[LTUCCI1924]

The Sr-225 have a very good sound stage and sound very clear and upfront and have great bass. How would the ety ER4p sound compared to this . Will I lose the 225 sound stage? Will I gain a in the head sound to make up for that? Would the ety ER4p sound better than the grado SR-225 or just different and not really that much better? I mean would the ety ER4p be good for my home rig with my ULTRA amp and MiniDisc deck? Or am I better off with the SR-225 with my home rig? The reason I am asking this is because I like my shure E2 so much and am getting used to the in your head sound but seem to always go back to the grado SR-225 for a bigger home sound and only use the E2 for my portable rig. Thank you

 

[austonia]

Lou, its pretty far out to compare ER4p to grado 225. totally, completely different beasties. grado = not pocket size, way open, pads-on-ears, lots of punch. Ety ER4P = very pocket sized, totally closed, in-ear, superior accuracy.

Etys are light-years better than the Shure E2's, so if you can afford them, you really should give them a try at least. I've owned the E2's before and they sound like mud next to Ety.

Ety's are pretty tough, I take them everywhere in a small pocket-size leather bag. In my experience they are the ultimate portable audiophile solution. But, they are not only good for portable use. I use them at home often when the kids are around or the loud AC unit is on, etc - it totally attenuates that stuff. Or I use it when I really want to *listen* to the music with full attention, since they are so crystal clear.

But, Grado's are good too, just really really open. If you A/B them you will find that Grado has a lot more Bass and Punch but that comes with the full-size drivers and on-ear pads. With the Ety's you wont' hear anything else around you, and you will find details in music you may not hear on the Grado's, but they are a little weak on bass, only a little. I actually like having both types of headphones (bass-emphasized and non-emphasized) for different music, moods.

 

[AIM9x]

ooh, etys and sr225s... I didn't spend a very large amount of time with the SR225s at the so-cal meet (was spoiled by RS-1), but I did get a good sense of what they are like.

To answer your first question... very good. The etys will sound great, no matter what you're comparing to (well, i haven't heard omega IIs or HE-90s, but from everything else, they still sound great). The entire frequency range is crystal clear in the etys. Nothing is abrasive or obtrusive. There is no midbass hump to piss you off, and no treble spike to split your eardrums in two. They are neutral, but it just makes you realize how good music can sound, instead of realizing how goofy you can make music sound.

Etys are great phones for at-home rigs, as long as you aren't bothered by the fact that you can't hear anything while using them. They sound great, are immensely comfortable, and can easily be put in the little pouch for portable use.

As to how they sound compared to each other... Austonia explained it well when he said they are two different beasts. (not sure why he used the word beasties, but i will refrain from repeating it) I thought the etys presented a better sounding scale, but that's always personal. The sr225s definitely had stronger bass impact, but that's what makes grados grados. Etys were definitely clearer, airier, and whatever goofy words you want to come up with, except for punchier (if that's even a damned word). The grados are phones that make you say "hey, nice impact" or maybe, "these are a bit bright, but i can handle it." The etys are phones that make you wonder, "What? why do these sound so damned good?"

I hope that helped.

 

[Duncan]

ETYs can handle ultra loud volumes (like Lou likes) but they tend to sound a little spitty... then again, you can only expect that little 3.5mm driver to do so much...

For Lou, i'd probably disuade from the ETYs if it were my opinion, although otheres may disagree

 

[cscott23]

This is for AIM9x's clear disdain for the adjective punchier:

Main Entry: punchy
Pronunciation: 'p&n-chE
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): punch·i·er; -est
Date: 1917
1 : having punch : FORCEFUL, SPIRITED
2 : PUNCH-DRUNK


Next word to look up: beasties

 

[williamgoody]

Personally I like the Ety 4P's better than the Sr 225's. I find the music has more "definition" and balance, which suit my tastes; but also handle the faster rock and roll incredibly well. You lose a touch of the soundstage with them, but make up for it with balance between the highs and lows. The Ety's are fantastic for everything IMO, while I only prefered the 225's when I had them for rock.

Lou, you may find the Ety's to your liking for the music you listen to, like Karen Carpenter and Fleetwood Mac and such.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

williamgoody
HI BILL: You know I value your opinion so I will order them today. Is headroom the best price at 269.00

 

[iamdone]

Lou, if you are going to get the ER-4P, make sure you get the 4P to 4S converter if you are going to be hooking it up to the Ultra or any amp. I am using the Transit with dc power and the etys don't sound their best without the converter. The cable brings all the frequencies to their correct level so the bass is deeper, the highs are crisper, and all the detail is there. The 4P will sound slightly muddy compared to the 4S with an amp.


I haven't heard the Shure E2 but the ER4s blow away the etys ER6s.

 

[Deviant]

I am getting the TRANSIT with the 4p to 4s converter built in. Is this all I need or do I still need to buy the cable??

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by Deviant I am getting the TRANSIT with the 4p to 4s converter built in. Is this all I need or do I still need to buy the cable??

That is all you need to do.

The only problem with getting the converter built in, is the amp is somewhat limited to only using ety 4P. You can still use other headphones, but it will change their sound, maybe for the better, maybe not, but it will not be the sound the headphone manufacturer had in mind. I've tried the converter cable with my Senn PX200 and they sound different and have more detail but are not as full. I prefer the sound without the cable but if you had it built in, you will not have that option.

 

[Deviant]

So if I understand you correctly, if I want to use this amp with other headphones down the road, my best bet would NOT to get the converter built in but rather just buy the 4p to 4s cable seperately?

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by Deviant So if I understand you correctly, if I want to use this amp with other headphones down the road, my best bet would NOT to get the converter built in but rather just buy the 4p to 4s cable seperately?

Yes. Just an example would be if you used HD600 headphones through this amp, you'd now have a resistance of around 375 ohm. The headphones have 300 ohm and the amp has a converter of 75 ohms. Not only would the amp have an even harder time powering the headphones, the sound would be altered for what these headphones should sound like.

If you already ordered the amp, I'm sure you could have Norm remove the converter later when you're ready to try different headphones. I'm set with just using my etys for now but I like the option of being able to use more headphones in the future.

I actually just order a true ety converter cable for headroom. I was using one from fixup but thought it would better sound with the real ety cable. The reason is not the resistors Xin uses but the cable. When I switched out my Xin interconnect cable with a Markartek cable it made a noticeable difference so I believe the same would be true with the converter. I have one of his Radio Shack altered cables before he started making the little adapters.

 

[Deviant]

Thanks for the help. I think i am going to do the same.