[afobisme]

i felt the same when i first got my e4cs too. they eventually grew on me though, and i like the sound.

duno if i felt like it was flat, more like it was missing a layer..

 

[MayorSimpleton]

I don't get any harshness from my E4C's (direct from iHP140). Actually they are the one 'can' that I felt totally at home with right from the off. In fact in terms of 'listenability' (as opposed pure sound quality), they are right up there and possibly better than my home rig.

FWIW - I experimented with all the different tips, even making up my own foamies - and found that the bog standard silicon grey tips were easily the best for me.

Pluck

 

[creyc]

Actually I felt very similar of my Shure E4Cs back when I had them.

The sounded bright but not detailed, if you can imagine how that sounds. Like bright for the sake of being bright, "simulated detail" which gave them a harsh sound I always thought.

I moved on to a few other IEMs which I liked much better, including the Super.fi 5 pro and Westone UM2. E4C's seem very polarized, either people love them or hate them. Could be a physical ear-incompatiblity possibly with certain people I suppose.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

How could they sound bright when they have such a big treble roll off? Their treble signature is almost the same as the 5 Pro's actually.

 

[Headphoner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Headphoner I also have the E4c's and I originally found them too bright and harsh. Here's what I did to transform them into excellent quality. I bought the HeadRoom Bithead amp ($200). I leave the crossfeed circuit switched off. I use my laptop as the CD player with the Bithead connected to a USB port. I play CD's with Windows Media Player (software), which has an equalizer. Windows Media Player comes, I believe, with Windows XP and is free. I boost 31Hz and 62Hz by 9dB. I boost 125Hz by 3dB. I boost 16kHz by 2dB. This transforms the E4c's. If you want the sound even warmer, try boosting 500Hz by 2 or 3dB. The secret is that the E4c's are excellent phones in need of equalization. They are seriously deficient in bass but this can be corrected with EQ. I listen to classical, folk, and Broadway. If you listen to hard rock with huge, insistent bass, you may want to take care not to overdrive the phones, given that the low bass is boosted 9dB. --Best, Les

PS There are three different settings for the sliders on the equalizer. The setting I used was the top one, in which the sliders move independently. --Best, Les

 

[Headphoner]

Quote:

Originally Posted by afobisme i felt the same when i first got my e4cs too. they eventually grew on me though, and i like the sound. duno if i felt like it was flat, more like it was missing a layer..

I think that, over time, your ear/brain was accomodating to the lack of bass. This is how our ear/brains work. A better solution is to add bass with an equalizer.

 

[Brewmaster]

Thanks for all the input.

I've been primarily driving them from either my Axim X50v, using the X50mix program, to increase the bass, or from an Audigy 2 Platinum Ex. I'm pretty sure I'm getting a good seal as I can hear hardly any external sound with either the foamies or the big clear tips. The other tips I can't get a good seal on and I notice a huge difference.

I'm going to try them at home tonight on my Yamaha RXV800 and see if I like the sound better to assess if it's maybe an amp thing. I'll also give them a bit more time to see if I warm up to them some more.

I suspect I may be expecting more from an IEM than is reasonable, but it sounds like trying out some Ety's, or the Westones may be a good idea.

Thanks again.

 

[creyc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek How could they sound bright when they have such a big treble roll off? Their treble signature is almost the same as the 5 Pro's actually.

Perhaps "harsh" was the right word to use afterall. I interpreted it as bright, but now that I recall you're right about the roll off. It was only in the very high frequencies though, because upper-mids lower-highs were definitely there.

Oh well, that IEM just didn't work for me. Good thing for competition and an open market!