlsn
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- May 27, 2011
- Posts
- 19
- Likes
- 0
Quote:
Sure thing. How?
Regarding the hissing; I will try a touch within next week.
Regarding the hissing; I will try a touch within next week.
Aero Dynamik
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2011
- Posts
- 1,064
- Likes
- 201
Quote:
[size=medium]Easy! Simply click "[size=small]List this[/size]" for the "EM4s" under "[size=small]Head Gear" => "Headphones" => "In-Ear" => Custom. Make sure you are logged on.[/size][/size]
[size=medium]Yes, please keep us posted about the hissing problem. I’d be surprised (to say the least) if it’s in the IEMs.[/size]
[size=medium]In a sense I envy you, not being biased by previous hi-fi IEMs. The EM4s must simply be heaven to you! I’m getting more are more used to their soundstage, and I think that I’ll eventually "fall in love", perhaps even more so than with my SM3s. But I’ll "keep my mouth shout" about the EM4s from now, and use my energy to listen instead.[/size]
Users who are viewing this thread
