ER-4S users: what full size phones do you prefer?
Apr 23, 2008 at 12:12 PM Post #16 of 40
I heard a Stax SRS-4040 Signature system with SRM-006t energiser for maybe ten minutes at a local hifi shop and it has left an indelible impression!
 
Apr 23, 2008 at 3:35 PM Post #17 of 40
My headphones are closed barring the k701, but to me, the k701 is pretty much the full sized open headphone that should have been made by etymotic.

Basically, to my ears of course, the ety is for portabe use, and the k701 is for the home, the sound signatures are both so detailed, analytical and open and airy.
 
Apr 23, 2008 at 3:45 PM Post #18 of 40
It's funny that I love my ER4 but the K701 leaves me completely cold.
 
Apr 23, 2008 at 3:53 PM Post #19 of 40
Quote:

Originally Posted by redrich2000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I have a pair of ER-4S which I love. I also own a pair of Koss A250s which I think are the pefect companions to the Ety's, they are very detailed, super fast with amazing clarity. Their only problem is build quality and I am concerned they are not going last the long hawl.

So I am interested in which other full size open phones might suit my tastes so I thought I'd see what other ER-4S users like. I am interested in the ATH-AD2000, Grado SR-325i and RS1 and Sony CD3000 as well as any other suggestions.

So, please list your favourite full size open cans with a brief comparison with the ER-4S (or better yet with the Koss if you are one of the few owners).

Thanks


Well, the D2000's are nothing like the ER-4s. They are a great can, but are much more colored and darker than the Ety's. As others mentioned, I don't think anything even sounds close to these...it's a sound that is almost hard to get used to at first, but once you do, everything else sounds dark, slow, and veiled, which brings me to your "what others like" bit. For me, even though they don't compare in sound profiles, would be the HD650's. They are much more warmer and lazier, but are extremely detailed and accurate. A nice contrast to the Ety's, IMO, which I find an be fatiguing at times. Sometimes I prefer using my Ety's without the "S" conversion cable (I have the P's with the adaptor) just because they sound a lot warmer and "rockier", but if I want to bring out every detail and nuance, I go "S".
 
Apr 23, 2008 at 4:27 PM Post #20 of 40
After I got my ER4P/S, I sold my K701; they sounded pretty much the same, barring the K701's overblown airiness,and with that kind of a price difference, I couldn't justify keeping the K701 around any longer.
 
Apr 23, 2008 at 4:50 PM Post #22 of 40
To me ER4P's signature sounds very metallic, thus I've never been tempted to try the ER4S.

Taste difference aside, hypothetically, for those that are used to the ER4S and found everything else sound dark, it made me wonder if their upper hearing is desensitised/lost by Etymotic sound signature? I could be wrong but I get the impression that hearing lost starts from the higher frequency.
 
Apr 23, 2008 at 4:53 PM Post #23 of 40
Quote:

Originally Posted by Navyblue /img/forum/go_quote.gif
for those that are used to the ER4S and found everything else sound dark, it made me wonder if their upper hearing is desensitised/lost by Etymotic sound signature? I could be wrong but I get the impression that hearing lost starts from the higher frequency.


I don't agree with this at all. All I need to do is switch from the ER-4S to my Grados to hear how spiky the treble is with the Grados.
 
Apr 24, 2008 at 3:17 AM Post #27 of 40
Quote:

Originally Posted by Golden Monkey /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Well, the D2000's are nothing like the ER-4s.


Your talking about the Denon D2000's right?
Well the AH-AD2000 are differen't. They are Audio Technica's.


Also, I thought the DT880 was meant to be very slow. How can it sound like the ER4s?
 
Apr 24, 2008 at 6:34 AM Post #28 of 40
Yes, sorry...the Denon's, not the AT's.
 
May 9, 2008 at 5:12 PM Post #29 of 40
Quote:

Originally Posted by Navyblue /img/forum/go_quote.gif
To me ER4P's signature sounds very metallic, thus I've never been tempted to try the ER4S.

Taste difference aside, hypothetically, for those that are used to the ER4S and found everything else sound dark, it made me wonder if their upper hearing is desensitised/lost by Etymotic sound signature? I could be wrong but I get the impression that hearing lost starts from the higher frequency.


I have my ER-4P for a week, and I want to take back what I said.
biggrin.gif


It sounds metallic at first, lots of treble, high midrange hump, weak lower midrange. far from neutral to me. But after about 10 hours of burning in (the green filter?) or so, it is very close to what I call perfect sound, very neutral, balanced and detailed, except in the bass department. But bass boost does the job nicely. It is shrill sibilance and metallic only if the recording is bad.

Now I am looking for a natural, reslistic sounding cans like ER-4P. A bit more bass and larger sound stage would be perfect. I've heard the DT880 it is pretty similar but with more bass, more treble and less midrange.

So where should I look next? K501? K601? K701?
 
May 9, 2008 at 5:22 PM Post #30 of 40
It's not the green filter that has settled in, its the transducer. It's had a chance to flex its muscles a bit, and by playing music, you're letting the little driver move, tightening up coils and loosening up the driver itself. More movement = more range. It's a great "reference" IEM, that's for sure. It will take a fairly long time for them to "burn in" completely, so they'll just get better and better. The ER4-S is even more "reference" sounding - neutral, flat, and accurate, but you'll lose a bit of that bass again. It doesn't "oomph" as much, but the bass is still there, as in you can hear it without feeling it. I got a chance to listen to some recabled 701's last night, and they have been the closest I've heard to the Ety sound in a full size can. I love my HD650's, but these immediately reminded me of the Ety neutrality and purity.
 
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