[skagen]

I have a minidisc that I use for around town, on train and some jogging. I am looking at getting some in-earcanal phones to supplement the Sennheiser MX500, which has no isolation. Something that is actually decent sounding. I'd really rather spend $50, but $150 is an absoulte max.

The in-ear category seems to be best for my needs - isolation and ultra-portability. I dont want to carry anthing that can't go in my pocket - and certainly I'm not gonna use an amp to boost. Just looking for a simple, quality solution at this price range.

From searching the threads here, the Etymotic ER-6's seem to be a frequently recommend item in this price range. The problem I'm having is that I'm seeing widely varying descrriptions. Some describe it as "75% of the $300 ER-4", others say its very clear in the high end, but has no bass whatsoever. The descriptions seem to vary a lot and I;m not sure if that is because of fit variatins or something else.

KEY QUESTIONS:
What I'm trying to understand is: if I want high end clarity/definition, but I DEFINITELY need bass ( I listen to a lot of dance music), is this headphone going to be a waste of money or can it do the job. Can someone be definitive about what these ER-6's sounds like?

Or is there another in-ear-canal phone that is better for the job in that price range (or below).

 

[austonia]

you should check out the SONY MDR-EX70SL. in-ear design offers good isolation and lots of bass for dance tracks. plus its cheap ($40). however I have no personal experience with these

 

[skagen]

The Ex-70 was my starting point but all the reviews consistently say that the highs are crap and the bas is boomy - which is why I started looking in a bit higher price range. '

I'm definitely not spending $300 for the ER-4P. So I'm trying to figure out if the ER-6 is the define best perormer in this price range or should I forget it, concede on quality, save the cash and get the Sony's.

 

[fiddler]

Well, in the canal-phone department, and in your price range, I'd say your options are very limited. With the ER-6, you may not be happy with the perceived lack of bass, because Etymotics don't convey bass that you can only hear, not feel. And that's provided that you get a proper seal. With the EX-70, as you said, it's boomy, and screechy in the highs. I've heard em, I hate em. But then again, they might work for dance music.

If you considered large closed phones, that would open up some more possibilities. Off the top of my head, something that sounds perfect for your application would be the Sony MDR-V6. That won't fit in your pocket though, most likely. You won't be able to jog with them, but you don't want to jog with closed phones anyway, it's too dangerous.

 

[pedxing]

ER-6 has some bass, but not a whole lot of bass. The bass goes deep and its very tight, but if you listen to like pop, rock, rap, or electronic music, you will notice something is missing. It doesn't have impact and the bass is deemphasized. Ironically, I like the ER-6 bass response when it comes to classical music because it doesn't bloat the bass. However, I don't like maitaining the ER-6 because the filters get dirty and need replacing. When you store them, they have to be stored in a lint/dust free container.

If you expect the ER-6's to have at least the same amount of bass coming out of some cheap sony ear buds, you are kinda outta of luck. The Sony EX-70 has a lot of bass and screechy highs. In my opinion, the bass from the EX-70 is bloated and it doesn't go deep, but its damn fun to listen to with rock and electronic music.

 

[ssblood]

I listen to all kinds of music on my ER-6s and have never heard anything that the bass wasn't there. ICP, Ludacris (southern hospitality (heavy bass)), Big Pun, BIG, etc. The bass is always there.

I've been told an amp makes a big difference but I don't have one, they are NOT easy to drive from a portable and really do need an amp. I'm getting one soon so I'll find out how much they improve. I also listen to some Paul Oakenfold, ATB, etc and the bass is there in the songs. What are you going to use them with?

 

[redshifter]

get the er6, it'll take a few minutes for your ears to adjust, but you'll hear plenty of bass. if they don't come with them, order the foamies too.

 

[ssblood]

It suprises me everytime I listen to a new song on them, I'm always hearing things I didn't know where in the song, a small echo, background noise, etc.

 

[redshifter]

Quote:

Originally posted by ssblood It suprises me everytime I listen to a new song on them, I'm always hearing things I didn't know where in the song, a small echo, background noise, etc.

they are particularly good with music that has lots of low-level detail, brian eno's ambient music and boards or canada for example.

 

[skagen]

I listen to pretty much everything, but there are certain things that that are very incomplete to listen to if you don't have any punch in the bass: r&B, hip hop, drum & bass, Massive Attack & co - or even quality house music (not techno, think more soulful stuff). And that's what I listen when I'm on the go or working out - ie the only times I will use headphones. The fact that musis is bass-driven doesn't mean that it can't be complex, or have detail in there that you want to here in BOTH the highs and lows. The EX-70 sounds like it would be a huge dissapointment in that respect.

Considering that you can get an earbud like the MX-400 (for $10!!) this in-ear-canal genre of phones seems really woefully underserved:
- the Koss Plugs ($20) seems like crap
- the aiwas seem like a waste of $$$
- the Sony EX-70 ($35 or $45 for the japanese short-cord version), seems like overpriced and underwhelming

Seems like such an obvious market opportunity. Anyone who makes a good - not even great - canal phone for $40-50 would clean up like crazy. Not a reference-quality item, just something that is clear and has a reasonable amount of punch and definition. What are all these guys thinking? Major $$ opportunity floating here....

So, I guess I'm gonna give these ER-6's a shot and do the foam modification that I've heard about. I don't mine attempting to get some good sound for $100, but $300 for the ER-4P is just out of the question for me considering that would be far more than I paid for my minidisc - and far more than I can afford anyway.

So with this in mind, anyone know the CHEAPEST place to buy these - or is any of you upgrading and selling a used pair?

 

[ssblood]

Heh. Look in the For Sale forum

 

[Wazoo]

I received a pair of these for Christmas and they are amazing-lots of detail that I missed with my Grados and Sens. They take a little getting use to and if a good seal is made,bass is there! Well worth a try!

 

[plainsong]

I was at the computer one night while my husband decided to use the beyers for a little gaming. Being that he's deaf, and these are open phones, I was getting annoyed at all the shooting I was hearing. I was pouting to myself, wishing that some 4s's would drop from the sky.

But duh, it's not like I don't have er6s'. I bought these as portable, but given that I'm usually too afraid to get run over to use them _much_ outside, they more or less sit by my computer now. Now that I have a halfway decent pcdp, I can't wait to try on the 4p/s.

In the meantime, I've learned to love my er6s again.