ER-4S vs. HD600

[Knocturnal]

I just cant make up my mind. Each headphone has its ups and downs. I listen to all types of music: Hip Hop, Rock, and Reggae, and just about anything else except country. I like the Etys because of the sound cancelling and the very high quality sound. I have also heard that the HD600 has great sound and is comfortable. I will be using either of the headphones through a META42 amp. Which headphone would you get? I just cant make up my mind, they are both great headphones.

 

[scottpaul_iu]

What don't you like about the Ety's, or are you looking for a little variety?

 

[KJ869]

if you dotn want to make more upgrades get ety, HD-600 need to be paired with good amp, cardass cable and good source to sound good, and hd-600 is beter suited for more classical music.
If you get etys you can always keep em as your portable phones, if you decide to go for upgrade (like you probaly will do). You should look for shure Ec1 if you want to save some money.

 

[wordsworth]

ety's simply because they sound amazing and are portable. I have the hd580 and ety ER4P(S) and if I had to keep one it would be the ety. The ety's you can use at home, at work or whilst traveling you just can't do that with HD600. However HD600 or HD580 occasionally go cheap (especially if they are being sold in europe) on here as they are not currently the flavour of the month so you might be able to get both (ety and HD600) for a reasonable price.

Wordsworth

 

[Knocturnal]

Thanks for the quick replies. I think I iwll get the ER-4S because of the portability and the ability to work out of anything. I dont listeen to much classical so I dont think the HD600 will work out.

 

[acs236]

My comments are based on my experience listening to the Ety 4S and the Senn 580 (in all accounts similar to the HD600 -- and more importantly the HD600 are an improvement).

I think that the real question to ask is where you're going to do most of your listening? Is portability a concern?

To say that the HD600 are only good for classical, in my opinion, is not accurate. I think the 580s sound great with just about any type of music.

 

[john_jcb]

When faced with the same problem I came up with a brilliant solution. I got the HD-600 later adding a Cardas cable and the Ety-4s. Problem solved

 

[Knocturnal]

Good idea john.

 

[Jeff Guidry]

I found both headphones, while they have their strong points, were ultimately unsatisfying. The superb detail and extention of the frequency spectrum of the Ety's won me over, but the stuffed ear feeling, narrow sound stage, and complete lack of viceral bass got me down. The HD600's have a rich midrange and outstanding comfort, but the overly round bass and the 'veil', coupled with the unnaturally large soundstage (at least to my ears) made them losers for me.

 

[Matthew-Spaltro]

Good points Jeff!! The HD600s soundstage does sound "Fake" too me like it was enhanced in some way.

 

[KJ869]

I didnt say they hd-600 were only goof for classical, but i said classical si better suited for em, meaning if you compare theyre performance wih classical Vs hard-rock you probaly notice the classical to work better on em, becuase the veil and soundstage.

 

[Knocturnal]

I have heard that the soundstage is very large, almost fake sounding. I think we could compare the CD3000 more to the ety except the fact that the CD3000 have little to no sound isolation.

 

[gswpete]

I didn't ever notice the veil on my 580's. That is, until I sent my META back to JMT for an upgrade. Suddenly, there's seems to be this thick wall or veil between me and the music.

 

[PeterR]

So far I haven't really experienced 'the veil'. Maybe it has to do with upstream components, maybe I'm deaf, maybe I've never heard 'unveiled' headphones (I know the RS-1 quite well, though). I wonder if those speaking of 'the veil' wouldn't percieve a real orchestra in a concert hall as 'veiled', too, as the real thing sounds a lot less like 'hifi' than those who've never heard it might probably expect...

 

[rawhit]

I have had the HD600+Cardas and Ety4P. The HD-600s are good phones but I found them to be uninvolving.

The etys on the other hand really pull me into the music. They make me stop what ever I'm doing and force me to listen to them.