[palmfish]

I tried the Audyssey app for my iPod Touch today with my HF5's and I must say I'm surprised and impressed. This little app opened up the soundstage and cleaned up the mids enough to make them sound more airy and detailed than ever before. I didn't spend a lot of time with it but it made an impressive first impression!

 

[eke2k6]

I tried the Audyssey app for my iPod Touch today with my HF5's and I must say I'm surprised and impressed. This little app opened up the soundstage and cleaned up the mids enough to make them sound more airy and detailed than ever before. I didn't spend a lot of time with it but it made an impressive first impression!

No kidding. I just got it on the App Store since it looks free for today.

Everything sharpens up, and there's a lot more air like you said.

There's also a setting for the er4p that adds a nice bass curve.

 

[luisdent]

Seems like a decent app, but no er4s setting. The er4p muffles the er4s and the hf5 setting makes the er4s raspy. But that makes sense. The app is probably bringing the hf5 high treble to where the er4s is. Nice interface too. But i have my 70gb clip zip now

 

[gnarlsagan]

Quote:

I feel like I need to write a letter apologizing to the good folks at Etymotic.
 
I'm listening to Drake's Sooner Than Later, and I'm hearing a crapload of bass and sub-bass impact and rumble. This may also be the cleanest bass I've heard.
 
damn
 

 
 
 
I'm also finding this depth easier to deal with, as long as I don't touch the body of the iem. Kind of how you can get used to the knife in your stomach as long as you don't move much.

 
 
Quote:

 
Ok, I switched to the white triple flanges and stuffed them in to the point where the tips were no longer visible in the mirror.
 
Holy crap. "Why, hello bass and sub-bass, nice to meet you. I'm glad to see you brought soundstage depth and height too."
 
Pianos are so much more full, snares are more impactful, and vocals are more linear, only nasal once in a while but retain their immediacy. 
 
I'm listening to Macklemore's Wings$ and it sounds beautiful.
 
 
Downside: this level of insertion is painful, and I think I'm getting dizzy (no joking). My brain isn't used to this.

 
YES. Finally eke has achieved proper ety bass levels! This is actually really exciting.
 
The bass is pretty close to an all-or-nothing deal depending on fit, and fit is not at all easy. In fact I'd say ety's are the most difficult iems to achieve proper fit that I've ever tried. And actually the ER-6 is worse than the hf5 and ER4 as far as reaching the reference plane. And even once this mythical fit is achieved, the pain is almost too much to endure. I'm surprised anyone ever stuck with ety's long enough to find out how great they sound. 
 
Your knife-in-the-stomach analogy is perfect. As long as it doesn't move you'll forget it's there. And after a few months you can even move it around quite a bit and likely the ear will have adapted to the sensation, and it won't feel painful anymore. Now what I do is insert just past the second bend, wait for the tips to warm up from body heat, and then push them in just a bit further. I find the tips become more pliable with warmth, and they form to the ear better. 
 
It would be great if you could find tips that allow a more comfortable deep fit. Foams don't work for me (they may for you) because they don't go deep enough. If you have an extra pair of triple flanges I'd advise cutting the smallest flange off the end, wetting the tips, and just going for it with a slow twisting motion. 

 

[eke2k6]

^_^

I'd like to meet the sadistic person who designed these iems. It's like placing a rosé bush in the middle of a field of poison ivy.

 

[luisdent]

^_^

I'd like to meet the sadistic person who designed these iems. It's like placing a rosé bush in the middle of a field of poison ivy.

Hahaha. Yes. Exactly. I almost gave up multiple times, but i'm so glad i didn't. Never heard anything as good. I even use them as portables now. Gonna have to sell my pfe. No need for them. All they had over the etys was comfort. Now that isn't too much of an issue.

 

[shotgunshane]

YES. Finally eke has achieved proper ety bass levels! This is actually really exciting.

The bass is pretty close to an all-or-nothing deal depending on fit, and fit is not at all easy. In fact I'd say ety's are the most difficult iems to achieve proper fit that I've ever tried. And actually the ER-6 is worse than the hf5 and ER4 as far as reaching the reference plane. And even once this mythical fit is achieved, the pain is almost too much to endure. I'm surprised anyone ever stuck with ety's long enough to find out how great they sound. 

Your knife-in-the-stomach analogy is perfect. As long as it doesn't move you'll forget it's there. And after a few months you can even move it around quite a bit and likely the ear will have adapted to the sensation, and it won't feel painful anymore. Now what I do is insert just past the second bend, wait for the tips to warm up from body heat, and then push them in just a bit further. I find the tips become more pliable with warmth, and they form to the ear better. 

It would be great if you could find tips that allow a more comfortable deep fit. Foams don't work for me (they may for you) because they don't go deep enough. If you have an extra pair of triple flanges I'd advise cutting the smallest flange off the end, wetting the tips, and just going for it with a slow twisting motion. 

My canals are pretty straight, so no issues fitting an ety besides itching over time, which is an annoyance of a different variety. The er6 was a super easy fit but taking them out with that short, squatty housing was a chore. I found the HF series to be comparatively dark next to the er6, which IMO was a clear step or two above the HF series.

 

[gnarlsagan]

Quote:

My canals are pretty straight, so no issues fitting an ety besides itching over time, which is an annoyance of a different variety. The er6 was a super easy fit but taking them out with that short, squatty housing was a chore. I found the HF series to be comparatively dark next to the er6, which IMO was a clear step or two above the HF series.

 
Awesome thanks for your input. I wasn't aware of anyone that didn't have a a hell of a time with the ER-6. I'm envious of your straight canals though, as mine are anything but, and I'm sure that makes a reference fit much more difficult for me. Achieving reference depth was definitely the worst part about the ER-6 imo. 
 
Eke, did you try adding resistance to the hf5? It'll make them a less dark, but the mids might be a little too forward. 

 

[gnarlsagan]

Again luisdent I'm REALLY enjoying your eq setting. You know that feeling that rushes up sometimes when all the right listening variables are perfect? A good song with great sound and perfect clarity. It's a feeling of being overwhelmed, and it only happens every now and then (at least for me). Today it happened, as I realized I had been missing a good amount of sub-bass from my beloved Animal Collective tracks. The song Guys Eyes came on, followed by incredible euphoria, and that's not even my favorite song! It was the sound. 
 
 
I think this is endgame for me, unless something comes out exactly like the ER4S with red filters and small sub-bass boost. Maybe I'll move to full-size cans...

 

[luisdent]

Again luisdent I'm REALLY enjoying your eq setting. You know that feeling that rushes up sometimes when all the right listening variables are perfect? A good song with great sound and perfect clarity. It's a feeling of being overwhelmed, and it only happens every now and then (at least for me). Today it happened, as I realized I had been missing a good amount of sub-bass from my beloved Animal Collective tracks. The song Guys Eyes came on, followed by incredible euphoria, and that's not even my favorite song! It was the sound. 
 

I think this is endgame for me, unless something comes out exactly like the ER4S with red filters and small sub-bass boost. Maybe I'll move to full-size cans...

Same here. I'm done searching for a no eq earphone. The er4s requires such a simple eq setting, i can easily apply it anywhere and know it will sound the same. I'm extremely happy with them for iems. I might grab another hd600 or something later if i want an over ear headphone, but for now i'm set. . Unless they make a red filter er4s with my sub bass adjustment built in

 

[eke2k6]

I slightly adjusted lusident's eq to better suit the hf5. I only adjusted 60hz by 1.5db.

Seriously enjoying Chesky's Explorations binaural album with these. Especially "Stank"

 

[sonicaudio]

Again luisdent I'm REALLY enjoying your eq setting. You know that feeling that rushes up sometimes when all the right listening variables are perfect? A good song with great sound and perfect clarity. It's a feeling of being overwhelmed, and it only happens every now and then (at least for me). Today it happened, as I realized I had been missing a good amount of sub-bass from my beloved Animal Collective tracks. The song Guys Eyes came on, followed by incredible euphoria, and that's not even my favorite song! It was the sound. 
 

I think this is endgame for me, unless something comes out exactly like the ER4S with red filters and small sub-bass boost. Maybe I'll move to full-size cans...

I was considering getting the fitear 111 instead of the er-4s. Your comments regarding the red filters + bass boost = audio heaven has got thinking about ditching the fitear 111 purchase to buy the er-4s instead.

Is the higher cost of the fitear vs er-4 worth it when comparing sound quality? I'm starting to doubt that now

 

[gnarlsagan]

I was considering getting the fitear 111 instead of the er-4s. Your comments regarding the red filters + bass boost = audio heaven has got thinking about ditching the fitear 111 purchase to buy the er-4s instead.

Is the higher cost of the fitear worth it compared to er-4? I'm starting to doubt that now

It's a tough call. They both need eq to fix roll-off problems. With the F111 I get steep roll-off starting at 9kHz. If I eq that up, then it becomes a very coherent iem. Quite similar to the ER4 but with more bass. The bass does affect the F111 mids slightly, so it is a warmer iem. How warm you prefer is the major question. Also you should be okay with deep insertion for the ER4S. If I had to pick one it would be the ER4S. It sounds more correct to my ears, mainly because of the slightly warm nature of the F111. Let me know if you need more specifics.

 

[sonicaudio]

It's a tough call. They both need eq to fix roll-off problems. With the F111 I get steep roll-off starting at 9kHz. If I eq that up, then it becomes a very coherent iem. Quite similar to the ER4 but with more bass. The bass does affect the F111 mids slightly, so it is a warmer iem. How warm you prefer is the major question. Also you should be okay with deep insertion for the ER4S. If I had to pick one it would be the ER4S. It sounds more correct to my ears, mainly because of the slightly warm nature of the F111. Let me know if you need more specifics.

I'm also interested in instrument separation, imaging, positioning and clarity. Which iem does it better?

My guess is that if the fitear bass makes the sound signature warm it would be perceived as less clear.

 

[castleofargh]

they really are 2 different IEMS. whatever the frequency response graph may tell, details are different, imaging is different, the f111 sounds almost smooth and warm if you ABx it to the er4.
the first thing I though when listening to the F111 was "omg it has nothing to do with an er4, those guys @ headfi are all on crack!"
 
 in the end it comes down to what oneself is looking for:
3D sound, less fatiguing, no harshness, more and rounder bass= F111
more of a super wide axis of instruments, surgical separation, control and damping over 9000, sending reverb in the myth section, all the sounds even the nasty ones=er4
 
to me er4 is a monitor, the F111 is an enjoyable IEM that happens to have a pretty even sound signature ^_^  . saying who's best is a hard job.