[Iamgag7]

Hi all, I'm going to purchase these ear phones primarily due to recomendations by members on this board, reviews, and the fact that their frequency response is very accurate compared to full sized cans in the price range...

i will be using these as additional tools to speakers, as mixing reference with my Cubase audio creation software.

anyhow.. I have one major concern of there phones..well...two..

1. FILTERS... I notice i havent seen filter replacements from other in ear monitor companies (only cleaners..i.e. ultimate ears gives you a cleaner tool..no filters) So..what's the deal? how often do these need to be replaced? i dont want to spend money for filters and have to hassle to replace them every week...

2. BASS... Is it true these ear phones provide accurate bass? or is it lacking to the point of not being accurate at all?

thanks!

 

[catscratch]

I'm not sure how often filters need to be replaced exactly, but I can tell you that I've owned my pair for about 3-4 months and used them pretty extensively, and in that time I didn't have to change the filters once.

In terms of the bass, well, it depends on what kind of presentation you're after. If you want a deep, thunderous bass that gives a solid foundation to your music, you won't find it here. If you want a boomy, dance club or 5 12-inch subs in the trunk style bass you obviously won't find it here either. The bass is tight and snappy, not very powerful in the deep bass but very well defined. Not sufficient for electronic music IMO but very good for more mellow rock and jazz. I think it's too recessed to be called accurate but it's definitely there.

Try out as many tips as you can get your hands on (the Shure fit kit is a good place to start but it doesn't include everything that can fit on them) and give it some time to get a good seal. The seal is paramount, and remember that you can have very good isolation and still not have a proper seal.

 

[tottiflames]

1. It depends. When the sound turns kind of stuffy, muffled, then it needs to be changed. I have just have them changed.I have been using this pair for 5 months.
2. Well, .. I don’t know.Because I don't know what is the standard for "accurate"

PS: maybe ER4B will be a better choice

 

[Iamgag7]

ok, i also use other over the ear headphones as well..so i prob wont need to worry about changing the filters too often..thats fine..

but now the bass issue concerns me.. hmm..i will be producing music which requires somewhat heavy bass (hip hop, possibly trance, techno), BUT, wouldn't the bass be under represented in monitor speakers as well?

hmm..great... another block in the road.

 

[jsmithepa]

Sounds like u haven't made a decision at all.

The er4 won't give u "fun" bass, but for a "tool" it should perform well. 'coz u want a tool to be accurate right.

 

[Iamgag7]

true...but as that one poster said... i dont want underrespresenated bass.. i just want..true bass. What i put in, I get out...no coloration...

hmm..

 

[jsmithepa]

From this one humble opinion, the er4 gives u "enough" accurate bass.

Of course when I play Tina Turner's Wildest Dream (Barry White Duet), or Eagles' Hotel California (Hell Freezes Over), it's fun to put +4db of bass on my car's stereo spkrs. Er4 can't beat that! I dunn know if more expensive phones can.

OTOH, only the er4 is been able to play the intro drums work from Stevie Nick's Stand Back (Red Rocks concert) a orgasmic performance. I have to turn down my car stereo's bass (playing on spkrs) to approximate the drums work clearity of the er4. This tells me, sometimes, too much bass not always a good thing.

 

[poo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jsmithepa /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds like u haven't made a decision at all. The er4 won't give u "fun" bass, but for a "tool" it should perform well. 'coz u want a tool to be accurate right.

Nicely put.

The bass is not lacking at all IMO. It is presented differently than I was used to, but as a 'tool' as described above - the bass is perfect. IMO the ER4 presents the bass as precisely as the mids and highs - so that you can hear the full tonality of that bass rather than feel it. This is what I understand jsmithepa meant by not providing 'fun' bass.

The only way you can really answer your question is to try them yourself, but I would suggest that if you are after a 'tool' as a musical reference, something like the ER4 will do a fine job.

 

[Sherwood]

The facts are these:

A tool is indeed a tool, but experienced producers recognize that there is a difference between what it sounds like to you and what it sounds like to the end user. If you're going to be making club music and you're not an experienced producer, you will want to mix and master in an environment that most closely resembles the environment your end user will be in. Long story short, you'll want some excessively bassy headphones, or at least the ability to occasionally play what you're mixing over a club system and see how the bass translates.

I learned this the hard way, using the wrong headphones to create live loops. What I heard through my (very accurate) headphones and speakers in no way resembled what I heard on stage. At some stage you will need a reality check. It doesn't have to be headphones, but it has to be something.

FWIW, IEM's are terrible for mixing. They're difficult to take in and out repeatedly, which is often necessary, and the microphonics are annoying. Stick to using IEM's for travel.

 

[Tarkovsky]

If you're using an amp make sure you get the P to S cable which makes the bass even more 'reference'.

 

[japomono]

As has been said, having an amp, and the kind of amp, make a lot of difference wrt the bass. With a porta corda III set on low gain, I think I have way enough bass, and I prefer them without the r->s adapter.

 

[Tarkovsky]

Yes, but if you're producing music and you like bass, the phones will tell you that there's more bass than there is without the P to S - if you like the sound of the P without the S, mix it like that.

 

[robm321]

I would recommend a supermini amp if you get the ER4s. It gives the perfect amount of bass boost while keeping it accurate and tight.

 

[jsmithepa]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sherwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif The facts are these:

Best reply here.