[metal_monger]

I got my ety 4p a few days ago, sound is pretty good, not as good as the grado 225 but relatively close, however factor in the ultra portability and the isolation benefits and you got a good deal (i got mine from ebay, idealsound guy).

My questions are the following:

I seem to prefer the foamies, due to ease of inseration, no noticable sound difference (altho i admit im still a audiophile newbie), and overall comfort. However the one problem I do encounter is that on the foames there is that tube that sticks out on the front and back of the foames. This tube when insterted deep into my ear pokes what i guess is my ear drum.

1) Once insereted as far in as comfort allows, about 20% of the black part of the ety's stick out of my ear, when using the triflange almost no part of the black area is outside of my ear, only the red and blue cable connection sticks out. Is this descrepency normal?

2) Am I inserting the tri flange in too far? they are comfrotable once put int, but any pull on the cable hurts my ear canal, not the case with the foamies.

Thanks for any advice, btw yes I did run a search on the issue but could nto find any anserws. Thanks again.

 

[cmascatello]

I doubt the tube is actually hitting your ear drum. It is most likely a sensitive fleshy part fo your ear canal as it bends down towards the drum. You would have to lose an Ety in your ear to actually get to the ear drum.

The tube should not be digging in to the ear at all. The method I use to insert foamies is to roll the foam in you fingers so that it is almost totally compressed. Insert the Ety and let the foam re-expand and you should have a perfect seal. If the tube is protruding past the foam you are most likely trying to push the Ety further into your ear when the foam has already created a seal, thus causing the tube to slide forward past the edge of the foam. This will shorten the life of the foamies in addition to carving up your ear. You should be able to roll them, insert them, and leave them with no further adjustments.

 

[metal_monger]

rolling them is fine, but they seem to hit a wall, which is why i thought it was my ear drum, it seems as if the tri flange go in further then the foames do.

 

[cmascatello]

I am guessing that there is a sharp bend in your canal and the foamies, which are inflexible b/c of the tubing, are hitting the "turn". The tri-flange are a bit more flexible and care able to partially navigate the turn in your ear better. I am lucky in that I have straight canals and can jam these things in as far as they will go w/o ever hitting anything. However, I find that a few mm short of max insertion gives me the best sound quality while still having a good seal.

 

[lindrone]

You could also experiment with the Shure foamies, and Ety also offer a yellow, over-sized foamies that might be a better fit for your ear.

I think the oversized Ety foamie is shorter, but wider (correct me on this if otherwise). Shure foamies are shorter, so you might be able to find a better fit with them.

 

[cmascatello]

The Ety foamie is wider and shorter than the standard issue gray sleeve. I tried them once and had a bit of the sensation that the Etys were going to fall out/lose their seal. I am so used to the long foamies and tri-flanges that anything lacking htat depth in the canal feels less stable.

 

[adhoc]

the etys sound worse than your sr225??

there is a mod out there to cut your foamies down so that the filter on the etys are 1mm away from the rim of the tube (aka 1mm away from being exposed).

i just did some experiments last night with my extra foamies and my skepticism abt this 'mod' has been completely wiped away. it does improve the bass somewhat. it also increases comfort and ease of wearing immensely for me. ymmv.

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

I got my ety 4p a few days ago, sound is pretty good, not as good as the grado 225 but relatively close

Nothing wrong with feeling that way, other than the enhanced articulation on the Ety's (which makes them a fine analytical headphone, if you're going for details), I would take everything on the SR-225 over Ety.

 

[metal_monger]

well, perhaps " better" is too broad. i prefer the grado sound to that of the ety's. ety's make up for the sound in other areas (mentioned above) dont get me wrong i think the ety's sound great, the grado's however perfectly seperated the intstruments of the music i listen to, plus seemed more defined in their sound.

i prefer to avoid mods for the most part by the way.

 

[cmascatello]

Do you think you might be more of a Shure person then? The detail is not nearly as good but there is definitely more Oomph to the e5s.

 

[wildeone]

Quote:

Originally posted by cmascatello Do you think you might be more of a Shure person then? The detail is not nearly as good but there is definitely more Oomph to the e5s.

I have to agree. If that's the way you feel about the brilliant Etys, they're just not for you. I'd swap them out and try a pair of E5's. I think with your ear, you'll be *much* happier.

 

[metal_monger]

I am perfectly content with the lack of oomph, i want clarity and instrument seperation ety's provdide that to a reasonable degree considering their price range+other features. I dont think that the grado's had a lot of bass and they also sounded great to me. I dont consider the ety's 4p perfect, but I do feel they are worth their price tag, and seem to apperciate them more everyday.

Purpose of my post was more to seek guidance on the inseration issue. Altho I do apperciate any input. =)

 

[DanT]

It seem that you insert the etymotic way deeper than most people maybe you want to try the larger yellow foamy from etymotic.

Deeper don't always mean better. You might want to play with the position to see if you get a better sound. If you need them that deep you seem to be a good candidate for the larger foamy. Or maybe your earcanal is just weird

Also some say that the ER-4S has better definition than the 4P (I only have the 4S) But I don't know if the unamp ipod would be a good match for the 4S. So you might try to get the P->S adapter either custom made or from etymotic.

 

[adhoc]

no an unamped ipod will not be able to power a 4s sufficiently.

remember - 4s = more detail than 4p, slightly sweeter mids and less bass.

 

[Ebonyks]

I'd reccomend buying a pack of the yellow foamies from shure, i used a pair briefly, and they had a major comfort advantage (without the hard tubes) over the etymotic tips.

And, it is my personal opinion that the Er-4 S sounds better than the P even unamped. I really don't understand why the P version even exists, even when driven from a poor quality source, i felt that the S version was more detailed, and that the bass on the P is bloated in just about all situations. Just my .02 though