Chris T
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
- Posts
- 61
- Likes
- 10
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
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