[cwis]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for the perfect phone for my iPod. I have been reading reviews for a few weeks, did find some insightful infos on your forum, but I am still being confused by contradictory comments.

My listening tastes include mostly metal bands but I am also listening to other kind of music quite often, such as classical, pop, pop rock, punk, electronic and blues. I am looking for a device which would allow me for great comfort when walking or when using for several hours. Also, I live in France and I am willing to put up to 200-300 euros in the phone (that is like up to 200 USD when including currency fees, shipping and customs).

The two phones which I am currently looking for are the Ety ER4P and the Shure E3C. I have read a lot of reviews where people said they heard the ER4P is not suited to metal, but most of them were not from actual ER4P owners. On the other hand, it seems that the E3C has more powerful bass which, while making them maybe more suited for metal, will probably hide details for classical. I have also read that, with proper EQ, the Ety seems to be a good choice, but I am not sure the iPod will allow from proper tuning.

What do you think is a good tradeoff between these phones? Is there any good model which I miss? Which model would you recommend?

Thank you for your input,

--
cwis

 

[Cthulhu]

Not using the straight up ipod headphone out - it rolls off the bass on low impedance phones like the e2c and the ety

 

[crypt@]

ER4P/S are not exactly great for walking. They have a some motion related problem, microphonics. However, this can be fixed by wearing them 180 degs upward. Caveat is you will look even weirder than this ->

Unfortunately, few headphones are able to render exact textures of music genres without colouration. To do so you will need to put down some serious $. Which is why most 'Fiers have multiple cans. Of course, some are just pure collectors! You can always get the ER4p-24 cable to convert the ER4P to ER4S, there 2* cans!!

Compare to ER4S (edit), ER4P (edit) is a bit warmer and much easier to drive (out of portables.) ER4S is better balanced. Sound stage is quite compressed in both.

BTW, welcome to Head-Fi and sorry about your wallet!

 

[Darwin022]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crypt@ ER4P/S are not exactly great for walking. They have a some motion related problem, microphonics. However, this can be fixed by wearing them 180 degs upward. Caveat is you will look even weirder than this -> BTW, welcome to Head-Fi and sorry about your wallet!

BS! clip the etys to the back of your collar, drape them over your shoulder and run the cable down your back to your ipod.... try it sometime.... say goodbye to microphonics

(unless you're wearing a large ski jacket)

and yes, my kevlar wallet is feeling the hurt...

 

[cwis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crypt@ ER4P/S are not exactly great for walking. They have a some motion related problem, microphonics. However, this can be fixed by wearing them 180 degs upward. Caveat is you will look even weirder than this ->

I don't doubt about that... Do you have any picture by chance?

 

[jonasb]

Don't forget the Westone um2s, which should also fit your budget. I recently bought the um2 from an ebay store and paid 250 euros, including shipping to Finland. I was lucky enough to avoid customs duties. But even with customs duties, you should be able to get them for roughly (or only slightly more than) 300 euros, which you say is the upper limit of your budget.

 

[MetalManCPA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cwis What do you think is a good tradeoff between these phones? Is there any good model which I miss? Which model would you recommend?

Future Sonics EM3's for $99. I'm an extreme metalhead, and I find these canals with ETY yellow foamies to provide a great level of detail and solid highs and lows.

Yes, they're ugly, but I'm one of those "sound matters, looks doesn't" type of people. Also, Future Sonics doesn't have the marketing push of ETY or SHure, so they don't receive a lot of press here or anywhere - but, as we know, marketing doesn't make a product. I test drove the E3C's and compared with the Future SOnics. IMHO, it was no comparison at all, as the E3C's were very thin sounding compared to the EM3's.

 

[chumley]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MetalManCPA Future Sonics EM3's for $99. I'm an extreme metalhead, and I find these canals with ETY yellow foamies to provide a great level of detail and solid highs and lows. Yes, they're ugly, but I'm one of those "sound matters, looks doesn't" type of people. Also, Future Sonics doesn't have the marketing push of ETY or SHure, so they don't receive a lot of press here or anywhere - but, as we know, marketing doesn't make a product. I test drove the E3C's and compared with the Future SOnics. IMHO, it was no comparison at all, as the E3C's were very thin sounding compared to the EM3's.

I find this to be true as well. Love the EM3's... their bass actually tightens, extends, and smooths with amping, as well! I prefer them to my E5cs. And, yeah, if 'ugly' were a 1 to 10 ranking, they'd rate a '13', at least ...

 

[MetalManCPA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chumley ... Love the EM3's... their bass actually tightens, extends, and smooths with amping, ...

Cool, as I am awaiting my Pocket Amp2 V2 to arrive to be used with a Zen Micro and the EM3's.

 

[EdipisReks]

i'm listening to Children of Bodom's Hatebreeder right now on my ER-4P's, and it sounds great. i think the overall balance, speed, and extension of the etys matches metal pretty well. the microphonics might be a problem for you at first when used portably, but i found that my brain basically cancels the micrphonics sounds out after a while.

 

[VicAjax]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crypt@ ER4P/S are not exactly great for walking. They have a some motion related problem, microphonics. However, this can be fixed by wearing them 180 degs upward. Caveat is you will look even weirder than this ->

YMMV... i personally don't have a problem with microphonics, except when i'm bundled up for mid-winter and the wind blows the cords into my scarf.

Quote:

Compare to ER4P, ER4S is a bit warmer and much easier to drive (out of portables.)

i think you mean the er4p is easier to drive?

the closest i ever get to metal would be 70s/80s punk (which is almost all poorly recorded so it sounds crap), and frank zappa's album Zoot Allures, which isn't metal, but it's a reasonable facsimile of the arena rock sound. and i'd say it sounds fantastic with my etys. i don't find it thin or lacking in either bass or mid-bass.

 

[rt297]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darwin022 BS! clip the etys to the back of your collar, drape them over your shoulder and run the cable down your back to your ipod.... try it sometime.... say goodbye to microphonics (unless you're wearing a large ski jacket)

I second that.

 

[grasshpr]

I used to have a set of er-4s phones, until I lost this set on a dreary night commuting home. They were exceptional! Extremely clear and transparent for any type of music I played on them. However, I could never get used to their microphonics. It was quite annoying (I had them for more than 6 months before I lost them) and I never got used to this effect.

Now, I have a set of e3c's and they are also great! It's a very different type of sound though. Not as transparent but compensates for this deficiency by boosting the bass. The best part is that microphonics is not that big of an issue with the e3c's compared with er-4s. If you are striving for comfort, I suggest you try the e3c's with the black foamies.

BTW, I used my 40GB iPOD for a source.

 

[cwis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonasb Don't forget the Westone um2s, which should also fit your budget. I recently bought the um2 from an ebay store and paid 250 euros, including shipping to Finland.

Could you tell me where you bought your UM2s? I can't seem to be able to find a single place which will ship those phones to Europe...

--
cwis

 

[catscratch]

I would definitely not recommend the ER-4P's for metal, as they're far too bright. They're not too comfy for walking either, as every step sends jarring sensations inside your ear canals. This is with the tri-flange tips, not the foamies, which are more comfortable, but you do have to replace them on a regular basis, which costs you money.

The ER-4P's are great for most acoustic music, jazz, and electronica - basically, anything with a light, open and airy sound, and lots and lots of detail. The Ety detail is superlative, and is the standard by which other canalphones are compared - rightly.

Purely on sonic merits, the Stax SR-001 will be the best with metal (or just about anything). But walking around with them can be a problem. First, you'll have to carry an amp around together with your mp3 player, so say hello to massively bulging pockets. Second, they aren't too comfy either, though IMO better than the Ety's, and don't stay as securely in your ears as most other tri-flanged canalphones. You do, however, have a headband that can hold them in.

Try the Westone UM2, and for a little more money, the Shure e5c. Both should do nicely with metal. On that note, so should the Future Sonics IE3, though I've yet to hear them.