Looking for an IEM

[djbumunltd]

Hi, this is my first post and I've been using the Grado SR-80s for almost a year and I think it's about time to get IEMs for my commute and outside listening and to leave my beloved Grados at home. I just love the Grado sound for rock, which is what I mostly listen to. Based on what I've searched for, I think that the Etymotics ER-4S/Ps are the closest, though not very close, to what I'm looking for. I have a CMoy amp and I'm not sure if that's good for the ER-4S. Any suggestions for IEMs that sound like Grados (my searching gives me the impression that they don’t exist) between $100 and $250 would be greatly appreciated. I just can't seem to make up my mind and I've been so indecisive about this.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[RonTheMan]

I have a Grado SR60 and a Ety Er4p. For rock music, I would suggest you look at other options instead of Ety as the bass is pretty weak as compared to other iems.

 

[LaBreaHead]

Welcome to Head-Fi ... sorry about your wallet.

IEMs are great for commuting and travel ... but after a good headphone, particularly a good-value headphone such as you have, you might not immediately perceive a value in line with the amount you have to pay to get isolation and good sound.

What is your source? Is it something that has promising EQ options (in which case maybe Etys would work well enough for you)? Etys isolate excellently, for what that's worth. Much would depend on your expectations and preferences in the bass department. And you might have to consider going with a different sound signature ...

Any Shure E4 users out there recommend those in this case?

 

[basmatirice]

the er6i aren't that bad for rock... they're not bad for anything really... and they really really show the texture of a guitar well... they have those liquid, detailed, fully textured highs that just make guitars sound nice... they carry that through the mid range down to the bass.

the bass is super tight, accurate (i'm hearing bass note divisions and intricacies i've never noticed before)

if the music calls for bass.. they'll have it. all of it. but the songs you are used to having big blotty bloaty bass will not have that any longer.


actually.... the er6i are flat ****ing amazing for rock... this is my reaction to listening to mini mini mini from kmfdm on the pandora net station out of a meta 42.

they're just great stuff... if your really unsure, just spend $70 on a pair of these.

and get a portable amp for them

rammstein sounds nice with them as well... they're very non-fatiguing too.

 

[zotjen]

Quote:

Any suggestions for IEMs that sound like Grados (my searching gives me the impression that they don’t exist)

You won't find any IEMs that sound like Grados since they are two different animals. You might want to try the UM2s but everything is also dependent on your source/amp. You will most likely need to EQ your source to get a comparable desired sound.

 

[noblsheep]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RonTheMan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have a Grado SR60 and a Ety Er4p. For rock music, I would suggest you look at other options instead of Ety as the bass is pretty weak as compared to other iems.

agreed. coming from grados, you'd probably find the er4 thin and bassless. i'd try them out first, though, not very sure what they can do with your source and eq. maybe you'll love em, who knows?

 

[zunayed]

nice avatar

 

[JES]

Quote:

Originally Posted by djbumunltd /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi, this is my first post and I've been using the Grado SR-80s for almost a year and I think it's about time to get IEMs for my commute and outside listening and to leave my beloved Grados at home. I just love the Grado sound for rock, which is what I mostly listen to ... Any suggestions for IEMs that sound like Grados (my searching gives me the impression that they don’t exist) between $100 and $250 would be greatly appreciated. I just can't seem to make up my mind and I've been so indecisive about this. Thanks, Mark

I'm in a similar position. First post here too after lurking for a while. I've been using Grado SR-80's at home for three years. Mostly for rock. I love 'em. But I can't take my 400-Disc Changer with me, and I find that I'm not at home too much any more. And the Grado's reside in the bottom drawer of my Salamander rack when not on my head.

Anyhow, I'm starting from the ground up to take my music with me. I've been using Pocket Player by Conduits on my ETENM600 Pocket PC Phone as a DAP. The software is great as it supports all kinds of lossless and compressed file formats, as well as streaming music via wi-fi, blah, blah, blah. But the M600 has a non-standard headphone jack and I'm SICK of listening to the crappy ear buds that came with the phone. So I'm also looking for a good DAP, too. I'll post questions on that elsewhere.

I've decided that portable phones are a good first step, as I can use them at home or on my pc. From my way of thinking, IEM's are the way to go.

What about UM1's as a first IEM??? I really don't want to dump much more $ than this, since I've never used IEM's and I may find that I don't like 'em. Also, I think that I have relatively small ears. Are there any IEM's that cater to this?