[Kubernetes]

Well, after swearing that I would wait a full year before buying any more audio/headphone hardware, I found myself punching in an order to Headroom for a set of Ety ER4p's (thanks for the prompt service, Headroom!). It seems the members of this board have made and interesting progression. First, Grados were king. Then Senn and Sony took on life. AKG appeared to take the board by storm for a few months, and now everyone seems enamoured of Etys. Always late in following trends, I decided to jump in.

Equipment:

Amps: Earmax Pro; Headroom Cosmic

DAC: CAL Gamma

Cdp: Sony D-ej01; Sony D-25s

Other headphones: Grado RS-1, Senn hd580, Sony 888lp

The music:

Cowboy Junkies, Trinity Session
The Shins, Oh Inverted World
Primal Scream, Exterminator
Hope Sandoval, Bavarian Fruit Bread
Death Cab For Cutie, The Photo Album
Charlatans UK, Wonderland
Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington Songbook
Juliana Hatfield, Beautiful Creature


Build Quality:

Very nice. The cord is thick and not flimsy like the Sony 888s. But where's the transducer? The thing must be ridiculously tiny. Also very nice is the included case, with the filter tool and 1/8 to 1/4 adapter.

A note on the microphonic cable: This has to be the very worst aspect of the Etys. Supposedly the 4p has less microphonics than the 4s, which is pretty unbelievable. I feel like I have to stay absolutely still not to pick up noise through the cable--sometimes it's hard sitting in a chair, trying not to breathe too hard! Crazy, man. Does fixup.net's replacement cable fix the microphonics?

Sound:

I was able to get a good seal the first time out, but found I preferred the foamies, both for comfort and sound. The sound:wow. The detail coming through these things is astounding, although IMO not any better than the Grado RS-1; better than my Senn 580s. Clarity and separation of instruments is exceptional. On the Cowboy Junkies Trinity Session I can hear Margo Timmins' breathing and the background noise in the church where they recorded. While the instrument separation is good, the "soundstage" is not particularly broad or deep, but rather seems to be fairly concentrated.

They are also very, very neutral to my ears. Not pronounced in the midrange like Grado or rolled off in treble like the Senn580s. Unfortunately, this can also create a very boring, analytic listening experience. I found that while accurate and detailed with the Cosmic, the Ety's could also sound rather lifeless. A far better matchup is with the Earmax Pro, which lends a little warmth to the sound and makes female vocals less sterile. Still, the sound is not something I would call "sweet."

The low end bass is also very good--I now know what people mean when they say the bass is different through Ety's. It's all there, but it's nontheless strange to hear it on the eardrum only, and not feel it on the outer ear. Takes a little getting used to, but if you listen for it, it's quite good.

I'm not a musician, so I don't have the correct vocabulary to describe certain things, but one thing I noticed about the Ety's that was not right was with acoustic guitars. When I hear an acoustic guitar through the Ety's, it sounds almost artificial, and not natural (is timbre the word I'm looking for?). This is in contrast to the Grados, on which acoustic guitar is very lifelike and real. On the other hand, electric guitars, horns, drums, etc. fare very well. On an album like Primal Scream's Exterminator, which features an extremely fast-paced attack of electric guitars, rhythmic bass, and crashing cymbals/drums, a lot of phones just can't deal, and the resulting sound is just a mash of noise. The Ety's, on the other hand, are very capable of deciphering the various elements and presenting very listenable music.

Conclusion:

I think the Ety's are pretty exceptional, even considering their relatively high price and microphonic cable. I'm glad I now have a quality pair of closed headphones. I tried them out yesterday riding the DC subway, and the isolation was pretty exceptional. I couldn't even hear the train coming in, much less any other environmental noise. I'm almost looking forward to my next airplane trip!

In terms of pure sound quality, I still think I prefer the Grado sound (I'll take sweetness over neutrality any day in my book), but the Ety's are certainly good enough for every day listening, and as closed canal-phones offer a versatility (portability) that the open Grados cannot really compete with.

 

[Wes]

Thanks for the review, Kubernetes.

Your comparisons with Sennheiser and Grado are interesting. Listening mainly to classical and being fond of detail, I went straight for the Ety sound without going down either the Grado or Sennheiser path. Your article helps me understand the choice I made.

The Ety neutrality I find appealing rather than boring, and I take that sound neat, as it were, with just a dash of crossfeed on the Corda HA-1, which is probably pretty comparable to your Cosmic. A lot may depend on the kinds of music and recordings we encounter as well as on what we expect from recorded music.

Tastes will, should, and must differ. Congratulations on having another fine choice among cans.

 

[pedxing]

Neutral maybe boring sometimes, but its quite hard to find relatively neutral headphones in a typical electronic store. I actually sometimes wonder if mass consumer headphone manufacturers purposely not build neutral headphones for marketing purposes or if is it just plain hard to build neutral headphones.

 

[Flasken]

it is impossible to build a neutral headphone.

hmm..

Perhaps in the future headphones will be little chips in the brain that control what you BELIEVE you hear. So they could just tell you that what you are hearing is neutral.

uh,

Anyways.... Neutral headphones?? Naaah...
Let's keep it that way.

 

[Flasken]

Oh, and, thanks for the review, Kubernetes!

 

[Spad]

Congrats on the 4Ps, kubernetes.

I think you'll find the cable microphonics easier to control as you gain familiarity with the Etys. It's important to use the cable clip, and I find it helps to rotate the cable so that it's in firm contact with my chest.

When used with a head amp--a Corda HA-1 in my case, I always use a 4P to 4S adapter. With it, I think you will find the Ety 4 to be a match for your RS-1s and just about anything else out there.

If there's a cure for upgraditus, the Ety ER-4P/S may well be it--at least for me.

 

[Kubernetes]

I was going to get the 4s adapter, but I've heard that the Earmax Pro has trouble driving it. I could use it with the Cosmic, but again the 4p/Cosmic combo is a little cold to my ears.

About the microphonic cable--is fixup's replacement cable non-microphonic? Does it sound any different ? (not the adapter, the actual replacement cable)

 

[88Sound]

I use an Earmax Pro to drive the ETY4S and find the combination excellent. For most modern recordings I prefer the ETY4S over the RS1's. I am listening mostly to jazz and some light rock. The better the recording the better the EMP/ETY combo sounds. When I get into the older recordings, 50's & 60's jazz, out come the RS-1's which are also excellent with the EMP.

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

I use an Earmax Pro to drive the ETY4S and find the combination excellent.

I've tried the combination, and I just don't like it. To my ears, the warmth and fullness of the tube sound is lost somewhere, and the Ety ER4S sounds thin. I just tried the ER4Ps and I like them much better.....there is more depth to the sound. These differing opinions on the ER4S/EMP combo illustrate quite clearly the fact that each person hears things differently, and why auditioning is really the only way to determine if an amp or headphone meets one's needs. I do, however, agree with the assessment of the EMP/RS1 combination.......excellent! For my tastes, another excellent combination is the CD3000 or CD1700 with the EMP. And I've just discovered that the vintage AKG K340 also pairs up very well with the diminutive EMP. The sound is much more transparent than with other amps I've tried.
BTW, thanks for the excellent review, Kubernetes.

 

[88Sound]

Quote:

To my ears, the warmth and fullness of the tube sound is lost somewhere, and the Ety ER4S sounds thin.

Do you find the ETY4S's sound thin with your solid state amps also now that you've listened to that full EMP tube sound with your other phones? Or is it just the EMP that's having trouble driving the 4S.

Thanks.

 

[joelongwood]

The Etys sound great out of my solid state amps. I particularly enjoy them out of my JMT built CHA47 and the RA-1. Maybe it's my tubes. The EMP was purchased used and is about 9 months old. But it sounds absolutely wonderful with everything else.......including the ER4Ps. It's probably my ears.

 

[Tim D]

I've tried Fixup's cable, but I reccomend you at least get used to stock before you swap. The stock cable and connectors are clever...they are actually made to help guide them into your ears which if you are new to the phones, you may need all the help you can get. For example they are angled connectors which when pushed naturally push the drivers upwards into the ears. They definitely are well designed in terms of insertion and removal ergonomics IMO. I've used Ety's for so long that this ergonomic advantage is not essential, but for newer users I think it would be quite helpful.

I believe the 4P is only slightly less microphonic than 4S. IMO the biggest issue of microphonics is the resistor pod which drags and conducts noise and both are designed this way. Also "breathing" noises is occlusion effect which is not cord noise. His cable is also 47 ohm which IMO needs medium level portables, but might be lacking for the weakest of portables (3mw). Because it is 47 ohm instead of 4P resistance, that alone will give it a different sound. IMO it is quite close to 4S sound and I do not notice significant treble roll-off whatsoever. I do not have 4P experience to give a extremely qualified answer however. His cable is definitely much cheaper in build, however they ARE cheaper...and it is nice to have a more disposably priced cord IMO compared to a $50 dollar replacement (i.e. if you really are very active with these phones such that the stock cord may be in danger of fraying, it also makes a nice alternative in that aspect).

Because his cable moves the resistors to the earpieces, and are generally much lighter weight cables akin to most generic portable cording, the microphonics are much less. However I'd reccomend it for "advanced/veteran" Ety users since it can be more problematic for newer users in certain aspects. The thing about the stock cord is, with the resistor pod, it is definitely very essential to use the shirt clip...and configuring the clip so that reduces noise. Fixup's cord has no more shirt clip attachment and it is just a dangling lightweight cord like most portables. I believe Fixup is working on another iteration of his cable right now however. I might be able to check out his latest cord design eventually, and I'll report if there are any more significant findings. I had a mini-review on his previous design in the Cables forum. Let me know if you have any more inquiries, otherwise I'd say you should at least give it some more time before you conclude that microphonics are still a large issue. The short-answer however would be that microphonics noise is indeed the biggest advantage to his cords, with trade off in fit and finish and some ergonomics IMO. Remember however that occlusion effect is different.