[Gigabomber]

I have had this ety vs westone battle in my mind for a while, but I just A/B'd the etys and westones with various tips at the Oregon meet and found that most of the above quotes in the original posts were correct.

I also found that the etys do have bass with a good seal - though i wouldn't go as far to say enough (I am finding myself a basshead) -
but they weren't bright to my ear, just highly detailed, and i am extremely sensitive to brightness and sibilance (the HD650's had quite a few moments of brightness through the various equipment I tested).

I liked the feel, fit, conform tips and slightly less microphonic cable of the westones, and I believe you may find that a lot of the extra money over the etys would be to those ends more than for the pure sound superiority of one model over the other.

That being said, as soon as i popped the westones in, my knee-jerk reaction was that the sound was just as detailed, but more fun and warmer (this is my preferred style I am finding out).
Course these were the first A/B I have ever done. Good luck

 

[crypt@]

ER•4 MicroPro Earphones $229.50 USD (Exclude Shipping...)

 

[geardoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donaldekelly ...snip ..... I like classical and rock and some folk music - no real preferences. I think I like brighter headphones as opposed to laid back phones. But bass is important, too. USD prices: Etymotic ER-4P $239 at headroom Westone UM2 $275 on ebay ..snip

Good price on the Westone's. I paid over 300 and thought it was good.

Anyway, I'm still getting used to mine, mostly comparing them with my E5's. The UM2's are more neutral than the E5's, maybe in-between the E5 and the ER-4P. I really love the ER--4P/S with an amp - great sound. Haven't done much UM2's amped yet.

The UM2 and E5's get a lot more use than the ER-4P's becase they don't stick out. I can fall asleep with the Shure's and Westones. If I had to pick between them the UM2 wins over the ETY because of this. I"ve been impressed by the bass "thump" that I've heard with the UM2.

You have a difficult choice.

 

[Jmmmmm]

I'd like to slightly modify my earlier statements. I just got the ety triflanges in the mail today, and I am amazed at how much the sound changes with the different tips.

I've been using the short comply tips, which probably emphasize the bass the most of any tip, at the expense of the highs. I don't prefer this sound, but they fit my ears much better than the large comply's.

The triflanges really bring out the treble in the um2's. It's like a veil has been lifted. I actually cut the smallest flange off the tips to fit my ears, but I think this also improved the bass (probably because the driver is closer to my eardrum).

Anyway, I've always thought the treble on the um2's was a little too rolled off, but my opinion has changed. I am now a bigger fan of the um2's. I still don't know how they compare to the er4's, but just realize that the tips make a huge difference in the sound of these.

 

[donaldekelly]

THANKS FOR ALL THE RESPONSES

I think my plan is this: see if I can live with the HD280s I have - lug them around with sweat seeping out of them - till I can't stand it. Or I get upgrade-itis really bad (I am hoping to last more than two weeks in this regard).

If, by some miracle I can be happy with the modded HD280 all summer - then maybe I am not "strong in the way of the Head-Fi" but my wife will be happy!

Just in case this improbability comes to pass - how does the sound of the HD280 compare with the Westone UM2 or the Ety 4P. Amped and unamped? Does the hd280 get left in the dust?

Thanks again.

 

[rabbitsfoot]

I'm with you on tri-flange trimming/mod and sound observation, Jmmmmmm. Tri-flange tips-trimmed, for the UM2s just does it for me. I think both phones can sound excellent-The Etys with a bit of bass boost and the Westones with a bit of high-frequency boost. The UM2s handle eq better due to their increased power handling capabilities coming from the dual drivers.

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jmmmmm I'd like to slightly modify my earlier statements. I just got the ety triflanges in the mail today, and I am amazed at how much the sound changes with the different tips. I've been using the short comply tips, which probably emphasize the bass the most of any tip, at the expense of the highs. I don't prefer this sound, but they fit my ears much better than the large comply's. The triflanges really bring out the treble in the um2's. It's like a veil has been lifted. I actually cut the smallest flange off the tips to fit my ears, but I think this also improved the bass (probably because the driver is closer to my eardrum). Anyway, I've always thought the treble on the um2's was a little too rolled off, but my opinion has changed. I am now a bigger fan of the um2's. I still don't know how they compare to the er4's, but just realize that the tips make a huge difference in the sound of these.

Jmmmmm
can you say the sound is much better on 3flange Vs short foamies (to your ears) ?

 

[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boodi Jmmmmm can you say the sound is much better on 3flange Vs short foamies (to your ears) ?

I much prefer the sound of the triflanges to the sound of the short foamies. With the flanges, the bass loses some of it's oomph, but it gains in texture. It still has great extension, as last night I heard a ultra low bass note that I've never noticed before on a song (one I don't listen to much, though). The upper midrange and treble gain a lot with the flanges. Much much better in my opinion. I've actually turned down the 20k boost 3db from where I had it with the foamies. I feel that I can hear much more detail in the high end now, and think this is closer to what people would consider 'audiophile' sound. IIRC, the long foamies are somewhere in the middle b/w the short foamies and triflanges, but probably closer to teh shorts.

 

[John C]

Jmmmmm

Have you only tried the ety tri-flanges with the UM2's or have you had a go with the Shure's as well.

I'm looking at getting some UM2's very soon (vranswer, sorry about before, you know what I mean), and wondered which would be the best tri-flanges to try with them - ety's or Shure's

I never seem to read much about anyone getting the Westone custom earmolds for the UM2's, would these not be a good choice in the long run (or is the sound they produce, just not up to scratch)??

Also in the future I may look at adding an amp (only have iPod-mini as my portable source at present), and was wondering which portable amp you would recommend (have read good report's about Xin's Supermacro, and Supermicro).

Any advise greatly appreciated (plus others would also benefit from your views).

Cheers
John

 

[rabbitsfoot]

I've been thinking of possibly getting the Westone ES2 which, my understanding is, the UM2 transducer (or very similar) fit into custom ear molds with dual bores. The dual bores giving the phone a better (read more) high frequency response. The price would be near the Sensaphonics unit. Didn't I read somewhere here that Sensaphonic uses the same transducer as the UM2? I may be dreaming this. I really do enjoy the UM2s, though I do add some high-frequency boost to bring out the upper end a bit, and am quite satisfied. I rarely use the UM2s for lengthy sessions and if this were the case, I probably would go the custom molds route-either for the UM2s or others, for the comfortablility.

 

[Jmmmmm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by John C Have you only tried the ety tri-flanges with the UM2's or have you had a go with the Shure's as well. I'm looking at getting some UM2's very soon (vranswer, sorry about before, you know what I mean), and wondered which would be the best tri-flanges to try with them - ety's or Shure's

I got my um2's used, and the original owner included the shure tips he used with them. I couldn't fit the largest flange in my ear canal, and they stuck out quite a bit. So, I decided to mod them, and ended up ruining them. Because of this, I can't make a direct comparison, but I can give you an idea.

The flanges on the shure tips are a bit larger. I'm not sure if this makes much of a difference, though. The stem on the shure's is also quite a bit longer. The stem terminates just behind the largest flange on the etys, but it is much longer on the shures. Most people cut the stem shorter on the shures, but I don't know if they cut it quite as short as the etys. The largest ety flange almost rests on the driver housing of the um2, which I'm not sure is the best thing. I can't tell if it is inside my ear or just against the outside of my ear canal. This seems to be remedied by not pushing the tip all the way down on the tube, though.

Overall, I would recommend getting the ety triflanges, but mostly for this reason: you get 5 pairs when you order the ety's, but only 1 from shure. Once I messed up the one shure tip, I was done. If you think you might want to mod the tip (like cutting off the smallest flange, which made them much more comfortable for me), it could be a $15 mistake with the shures, while you can just get the next tip with the etys.

I don't have an amp, so I can't help you with that.

 

[dotyman]

Wow. People have vastly different hearing, don't we? I found the UM2s to be clearly veiled at the high end, and too loose (even muddy), although more pronounced than the Ety's, at the low end. I guess the term "musical" is used to describe such phonic characteristics. I prefer the much more articulate, precise and open sound of the ER4Ss. As long as the user has a good seal, a good source and a good encoding, there is plenty of bass and pure, clean highs with no sibilance (an amp is recommended as well). Personally, I think the ER4s are the best audiophile earphone next to the UE10s. As someone mentioned above, the E5 and UM2s are designed to be monitors and, as such, fall a bit short of audiophile sound.

In addition, as far as bass is concerned, I am using my ER4s with an SR-71 and the SM3 amps. Both provide excellent bass, but the SM3's high quality bass boost brings the Etys to a whole other level. Bass is almost too present! I run the amps from my iPod, or my M-Audio Audiophile 192 sound card. Other than Xin's high quality boost, I have found that the equalizers on MP3 players, including the iPod, degrade the sound quality far too much to be a practical solution.

Anyway, I just wanted to put in my 2 (or is it 5) cents worth.

dotyman

 

[Hellknight[FA]]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dotyman Wow. People have vastly different hearing, don't we? I found the UM2s to be clearly veiled at the high end, and too loose (even muddy), although more pronounced than the Ety's, at the low end. I guess the term "musical" is used to describe such phonic characteristics. I prefer the much more articulate, precise and open sound of the ER4Ss. As long as the user has a good seal, a good source and a good encoding, there is plenty of bass and pure, clean highs with no sibilance (an amp is recommended as well). Personally, I think the ER4s are the best audiophile earphone next to the UE10s. As someone mentioned above, the E5 and UM2s are designed to be monitors and, as such, fall a bit short of audiophile sound. In addition, as far as bass is concerned, I am using my ER4s with an SR-71 and the SM3 amps. Both provide excellent bass, but the SM3's high quality bass boost brings the Etys to a whole other level. Bass is almost too present! I run the amps from my iPod, or my M-Audio Audiophile 192 sound card. Other than Xin's high quality boost, I have found that the equalizers on MP3 players, including the iPod, degrade the sound quality far too much to be a practical solution. Anyway, I just wanted to put in my 2 (or is it 5) cents worth. dotyman

Most people who find the sound of the etys thin and bass-less simply don't have a proper seal - that's all (I think Etymotic is aware of that and attached a red warning-sheet to my ER4-P package

).

 

[rabbitsfoot]

I thought the Etys had good bass until I heard the Shure E5 and Westone UM2 and then my opinion changed somewhat. The Etys have a good extended low end and are articulate. There just isn't as much bass level and warmth compared to the dual driver phones such as the E5 and UM2. Course there isn't as much high frequency response with the E5 or UM2 either. The Etys thinner bass end, coupled with the flat midrange and extended high frequency level of the Etys makes the phones sound thin with some music. You might find this acceptable or possibly not. If you haven't heard anything else, you may accept it as the norm. Adding level to the low frequency response of the ETYs helps quite a bit in making a good phone-very good, in my opinion. They can run close to their power handling limit though with this type of EQ. For professional use this is, I think, the primary reason the dual driver approach of the E5 and UM2 works better-much higher power-handling. The high frequency response can be tailored without loss of power handling. The Etys do sound much better to me with bass boost applied and the Shure And Westone sound better to me with some high frequency boost. I've used tri-flanges (and others) on all of these models and know how to get a good seal by the way. I agree that this is somewhat subjective as all matters of sound are, both phones have positives and negatives.

 

[mcbiff]

I have both, and at the moment I prefer the UM2s. The bass is very detailed to my ears, and the relative lack of highs makes them less fatiguing in the long run. Having owned ER4s for several years I thought they were the best the canal phone world had to offer at a reasonable price, but after receiving my UM2s I'm reconsidering that notion. However, I would not clearly say that they are "better" than the ER4s, they are different, and at the moment I prefer the different sound.