[Chris T]

Having read quite a bit on here about these three 'phones I am getting more confused as to my next move.

I have owned a couple of pairs of er4p's. The first pair went wrong in months (one earpiece) and Etymotic replaced them after I paid a fortune sending them back from the UK. These lasted about a year before the cable became intermittent near one of the earpieces. I liked the sound so after a while I bought another pair (this time from a supplier in the UK) which has the newer twisted cable. These have lasted about two years and the single cable going into the housing has now lost its outer sleeve exposing the cable screening It's only a matter of time before that worsens. I came back to this site after a long break trying to find out about replacement cables (knowing theat Ety won't send them out). I read good and bad things about the upgrade cables mentioned on here so thought about buying another pair of earphones instead.

This is where the problems start. I like the sound of the Ety's withy a few reservations. I cannot get on with the triple flanges, I can't get a consistent seal with them, so i use the foamies. I like the analytical sound with these 'phones... being able to hear things in recordings that pass you by with other 'phones. How easy it is to pick out individual elements in a orchestra and so on... the usual stuff really. The downside is a sometimes "thin" sound.. a tad cold sounding in the midrange and not much "oomph" bass wise... although what there is is very clean and musical indeed. By comparison my Senns (HD650) can sound a bit overblown if you compare them directly after the Etys.

Various reviews here praise the Phonak's highly. Some suggest that the midrange is better than the Ety's because it is warmer but still detailed. That sounds interesting to me. Others say the Ety's still win over the Phonak's but most people seem to say the opposite.

One person then spoilt the whole thing by writing wonderful things about the Westone 3's which in the UK are pretty expensive. Others have bought the Senn IE8's into it and have made me wonder if they have the clarity I am looking for. Do they have great advantages over the Phonak's. Then there is the matter of isolation. The Ety's are good at this as you all know but maybe the Phonak's are not? The Senns are better? Some of the time I listen to my Ety's I am walking alongside heavy rush hour traffic and they do attenuate the sound well. I need something as good as, or nearly as good as these for that reason. But mostly it's the sound quality as I would want to hear them at home, where the isolation isn't really an issue, if they were that good. I like a natural balance revealing good detail.

Any thoughts anyone has on all this would be much appreciated. Prices in the UK for these 'phones are:

Westones approx £265
IE8 approx £200
Phonak about £105

I'd love to just spend £105 and be happy. Is it possible I wonder?

Chris

 

[tstarn06]

Seems there is a lot already posted on these various issues, especially by Average_Joe who had both the Phonaks and the IE8s (he returned the former for the latter). You asked about two phones that cost considerably more than your budget, no? The Phonaks are great phones for the price, and paired with an amp (even the cheap FiiO E5) really sound fantastic.

 

[Chris T]

Thanks for your reply tstarn06. I've read most of the posts on here from yourself and Average_Joe among many others and I guess that's what is adding to my confusion.. Maybe I should go back and read them all again really.

I could actually afford the Westone 3's if wanted to spend pretty much all of my spare cash. So saving a bit to buy the IE8's if they were as good.. (and I see a few people think the IE8's are better than the Westone's .. although I wonder how many have really compared them) would be good as it would leave money over to stock up on eartips and filters or whatever I might need for the forseeable future. I have been edging toward the IE8's from what I have read so far but I will keep reading a bit longer.

Chris

 

[inukage0029]

really, even though i own the IE8s and love them more than any other headphone i have listened to, the phonaks are the best price/performance by far.

Both the Westone 3 and the IE8 have tons of clarity, if that is what is holding you back, but they cost way more. I think you should go with the Phonaks

 

[Chris T]

Thanks inukage0029

Actually checking out the Westone UK price.. they are more like £300 here. The only way to buy them for the amount I said is to get them from the States or Hong Kong and run the risk of paying import duty and VAT when they reach this country.

It still sounds from what you and Average_Joe say that price aside, the IE8's are better than the Phonak's. I'm still edging toward the IE8's but I do like what I read about the Phonak's

 

[robm321]

As a former Ety owner, I can say that the PFEs do solve the problems that you mentioned without losing the detail, staying neutral and keeping the clarity.

They don't match the Etys highs or razor sharp detail, but the difference is small enough to consider it splitting hairs. By the way, what IEM does match the Etys in razor sharp detail? So, the Phonaks are very transparent and detailed.

These are not lush sounding IEMs, but they are not clinical sounding either. They are just right. The one thing these do better than the Etys is give more energy to the music. Electric guitars have a crunch to them and symphonic music has a smooth, balanced sound. In other words, it does all genres well. I felt the Etys didn't give me that last bit of oomph needed for rock because they lacked bass and weight. The same thing with symphonies. The finale of Beethoven's 9th is much more powerful on the PFEs.

Bad recordings were unlistenable on Etys, these sound good with them. No razor sharp highs. They expose sibilance and other flaws (they are very detailed after all), but they don't stick out and stab you in the ear. They are just heard - so no cringing.

I feel that the IE8s are a great IEM considering some feedback, but the fact that they have a dark sound was a killer for me... and the fact that they are 3-4x the price of the Phonaks in the U.S. The PFEs seem to do everything right, so there is no reason to upgrade.

They don't seal nearly as good as the Etys... I haven't experimented with tips much yet. I would try making a bi-flange for the Etys by cutting off one of the flanges. I had the same problems that you mentioned, and the modded bi-flanges worked well for me even though they still hurt.

Just my 2 cents on the matter

 

[bernado]

Just so you know, the Phonak's will cost you £120 in the UK. The price you quote I would imagine is from Swisshearingaids.com. Unfortunately they don't add VAT until you checkout. They still seem a bargain though compared to the opposition

 

[Mors]

The IE8 are £167 from Microwarehouse. I had mine from there.

They own everything that I've ever had that's for sure. Or you can pay double for the W3...

 

[robm321]

For the Phonaks, you might call one of the UK dealers. I did that here in the U.S. It only took them 2 days to get in onced the order was placed. They then shipped it to me. I didn't have to pay duties. I'm not sure which would be cheaper in your case.

If you can get the IE8s for not much more, that would make it a tough decisions. If you can deal with a darker sound, they seem to be the best bet now until you get to the UE11s.

 

[Chris T]

Thanks bernardo, Yes it was Swisshearingaids.com. Thanks for letting me know about the VAT issue. They do sound good value and robm321 makes a good case for them too.

I've been re-reading some of Average_Joe's posts about the IE8' and comparing them to the Phonaks. It would seem that after 200 hours of burn in the IE8's really take off and it sounds as though they isolate better than the Phonak's.

robm321: I tried the one less flange idea for the Ety's but I still couldn't get a seal that was consistent. At least the foamies are consistent even though they do sound different than the flanged eartips. Your comments about how the Phonak's make poor recordings sound OK against the Ety's is interesting. It is one of the things that I dislike about the Ety's. You do make the Phonak's sound interesting.

Chris

 

[Chris T]

Wow the speed of replies on here is quite something. Thanks guys for responding and thanks to Mors for the heads up regarding Microwarehouse. I'm getting very tempted now.

 

[Chris T]

robm321: Thanks for all you have said. Could you possibly elaborate a little on your "darker sound" comment please?

 

[ngsm13]

Like you said, just spend the 120 and be happy....

I think you will

nG

 

[tstarn06]

Just wanted to toss in my two cents. Remember that Rob, myself and Great Dane, another PFE booster, all use amps with our PFEs. It's not mandatory (as is the case with the ER4S or the im716s), but it really brings home the Phonak sound. To me, anyway.

As far as isolation, I did something new today, I inverted the olives I have on the Phonaks right now (was using Shure yellow foamies) and that really seals out the sound. Now, it may muffle the highs/mids for you. Not sure. But it is something to ponder.

Also, you saw Average_Joe's view on why he returned the PFEs. So far, I think he is the only poster who compared them directly, but I could be wrong. I own the Westone 3s, and while they are very nice phones, they are not worth the price in the UK, no way. I paid $260 for them, and that to me is the ceiling on what they are worth. Just my view, not shared by everyone.

Anyway, it's a touch call, since the IE8s are so cheap over there. I'd have trouble making the decision. As you can see, I kept both the W3s and the PFEs.

 

[Chris T]

Thanks tstarn06

My portable is a Zen V and I might need an amp if I used the Phonak's. At home I use an Xcan v1 (with some mods). I'm floating between the IE8's and the Phonak's at the moment. The isolation would be an issue with the Phonak's perhaps but I could experiment I suppose. With the IE8's I wouldn't need to experiment though... Here I go again.. Mr. indecisive. The low price for the IE8's sure is tempting but the Phonak's sound interesting. Oh boy.