duetta
100+ Head-Fier
Hello,
I've owned ER-4S canalphones for over two years. To me, they are one of the most extraordinary pieces of audio gear I have ever encountered. The clarity and immediacy they bring to music is compelling. And using custom earmolds, they are extremely comfortable. I use them both at home and when I travel.
Still...for home use, I find myself wishing I could tweak the sound to add a bit of richness ("artificial richness," perhaps, much like many owners try to do with Quads loudspeakers or mini-monitors). I've tried a number of different amps with these transducers, but probably have yet to find the ideal combo.
I currently own both a Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 (with the XPU power supply) and an original Airhead. The Musical Fidelity seems a terrific amp, and a fine match for the darker sound of my other set of reference phones, Beyer DT-990 Pros (vintage 1993). But, at least with the stock Philips 6922 tubes, the amp seems a bit bright to partner with the Etymotics. The Airhead is fine for the road (well, mostly, except the construction isn't so hot), but it's not a serious contender for home use. I've also had a Headroom Maxed Out Home in my system (which, at least via the Etymotics, didn't sound much superior to the Airhead!) and a Sonic Frontiers Line 1 Preamp (which features the Headroom circuit). The SF Line 1 was the sweetest amp I heard for the ER-4S, even with the stock Sovtek tubes -- but unfortunately, its sound through the middle frequencies as a preamp with the main audio rig left much to be desired (a deficiency that SF has apparently acknowledged with the release of the SE series, which uses Valvo and Siemens tubes throughout). I have a DIY 3rd Headphone amp (that an audiophile friend who used to work at AT&T built using a hard-to-find Bell Labs chip, and tweaked to sound very close to the Grado Headphone amp). So far, none of these has done the trick.
I’m told that swapping the Philips 6922s in the X-Cans V2 for Amperex 7308s or Mullards 6922s might get me closer to where I want to go – which will probably be my next step. As far other amps out there…other than getting either a completely NOS re-tubed Line 1 (and that hockey puck remote can be quite addictive) back in here, or a Line 1, 2 or 3 SE, I’m at a loss.
Another option may be to simply keep the ER-4s exclusively for travel and build a new system around Sennheiser HD-600s or the AKG K-1000. The only Grado’s I’ve heard were the SR-225s, and I couldn’t return them to the store soon enough – so I’m not particularly well disposed towards their products at the moment. All comments will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Matt C
I've owned ER-4S canalphones for over two years. To me, they are one of the most extraordinary pieces of audio gear I have ever encountered. The clarity and immediacy they bring to music is compelling. And using custom earmolds, they are extremely comfortable. I use them both at home and when I travel.
Still...for home use, I find myself wishing I could tweak the sound to add a bit of richness ("artificial richness," perhaps, much like many owners try to do with Quads loudspeakers or mini-monitors). I've tried a number of different amps with these transducers, but probably have yet to find the ideal combo.
I currently own both a Musical Fidelity X-Can V2 (with the XPU power supply) and an original Airhead. The Musical Fidelity seems a terrific amp, and a fine match for the darker sound of my other set of reference phones, Beyer DT-990 Pros (vintage 1993). But, at least with the stock Philips 6922 tubes, the amp seems a bit bright to partner with the Etymotics. The Airhead is fine for the road (well, mostly, except the construction isn't so hot), but it's not a serious contender for home use. I've also had a Headroom Maxed Out Home in my system (which, at least via the Etymotics, didn't sound much superior to the Airhead!) and a Sonic Frontiers Line 1 Preamp (which features the Headroom circuit). The SF Line 1 was the sweetest amp I heard for the ER-4S, even with the stock Sovtek tubes -- but unfortunately, its sound through the middle frequencies as a preamp with the main audio rig left much to be desired (a deficiency that SF has apparently acknowledged with the release of the SE series, which uses Valvo and Siemens tubes throughout). I have a DIY 3rd Headphone amp (that an audiophile friend who used to work at AT&T built using a hard-to-find Bell Labs chip, and tweaked to sound very close to the Grado Headphone amp). So far, none of these has done the trick.
I’m told that swapping the Philips 6922s in the X-Cans V2 for Amperex 7308s or Mullards 6922s might get me closer to where I want to go – which will probably be my next step. As far other amps out there…other than getting either a completely NOS re-tubed Line 1 (and that hockey puck remote can be quite addictive) back in here, or a Line 1, 2 or 3 SE, I’m at a loss.
Another option may be to simply keep the ER-4s exclusively for travel and build a new system around Sennheiser HD-600s or the AKG K-1000. The only Grado’s I’ve heard were the SR-225s, and I couldn’t return them to the store soon enough – so I’m not particularly well disposed towards their products at the moment. All comments will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Matt C
