[VirtualMan]

I purchased a pair of HF5's which I love, but after much reading, I wondered if maybe I should try the ER4P as well. Some have said the differences are small and others say it is worth stepping up. My main player is the newest generation Ipod Classic as well as a rockboxed Sansa Fuze.
 
So, I hit upon an idea. I looked at the frequency response graphs from headphone.com on the HF5 and ER4P. I then took my rockboxed Sansa Fuze and boosted the 2k frequency by 1.5db and the 10.5k freq by 8db. I also boosted the 60hz by 3.5db and the 80hz by 1.5db just to get a little extra bass boost for warmth and fullness.
 
Lo and behold, I really like the sound with these settings. It's definitely clearer and the details are just enough better that if the ER4P sounded like this I would upgrade. I know this is not an exact representation of the two IEMS but I figured it was close enough to see the potential difference. Sounds like they stunted the sound of the HF5 just enough to justify the price of the ER4P.
 
So, should I take the plunge and try the ER4P?
 
 
 
 

 

[ubercaffeinated]

imho no. i don't think the er-4p alone is worth the upgrade. 
 
if you were going to get the er-4s or the er-4p with s cable, and you amped that **** properly, then i'd say it's worth it.
 
i hardly listen to the er-4p with the er-4s and amp on hand. the difference is just too big.
 
my advice: keep the hf5 for when you don't want to carry an amp, and get the er-4s (skip the er-4p and s cable option since you have the hf5 to fall back on) and get a decent portable amp.

 

[VirtualMan]

 
Quote:

imho no. i don't think the er-4p alone is worth the upgrade. 
 
if you were going to get the er-4s or the er-4p with s cable, and you amped that **** properly, then i'd say it's worth it.
 
i hardly listen to the er-4p with the er-4s and amp on hand. the difference is just too big.

So, the ER-4S with amp is THAT much greater? How much would I have to spend on an amp to make this big a difference?
 
 

 

[ubercaffeinated]

if you're afraid to get your feet wet, so to speak, try the jds labs cmoybb. it's a quick 60 buck intro to amps and it's sweet mellow musicallity combined with bass boost synergizes really well with the er-4s.
 
if you find you like it enough, you'll quickly find yourself willing to spend more.

 

[VirtualMan]

This hobby just has a way of sucking you in, doesn't it? Don't know if I want to keep the HF5's as I can't really afford both. Amp price is reasonable. Would I think the ER4P-S has weak bass with an amp? Notice I boosted the bass a bit on my Fuze and it was just right.

 

[calipilot227]

Quote:

This hobby just has a way of sucking you in, doesn't it? Don't know if I want to keep the HF5's as I can't really afford both. Amp price is reasonable. Would I think the ER4P-S has weak bass with an amp? Notice I boosted the bass a bit on my Fuze and it was just right.

The ER-4 has a very good amount of bass when properly amped.
 

 

[Tefloon]

"The ER-4 has a very good amount of bass when properly amped."
 
This worries me. I was thinking of getting an ER4 at some point, but I do not want much more bass than the hf5 if any. Are there any amps that will not substantially increase the bass?

 

[VirtualMan]

Quote:

The ER-4 has a very good amount of bass when properly amped.
 

Great! I'm not a huge basshead or anything. Just wanted a little bit more to fill out the sound a bit. The amount I added didn't affect the clarity or mids in any great way. Pretty subtle but noticeable.
 
 

 

[calipilot227]

Quote:

Quote:

Great! I'm not a huge basshead or anything. Just wanted a little bit more to fill out the sound a bit. The amount I added didn't affect the clarity or mids in any great way. Pretty subtle but noticeable.
 
 

This is the case with the ER-4 as well. The bass is still very controlled and does not overpower the mids and highs (or even come close to it). But what else do you expect from an Ety? 

 

 

[kmhaynes]

I recently upgraded from the HF5 to a gently used 3 yr old ER4P.  I'm not going to try to compare the bass of one over the other because source and amp differences and personal preferrences will completely color that evaluation.  Suffice it to say that both do a completely adequate job with necessary and accurate bass extension, and even fullness when it is in the music.
 
What I will say about the HF5 vs ER4P is that the imaging, instrument placement, soundstage, all those things that affect the accurate representation and "believability" of the music are a step or 2 better with the ER4P.  I had the HF5 for over 6 months, listened to it at least 2 hours per day, and loved the way it sounded.  But when I took the chance on a great price on the ER4P, and compared them for an entire week, the ER4P easily won me over for the $40 (at my purchase prices) difference -- no question about it.
 
While the HF5 does not sound bad, there is just a cohesiveness about the ER4P sound that is so natural and real sounding.  As the Radiohead song goes, everything in it's right place.

 

[calipilot227]

Quote:

I recently upgraded from the HF5 to a gently used 3 yr old ER4P.  I'm not going to try to compare the bass of one over the other because source and amp differences and personal preferrences will completely color that evaluation.  Suffice it to say that both do a completely adequate job with necessary and accurate bass extension, and even fullness when it is in the music.
 
What I will say about the HF5 vs ER4P is that the imaging, instrument placement, soundstage, all those things that affect the accurate representation and "believability" of the music are a step or 2 better with the ER4P.  I had the HF5 for over 6 months, listened to it at least 2 hours per day, and loved the way it sounded.  But when I took the chance on a great price on the ER4P, and compared them for an entire week, the ER4P easily won me over for the $40 (at my purchase prices) difference -- no question about it.
 
While the HF5 does not sound bad, there is just a cohesiveness about the ER4P sound that is so natural and real sounding.  As the Radiohead song goes, everything in it's right place.

Well said. Basically, everything the HF5 does well, the ER-4 does better 

 

 

[VirtualMan]

 
Quote:

Well said. Basically, everything the HF5 does well, the ER-4 does better 

 

Thats it. I'm just gonna have to try these. Guess I can send them back if the difference isn't great enough for me. It just seems hard to believe that the same drivers could be that much different. They must definitely tweak the HF5's to sound not quite as good.

 
 

 

[calipilot227]

Quote:

 

Thats it. I'm just gonna have to try these. Guess I can send them back if the difference isn't great enough for me. It just seems hard to believe that the same drivers could be that much different. They must definitely tweak the HF5's to sound not quite as good.

 
 

That's certainly possible, although the drivers for the ER-4 are hand-selected and closely matched. Maybe the HF5 is made with drivers that didn't make the cut for the ER-4 (much like Grado's Prestige Series Phono cartridges).