[cn11]

Anyone agree with me that the er-4p's are annoyingly bright? I mean, I'm thinking of returning them. I also find them quite uncomortable to the point that I don't enjoy listening. I can't believe they want $330 at original retail. A waste in my opinion (thankfully I did not pay that much!).
-Chris.

 

[Hiker]

I find the ER-4P to be one of the most neutral headphones that I have heard, actually. I am thinking this might be a seal issue. If you don't get a proper seal in your ear, the sound will be thin and bright. Getting the proper seal will add the lower frequencies and depth. Play around with them for a while until you can get a good seal at which point you should hear a clear difference.

Some common tips for getting a proper seal include:

When using silicone tips - Wet them slightly first before insertion. This definately helps. Also, make sure that they are deep enough in your ear. They don't merely sit at the entrance.

When using foamies - Squeeze the foamies as small as you can (gently) and then insert the etys into your ear. Let the foamies expand in your ear, and if you inserted them deep enough, they should form a pretty good seal. From what Ive heard, more people have been more successful with getting a seal with the foamies than with the silicone tips.

 

[cn11]

I've done all of the above already actually. I definitely liked the foam tips better & I had them inserted (after rolling each to as thin as possible) so that none of the foam was visible- only the blue or red sticking out from my ear. They distorted in the bass area way early, and without that deep of a bass either. So far I don't see what all the hubbub is all about.
-Chris.

 

[Tim D]

ER4's do not distort in the bass area "way early". A broken pair of ER4's may distort in the bass area way early. An inadequate amp may distort in the bass area way early. But properly driven it is your ears that would distort and bleed before the ER4's ever do.

You could be having them too deep as well. In fact shoving them so deep that you can only see red and blue doesn't mean you have a good seal...that sounds painfully and abnormally deep to me but who knows, ears vary.

 

[psyco1]

I bet you have too much pressure between the Etys and your ear drum. Try pulling them out a bit after they seal, then let the foam reseal or pull up on the top of your ear, that can allow excess pressure to escape.

 

[Tyson]

Either your ety's or your amp is broken. They can push well over 100db with no distortion.

If you are using some kind of bass boost from your amp or your source, disable it, as it might be the cause of this as well.

 

[JB1]

Yes, Chris. Whether we describe the ety sound as 'annoyingly bright' or 'lack of bass' or 'unbalanced' we're probably describing the same thing. I think I agree with you, although I'm going to listen longer to see if my ears adjust to the ety sound.

I started a thread shortly after yours that gives my first impressions. Let's keep trying them before we return them.

 

[george]

I have been using the ety 4p's for several months while traveling and have heard no brightness or bass distortion whatsoever. I find them very listenable and find they do a very nice job of music reproduction. As someone else suggested, perhaps it is a source or amp problem.

 

[Rizumu]

Quote:

Originally posted by JB1 Yes, Chris. Whether we describe the ety sound as 'annoyingly bright' or 'lack of bass' or 'unbalanced' we're probably describing the same thing. I think I agree with you, although I'm going to listen longer to see if my ears adjust to the ety sound. I started a thread shortly after yours that gives my first impressions. Let's keep trying them before we return them.

You are NOT getting a correct seal. If you think you are, you're wrong. I've been adjusting to Ety's for the the fast few days and they only sounded "annoylingly bright", "lacking in bass" or "unbalanced" when my seal wasn't correct. So try, try again. You're doing it wrong.

 

[vwap]

Quote:

Originally posted by cn11 I can't believe they want $330 at original retail. A waste in my opinion (thankfully I did not pay that much!).

earhuggers 4 lizzife! theyre more comfy and fit better than etys, not as bright, bassy, and im $200 richer than you ety f00lz!!!!!11


[size=xx-small]But, more seriously, you've likely got a seal problem. If it's not sealing properly and you think you have "bigger than normal" ear canals, you might want to get the larger foamies. I believe Headroom sells these. Otherwise, keep trying and fiddling with the seal of either the foamies or the rubbers. They'll help immensely once you get it right.[/size]

 

[Vertigo-1]

Etymotics are never bright. They all have a very smooth treble response, and that includes the supposedly bright 4B (which I own). I'd agree that it's probably a sealing problem.

 

[rt297]

Part of the problem may be that a lifetime of listening to wildly inaccurate earphones lead a lot of people to be initially be turned off by the Etty's sound. Get a good seal as mentioned above, and give your ears and brain some breakin time to get used to the smooth flat response, and you will never go back. Patience Grasshopper.

 

[swalker]

Sounds like an equalization issue. Try to put some vaseline on the white and try to achieve a seal WIHTOUT going in too deep. You should get a feeling of a tight seal but shouldn't feel too much pressure in your ears. Also check your source. I used to have a EQ with treble boost for my KSC35s and when the Etys came in I had to turn it down and eventually had to upgrade to a better soundcard fron Soundblaster Live.

 

[cn11]

Hi, thanks everyone.
I've been off the board for a couple days, & it's nice to see so much help! Truly a great bunch of folks on this board. I've been listening off and on a couple days now, and hopefully they're getting broken in a bit more. I'm also starting to suspect a lot of the problem is the 5+ yr old Panasonic portable cdp I've got. It's sl-361 I think?? Probably not the best around. Any recommendations for a good sounding portable that is punchy and believable in the bass area as well as detailed? That would make my listening life much more enjoyable during my days at work!

-Thanks again all, Chris.

 

[george]

I use a Sony D-EJ621 with my 4p's and find it works well. It is a year or so old and one feature I like is a 2-step bass boost feature for those recordings that could use a little help in the bass section. In that department, I am only a purist at home, not on an airplane, passenger in a car or hotel room.

Might be worth a try to use a different source to find out just how good the ety's really are.

Have fun and enjoy the music.