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A roll-off is when the treble went unexpectedly high that it goes off with a shrilling sound, very unsettling to the ears. I guess it's like listening to a singer that's unable to take care of his or her high note, that it goes out of tune! If I had to put it that way. With the 535s, I rarely encounter such problem after a hefty burn-in time (100hrs or more). The roll-offs become smooth, unnoticed, disappeared in the music.
A rolloff is simply a smooth drop in treble frequencies as you get higher in the range. That's all.
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Is like my er4s.when I first got them I could hardly hear any low end/baas..but now I find they have lots..am I just just getting use to them or do they actually burn in?
There are many opinions on this. I don't believe they burn-in. If they do, i've heard absolutely no difference in mine over the time I've "burnt them in". I think we really do have "brain" burn-in where we get used to something. Our minds are quick to judge things, but as you get used to them your opinion changes sometimes.
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Maybe, but surely the desirable situation is to not need a specific amp and any EQ?
I feel I have the best of most worlds... The W4r AND SE535 reds. For me the W4r with my DX100 is a perfect match. The 535s are too bright with the DX. But with my iPhone 5 or Sony Z, they shine and are fun to listen to.
So I guess that highlights the whole question when it comes to what's best questions... What's the source, what's the music and importantly, what do you like in terms of bass, mids and treble.
This is also a common discussion. Unfortunately, there are no universal IEMs that are truly flat, which in my opinion (and the opinion of many others) is the best quality you can get. It is the "only" way to hear the music exactly how it was "meant" to be heard by the recording artists. It allows you to hear what they heard when they mixed it in the studio.
With that said, I've searched a long time, tried bagillions of IEMs, and I still haven't found a truly flat IEM. The closest thing out there in my opinion is the ER-4S. It is almost perfectly flat except for the slight drop in bass. Every other IEM is much further from flat. The 4r and 535 are high quality IEMs, but they aren't near as flat as the ER-4S.
The 4r has mid to low bass boost which masks the frequencies in the upper detail range. Just lower the 100-300 hz range with a parametric eq a bit and you'll immediately hear this. It also has an uneven treble range. Overall, they sound very very smooth between frequency ranges, but once you lower the bass boost area and flatten the treble spike area things sound very good. Try downloading accudio and applying the 4r "flat" setting. It does exactly this, but with very good precision. Don't compare the differences at first. Just listen to it for a day or two. Then switch back. You'll hear what I mean.
The 535 has the treble rolloff. Everything in the high highs is completely masked. For some with hearing loss at those ranges it might not be noticeable, but for good ears if you compare a flat response to the 535 you'll see it is very lacking in the highs. The special version might be much closer...
The ER-4S is almost perfectly flat in every way except the very slight bass boost. So... An amp with a bass boost in just the right amount give your a perfectly flat IEM. Done. There is no other easy way to get this result without EQ. However, EQ is a bad solution if you use your IEM on more than one device. I use mine on multiple devices (ipod, computer to mix music, movie system, etc.). The amp solution allows every single source to sound identical. Without it I would have to manually try to match the EQ on every device, but that doesn't even matter, because the impedance of the headphone outputs varies between devices and changes the earphones frequency response. The amp fixes that as well.
Basically the amp fixes everything and does nothing bad. It's small, light and portable. I believe this is the best solution out there. If you only listen to the IEM on one portable device and you don't need an amp, then EQ might work fine. Or even accudio. Just my thoughts, but finding a perfectly flat IEM is practically impossible, yet the ER-4S comes sooooo close. So if the goal is to not use any amp or eq then you can just forget having a flat response. But that's not good enough for me.
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Because we all have different hearing as well as tastes, I think the only answer is to get to listen to as many quality earphones as you can, decide what you like in sound, then read reviews and comparisons to narrow down the options. I've been through a number of IEMs and headphones and only recently settled on my utopia. It's been costly but worth the journey to find sound (near) perfection.
I agree. Everyone might not want a flat response. Some people prefer more bass, etc. What I've said applies mostly to people who want a true "accurate" flat response. There's nothing wrong with want some color to your sound. That is a personal choice. I say listen to as many as you can and settle on the one that sounds best to you.
