[apnk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMarchingMule /img/forum/go_quote.gif ^ Ladies and gentlemen, Hell has begun to freeze over.

Wow, Ety fanboy starting to crack? Wonder if EFN is next to crack?...






j/k

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ever since I received my HD650s the ER4s have sounded harsh and thin in comparison...The only solution was to make my ER4s sound like my HD650s...Switching the equalizer off, I am presented with a sound that is harsh, tinny... Guys, I don't think I am the ER4 fan that I used to be.

say it ain't so.

Un-EQ'd the ER4 does lack enough bass for me. My SuperMini is a good fix for that with its bass boost.

For a long time I used my ER4P for my workouts and used my ZV:M, then 80 GB iPod with the SuperMini but that combo was a little too big and I needed to wear a lifting belt just to carry it.

Then I bought the 2G shuffle and I used that with my ER4P for lifting but after a few weeks I finally caved and started amping the shuffle with the SuperMini just for the bass boost and with the P->S conversion they sound better overall.

Of course the ER4 will never be as satisfying as my 650 no matter what I amp them with but for that musical brain implant effect they rock!

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Quote:

Of course the ER4 will never be as satisfying as my 650 no matter what I amp them with but for that musical brain implant effect they rock!

Maybe you should try my EQ present. It is highly comparable to the HD650 in terms of frequency response. (Tested with music and pink noise.)

I might as well make it official. As of this moment, I hereby pass on the ERTorch (Or TorchR4S, if you will) to our good friend EFN. He is a strong and earnest Ety fan and will make an excellent new "ER4 Guy". Knowing what I know now, I can no longer heartily recommend the ER4 to someone and mean it with the enthusiasm that I used to.

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by apnk /img/forum/go_quote.gif Wow, Ety fanboy starting to crack? Wonder if EFN is next to crack?... j/k

OH NO! not EFN. He will never surrender his ER4- NEVER!

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe you should try my EQ present. It is highly comparable to the HD650 in terms of frequency response. (Tested with music and pink noise.)

You've mentioned that before I think.I'm sure it sounds very good. Its probably too complicated for me and requires a PC right?

I use my PC and Porta Corda MKIII-USB but mainly with Darth Beyers and 650.

I have used my 204 with IEMs...her Big Bottom will rock yer world

 

[PiccoloNamek]

No, it doesn't require a PC, but it does require Rockbox on your iPod, because RB has a parametric EQ.

You can hear what it sounds like though by listening to a pre-equalized file. If you could do just this one favor for a fellow ER4 user, I would be very grateful. It's only a small sample of one song, it won't take a big chunk of your time. I would love some feedback from someone else that has both the HD650s and the ER4s. (Note: you need to be using them in "S" mode without any other EQing being done.)

http://www.sendspace.com/file/iac3f5 (The unequalized sample plays first... try listening to the unEQ'd sample with your HD650s and comparing it to the EQ'd sample played back with the ER4s.)

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif No, it doesn't require a PC, but it does require Rockbox on your iPod, because RB has a parametric EQ. You can hear what it sounds like though by listening to a pre-equalized file. If you could do just this one favor for a fellow ER4 user, I would be very grateful. It's only a small sample of one song, it won't take a big chunk of your time. I would love some feedback from someone else that has both the HD650s and the ER4s. (Note: you need to be using them in "S" mode without any other EQing being done.) http://www.sendspace.com/file/iac3f5 (The unequalized sample plays first... try listening to the unEQ'd sample with your HD650s and comparing it to the EQ'd sample played back with the ER4s.)

My problem would be that I have a 5.5G 80 GB iPod which Rockbox doesn't support yet correct?

I will do the listening test but in order to listen to my ER4P as an "S" I'll need to use my SuperMini. This will also mean that I'll have to change jumpers on the amp back and forth so that the 650 doesn't get the added impedance...to be most accurate both should be listened to with the same amp.

I'll try it this evening when I have the time. I'm sure there are a few other members who also have ER4 & 650.

 

[EFN]

hhmmmmmmmm, being an Ety Zealot that I am, I still can understand your frustation my friend. We are human still and human can change with what they like.

Me cracking? not yet I guess. But I do admit the fact that my ER-4S does require a lot of beefing to sound good. Hence I have been busy at the Amp and DAP section finding the right synergy to drive my ER-4S. What astound me the most is how well ER-4S scale up with the right source. This I discovered the day I plugged my ER-4S to a dedicated CDP at the record shop where I purchase my CDs - and then I understood that my ER-4S has been deprived of good source. With this in mind, I have spent nearly $2000 on amps, cables, sources and mods all in the quest for providing that perfect source to drive my ER-4S. And I was rewarded handsomely to the point that I was almost convinced that I will find no joy listening to anything else. I tried HD600 and I find them too polite and veiled for my taste. I mod a KSC-75 and still that wasn't enuff to impress me because I have been doomed to love the Ety experience.

My next target is to get one of my ER-4S a proper custom molds. Even right now I have sent an RFQ to one of the local Audiologist for an Ear Impression.

I may stepped it up to UE-10 Pro in the later stages, and I may buy it to actually see(hear) if my custom molded ER-4S remain superior.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

There are some problems that even good source and amp can't fix. At his website, Siegfried Linkwitz explains that when he listens to the ER4 unequalized, the acoustic impedance mismatch between the ER4 and his ear canal and ear drum causes an 8db (!) peak at 7.6kHz in his ear canal. I know this is true because I did some searching and found mine. As best I can tell using the software available to me, it is a 5dB peak at 6kHz. Getting rid of this drastically increased the sound quality of the phones. They became significantly less harsh and instrument overtones suddenly became much easier to hear. (Do custom-fit IEMs suffer from this problem?)

Stop and think for a second: this is happening to every ER4 user! This is not accurate sound! I believe this may be why some people find the ER4 very harsh to listen to.

Even though I understand why the ER4 has the frequency response that it does, over time, this too became harsh and not very believable. It didn't sound flat, or natural, or even good. EQing this out made the sound of the ER4 much more believable and got rid of the harshness completely. Turning the EQ off leaves me with something that sounds incredibly tinny and harsh, like the output of a small, cheap weather radio.

I now know that one day I must go custom. Either that, or stick with the equalized setup I have now. (Which sounds damn good. I wonder if there is a custom IEM that sounds like it.)

 

[AudioNoob]

Small soundstage but I love the detail in the treble section. Wish they were still blue red, they sent me black ones. I sold them

 

[robm321]

I love mine! I'm sure there are better IEMs for much much more money. But the Ety er4s leaves me desiring nothing else for my portable rig.

My Xin supermini is perfect for it too.

 

[Miester_V]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are some problems that even good source and amp can't fix. At his website, Siegfried Linkwitz explains that when he listens to the ER4 unequalized, the acoustic impedance mismatch between the ER4 and his ear canal and ear drum causes an 8db (!) peak at 7.6kHz in his ear canal. I know this is true because I did some searching and found mine. As best I can tell using the software available to me, it is a 5dB peak at 6kHz. Getting rid of this drastically increased the sound quality of the phones. They became significantly less harsh and instrument overtones suddenly became much easier to hear. (Do custom-fit IEMs suffer from this problem?) Stop and think for a second: this is happening to every ER4 user! This is not accurate sound! I believe this may be why some people find the ER4 very harsh to listen to. Even though I understand why the ER4 has the frequency response that it does, over time, this too became harsh and not very believable. It didn't sound flat, or natural, or even good. EQing this out made the sound of the ER4 much more believable and got rid of the harshness completely. Turning the EQ off leaves me with something that sounds incredibly tinny and harsh, like the output of a small, cheap weather radio. I now know that one day I must go custom. Either that, or stick with the equalized setup I have now. (Which sounds damn good. I wonder if there is a custom IEM that sounds like it.)

Wonder how you would feel about the SF5P with this new "perspective" of yours? Or would you still have the same impressions?

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Nothing could ever make the super.fi 5 pros good.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nothing could ever make the super.fi 5 pros good.

True dat!

 

[spinrite]

I'm a big fan of the clarity and precision of the ER-4Ses, but they can sound chilly and a tad tipped-up -- or, on less-than-ideal source material, very etched and shrieky. When the transducer is shoved all the way down your ear canal within a fraction of an inch from your eardrum (and, let's not forget, sealing out 20dB of ambient noise), this can be waay too much of what, under more ideal circumstances, would normally be considered a good thing.
If you're staying at home, you have lots of choices, including the ER-4Ses, Sennheiser's 600-series phones, and AKG's justly acclaimed K 1000s, but of the 'phones I have heard that are designed to be taken out and about, nothing else comes close to the ER-4Ps.