[fl00r]

I've been enjoying my ER4p's now for a long time and they kept me away from upgraditis, but as you all know, sooner or later this fever will rears it's ugly head

I was wondering what the next step is after the ER4p's.
I am using an 3rd gen ipod as a source. I don't want to use an amp so my next IEM must be suitable to use amp-less.
I mainly listen to rock music and the budget is around 500 USD.

I think I am looking for a more joyful, less analytical sound than the Ety's.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ameyer17]

e500 maybe???

 

[fl00r]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ameyer17 e500 maybe???

Can I use them w/o an amp?

 

[ken36]

For now I'll stick with the Ety's.

 

[warpdriver]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fl00r I was wondering what the next step is after the ER4p's.

Good question...and I don't have the answer for you.
You should keep an eye out for the Shure E500 and the upcoming SuperFi XXX model. I expect that one or the other might be a good upgrade path. However, I would wait until people have heard the XXX model before you buy, because that is the wildcard.

Other than that, the custom $900 UE10 would be another option.

Personally for me, as a ER4S owner, there is no IEM other than the above three that would satisfy me enough to spend the money. All of the other ones would be a sideways, backward, or very incremental upgrade.

 

[fl00r]

I did a lot of reading about the E500's and must admit that it is very hard NOT to pre-order them.

 

[jonnywolfet]

take note that the xxx will not have as deep insertion as the e500, the same style as the current super-fi lineup.

 

[ranma172]

I've had the Ety's 6Ri and the Shure E5c. I prefer the E5c without any doubt so I recommend them to you (I have not used the new Shure E500).

Ety's have good sound but, in my opinion, they don't perform well in noisy places (and I think this kind of earphones are designed especially for cancelling noise). The problem is the Ety's haven't enough bass because noise tend to "kill" a lot of bass even with those sealing tips.

Another problem with the Ety's is that the wire makes a lot of noise when you are walking with them. E5c's wire makes some noise too but a lot less.

 

[Mr Iriver]

like warpdriver said. There are many I prefer over the ER4 but that is because of different sound preference.

 

[jpelg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ken36 For now I'll stick with the Ety's.

x2

 

[Konig]

Get the sensa x2s.... U wont be upgrading for a decade....

 

[nikongod]

i HAD ety er6's. not my cup of tea. just missing something.

i HAD ety er4p's. awsome little headphones. very nice and crisp. i always complained about the abundant dirth of bass. OTHERWISE they were rocking.

SOOOO

i sold the er4p, and got the shure e5's. bass was ****WTFBBQ in quantity. mind you this was only when i did not use the 50-75 ohm cable necessary to eliminate the hiss, with this cable bass was SLIGHTLY better than the er4's.

i found a set of er4s's on the cheap enought that i could not resist, and then it hit.

the e5's smear like warm peanut butter over toast, where the er4s's are crisp. EVERYTHING showed off this buttery smearing with the e5's.

to pseudo-quote someone else:
sometimes warm peanut butter on top of everything is nice, like on toast. but when you want a steak, and it comes with peanut butter on top...

now i have no shure e5, and a ety er4s... im thinking i will stay with it untill someone builds an electrostatic iem with sound blocking. perhaps i can use one of the neumerous "diy sound eliminators" with my full size electrostatics.

 

[fierce_freak]

The SR-001 MK II would be the end of the line for me if it provided isolation