OK - I switched from Shure E3s to Ety 4Ps - MUCH happier

Excellent! Good to hear you are enjoying your new Etys!

$200 used. Until you hear the sound from your ipod through some good quality phones you don't know what you are missing. It may be a bit excessive, but I figure I can keep it for years to come.

Originally posted by Mr94Supra
WHAT!!! Call me a cheap bassturd but I aint payin 300 bux for some earfones maaaaaaaaaaaan!

Cheap skate :-)

If you really loved your iPod, you'd buy it a set of quality earphones! Do you treat everything you love in this way?

I'm happy to spend a bit extra and get good quality. Your set-up is only as good as its weakest link.

And what if that 'weakest link' is your hearing? You can spend all the $$ you have one overpriced headphones and it won't matter much. The one variable people seem to forget in this mix is the one you can do nothing about - your ears (or what's in 'em). I suffer from tinnitus and cannot hear high frequency sounds. Should I go out and drop $250 on a pair of buds so I can boast of being more discriminate? :rolleyes:

Yeah, I can tell the difference between $50 buds and $250 buds, even with my damaged drums. Still, even if I had a child's hearing, I doubt I would spend that much. For me, it's kind of like buying a Mercedes over my Honda Accord; both are quality vehicles, but it's just more money than I want to spend on getting from A to B.

Anyway, enjoy the music...

Ah yes, that is what it's all about, isn't it?:) It's so easy to get caught up in accessorizing, one can forget why he or she bought the iPod in the first place.

Now springtide, don't stir things up... :)

Now, for a more important question. What is the EQ you are using with your Ety's? Do you have the P or the S? Do you find S better as some people have stated?

Originally posted by drssyoon
Now springtide, don't stir things up... :)

Now, for a more important question. What is the EQ you are using with your Ety's? Do you have the P or the S? Do you find S better as some people have stated?

With regard to the S: you need an amplifier for the S cable. Otherwise the P is better.

With regard to the EQ: I strongly recommend anyone with the 4Ps give the Latin EQ a shot with rock. Subtle, but brings the bass out with no distortion. Bass booster and loudness, IMHO, distort way too much. Give it a shot, see what you think!

Originally posted by drssyoon
Now springtide, don't stir things up... :)

Now, for a more important question. What is the EQ you are using with your Ety's? Do you have the P or the S? Do you find S better as some people have stated?

The ER-4Ps have more bass, but bass I would consider "muddy"... it did not give a strong bass slam, or very clear defined low tones. However, the ER-4Ps are very convenient to use and carry, and can be driven to high volumes easily.

When I tried my headphones as an ER-4S, it almost completely eliminated floor noise from my iPod Mini's amp. There was a lot more clarity and detail in the mid range and highs than the ER-4P, and the low end sounded much cleaner. The volume was driven to a decent level when my iPod Mini's volume was maxed out. With the noise isolation of the Etys, volume will not be a problem.

The cable I made was very shoddy (I am a crappy at soldering), so I ordered the official Etymotic ER-4P to ER-4S cable from Todd the Vinly Junkie. When I receive this, I will try it out on my PiMeta and see how it sounds. Right now, I am debating whether the increase in sound quality from ER-4P to ER-4S + amp is worth the hassle of carrying around a headphone amp. If there is a significant increase in sound quality, I will probably buy a headphone amp, a short mini-to-mini IC, and a small bag to carry it all.

Oh, and I use the Flat EQ. Flat response headphones deserves flat EQ.

Just as a subjective comparison (which is difficult since the volume level changes between the S and P) - S does seem to have a bit more "sparkle" in the highs. Couldn't tell that much of a difference in the lows. With P - using Latin EQ helps as recommended by dmt1, but with S, the extra high of Latin is too much. Either flat or bass boost seems better.

Wow, what a diversion of my work hours... Kinda addicting, though... :cool:

And one other (obvious thing): you can convert the 4P to 4S with the 4S cable extension, which I've seen for as low as $25.00, but not vice versa...And since the 4S really works best with an amp, that setup isn't really portable, or as portable as the 4P unamped. But buying the 4P allows you the best of both worlds--you can get the 4S cable adapter and amp it for home use, and use the 4P without the adapter for out and about.

Originally posted by drssyoon
$200 used. Until you hear the sound from your ipod through some good quality phones you don't know what you are missing. It may be a bit excessive, but I figure I can keep it for years to come. $200.00 Used!? I got mine for $219 new off eBay. Overnight shipping included.

Love them! Talk about great for airplane trips; they kill just about all of the external noise. No more cranking till your ears bleed!

My purchase included an Ety "S" cable. I've been experimenting with and without it. I think there is more than to the "S" than mere increased resistance and thus lowered volume. There is a difference in the sound. Slight, but perceptable difference. I am now listening to the Etys with the "S" cable and the volume on the ipod is at about 80% and is plenty loud.

I guess thats why it has been said the the 4s is a good match for the Iriver. As the EQ is adjustable on the mid and high end to get back the slightly lowered frequencies on the curve.

The noise floor is relative to the actual listening volume only.

ANY lower listening volume will also reduce the noisefloor. The 4 S do not by design lower the noise floor while increasing the aural volume. This is the S/N ratio and the S/N ratio is the same spec on both the P and S.

Also all noise is usually at the high frequency areas and the lowered output of the 4Ps in that area of the band would by design also reduce the noise floor for the Ps as well.

I have both and the only real difference is that I can use the S cable when plugung into a highly amplified source. thats what the S is designed for. The Ps are for the portable players as they need a much higher sensitivity in oder to produce the same db leverl. Thats why you can convert the 4P to S and not vice versa. ETYomics designed the 4P to rival the 4s sound in lower output situations. With very very little EQ there is no perceptable difference.

Personally - and I think this is the important caveat - Ety 4 is far far better than the Shure E3s. As I said, I really try to like the Shures, but never could get it to sound right. Even tried the tri-flange tips. Good luck in your decision.

Ok ... LOTS AND LOTS of different opinions here.

I want to spend no more than $70 (give or take).

What is the best bang for my buck?
Also no Princess Leia earphones please.
I definately prefer smaller earpieces.

Thank You for your opinions

hmmm ...

Other Opinions?

Thanks BTW

Some find the Shures more comfortable but you ca use the shure fomies on the ETYs as well.

The ETYs seem to be the best for pre recorded audio and offer the option to use at home wih the S cable as well. They are discreet in the ears as the housing is smaller. Those who want the white "me too" plugs will not find that with the ETYs.

They will be especially relavant when lossy music is replaced with lossless music on smaller and larger HDs. and at $219 are definatly worth $70 more than E3s IMO.

Idealsound at Ebay has them for that price shipped by 10AM the next day with a return policy.

Good Luck. those who choose not spend that much will be happy with E71s and maye E2s (I know nothing about E2's) I think E2' s may be Shure's "me too" phones though

G

I've used the ER-6's and they sounded wonderful. I didn't care much for the silicon tips, because in order to get a good seal, you had to insert them deep in your ear canal, and after a while, my ears started to itch. I found the foam tips to be much more comfortable for long-term wearability, as they didn't require insertion nearly as deep.

The sound was excellent. My only complaint was that they weren't quite as efficient as other earbuds I've tried. Most of my listening was done with the volume set to 80-90% of maximum. While this produced plenty of volume, considering outside noise was nowhere to be heard, I still prefer having enough efficiency to drive the earbuds around the middle of the volume range of the iPod.

I eventually returned the ER-6 and purchased the Shure E3. While the Shure's are certainly excellent, they produce a somewhat different flavor of sound than the Ety's. I have grown accustomed to the E3's, but find myself longing to hear the ER-6's again. I am seriously thinking of trying the ER-4Ps, and selling the E3s if I like them better. Or maybe I'll just go back to the ER-6s. They are hard to beat for the price. Give them a try, you won't be disappointed.

The differance between the E3s and ETYs in my experience all has to do with the type of music you listen to.

If you listen mostly to dense recordings such as tecno, metal, grunge, the E3's are best. They are warmer and do have a better bass response without EQ.

If you are more inclined to listen to less dense recordings with a lot of "air" such as classical, EWF type R & B, vocalists, singer songwriters, and the like, the ETYs are the way to go. Since I fall into the latter category more often I chose the ETYs. The clarity is amazing to me.

They are both great phones and I found each equal in sound quality only depending on the source and the player as well.

The E3's have a better bass response normally but if you have good DSP and EQ options, the ETYs can get there without distortion as well with some coaxing. This why i feel the ETYs are the only choice for the Iriver product.

You should understand I cannot speak for the ipod as I used the E71s there and did not make the higher end phone purchases until after i bought the Iriver. but again I don't think other than the DSP options either player is better sounding then the other.out of the box. I enjoyed the Ipod sound. It was for other reasons I ultimatly switched to the iRiver product

Grace, you're probably searching for Ety instead of Etymotic.

Stick that word into a search engine, Ety is just an abbreviation

Originally posted by dmt1
I'd agree with that--but to be fair, not everyone will agree.

What I'd STRONGLY recommend is buying from a vendor that allows hassle free returns, such as headroom, buy both, and send back the pair that you don't like as much. It will be a little more expensive this way, but much cheaper than buying one pair that you can't return, deciding you don't like them so much, and buying the other pair.

Personally, I think the 4P's should be compared to the Shure E5's rather than the E3's, but that's just me...

Actually, I would NOT recommend that at all. You leave the vendor with a pair of used phones if you do this and vendors like Headroom are not very large so they can't continue to offer such a great return policy if everyone ends up doing this.

A BETTER OPTION:
Audition the phones. Talk to headroom about an audition and this way they can provide you with used phones just for this purpose. Another vendor who will provide phones for audition is Todd Greene (Todd The Vinyl Junkie http://www.toddthevinyljunkie.com/).

I'm auditioning Shure E5 and Ety ER4P right now from Todd and he is excellent to work with. Give him a shot.

FWIW - the Ety ER4P/S sound much closer to the E3 than they do to the E5. Just because the E5 and ER4P are at the top of their respective product lines is no reason to compare them. The Etys are great for detail and critical listening and have a more forward presentation of the high end and great extension in treble. They also have tight bass but can be considered a bit thin on the low end with some music especially and this is mainly perceived due to the forward treble presentation. The E3 has very forward mid-range and are not as detailed or resolving as the ER4P. I think they are on par with bass but it can be perceived to be more impactful mainly due to the overall balance of presentation. I think the ER4P are better phones compared to the E3 but they may not be the BEST for all music or for all uses. I think the E3 are better when mainly used to go portable but ER4P is great for critical listening.

That's my 2 cents...

Sandman: the audition thing is a great idea. However, I couldn't disagree with you more on the E3/Ety 4P comparison. I was so dissapointed in the E3's; I don't think they come close to the 4P's--just my opinion though.

I haven't tried the E5's--and, with the sensaphonics and the UE's out, I'd probably go that route anyway.

Here is what I said, "the Ety ER4P/S sound much closer to the E3 than they do to the E5"

thedodgyguy clarified my statement for me quite well. I was indeed saying that the E5 is quite different from both the ER4 and E3.

I did not say that the ER4 and E3 were the same. In fact, I think the ER4 is superior in a number of ways though the E3 is more portable. I think I like the ER4 sound better than E3 after comparing them directly, though all of these phones are not perfect. I wish the ER4 had a bit more bass slam. I also wish the E3 mid-range was not so forward.

I ended up recently buying the E5 - still not perfect but damn good. I can't see spending more on phones for my uses as I'm not a rabid audiophile nor am I in the music biz.

Ok, semantics, semantics...:)

I'm not disagreeing with you that the sound signature of the 4P's may be closer to that of the E3's, but the quality of sound, IMHO, of the 4P's is an order of magnitude better than the E3's--which, to my humble, untrained ears sound muddy. What I was trying to point out is that from a quality standpoint, the Ety's compare more to the E5's than the E3's (admittedly not a completely informed statement as I've only heard the E3's and the Ety's.).

My understanding has always been that the Ety's and E5's are more complimentary than competitive because of the reasons you've alluded to--totally different sound signature's. I'm willing to concede that the E5's are as good or better than the 4P's, as I haven't heard them. But in my opinion--and it's just my 2 cents--the 4P's are a notch above the E3's. They do sound totally different, but I was so dissappointed in the E3's (mainly the lack of clarity)--perhaps I was expecting too much. Not that they're a bad earphone; they are reasonably priced, but I just don't think they compare well to the 4P's.

Originally posted by drssyoon
Good comments, dmt1. I will finally have the opportunity to try Ety 4 vs Shure E5. Will let you know soon about my thoughts. I justified this stupid and irrational consumerism by promising myself that I will sell the one that was "inferior."
LOL, that's what I told myself as well...and here I am months later with both sets of canalphones still (Ety ER-49's and Shure E5's). Overall, I prefer the E5's but I just can't bring myself to sell the Ety's as I do enjoy listening to them from time-to-time with certain music.

Well, if you get an amp, your going to have to get the 4S conversion cable as well...:)