[romydevilla]

Putting price aside, how does the sound quality of ER4P/S/B compare to that of high-end UE customs?

I owned all of ER4 variants and currently maintains the ER4B. Some reviews say that the S variant is best (among universal IEMs) in terms of neutrality, accuracy and details. I think its true, but when I finally got my hands on the B variant, wow I never thought it could still improve on the high points of the S variant. Plus a much bigger soundstage! I used to own Shure's E3, E5 (my former favorite), and briefly E500 (sold it and went back to E5 which I think is the more energetic one for my type of music - hiphop, R&B).

My journey with Etys started with the P variant, which on its own, already dethroned the E5 (to me the bass in the P is slamming already - tight and punchy). When I bought the P-to-S cable, the Etys further convinced me to retire my Shure phones. Been happy with the S sound and I never thought I would have a change of heart. Then comes the B! Now this is an altogether different animal - bigger soundstage, smoother treble, very controlled bass, clean sound! I wonder how it will sound if I'm actually listening to binaural recordings which it is primarily designed for to begin with.

I don't think I will have the opportunity to listen to customs, that's why I'd like to know how my beloved Etys stock up against the mighty UEs (or even the ACS).

Thanks!

 

[romydevilla]

bump

 

[jinx20001]

it dont compare,in all honesty the er4's are very accurate, and imho this is because etymotic has laid back on the low end bass, one driver dont help because if they had incorprated more bass in the ety it would most certainly impact high and mid accuracy.

now the ue customs are multi driver and so in theory will handly much more thrown at them, ive always prefered my se530 for the same reasons, some say it is rolled off in highs but i think it isnt as bad as claimed and is in fact to my ears perfect, i also have the ue10 and they give a very flat realistic response, not bumping any frequency range over another making them the perfect companion to musicians.

the ue11 on the other hand i have not tested but seem to be a little over refined and certainly warmer than the se530 which damaged sound quality, read my signature below and you will get the drift...i am slightly biased in my opinion because i love my se530 and prefer the warmth over the flat ue10, but as mentioned the er4's are starting to sound a little dated and unexciting - thats not to say they are no good but they are certainly made for a certain range of music whereas the se530 are much better suited to much more music.

on a final note overall the ue10/11 are in a different league to the er4's and in my opinion alot of double driver and the triple driver consumer phones are a step above aswell, this is ovcourse subjective and my opinion totally the er4's are no doubt very special given the right music to pound out, hope this helps,

regards jinxy

 

[evilking]

Hmmm.... I don't know. I already have the P and S (seperate, the converter cable would have cost half the price of the earphones), buying the B version might be a bit OTT. Is it really that much better? How do the mids change?