[symbolic]

Hi everyone  

 
I'm new here and would like some help with an Etymotic purchase I'm about to make. I've been using the ER6i for about two years and I really like the Etymotic sound signature. I'm thinking of upgrading to either the ER4S or ER4P (for use with an iPod) and would like to hear your thoughts on which I should get. Right now, I'm leaning towards the ER4S!
 
Sound I'm looking for:
Although I love my ER6i, I want slightly less bass and smoother/less grainy treble. I bought the HF5 a few months ago but was disappointed with the sound - I found the sound muddy, male vocals sounded chesty, treble was dull, and bass was bloated. That's one of the reasons why I'm hesitating with the ER4P.
 
Amplification:
I do not intend to use a headphone amp. I don't listen to my music at ear-shattering levels although I would like to turn it up just a little sometimes. 
 
Music:
I listen to everything, really. Classical, metal, ambient, rock, electronic, country, some jazz. (Lost count after 8,000 CDs.)
 
Thanks in advance! Hoping to hear your opinions.

 

[Anaxilus]

You will need an amp w/ the 4S on an iPod if you want to turn it up occassionally and want to bring out the details and potential of the 4S.  No amp you really want the 4P.  If you want smoother treble get the 4P and add a P to S converter cable or lower inline impedance adapter than 75 ohms.  Maybe add about 15-20ohms worth to your P??  Anyway, if your get the P you can always add resistance as you plse to smooth it out. 
 
FWIW, Ety made the 4S first.  Then iPod came out then Ety said 'crap' and made the 4P by removing 75ohms of resistance.  They are identical other than this.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Yeah, I'd get the ER4P - they will sound fantastic straight out of your iPod, and I actually preferred the sound of the P to the S (punchier bass, slightly more fun sound). Especially if you're not planning on amplifying it ever, get the P rather than the S - that's what it was designed for, and you won't be missing out on much (if anything). Plus, if at some point you do decide to throw an amp into the mix, I found the ER4P to scale very well with both improved source and amplification.

 

[ricksome]

Ditto on the 4P. The above information is right on target

 

[koonhua90]

No intention of hijacking thread, but since there's an Etymotic discussing going on, I'd like to ask those who have HF5 and other Ety's, what's the difference between those? is the HF5 really that inferior?

 

[nc8000]

I have the HF2 which is just the HF5 with mic and control buttons and have never experienced them to sound like th OP states (nor ever heard them described that way), and out of an iPod I find them to be nearly identical to ER4-P. The treble might be marginally less sparkly and the bass might be marginally fuller than the ER4-P and then it might not. They are supposed to use the same balanced armature drivers, the ones in the ER4 models are just closer matched and the ER4 are hand assembled in US whereas the HF2/HF5 are mass assembled in the far east somewhere.

 

[symbolic]

Thanks for all your comments so far, I really appreciate it.
 
For sound, I prefer something "flatter" than the ER6i which for me has a bit too much bass and the treble can get just a touch grainy at times. I would go for the ER4P but I'm just afraid there will be too much bass, given my short experience with the HF5. (The HF5 and ER4P seem to have very close freq responses based on Headroom's graphs.) Again, I appreciate that some like a fun and punchy sound but I prefer "flat" with smooth treble.
 
With the ER6i, most of my listening is around 40-50% of the iPod's volume. With the ER4S, how much more would I have to push the iPod in order to attain the same perceived volume?
 
As for the HF5, I was actually pretty shocked when I first plugged them into my iPod. Although the soundstage seemed more expansive than the ER6i, I felt the overall sound was less clear (even muddy) compared to the ER6i, like there was too much midbass. While this toned down some of the brighter recordings in my collection, I felt that in many cases it gave poor definition to certain instruments and made voices sound too chesty.
 
Anyway, hope to hear more of your comments! Cheers. 

 

[Spyro]

If the OP did not like HF5 I certainly would not recommend ER4P.  It is too close.  ER4P just slightly clearer sounding...and I mean just slightly.  If you find HF5 too bassy. bloated, muddy....I would be afraid to recommend much as most think the opposite to be true.
 
Maybe REO or CK10?

 

[semisight]

Wait, you want less bass than the ER6i? Did you try EQ'ing the bass down on your iPod (for the HF5)? The treble/bass reducer presets on the iPod actually are pretty good (no distortion).

 

[GreatDane]

Mark this day in history...human wants LESS bass than Ety delivers.

 

[JxK]

Quote:

Mark this day in history...human wants LESS bass than Ety delivers.

And less than the er6i at that, the universally accepted king of anemic sounding earphones.

 

[GreatDane]

Quote:

And less than the er6i at that, the universally accepted king of anemic sounding earphones.

lol
 
I don't know for sure about that...I have ER6 and I thought the 6i was bassier.

 

[ricksome]

The ER4P has a very accurate bass IMHO

 

[markkr]

I have ER4s's and find that they are just fine directly from my iPod (admittedly they are better with an amp). I sold my ER4p's, to my ears they didn't sound as good without the additional resistance. YMMV

 

[symbolic]

Thanks again for all your comments, much appreciated! What a nice community you guys have here. (And some good humor too.)
 
I know, it sounds absurd that I would want less bass on an Etymotic

 Maybe it's not that I find ER6i has too much bass, I think it's more that I want better definition at the low end even if it's at the expense of total bass volume. (I tried amping the ER6i with my integrated amplifier at home and it sounded terrible - shrill, no bass - maybe because of the ER6i's low impedance? Sorry but I'm totally ignorant when it comes to amplifying headphones.)
 
Hope I didn't sound like the HF5 was an inferior product or anything. Those were just some of the subtle differences I found compared to the ER6i. The HF5 is still pretty fine judged on its own.  But if the ER4P sounds close to the HF5, I think I'll go for the ER4S. Hopefully, my iPod will drive it fine!