[Traveller]

Hi2all!

Like many a post on the Etys, I'm trying to figure out if I have a good (or bad) seal with my new Ety ER-4S or if I just have to adjust to them (coming from the "warmer" Grado House...).

When I use the grey foamies, I let them expand and then I give them a little tug. If I get the feeling that when tugging, my eardrum flexes (

), thus suggesting a kind of vacuum, I feel fairly certain that I have a seal.

When using the white tips, I can't tug at anything because they are so tight, I can only assume I have achieved the best seal possible. (Btw, after ~1hr of listening & removing those white bastards, my earcanals ache, fer cryin' out loud

While the clarity is undeniable, the bass is simply too clean (compared to the Grados) that it makes me uneasy. I find myself constantly pushing the earphones to verify the seal...

 

[Edwood]

Bass is too clean?

Never thought of that as a bad thing.
Thin, yes.

-Ed

 

[chillysalsa]

Yep, sometimes the Ety's have such transparent bass, it's invisible.

There's so many people questioning about the seal, I think people expect too much from Ety's because of how they're hyped on here.

 

[Traveller]

Quote:

Originally posted by Edwood Bass is too clean? Never thought of that as a bad thing. Thin, yes.

Sorry, thin is what I had in mind, even if it didn't make it to my keyboard

What I was trying to say is that the Grado's are colored (and I don't mind one bit) and it's more noticable in the lower frequencies although I'm sure this coloration affects the full bandwidth to some extent.

 

[Riordan]

there's more to a good seal than stuffing your ears

it's very important to equalize the pressure buildup between eardrum and etys - if the air is compressed, you'll have a very tight seal, full isolation and CRAPPY sound. sometimes there's neither bass nor soundstage.

my guess is that more people actually have problems with air pressure than with the oft-spoken seal.

trick #1 to avoid pressure buildup: open your mouth (wide) when inserting the etys. yes, you look stupid for a while, but that's a small price to pay

trick #2: sometimes it helps to pull on the upper half of your ear, upward and outside - if you hear/feel a little plop, the pressure's gone (if you overdo it, so is the seal)

trick #3: insertion angle is important (and individually different). you'll get it right after a while, but if you haven't found your personal angle yet, twist the ety a little bit while listening.

have fun with your etys - give them some more time, they're worth it.

 

[squibcake]

ety listening is a turbulent experience...i hated mine at first but with some recordings they are completely magical...try the smashing pumpkins' siamese dream with etys and an amp and you'll see what i mean. but the seal is tricky...sometimes it's perfect and sometimes it's not. a good test that i heard here on head-fi was to rub your fingers vigorously together outside your ears once you've inserted your etys...if you can hear them rubbing together, you could get a better seal. if you can't hear them, you're all good. i find sometimes they feel and sound a little better if i give 'em a little twist once they are in my ears for a while.

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by squibcake ety listening is a turbulent experience...i hated mine at first but with some recordings they are completely magical...try the smashing pumpkins' siamese dream with etys and an amp and you'll see what i mean. but the seal is tricky...sometimes it's perfect and sometimes it's not. a good test that i heard here on head-fi was to rub your fingers vigorously together outside your ears once you've inserted your etys...if you can hear them rubbing together, you could get a better seal. if you can't hear them, you're all good. i find sometimes they feel and sound a little better if i give 'em a little twist once they are in my ears for a while.

I found The Smashing Pumkins albums to be lacking impact especially on "Gish" with the etys and a PPA amp. Tool is another band that I don't think works that well with this headphone. When I listen with the hd650/Zu I get something magical. Acoustic and electronic music sound great on the etys.

 

[Elec]

I'm still getting used to my Etys as well, had them not quite a month yet and I'm not overly impressed. They're clean and detailed but I'm just not in love with their SOUND yet. They do accoustic guitar unbelievably well and are pretty good with electronic music with a lot of sharp synths. My previous trusty headphones are Sennheiser HD545s. The Senns sound like a baby HD600 - they're very smooth and airy but not as detailed or effortless as the 600s. The Etys are flatter and more detailed but not always more fun to listen to.

I like the sound of 4S a lot better than 4P (4P just sounds boring to me - like they're holding back) though 4S can be a little too bright on some recordings. I find myself turning it up to better hear something in the music, then turning it back down when glaring treble curls my toes. Turning on the crossfeed on my amp really chops the high end off and smoothes them out a bit. Good for ease of listening, bad for detail. I use the foamies and find them to be pretty comfortable. I get a better seal/noise reduction with the silicone tips, but they make my ears itch after a little while. The jury is still out, but I plan to give them a couple more months. If I don't learn to love them by then, I'll be very tempted to pass 'em along for an HD600.