[IXZ5P]

Am I the only person who thinks the sony 888 sounds better than the Etymotic? The sony is slicker sounding, fuller, richer. It seems more sonically advanced. The sony is like crude oil, while the Etymotic is like water... It kind of makes sense because Sony is a commercial brand, reaching a wider consumer market, thus having a cheaper price tag, while Etymotic is kind of an independant company fixing a higher price.... plus, with the Etymotic you're also paying for all the stuff that comes with it - the foam tips, filters, filter changing tool. big leather box etc. You're also paying for the isolation. So the sound is a smaller factor, and less advanced than the sony in my opinion... although my sony 888 has 'broken in' while the Etymotic has not... so that might be a factor.

 

[RVD]

Are you sure you are getting a good seal with the Ety's? If the Ety's sound thin and bright with no bass then you do not have a good seal, which is necessary for, the Ety's to sound good. The Ety's should kill the Sony 888's in regards to sound quality. Now granted if you truly just like the 888's better there is no problem with that, but the Ety's should be much better.

 

[IXZ5P]

Yeah, I have considered the sony trash in comparison, but with some songs the Etymotic is too hard on the bang on the drum (don't know what it's called) and is uncomfortable to listen to. With the sony the 'bang' is crisp rathar than hard and feels better, also the bass is'nt as boomy which is also uncomfortable particularly with this song (I'm talking about the KLF's 'What Time Is Love - Live Version').

 

[BDA_ABAT]

IXZ5P: The only thing I can say after owning both cans is...

a.) Check the seal

b.) Re-check the seal

c.) Try different tips and re-check the seal.

(someone posted this in a similar thread a while ago....
Q: What does a horny walrus and Etymotics ER4 have in common??
A: Both are in search of a tight seal)

Of course, all ears/brains are different... your perception of the sound from both on your equipment is your perception. If you're happy with the 888's in your setup, mazel tov!

My perception is that there is a night and day difference between the two. The 888's (to me) sound like what you hear when listening to FM radio or low rate MP3s... like the sound spectrum that should be there got squeezed into a space two sizes too small (yes, allusions to the Grinch intended).

With Ety's (to my ears), the spectrum is opened and revealed. Whatever harshness you might be hearing is likely due to your source or your recording.... the Ety's are SOOO revealing that you may find that you need to upgrade the rest of your components.

That's just me, YMMV.

Bruce

 

[dgs]

Quote:

Originally posted by IXZ5P Am I the only person who thinks the sony 888 sounds better than the Etymotic? The sony is slicker sounding, fuller, richer. It seems more sonically advanced. The sony is like crude oil, while the Etymotic is like water... It kind of makes sense because Sony is a commercial brand, reaching a wider consumer market, thus having a cheaper price tag, while Etymotic is kind of an independant company fixing a higher price.... plus, with the Etymotic you're also paying for all the stuff that comes with it - the foam tips, filters, filter changing tool. big leather box etc. You're also paying for the isolation. So the sound is a smaller factor, and less advanced than the sony in my opinion... although my sony 888 has 'broken in' while the Etymotic has not... so that might be a factor.

There are a few important factors to consider here:

1. The source. If you are playing 128k mp3s through a PCDP/MP3 player, you might find the Etymotics reveal too much of the crappo sound you are feeding them. The Sonys on the other hand, might cover up alot of the flaws of the source for you...

2. The seal. As in other's posts.

3. Training your brain. Although there is considerable controversy here over this issue (although I'm not sure why), some believe that the brain actually gets trained to hear in a certain way by repetition--I refer you to some posts and some threads below:


Quote:

How long does it take for them to sound good? This is more complex. Short answer: it varies. Long answer: this, I believe, is a combination of a few factors. The fit determines how good they sound to a large degree. But equally important, I found that my ears and brain needed to be retrained to attend to the subtlety of these headphones. Listening over a few weeks, even after I got the fit right, lead to an "Aha" experience, where I suddenly heard what everyone had been talking about. I think that this is a function of brain-training more than ear training. Peoples ears are used to hearing using the pinna (the cauliflower-like swirls outside your ear canal) to shape the sound they hear. Since etys insert into your ear canal, they bypass the pinna, and this requires some getting used to. Furthermore, with extended listening (multiple listenings, not wearing them for a week straight), the brain slowly begins to change in its interpretation of the ety's sound. At first, it tries to understand the sound like all your other phones, and often leads to initial feelings of disappointment, especially because other headphones convey a percentage of their sound through the mastoid process (that boney protrusion behind your ear). If you tap it, you will see how much sound it conveys to the ear, compared to say, tapping your skull on the top. Etys do not rely on this bone to convey any sound. Hence, the brain has to be trained to hear bass, for example, without the visceral experience of bass. This type of relearning, i think, is what leads to the AHA experience.

That was from here: http://www4.head-fi.org/forums/showt...brain+training


At any rate, my point is this, if you are used to the sound of the 888, everything will be heard in your head as related to that sound--missing something here, something extra there. If you listen to the etys for awhile, you might find that you prefer their sound more. Then again, you might not. It's a personal thing in the end...

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Also, IXZ5P, are you using bass boost at all? Because Etys are very sensitive to any adjustments in the bass boost, whereas the Sonys need some bass boost in order for them to sound balanced.

 

[ablaze]

I'm waiting for my pair of Etys to arrive and see what they're all about..from what I heard, its gonna be love or hate at first "hear"..sure hope its love

 

[Kubernetes]

I disagree entirely. I have owned both for a fairly long time now.

There is a terrible problem with the Sony's--their midrange continues to develop with use until it's too "thick." Out of the box, the 888s sound rather peaky in the treble and bass shy, but the midrange is already rich and smooth.

I performed the infamous "groove mod" so popular here many moons ago--it really gave out thumping bass, and as the treble settled the 888s sounded perfect. At that stage it was truly audiophile quality IMO. But then the bass started to develop more, and with the groove mod the bass was just bloated and overpowering, so I took off the groove caps and went back to original rubber rings. This was fine--again the sound was fairly balanced and the 888s were heaven again. But about three months ago I noticed something horrifying--the midrange was developing more and more, and not stopping(!). At this point (now), the midrange is just way over the top. It envelopes the treble and is just too damn "thick." If some of you think the Senn580s have a "veil," wait till you own a pair of 888s for 2+ years!

At this point, they're fairly unlistenable unless I couple them with an amp that accentuates the treble heavily. Sometimes I plug them into my Cosmic and turn the "brightness" setting all the way up--this works for most music. But considering that the 888s are primarily for ultra portable use, they're rather useless (unless you consider a Cosmic + battery pack "ultra portable.").

So that's my story. They were a good investment at the time, but 2+ years on they've become fairly unlistenable. If you think that's not a lot of money to spend for two years of enjoyment, go for it, but the Etys are considerably better in sound quality, and AFAIK do not get worse with age.

 

[Superbaldguy]

Yes, I've noticed my 888's are not as listenable as they used to be. Maybe it's because my ER-4P's are soooo much better, but I've heard many mention their 888's lose their sonic 'edge' after a couple years of use. I find the highs are not nearly as crisp and defined as they were just after burn-in.

I still find it hard to believe some people do NOT like the sound of the Etys......

 

[DanG]

I've also had the Sony 888s for two years and several months now, and I've had my Ety ER-4S for about a week less than a year. My findings are almost exactly like Kubernetes's -- the 888s were too thin-sounding at first, then they got better and better until now they don't have any treble honesty left.

The Eties were great out of the box (it's possible I got a pair that had been returned, though). They seem fuller to me in all regards when system and source material ask for it. They are just far superior headphones in that they are not only neutral and balanced, but they can provide for a balanced sound that has more treble and has more tight bass -- that is, a cheap headphone and a cheap headphone amp can be balanced and neutral, yet not have highs that go as high or are as smooth, or bass that goes as deep or is as tight.

The Eties can provide high and smooth highs and deep and tight bass. I was very much moved one time just listening to a Mozart string quintet my Sony D-EJ01 with the Porta Corda on a public bus. The sound felt on par even with my full-size rig (although at the time I had the HD600 with Cardas, not as enjoyable to me as the HP2).

The Sonys were good with my MD player when I didn't have a fully decked-out portable rig and no headphone amp. They covered up a lot of the bad qualities and gave a nice warm sound. But when I can get a good honest representation of the recording -- and I really don't listen much to modern poorly recorded rock where the engineer is the bassist or drummer working in his home studio. If your recordings are bad, it's just as bad as having poor components. Thus, just like some headphones can cover up deficiencies in the CD player or amp, the 888 can cover up for recording faults as well.

 

[redshifter]

hey you guys with treble-shy e888, try this:
take the rubber rings off, remove the grill, and remove the paper filter over the drivers. bingo! treble. if it is too much, you can use a mesh filter from some cheap earbuds to compensate. you can also try punching holes in the paper filters.

actually i am surprised there aren't more people complaining about ety's:
- ety quality is dependant on the quality of the coupling with the ear. since everyone has different ear shapes and sizes, i imagine almost everyone has a different insertion experience.
- ety's (at least mine) are very revealing of source flaws, and other flaws in the chain.
- not everyone can take having something in their ears.

that said, those who successfully "walrus" their etys all comment on how amazing they are.

 

[Kubernetes]

Quote:

hey you guys with treble-shy e888, try this: take the rubber rings off, remove the grill, and remove the paper filter over the drivers. bingo! treble. if it is too much, you can use a mesh filter from some cheap earbuds to compensate. you can also try punching holes in the paper filters.

I already did the paper filter mod a few months ago. The treble was better after I removed the paper, but again, the midrange still crept forward and now it's worse than ever. Short of coming up with an adapter that suppresses the midrange, my 888s are pretty much shot.

 

[Duncan]

Quote:

Originally posted by Kubernetes I already did the paper filter mod a few months ago. The treble was better after I removed the paper, but again, the midrange still crept forward and now it's worse than ever. Short of coming up with an adapter that suppresses the midrange, my 888s are pretty much shot.

Its good to know that my first independent E888 mod still has followers

 

[Kubernetes]

Quote:

Its good to know that my first independent E888 mod still has followers

Hehe, of course.

Sorry, I should have assigned credit where it was due in the first place.

There were indeed some brilliant 888 mods that you guys dreamed up back then (was it here or Headwize? It's been so long I've forgotten which forum!). How young, naive, and enthusiastic we were back then!

 

[Duncan]

It was over at Headwize, about 1 1/2 years ago...

Myself and Vertigo_1 were IIRC the main pioneers... Vert with the Groove plug, me with the Paper Filter... and then me giving Vert the inspiration to block the holes on the back of his EX70s...

Oh, and to keep the thread on track, the ER4Ps have a very sharp top end which could detract from the pleasure you get from them... in some cases, i myself prefer the EX70s to the ER4Ps...

But the Sonys haven't been aired in a LOOOOOOONG time