[zeplin]

orpheus.
seeing as you still feel that the ety's aren't worth it, they probably never will be, and that's too bad. it sounds to me like your ears aren't simply made for phones like the ety's. there has got to be a difference between your ears and my ears for you to be saying the things you've been saying about the ety's...that's got to be it. as for the answer, who knows, it could be an unlimited number of things. and i know it couldn't be that you simply don't like the sound because i've seen your descriptions about certain headphones, and also the types of headphones you've owned and listened to over the last year. you know what good sound is and can compare great sound to good sound, and to me, the ety's are beyond great...compared to all the other phones i'v ever heard.
oh well, some things just aren't for everyone. i hope you find another phone that can take you to such the blissful place that the etys take me to

then again, i admit, i could be wrong

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally posted by CBMC How about you try building this equalizer. I have heard that it does wonders to improve bass on the ety's. Here is the info on building it: http://www.linkwitzlab.com/reference_earphones.htm

According to the article, the Ety's don't need any equalization for the bass.

 

[CBMC]

What article are you speaking of. The one written by Seigfried Linkwitz or some other article. If you are speaking of the article written by Siegried Linkwitz, he does say that the eq has an effect on the bass response. Here is a direct excerpt from that article: Quote:

Listening for a while and then switching the equalization out of the signal path reveals a very exaggerated high frequency emphasis of certain sounds and an overall coloration. This sudden emphasis is a known psychoacoustic effect, when a notched out portion of the spectrum is filled back in. After having heard the earphones with the two peaks in their response removed, it is difficult to go back to them un-equalized. Not surprisingly the bass response of the equalized phones seems stronger. Also the judgment and setting of appropriate loudness levels becomes easy. I consider this an important indicator of system accuracy and why I find remote volume control for loudspeakers absolutely essential once the speakers have reached a certain level of performance.

Anyone who knows who has any experience with anything SL has done knows that he is truly a speaker making genius. I cannot comment directly on the sound(beings that I am still in the process of making my eq for my 4s's), but most of the time if SL says it sounds better, it truly does sound better. I have heard many of people say that his "Orion" speaker is the best speaker they have ever heard in any price range. This coming from people who have compared them to $20,000+ pairs of speakers. I think that is saying a whole lot.

 

[kwkarth]

Quote:

Originally posted by CBMC [size=xx-small]What article are you speaking of. The one written by Seigfried Linkwitz or some other article. If you are speaking of the article written by Siegried Linkwitz, he does say that the eq has an effect on the bass response. Here is a direct excerpt from that article: Anyone who knows who has any experience with anything SL has done knows that he is truly a speaker making genius. I cannot comment directly on the sound(beings that I am still in the process of making my eq for my 4s's), but most of the time if SL says it sounds better, it truly does sound better. I have heard many of people say that his "Orion" speaker is the best speaker they have ever heard in any price range. This coming from people who have compared them to $20,000+ pairs of speakers. I think that is saying a whole lot. [/size]

If you understand what Linkwitz is saying and look at his graphs, you will see that there IS NO EQUALIZATION NEEDED for the bass of the ETYs. The bass is SUBJECTIVELY improved because of the reduction of the peaks at 2.5kHz and 7.5kHz.

The bass equalization is ruler flat (i.e. "0") the the limits of his graph.

BTW, I like the article (thanks for the link!) and have great respect for Linkwitz. I plan to build one for my ETYs and see what it does for them.

 

[stuartr]

Well Dean,
If you don't like them, you don't like them right? At least they have a secondary function for you (traveling and isolation). It's better than getting HD600s and not liking them, seeing as you can only use them as home phones. Maybe your ears just don't jive with the etys. I like them as much as the HD600s. The only time I liked the 600s more was when I heard them at your house hooked up to the Sudgen and the Aero cd player using the cardas cables. For the record though, I have the 4S's, not the 4P. Anyway, maybe at some point you will grow to like them, but until then, you have the ultimate in isolation, which can be very useful.

 

[Orpheus]

well, i didn't mean to sound like i don't like them at all. i actually like them a lot for what they do best. i mean, they do sound the best of any portable type headphone i have ever heard. i'm just saying that they aren't as good as i thought they should be.

i wouldn't hesitate to recommend them as portable phones. but i wouldn't recommend them for home use if other non-portable phones are available.

 

[troublemaker]

make sure the tips are nice and moist.

if not i cant get a good seal.

when you do WHOA MOMMA

 

[Orpheus]

heh he... well, i didn't pay much attention to those threads, cause of course i never owned any till now.... but i do know that the most important thing is to get a good seal... and i cannot see how i could possibly get a better seal than what i did. i suppose i can wet the tips a bit before insertion....... but believe me, i REALLY jammed those things in.

but yeah... when i feel more awake today (it's 3:00 am now... and i just finished a long day of cards...), i'll be sure to do some research

Quote:

do you have anything that has simple bass and treble tone controls to add into the loop?

yup... i do. but i don't like to use that stuff during playback cause then you get used to the modified sound, and then you won't be able to listen to anything else without eq'ing........ then you're stuck, luck a drug addict.
Quote:

i suggest you take the time to let your body become acquainted with them, and make your judgements from a longer experience.

yeah... we'll see i guess. .......but i have a problem now.... i had a friend make the impressions for me from the kit the company sent over.... and we screwed one up. one ear was good... but the other i think he missed some crevices... so, wanna get another kit, but might not get the molds back for my trip to china in 2 weeks............ it's gonna be close.

 

[fractus2]

Orpheus, Are you twisting them slightly when you insert them? And lifting your ear with the other hand during insertion? You keep mentioning the jamming word and it's a very subtle motion to insert to get a good seal. You may not have seen this in another thread, so I'll quote it again for you. Good luck!

Quote:

FWIW, and you might already be doing this, but while inserting gently into your ear, rotate it. The twisting motion shapes the seal within your ear. The same method is used by millions (billions?) of hearing protection users. Here are some good examples. There's a quicktime video for the first one too. fitting instructions--rubber tips Fitting--foam

 

[MusicJunkie]

Orpheus - it takes a little while to get the hang of the Etys. When I first got mine I was disappointed too but after several days of listening they started to sound much better. I think you have to get used to the sound or something. Now I like them so much it almost feels like an addiction. I just can't get enough.

By the way, I found it really helped in the beginning to wet the tips before inserting. If you haven't tried that yet you should.

MJ

 

[kwkarth]

Orpheus,
Another problem common to many is overinsertion. If you push them in too far/too fast you'll end up pressurizing the air between your eardrum and the Ety. If that happens, you effectively limit the free motion of your eardrum and it's like having a bad cold w/ eustationitis. You severely limit both the bass and the treble when this happens. So the suggestions of carefully twisting or pulling up on the top of your ear or down on your ear lobe while inserting are all potentially good suggestions and are intended to facilitate pressure equalization while still getting a good seal. As far as wetting the tips... I find that cleaning the rubber tips with Debrox drops (6.5% carbamide peroxide solution and glycerine) then leaving the tips ever so slightly moist with that works best and doesn't promote itching. You can actually wipe the tips almost dry with a cloth after cleaning and there's still enough glycerine left to aid insertion.
Believe me, it's worth it!

 

[immtbiker]

Orpheus...
Besides all the suggestions, especially holding the ear up with the opposite hand, and after it makes the seal twisting it a quarter turn, I have another alternative. When I first got mine from Headroom, I called to complain about the quality of the sound from both types of inserts. I was using a D-Link hard drive mp3 player, and it sounded like crap. Then, I changed the source...1st an Ipod (1st gen), and 2nd out of my Grado amp, using a decent home CDP. Heaven fell to earth.
Try a different source.

 

[Orpheus]

hi... thanks for all the suggestions! gonna try them out after i take a shower....

Quote:

Try a different source.

...thanks... but mine's pretty good. the problem is probably with me it seems............ thus........

Quote:

If you push them in too far/too fast you'll end up pressurizing the air between your eardrum and the Ety.

you know... maybe this is happening too. cause when i put them in, sometimes i get a little dizzy, and i also thought there was some pressure change in there. but i didn't think it would change the sound..... hmmm..... i have some debrox too..... i'll try that

okay..... lift ear while inserting... coat with debrox... turn while inserting... exercise the fingers before hand... pray to the etymotic gods before inserting

gosh... this is a lot of work!

alrighty... gonna go take a shower now. i'll let you guys know how i do.