[Spyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by erasmus /img/forum/go_quote.gif Though they don't seem to be the IEMs you're looking for, the Etymotic ER-4Ps are the phones that got me into listening to classical music. The brightness and rich mids and highs bring out every bit of detail, nuance, and tone. The word "transparent" describes them really well. Instruments really sound realistic with a good recording and seperation is great. I actually find the soundstage to be very good. It is different though. All sounds are very well seperated and localized, but overall everything still takes place within your head. So, it's a detailed soundstage but very miniaturized. I find the in-the-head feeling to give a very intimate experience that's unlike full-sized headphones. The big problem (looking at your desire for warmth) is that these aren't bass-oriented phones. This means that mids and highs are placed far forward of the low registers. That being said, bass is still very good and to my taste. The extension is great and the sound is tight and detailed (not one-note). It's just lacking in the weight and "oomf" that many full-sized phones provide (sometimes too amply). If there's bass, you'll hear it. You'll hear all of it, but it's not emphasized in any way and not a visceral experience. You can EQ without distortion, but it doesn't really get there. I've found exception to this shortcoming though with songs that _really_ have humongous, extreme amounts of bass (eg. daft punk, subwoofer test tracks, etc.). Fantastic impact and body. So, I dunno. Maybe, the ER-4Ps are just neutral, rather than overemphasizing bass? Or maybe I've just become used to their sound, having never heard any of the true "basshead" cans.

This is one of the best descriptions of ER4P I have ever seen. I bought and sold ER4P twice and swear I will never do it again. I taught myself to appreciate them and weaned myself off the bass...really loved them. But as soon as I stuck an SE530 back into my ears I realized how much of that "oomph" and "fullness of sound" I was really missing. It makes a big difference and is quite important (to me anyway) of the overall listening experience.

I will add one thing about the bass with Etys that Erasmus mentions: On slower simple passages with few instruments the Ety's actually do really well. But when the music speeds up and multiple instruments are present the bass kind of takes a back seat. I think this is an un-avoidable characteristic of a single driver.

 

[tnmike1]

another vote for the etys. Would also throw the Klipsch Imge into the mix as well, only because the entire Klipsch line of speakers and IEMs does such a fantastic job of classical music reproduction