[dxy56]

Omega,

I never had the Ety4's, but did try the Ety6 and was disappointed with the meager bass response. I finally bought the Shure E5's and have never regretted the decision. I just bougt the Pink Floyd album "Dark Side of The Moon" (a classic, but I never owned a copy) and listened to it with the Shure E5. It is fantastic!
Shure makes top flight pro equipment and their canalphones are built to last a long long time.

You won't regret your decision.

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by dxy56 Omega, I never had the Ety4's, but did try the Ety6 and was disappointed with the meager bass response. I finally bought the Shure E5's and have never regretted the decision. I just bougt the Pink Floyd album "Dark Side of The Moon" (a classic, but I never owned a copy) and listened to it with the Shure E5. It is fantastic! Shure makes top flight pro equipment and their canalphones are built to last a long long time. You won't regret your decision.

You can't really use the ER-6 as a comparison. I had those headphones for 2 weeks and was very disappointed by the weak bass and the harsh highs. The ER-4S is so much better. I enjoy the sound so much in combination with a META42 amp, that I never thought of trying to find out if there's a better canal phone. I am now more interested in getting home headphones like the Senn HD 600 or 650.

 

[JB1]

Disregard my earlier posts in this thread regarding the E5 being 'veiled.' My first hour of listening was through the headphone jack of a home CD player, and it was the problem. I'm not sure why the ER-4S sounded 'normal' while the E5 sounded poor, but I've listened now on my portable player (iRiver imp350), with and without the MINT amp, and via the lineout from a Bose Wave Radio. The Shures are definitely not lacking in mids/highs.

Sorry for the unreliable comments earlier. I should have listened on some more equipment before posting my initial thoughts on the E5. I'm going to spend more time with these things before commenting further.

 

[Mr.PD]

JB1, what about the hiss? Are you getting it with your set up?
These Shures look interesting to me, mostly because of the memory cord set up. And, they look more like some kind of hearing protection that may help me get away with wearing them at work.

I have the ER-4S and love the sound but I hate the cord, not because of noise, but because of how it comes out of my ear. I have to put them in with the connector angled down and back so I can make a nice loop forward to go over my ear. I wear my Etys like the Shures are designed to be worn. I don't mind the cord going down my back, and with Etys it has to because the Y isn't long enough to wrap them around my ears and still have the shirt clip reach far enough to clip it to anything other than my collar, which with a Tshirt just makes the clip poke me in the neck. Without wrapping them over the ear they do pull out after a while, and the cord noise is ......... well it's been described here before.

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr.PD JB1, what about the hiss? Are you getting it with your set up? These Shures look interesting to me, mostly because of the memory cord set up. And, they look more like some kind of hearing protection that may help me get away with wearing them at work. I have the ER-4S and love the sound but I hate the cord, not because of noise, but because of how it comes out of my ear. I have to put them in with the connector angled down and back so I can make a nice loop forward to go over my ear. I wear my Etys like the Shures are designed to be worn. I don't mind the cord going down my back, and with Etys it has to because the Y isn't long enough to wrap them around my ears and still have the shirt clip reach far enough to clip it to anything other than my collar, which with a Tshirt just makes the clip poke me in the neck. Without wrapping them over the ear they do pull out after a while, and the cord noise is ......... well it's been described here before.

Do your etys have the old thick cord? I just had mine upgraded to the new braided cord. The cord is actually still microphonic but because it is so flexible, it no longer causes cord noise or tugs on your ears. It's $50 to get the replacement but it may be worth it. It would also be easier to wrap the cord around your ears if you still feel that's necessary.

 

[scottder]

Someone posted this in another thread, and it look like and interesting mod for the ety.


http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=46043

Scott

 

[JB1]

Mr.PD, the Shures are more sensitive than the etys, and I do hear the slight hiss from the MINT amp. However, it is about the same as the ER-4P (the S cord modification attenuates the hiss quite a bit). I am reserving detailed comments regarding the Shures until I've listened to them quite a bit longer. However, in general the bass is more enhanced than the etys while the highs are more rolled off than the etys. Please do not take this comment as an endorsement either for or against the Shures. I'm still forming an opinion and need to listen longer.

BTW, I have the braided ety cord and also wrap it around my ears ala the Shure cord. It eliminates microphonics, but you're right, the shirt clip must go on the collar.

 

[bangraman]

Quote:

Originally posted by scottder Someone posted this in another thread, and it look like and interesting mod for the ety. http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...threadid=46043 Scott

I've tried this mod until about halfway through my current round of travels... after which I cut the ziptie off. Unfortunately for me it's nowhere near as good as the E5 arrangement.


I've been travelling quite a lot recently, and taking quite a few spares of tips paid off. You'll be glad to know I made not one, not two but three converts to Head-Fi! One of my clients who I was travelling with on his plane asked me why I was swapping earphones like a madman (Yes, I was desperately trying to complete my ER-4P/E5 comparisons). I explained. He's going to buy both too. An engineer I was travelling with on a helicopter decided the E5's were his thing. Another of my clients whose Gulfstream I shared decided that he was an Ety man.


This time I travelled with the PXC250 as well, and I have to say although these are good for the money, the Ety and E5 really do kind of blow them out of the water. I still like their sound on the ground, and still find them less invasive than the in-ear phone but perhaps I might be persuaded to endure the relative discomfort. On the scheduled flights I took, regardless of the fact whether I flew coach, business or even first (three head/earphones, one organiser and one player = coach class table overload) I seemed to be a screaming baby magnet this time. I was therefore able to very conclusively test the effectiveness of the Ety/E5 against the PXC250 for the DSB (dreaded screaming baby). The PXC250 unfortunately sucked.

 

[scottder]

Heh wish I could afford the Shure's, but the etys are in my price range (since I am getting an amp as well). Some day.....some day....

Scott

 

[JB1]

Bangra, I assume the Etys/E5s were equally protective against the DLI (dreaded loud intercom) problem? I hate it when the pilot comes on to tell us how pleased he is to be flying us to Duluth, or to talk about the weather, etc...

 

[bangraman]

Fortunately I've never had to fly to Duluth. My destinations either tend to be much more glamorous, or places where you are virtually guaranteed trouble so your loins are already girded

As long as there's music playing (especially with the E5's 'better than RS-1' like response where people start to wonder why you start nodding your head, then dance around the aisle

), either phone will drown out anything. Without music, yes you will still hear announcements... but they will be extremely attenuated.

 

[scottder]

I am sure it works the same for drowning out co-workers while at my desk.

Scott

 

[iamdone]

At work, canal phones work too good. I miss a lot of my calls and I don't know someone's behind me until that tap me on the shoulder. I enjoy the sound too much, so I sacrifice a few calls but I'm getting better at seeing the light on the phone blinking when the phone's ringing. I need to put up some kind of rearview mirror so I can see when people are creaping up on me.

 

[scottder]

Quote:

Originally posted by iamdone At work, canal phones work too good. I miss a lot of my calls and I don't know someone's behind me until that tap me on the shoulder. I enjoy the sound too much, so I sacrifice a few calls but I'm getting better at seeing the light on the phone blinking when the phone's ringing. I need to put up some kind of rearview mirror so I can see when people are creaping up on me.

Yeah, I was scared a few times wearing my HD-280's too. I've gotten used to it.

Scott

 

[JB1]

I think missing phone calls and co-worker's interruptions are a benefit of the canal phones. I've actually taped over the blinking light on my phone.

Bangra, I'm resisting the urge to make some stupid reply about girded loins. Anyway, my legs are too white and skinny for a loin cloth (damn, I couldn't resist after all).