[Diatribe]

I am in the process of choosing a new pair of IEMs. Since I am travelling a lot I will be listening mostly through either my iPod or my notebook. For at-home-use I have some Senn HD595s, which will be replaced soon by the AKG 701s. For portable use I have been using the old Sony EX71s, and will continue to do so for sports and on the street (where I have to be able to hear things).
The question now is do I get the Shures or the Etys?
Things that are important for me are sound quality (I listen to almost all genres, so it has to sound good with all), noise cancelling qualities (I plan to use these when there is excessive outside noise and when I want to have my peace) and as little as possible cable noise (what's the technical term again?).

Thanks in advance for all the answers.

 

[cheechoz]

Hey! Welcome to Head-Fi, and sorry to hear about your wallet!

I would choose the E4c's, only because they have better bass then the ER6i's. Other then that they are both very clear sounding, and give very good isolation, given you choose the right tip.

 

[Spyro]

Have you considered UM-1's?

 

[ebteeiii]

They both sound great. I recently retired my er6i's and replaced with e4c's. I get a bit more bass and the construction is better. I found the ety's cable to be thin but they never gave me a problem.

 

[taran]

i thought the e4cs would be in a different class compared to the er6i?

i thought it was the shure e3's which were in competition, in terms of price and sound compared to the er6i?

hmmm.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taran i thought the e4cs would be in a different class compared to the er6i? i thought it was the shure e3's which were in competition, in terms of price and sound compared to the er6i? hmmm.

well e4s will sound better with amp then er6i. Without an amp there isn't that much of a difference. Besides the bass being more present. e3s are shures so the detail is less then er6i but have more bass.

If I was looking for the next step up from the er6i. I would think the UM1s and UE.pro 3's.

Then from there next would be the e4s, UE.pro. 5s, UE ebs. But really need to do search on these models and how what you are looking for (bass, treble, detail, needing an amp).

 

[taran]

wot type of amp would make them better?

as in portable amp or a home amp?

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by taran wot type of amp would make them better? as in portable amp or a home amp?

any amp will make them sound better. Generally. (disclaimer)

but any amp designed for headphone with low floor noise would be best. Some SS amp. Hornet, SMv3, SR-71. Something like that.

 

[Diatribe]

Thanks for all the quick answers. I will listen to these unamped, as they are mainly for flying and when I want to get rid of outside noise. For all home use I'll use the 701s.
Important are the comfort level, the sealing and no cord noise (microphonic noise) for me.
Concerning these factors, would the Etys be sufficient?
I won't go for the Ety E4Cs because the cord noise was too much for me.

 

[taran]

low floor noise? and that would be what? lol. sorry for the post hijack.

 

[Dimitri]

The ER6i is a great value at $94.99 at Amazon. They are very light, but not cheap-feeling or looking. Perhaps if they were artificially weighted, like many other small electronic items like ipods, people wouldn't be concerned with the build quality. The Shures do look more like "hardware".

 

[Dimitri]

Regarding "noise floor":

Some amps have an audible noise floor with sensitive phones. The ER6i/XP-7 definitely has this problem until the stock op-amp is swapped for another. the AD797 set I got from Toddthevinyljunkie effectively solved this problem for me. There is still abit of noise at extremely high volumes, but way past realistic listening levels.

 

[taran]

hmm ah see.

there must be amps out there which are good for sensitive headphones then?

or maby amps which are designed to power IEM's.

sorry this sounds like it should be in the amp section.

 

[Diatribe]

I guess for $100 I can't really go wrong. The Etys it will be, thanks for all the help.

 

[warpdriver]

If you have the money, go for the E4's if you can.