[MrGreen]

Let's say no more than $1000 USD for the combo (amp and earspeaker). Cheaper is preferred.
Other things on my mind are K701 and SA5k (I intend to go demo the K701 later this week). I really like the etymotic ER4P, but would like a fullsize can for obvious reasons. If it sounds more or less like the ER4P (better would be great too), I'll be very happy.

I listen to a rather large variety of music, I'll link a few (mostly electronic as I feel that it's the type that will be hardest to get right for my collection).

Infected Mushroom - Disco Mushroom
Oceanlab - Ashes
Ludivico Einaudi - Primavera
Miles Davis - Kind of Blue (won't bother linking this one).
BT - See you on the other side
And many, many more.

What I am looking for:
Enough prat to keep my head nodding during disco mushroom, but enough speed/detail to keep everything clear and precise. Smooth vocals to draw me in on tracks with voices (Oceanlab - Ashes is provided as an example). Gets piano timbre fairly accurate (Ludivico link, I'd also like to mention Chic Corea - Akoustic Band as a contrasting album for the timbre of piano).

Relatively neutral is preferred, but bass light is OK provided it has some impact (BT - See you on the other side), although I would still like bass to be audible at low volumes in Miles Davis - So What.

Regarding bass, ER4P level of volume/impact is ample for me.

I'm not too fussy about soundstage, although I like the idea of the Sigma as it may help with slight ear imbalance during summer/spring.

I'm thinking along the lines of lambda pro maybe.

Advice is needed.

Cheers (sorry for the long read)

 

[MrGreen]

Anyone? (Back from page 5!)

 

[scompton]

I've never heard the ER4, but from descriptions, a normal bias setup will probably satisfy you sound wise. I have an SR-Gamma and love it. I've also heard the SR-5NB and SR-X MkIII at meets and they'd probably satisfy you as well. The SR-X doesn't have much sound stage.

The normal bias Lambda is reported to be better than all of the above but I've not heard them

 

[MrGreen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've never heard the ER4, but from descriptions, a normal bias setup will probably satisfy you sound wise. I have an SR-Gamma and love it. I've also heard the SR-5NB and SR-X MkIII at meets and they'd probably satisfy you as well. The SR-X doesn't have much sound stage. The normal bias Lambda is reported to be better than all of the above but I've not heard them

Is probias universally better than normal bias (the only difference is bias voltage right?)? Like I say I am "happy" with the ER4, but improvements are most definitely welcome when it comes to resolution, clarity, separation, soundstage etc

 

[scompton]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrGreen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is probias universally better than normal bias? Like I say I am "happy" with the ER4, but improvements are most definitely welcome when it comes to resolution, clarity, separation, soundstage etc

Some people like the normal bias Lambda better than any of the pro bias Lambdas, but it's not universal. I've heard some of the pro bias Lambdas at meets and while they're better than my normal bias Gamma, not enough so to justify the cost over the Gammas for me. The SR-X, SR-5NB, and SR-Gamma all use the same driver in different cups. They all have excellent resolution, clarity, separation, bass extension, and, except for the SR-X, sound stage. The bass extends low but doesn't have the impact of other headphones. That matches the description I've read many times of the ER4 so that should be OK for you.

From what I've read, one of the reasons for the pro bias is to allow more movement of the diaphragm to get more bass impact. The SR-001 and SR-007 both have more bass impact than the normal bias headphones.