thomaspf
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 30, 2003
- Posts
- 1,220
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- 70
For the last couple of years I have been a happy owner of a pair of ER-4S with custom ear molds.
I recently had to experiment with a lot of portable ear and the low efficiency of the Etys basically required turn crank up the volume full scale on whatever equipment I used. My normal monitor speakers are full range so reading about the 5 pro I hoped that this would solve both the sensitivity problem and give me a more balanced bass.
Well, the sensitivity problem is definitely solved. As a couple of fellow head-fiers have been finding out, the pro 5 is very sensitive and will tell you immediately whether you have a noisy source.
There is also plenty of bass but somehow I still prefer my Etys. As a result I looked into the difference in sound between the Etys and the pro 5.
I started with the frequency response curve
and recreated that curve using an equaliser.
Without any eq the 5 pro sound distant and muddy but with the eq active the result is quite pleasing with the pro 5 and much closer to my main speakers and the ER-4S.
My suspicion is that the 5 pro are truly flat and that Etymotic is right about the fact that in ear headphones need to be equalized to create a perceived flat response.
Opinions?
Cheers
Thomas
I recently had to experiment with a lot of portable ear and the low efficiency of the Etys basically required turn crank up the volume full scale on whatever equipment I used. My normal monitor speakers are full range so reading about the 5 pro I hoped that this would solve both the sensitivity problem and give me a more balanced bass.
Well, the sensitivity problem is definitely solved. As a couple of fellow head-fiers have been finding out, the pro 5 is very sensitive and will tell you immediately whether you have a noisy source.
There is also plenty of bass but somehow I still prefer my Etys. As a result I looked into the difference in sound between the Etys and the pro 5.
I started with the frequency response curve
Without any eq the 5 pro sound distant and muddy but with the eq active the result is quite pleasing with the pro 5 and much closer to my main speakers and the ER-4S.
My suspicion is that the 5 pro are truly flat and that Etymotic is right about the fact that in ear headphones need to be equalized to create a perceived flat response.
Opinions?
Cheers
Thomas