[Aushadi]

Look, I really don't want to make a whole big thing about this, but Ety's have NO BASS!!
(or at least not very much...)

Got my 4P's a few months back, along with the 4S adapter, (which I never use for obvious reasons!)

Have also had my maxed-out meta42, (buffered Class A, no input caps, etc)-->(courtesy of tangent), for about 2 mos. Have tried 637, 843 and 8620 op-amps (hope I got that right!) all with similar results, bass-wise. I am not a "bass-freak", but these things make me feel like Homer might if he found out his "Duff" went to 3.2%!! D'oh!

Tried them with the rubbery tips and the foam tips - no big diff. Also, tried custom pcdp/pdvdp-to-amp cables by Bolder, DH Labs and Cardas...... same thing. Have ety cable component parts on order from fixup, but have no illusions...

My 12+ yr. old beyer dt990's stomp on these 4P's.
Of course their high end lacks some of that ultimate crystalline clarity of the ety's. But the 990's aren't bad. (but why 600 Ohms??)

Anyway, someone else in this forum compared the (closed) dt770's to having subwoofers strapped on the sides of his head. The (open) 990's are like sub's compared to the ety's!

Is this a case of the "emperor's new clothes" or am I missing something - like - "oh dummy! everybody already knows about that!"

Thanks, I just had to get that off my chest!

 

[Mallow005]

no visceral bass, audible. It does have bass, just not the kind you're used to. If you don't like the kind of bass that it has then it's probably not the right headphones for you, I know I'd get rid of my Etys if I didn't like the bass.

 

[dhwilkin]

Mandatory "Are you sure you have a proper seal?" question.

 

[Spad]

This is a well (and often) hashed subject. Many here will tell you that the bass is actually there. And it is, but it's not at all satisfying for many of us. For this reason (among others), the Etys could never be my prime 'phone. However, if you play to their strengths, namely the best isolation in the business, and superb imaging and definition, you'll learn to love them.

Honest.

Spad

 

[radrd]

I don't find the bass to be lacking at all. I actually prefer the 4S to the 4P because the 4S has better extension. I think you might be getting a poor seal, or perhaps you are hung up on the need for visceral bass, which the Etys do not and cannot provide. I have heard extreme bass in my KSC35, and I really prefer the balanced bass of the 4S, which has better extension than the 35 anyway.

On a side note, right now I'm looking for a headphone with visceral bass to compliment my Etys (as well as do some other stuff), but if I just had the 4S for the rest of my life, I would be more than satisfied with it.

But, maybe they just aren't for you? Not everyone has the same taste in headphones. Perhaps you should get the DT770-250 for isolation and visceral bass as well as extension.

 

[mkyy]

Aushadi, I guess I have the same first impression when I compare them to my HD580. But you'd get to know the ety's bass is in quality not quantity.

 

[LobsterSan]

cheap visceralbassy solution that is also a semi-canalphone:

sony ex-70

of course, you'd be sacrificing a lot of other qualities if you go this route...

I had a chance to briefly listen to these over thanksgiving -- they didn't make a bad first impression on me (though there are other headphones i'd rather buy).

 

[Aushadi]

Thanks, guys.

Hey, don't get me wrong. The ety's are great at what they do - and they do that extremely well. Not to mention just about the ultimate in portability, low-profile (on-the -job) hehe,

not nearly expensive-looking enough to steal, etc...

But that freq. resp. curve on the ety website for the 4P seems very misleading to me. Actually, the 4P curve seems basically identical to the 4S curve, just moved up in terms of output (greater sensitivity, due to lower impedance, I guess).
But since one is usually going to listen at the same volume level regardless of the ety in question's sensitivity, and powering these suckers is no problem with an amp, I don't see how the bass should even be perciptibly louder with the 4P; smoother on the high end I could imagine.

Yes, I have tried all manner of inserting, moving, postioning, etc., the little buggers. I can go from bass-lite to "where's the bass?!"

Oh, well....

 

[MacDEF]

Etys have some of the flattest and most extended bass of any headphone on the market. However, it's audible bass. They have little visceral bass at all. That takes some getting used to, and some people never get used to it.

P.S. Yes, and if you don't get a good seal, you don't even get the audible bass

 

[Peddler]

I can relate to what Aushadi says about the Ety's. I own the 4P and the Koss KSC-35's and I love the sound from both of them - even though they are very different.

I suspect there may be issues with fit to an extent - not just achieving the seal but ensuring a 'clean signal path' to the brain. I have noticed that sometimes with the Ety's I get a good seal but they still don't sound right and then suddenly it clicks into place. I suppose this is a combination of equalisation and perhaps ensuring the end of the Ety's is not closed to to being inserted too deeply.

To be honest, I spend more time listening to the 35's than I do the Ety's - this is more out of convenience and environment than anything else though - the Ety's are just too expensive to take out of the house.

When they are in right and the wind's blowing in the right direction and Jupiter is in alignment with my spleen, the Ety's sound wonderful - deep bass, crystal clear treble and a rock solid stability to the sound which I have not found with any other headphones.

 

[Aushadi]

Mac,

So what you're saying is that what I'm missing is that little air-sound-pocket pounding on&around my pinnae, that I get with regular cans? (Think pants-flapping, in the real world.) How much more visceral can 'phones be? And the bass that I hear w/my 990's is really not accurate/illusionary?

I know what some of the things I listen to actually sound like, and in terms of reproduction, Which is what it's "supposed" to be all about, (for me, anyway), the ety's just don't get down!
(In more than one sense of the word).

That's ok. No law against loving 2 headphones at the same time. I'll just love them despite their limitations!

I guess I might be afraid to lose them (taking them out of the house-wise). But don't believe any would-be thief would give them a seconde glance!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Aushadi Look, I really don't want to make a whole big thing about this, but Ety's have NO BASS!! (or at least not very much...)

That's still "better bass" than the muddy, one-note, WAY overboosted "V-CRAP"-style bass, IMHO.

 

[BDA_ABAT]

RE: Bass and Etys.... I'll just echo what someone else posted here a while ago... try some organ music to test the ability of Ety's to deliver DEEEEEEEP bass. You will hear the notes, but you won't feeeeel them.

(I know you've already responded to this, but it HAS to be repeated because.... well.... because it's true!) If you can't hear the bass from a recording of toccada and fugue played on an pipe organ, it's most likely a seal issue.

BTW: I'm in the "desert island" camp when it comes to Etys. Meaning, if I were stranded on a desert island and stuck with only one set of headphones (and a decent source, infinite power supply, OK, this is a stupid analogy but you get the point), Ety ER4S would be it.

Good luck!
Bruce

 

[Spad]

Quote:

Originally posted by Aushadi Mac, So what you're saying is that what I'm missing is that little air-sound-pocket pounding on&around my pinnae, that I get with regular cans? (Think pants-flapping, in the real world.) How much more visceral can 'phones be? And the bass that I hear w/my 990's is really not accurate/illusionary? I know what some of the things I listen to actually sound like, and in terms of reproduction, Which is what it's "supposed" to be all about, (for me, anyway), the ety's jsut don't get down! (In more than one sense of the word).

Have you tried both types of tips? I use Comply foamies and invariably get a good, comfortable seal with them. As MacDef says, no seal, NO bass.

 

[Duncan]

ok... you guys are all confusing me here...

do I have magical ER4Ps here or something? or have I just got the knack of hearing, rather than feeling the bass??

I think the bass is brilliant, rolling... deep... maybe not thunderous, but if I wanted that, i'd listen to my Beyers / MDR-V6

I certainly would not call them bass light though ~ whereas I would call the V6 / Beyers bass heavy...

am I alone here???