[rugby10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rugby10 I just purchased the Altec Lansing / Etymotic IM716's from Amazon.com for $49 incl shipping. They sound terrific on my NW-e507 and offer excellent isolation. I considered the ety er6i' and Shure lines, but the IM716's have gotten some better reviews at head-fi.com and the Shure's are too pricey for me at this time. Enter the Altec's... I've been using the tri-flange's and have yet to try the supplied foamies. I'll get to them. The $49 includes a $30 discount if you pay with the Amazon Visa card offering a few months of no interest!! I learned about the deal and the quality of the IM716 in various forums here at this site..very informative, and actually more info than I needed. Worth every penny and more. Good luck!

Also, you get a 2 year warranty and a free pair etymotic earplugs when you register

 

[EscaBoi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeeeMeS Ok I get it now I'm going to give you this heads-up: IEMs have horrible bang for the buck. As long as you're not looking for an "upgrade" over the 125s you're fine

lol i think i'd have to agree with that statement. For the $200+ that i spend on the ER4's i could've got my beloved SR325's for just a little more.

anyways, if you are going to go with the Etymotics i'd suggest you ask/email Etymotic for some nice samples. The fit may pose a problem, so you're gonna have to find what works best with you.

I'd hate to throw more decisions at you, but from what one of the users posted above the Altec Lansing IM616/716 (from what i've only read) is comparable to the ER6/ER4.

 

[mypasswordis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeeeMeS Wait til you get deeper in this hobby You'll be sporting the K1000s outside like me

Actually, I don't think anyone else in the world besides you would use K1000's outside the house.

 

[EscaBoi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mypasswordis Actually, I don't think anyone else in the world besides you would use K1000's outside the house.

you'd be surprised, lol

now if only i could find that picture of the guy taking his k1000's and that mega amp out

 

[The_Duke_Of_Eli]

Used E4cs is what I'd recommend. Nice bass, but I don't think that the ER6i can match the E4 in all respects.

 

[rugby10]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EscaBoi I'd hate to throw more decisions at you, but from what one of the users posted above the Altec Lansing IM616/716 (from what i've only read) is comparable to the ER6/ER4.

I wouldn't go as far as to say the er4's, but from what I've read, and experienced with the IM716's, they are a step up from the er6 line.....IMHO

 

[tstarn06]

I have Grados, ETY ER6is, and for home listening, I use the Grados. But out on the streets, or when my family watchs bad TV, I prefer the Future Sonics EARS EM3 IEMs. I actually splurged and got the custom-molded soft rubber sleeves, which cost more than the headphones, but worth it in my view. No hassling with earpiece styles, pain, materials, etc. The Grados sound the best, overall, but the Future Sonics are perfect among IEMs at their price ($99 without the custom sleeves).

 

[dhaven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Duke_Of_Eli Used E4cs is what I'd recommend. Nice bass, but I don't think that the ER6i can match the E4 in all respects.

Anyone care to list the pros of the E4c's over the ER6i, and the ER6i over the E4c's? Since it'll mostly be for noisier or more discreet situatioins, some qualities are probably more valuable than other to me. I definitely don't want anything thin-sounding.

By the way; 75% of the time I will be using these UN-AMPED.

 

[Oistrakh]

screw all this, get the new shure e500!

 

[dhaven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oistrakh screw all this, get the new shure e500!

Yes, I'll sell my iPod and SR-125s and grab a pair of E500s.

They'll sound so good that they won't even need a source to astound me!

Really, though, I would love to own a pair of those. Or UE10s.

 

[EscaBoi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhaven Anyone care to list the pros of the E4c's over the ER6i, and the ER6i over the E4c's? Since it'll mostly be for noisier or more discreet situatioins, some qualities are probably more valuable than other to me. I definitely don't want anything thin-sounding. By the way; 75% of the time I will be using these UN-AMPED.

they sound the same to me, only difference is the E4's have a better bass response. BST07, a friend of mine who has the E4's agree'd with me when he heard my ER6i's that they sound quite similar, with the exception of better bass on the ER4's.

if Duke of Eli's response to the ER6i's are from that 1 time he tried mine, I don't think it's fair to say that the ER6i's are as weak as you have pointed them out to be.

 

[PeeeMeS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhaven Yes, I'll sell my iPod and SR-125s and grab a pair of E500s. They'll sound so good that they won't even need a source to astound me! Really, though, I would love to own a pair of those. Or UE10s.

I own the UE-10s, haven't heard the E500s
I'll tell you this: if you can make do with full-sized closed cans, you can get better sound quality at a fraction of the cost[yes unamped

]

 

[dhaven]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeeeMeS I own the UE-10s, haven't heard the E500s I'll tell you this: if you can make do with full-sized closed cans, you can get better sound quality at a fraction of the cost[yes unamped ]

Yeah, since Uni I've been a firm believer in full-size headphones... no, but for the commute it's got to be earbuds. I don't have anywhere to stash the 'phones during the day.

I did try a pair of the Sony just-covers-the-ears folding headphones, but they're not comfortable for me.

By the way... I think I've come to my decision. I'm going to pick up a pair of Super.Fi5 Pros. Stretching the budget by a fair margin, but hey, what are budgets for anyways?

 

[PeeeMeS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dhaven Yeah, since Uni I've been a firm believer in full-size headphones... no, but for the commute it's got to be earbuds. I don't have anywhere to stash the 'phones during the day. I did try a pair of the Sony just-covers-the-ears folding headphones, but they're not comfortable for me. By the way... I think I've come to my decision. I'm going to pick up a pair of Super.Fi5 Pros. Stretching the budget by a fair margin, but hey, what are budgets for anyways?

Wow since your budget just went up...
I'd say you have to take a look at the Stax SR-001 MK2 system

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...Pr4_PcY_BIN_IT
from a respected seller on head-fi


I know you said you were going to run things ampless... but the price of amp was included
Didn't know if you wanted ampless due to bulk or price
But this ought to be another monkey wrench in your decision making process

 

[jSatch]

Extracted from the thread: "Have 5 Pro; will ER6i dissapoint me?"

From the thread "Opinions of Altec Lansing IM716s" started by Old Dave, he states: "There are other threads that have discussed whether the Altec Lansing IM716s are or are not the Ety ER4s. Putting that issue aside, I am curious what people think of these phones. To my ears they seem like the Ety 4s with some additional bass. I have the UE Superfi Pros, and the IM716s blow them away in my opinion. For $119, these are a great buy. Only complaint is that they are inefficient. So, what do others think?"

To reference this statement, Old Dave is an Ety ER4 owner who purchased the iM716, at the advice of an Ety rep (!), when he called to get his ER4s repaired. He also owns the SF5 Pro. So he is quite familiar with all 3 phones and obviously prefers the 'Ety sound'. As I was very dissapointed in the politics of both Altec and Ety (thread: "Altec Lansing IM716 equals Ety ER4s"), I was about to dump my iM716s and get the SF5 Pros. Until I read Old Dave's comment.

In all fairness, the Ety and SF Pros have different sound sigs. Which is better for you is a matter of personal preference.

In several head to head comparisons on this web site the iM716 bettered the Ety ER6i & ER6, and the Shure e2 and e3s. At the current price of $80 from Amazon, these may be the best "bang for the buck" IEMs on the market today. As per the original topic of this thread.

I hope that helped to unclarify your decision.