[germanium]

ER4P/S Extremely accurate in live verses mike feed. Other earphonescolor the sound to make it seem better but not truely accurate.

 

[Rise To The Top]

Go E500!

 

[shigzeo]

i am another m5 user and lover after giving up on er4 and um2 and e500. i get no fatigue which for me counts as a very large portion of sound quality. they just seem much more like the sound of larger headphones for me... nothing grating or too piercing... very natural indeed

Quote:

Originally Posted by germanium /img/forum/go_quote.gif ER4P/S Extremely accurate in live verses mike feed. Other earphonescolor the sound to make it seem better but not truely accurate.

i hear this often. honestly though, they lack bass. the sound phenomenal but when i listen to a live performance and then later to the recording either i have done or other technicians, they sound ... lacking. they are wonderful phones and are relics that have endured and as good as they are for fast music like trance, they are too thin and unnatural unless you mean in only monitoring conditions - for that i think they are one of the best.

there is nothing speaker-like in them.

 

[YouSpentHowMuch?]

Well my favorite isn't on the list, the Denon C700. It's my third (after the E2Cs and SuperFi 3s) IEM and definitely the best I've heard. It's a shame they haven't received more attention here on head-fi. There all around great and have the deepest bass I've heard in any headphone. I think the deep bass may obscure minor details, but not to the extent that it ruins the music it just gives it some "weight". They retail for $200.00 and are definitely worth a shot.

 

[CooLBieRe]

1 vote for 10 pro

 

[keyzer1980]

The ER4P/S sound great if your fave genre of music is microphone static - I think one of the genres bands, "One Slight Head Movement", has a new album out this month titled: Sit Still While You Listen. Lucky for all those ER4 fans... huh?!

Seriously though, no one seems to have ranked the Shure E4 against the ETY ER4? All comparisons have been with the E500/530 - I think the E4 does very well against the ER4, and importantly, around the same $$ It's just they do things different and everything is subjective - if you like your headphones to be scalpel that you can dissect your music with, the ER4's are yours - if you like something more fun and musical, the E4's go good. Me, I am in between, but reach for the fun most.

 

[tk3]

Triple fi .. with good fit these are very, very hard to beat.
What I like most about them is that they "fill" your head very well and envelop you in the music, even at relatively low volumes.
Vocals are crystal clear and instruments like acoustic guitars, cymbals, flutes are really a treat on them.

 

[jant71]

The Super.fi 3 with ES cable/S adapter tops my list. Transparent, no fatigue, headphone sounding with a big soundstage. They do both precision and fun on very high levels which is a hard combo to find.

 

[3X0]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cosmopragma /img/forum/go_quote.gif I've only owned Etymotics ER 4P/S and Shure E5, and both didn't sound good and were horribly uncomfortable. I've auditioned a few other IEMs at a meet. Also not sounding exceptionally good.They just can't compete with real headphones. Most $100 full size headphones do sound far better. IME the IEMs I've auditioned represent the worst bang/buck ratio in headphones audio. On top of that they are not repairable and have a MTBF of approximately one year. They are no great sounding IEMs, at least none for less than $600.

I disagree entirely with that assessment. I think a well-amped Etymotic ER4S beats most headphones under $300 (incl. HD6x0, K701, DT880, et cetera) in all areas except soundstage and treble extension.

And Etymotics have been extremely durable. I owned my ER4P for years, well before I found head-fi.

You just don't like IEMs. That doesn't mean they're bad.

Also, more relevant: I prefer the iM716 to the ER4S because the former comes close while being less fatiguing, though the latter is better by a small margin.

 

[grndslm]

Well... I am not a fan of IEMs, but I'm just about to order the IM716 from newegg.com for $85.

It's essentially an ER4P (which can be turned into ER4S with a 75ohm impedance adapter). Since the Supermini already has a built-in 75ohm impedance adapter, I'm set... and if I use the IM716 unamped, it'll prolly sound better on players with crappy amps than ER4s which really needs some power.

 

[penguindude]

This whole concept of polling to see which headphones/iems is the best is fundamentally flawed. Unless one has heard ALL of the mentioned gear, you can't really make a judgement of which is the BEST.

 

[epaludo]

Shure E500/E530.
Never heard a non Shure IEM, so my vote is based on Shure IEM only ...

 

[Pianist]

The Shure E500/SE530s are the best IEMs I have heard. I am quite sure that the UE-10Pros are better, but haven't heard those, so it's the Shures for now.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguindude /img/forum/go_quote.gif This whole concept of polling to see which headphones/iems is the best is fundamentally flawed. Unless one has heard ALL of the mentioned gear, you can't really make a judgement of which is the BEST.

But the poll says which one is the best you've heard, which means that one does not necessarily have to listen to all the phones to vote.

 

[grndslm]

THEREFORE... the poll is not flawed.

But fundamentally flawed... PROLLY SO!