[Strogian]

I just got my ER-4S today. I must say, sticking these things in my ears is really no big deal. I guess I just didn't like the word "ear canal."

Anyway, I've got a couple of questions about them. First, are these supposed to block out all (quiet) external sound? Because I can hear plenty of stuff outside, such as my keyboard, or dropping a Snickers bar. They do sound different, but they're not gone.

I also am not really having any problems with the microphonics or whatever it's called. I do hear a noise when I rub the wire, but it's really nothing much. Eating the Snickers was definitely more distracting than touching the wire.

So, do I have a bad seal, or is this how it's supposed to be?

 

[dlow]

<Pauses music>

Yep, I can still hear the keyboard when there is no music playing. I can even hear people talking nearby, though it's very hard to understand what they're saying.

<Unpauses music>

But with music playing, everything is gone. Just me and my music.

 

[pedxing]

I own the Ety ER6, but basically anyone who is wearing ear plugs will experience the same things.

For some reason, really low frequencies cannot be blocked as much as higher frequencies. You will still hear low frequencies such as a bus rumbling by the street or noise from a subwoofer. For some strange reasons, tapping noises such as typing has a tendancy to be easily heard with the Ety's on.

The microphone effect is what annoys most people. Walking around, breathing deeply, and thumbing your body will all sound funny.

If you find the wire shifting too much, try wrapping the wire around your ear. This should prevent a lot of motion of the wires reaching the ear bud.

As for the seal, if you can hear the bass, then you probably have a good seal. A good seal varies from person to person. For me, shoving my Etys all the way in at an upward-forward angle works. For others, some people cannot shove them all the way or the seal is ruined because the ear tips deform in shape. They can only partially insert the Etys before a seal is achieved.

 

[zowie]

Quote:

Originally posted by pedxing The microphone effect is what annoys most people. Walking around, breathing deeply, and thumbing your body will all sound funny.

"Thumbing your body"? That sounds kinda funny without any phones on at all.

 

[Strogian]

Is there any "pure bass" sound file or something I can play so I can say "Yes, I am definitely hearing the bass here"? I just want to be absolutely sure.

 

[sberger]

I would say that if you're hearing lotsa of outside noises, and are not getting the microphonic effect, then you have not achieved the correct seal yet. Possibly, this is also why you don't find them to be all that you thought they would be. It really does take a while for break in time to get the tips and your ears soft enought for it to happen almost as a second thought. Remember to insert at a 45 degree angle, wet the tips before they go in, and give the top of your ears a simple pull after they're in to relieve some pressure. If done correctly, you still may hear some small amount of sound before playing music, but I assure you it will be slight. You will also get more of a microphonic effect, but I don't find it very noticable at all, especially when playing tunes. And the sound (yes, with plenty of bass) will be astounding. But give yourself some time and don't give up. It's all worth it.

 

[pedxing]

You haven't mentioned what your source is.

If your source is a portable player, you will not have enough power to drive the ER-4s to their potential. You will need a headphone amp.

The other thing is that the Ety's have their own bass characteristics. Because they are ear phones, you will not be able to feel the bass. You may have to retrain your ears to hear the bass without the vibrations. The Ety's do put out quite a bit of bass and its very tight.

If you really need to convince yourself that the bass does exist, you can try downloading a demo of the cooledit, an audio software that can generate low frequency tones for you. Be warned that the volume of the tones is based on a relative db scale where 0 db is maximum output (and dangerous to your equipment). I advise producing tones somwhere between -30 to -60 db. I am not sure what levels recording studios usually mix their music at. You can burn the test tones onto a CD as a CD audio file and play them back on a CD player.

 

[BDA_ABAT]

Excellent purchase! The ER4S are totally amazing!

Test tones are a great way to objectively compare sound reproduction in a variety of environments... different headphones, different sources, different cables, etc.

But, who REALLY wants to listen to test tones???

For assessing DEEP bass extension, you can try something like organ music (e.g., try Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor... it's the creepy music that you hear in WAY old scary movies). It's a very common track that you can find in a plethora of places.

I just went to CDNow and searched for Toccata and Fugue. Hopefully, this link will point you to a sample of the piece from the Telarc collection vol 7.

http://www.cdnow.com/cgi-bin/mserver...09/source=ENSO

Good luck with the 4S! And, yes, do get an amp to bring out the full potential of the headphones.

Bruce