Falling back in love with my Etys

[Pablosammy]

Hi all,

I'm new to the forum, but have been a lurker for a long while!

I got into headphones when I bought a modest but musical pair of Vivanco cans nearly two decades ago, and have been searching for musical nirvana since. About five years ago, I got a pair of ER-4Ps and... hated them. The triple flanges felt like they were sticking pins into my apparently sensitive ear canals, and the grey foamies were far too big for my petite tubes. I couldn't get a proper seal, so the bass was anaemic. The final straw was when one of the grey foamies remained stuck in my ear after earphone withdrawal, prompting an embarassing trip to the local A&E.

I complained to Etymotic about this, and they sent me a big batch of small beige foamies, but by then the damage was done. My memory of the ER-4Ps was 'horrendously uncomfortable and bright'.

I've been on a journey since. Thinking I wasn't suited to IEMs I have since tried a number of high-ish end cans, and I've been disappointed with most of them. The worst was my latest - a set of Sennheiser HD595s, low enough impedance to be powered by my trusty lossless-packed iPod classic but with an enjoyable laidback sound according to the reviews. Well, I didn't enjoy them one bit - bright and lacking in finesse, according to my ears anyway. So I bought an iBasso to 'beef' them up a bit, and it made virtually no difference. Slightly better separation and a marginally better soundstage, but not enough to make me fall for the 'phones. So the journey continued!

I was ready to try IEMs again. I tried my friend's Shure e500s and found them fairly comfortable, and had a sound superior to anything I had listened to before. In a rare last ditch attempt to avoid spending needless money, I dug out the old Etys and plugged the beige foamies into my ears and the other end into my iBasso. Surely, all the glowing reviews couldn't be wrong?

WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING?! The little foamies filled my ear canal and formed a perfect but (to my huge surprise) comfortable seal. And then I pressed 'play'. The music was relaxed but accurate, the highs (oh, those highs!!!) sublimely detailed but never harsh, the midrange musical and smooth. And the bass - such a fuss has been made of the Ety's lack of punch in this department, but I wholeheartedly disagree. It's amazing the difference a 'proper' seal can make. It's deep and tight, and not at all lacking in magnitude. They aren't basshead's IEMs, but they're certainly not anaemic. I listen to a huge range of genres of music, and this includes dance - I found the bass was more than sufficient, and the fast, rhythmic treble gave the tracks real toe-tapping urge. None of this, at any time, was tiring. I listened for about 6 hours before I decided I'd pull these things from my ears and do something useful.

They're truly the best headphones I've ever had the pleasure of listening to, bar none. I'm just so gutted that they've been sitting in my house untouched for the last 5 years...

 

[ting.mike]

I've used the Etys both in P and S version, and while the treble is probably still the best you can get out of a universal IEM (short of the baby STAX), I finally gave it up for a lack of bottom end.

The bass quality is good, but there is just isn't enough of it.

I'm glad you're liking the Ety again though.

 

[3X0]

Frankly, the ER-4P has comparable bass quantity to my JH13 (though the quality, transients and texture are much superior in the latter). Of course, this may change with refit of the latter.

Nonetheless, like you I found the Ety's bass quantity more than sufficient.

 

[insyte]

I also like my er4s and have found that a good seal does bring out the bass a bit.

 

[ibis99]

Like my signature says.

but I still want the JH13

 

[priest]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pablosammy /img/forum/go_quote.gif The triple flanges felt like they were sticking pins into my apparently sensitive ear canals, and the grey foamies were far too big for my petite tubes.

I have grown to hate the grey foams on the ER6i as well. They are scratchy, fit me poorly, and are too long. I've been thinking of trying different foams, but I'm not sure I want to spend $20 (incl shipping) to take the chance on improving an $80 pair of IEMs. I was actually considering buying the yellow ones (wider but shorter), so now I really don't know what to do. I use the medium Shure olives. Do you think the beige ones are comparable? Thanks for your post.

 

[ChroniCali]

Glad you like the Etys, I had the ER6i and ER4P. The treble on the ER4P was amazing, but for me the bass just wasn't enough, the highs were harsh at times, and I guess the sound signature was just a little too fatiguing for me.

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Frankly, the ER-4P has comparable bass quantity to my JH13 (though the quality, transients and texture are much superior in the latter). Of course, this may change with refit of the latter. Nonetheless, like you I found the Ety's bass quantity more than sufficient.

How similar is the sound between the JH13 and the ER4P?
Particularly talking about balance and presentation.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif How similar is the sound between the JH13 and the ER4P? Particularly talking about balance and presentation.

The JH13 is more balanced. The upper treble (16KHz-20KHz) is filled out, and the midrange is more lush. The JH13 has much more expansive staging with superior, holographic imaging. The JH13 does not have the lower treble spike that the ER-4P has, yet it still manages to put out more detail and have greater resolution. The 13 is not as bright (despite the filled-out treble).

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif midrange is more lush

So its not a cold/dry phone like the etys?

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif So its not a cold/dry phone like the etys?

Nope, certainly not. There is much more warmth and chest in the midrange, and the 13 is definitely simultaneously wetter, warmer and smoother.

 

[swmtnbiker]

Funny how a thread about falling back in love with the ER-4P gets turned around to discussing the virtues of an earphone costing 6.5X as much.

Damn I've missed Head-Fi.

 

[ibis99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif So its not a cold/dry phone like the etys?

I still do not understand where this type of opinion comes from.

 

[HONEYBOY]

I must admit that the ER 4P is a lovely phone. I was really expecting to hear no bass whatsoever from the majority of reviews I read about them here. Although they lack the bass impact of some of my other phones they have good quantity bass when you get a good seal. Too bad they exacerbated the pressure problems in my ears.

 

[tstarn06]

A little OT, but I recently acquired a pair of Altec-Lansing im616s (MSRP of $149 in 2005) for $14 (amazing deal, a liquidator closeout), and they have Ety drivers. In fact, the PC Mag review in 2005 compared them favorably with the ER4P (which I also owned but sold some time ago for a pair of Atrio M5s). Anyway, the 616s have brought back the Ety sound, and amazingly, they also match up fantastic with the Westone UM56 custom sleeves I have for my UM3X. I do have to EQ the bass on my Sony A818, but wow, I also missed the Ety sound sig. They also have enough bass through my Zune80, which has no EQ. Could be the sleeves.

And I got my Ety fix for $14 ($17 shipped). Sweet.