[yojimbo]

I've been scanning the forums (fora??) for a few days now.. (I got a sony MZ-R700 for Christmas).. and me being me I need to find the best headphones to go with it.

I have virtually decided to go for etys and was leaning to the 4p but also like the idea of a portable amp - whether I buy both at the same time depends on how many beans I can get together - and now everyone's talking about an adapter cable.

Exactly what is it? is it necessary? what happens to 4p used with an amp with no adapter?

As you can see, this is my first post - sorry for appearing stupid!

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This was my first posting here but it was way down the bottom of a long thread - no real replies to my points so I'm trying again!

 

[Peddler]

The adaptor cable increased the impedence of the headphone to that of the 4S. When used without an additional amp through most modern portable devices, you will find the sound won't go very loud and sounds a little thin.

I would still go with the 4P and then perhaps get an adaptor cable and additional portable amp at a later date. To be honest the differences between the 4P and 4S are not that great when using portable sources and both sound fantastic.

Be warned though, in my opinion the Ety's are not the ideal portable headphone - they pick up a lot of body noise, your footsteps and cable movement and they are also very expensive - it would break my heart to trap them in a car door or something.

The 4P (like all headphones) will benefit from additional amplification but they do sound good when fed directly from my Sony 900 MD recorder. Admittedly they could go a little louder but I think the great thing about the Ety's is that you don't have to listen to your music as loud as before because of the excellent sound quality of the Ety's and the impressive isolation they provide.

I hope this helps. Good luck getting the 'beans' together.

 

[yojimbo]

Peddler - thanks for your reply.

I hear what you're saying about the Etys not being the best for listening on the move - that's ok as I would mainly listen to my md at various places rather than between them. Also, I don't think I would like to be completely isolated soundwise when out on the street.

I'm also not too fussed about music being as loud as possible - quality is what does it for me.

So, I think I'll be going for the 4p. Is it worth selling my granny so that I can buy an amp at the same time?

I seem to remember from previous posts that you bought your stuff from Headroom - if that's right, were they ok as far as service was concerned? and did you have to pay vat etc.

Even if you did, I think it will still be cheaper to import than to buy from the only uk supplier that i've found so far - crazy isn't it?

 

[Peddler]

Yep - no problems with Headroom - if you're lucky you may evade customs as well.

Their service was prompt and I had a problem with the first Airhead amp they sent me - so they sent me another one and asked me to send the first back using the cheapest possible postage option. I am well impressed with them and would recommend them to anyone.

It's definitely worth selling granny for a set of Ety's. I'm sure granny would look forward to a little 'slave work' - after all, it's for a good cause and all. Generally speaking though I rarely use the Airhead when in '4P' mode - it only gets used when using them with the 4S adaptor cable. I actually like the sound of both equally.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you think of them.