IEMs and close headphones

[acs236]

When I was llving in NYC, I used my Etys all the time. They were great in the subway and walking to work. There was only one time that I almost got hit by bus. My other senses eventually compensated and everything was grand.

Here in Ohio I don't have as much use for them, so I haven't been listening as much. I even experimented with a couple of close headphones, thinking that I would benefit from the easy of being able to take them on and off. I settled on the A900.

Anyway, I tried the Etys again for a first time in a while and remembered how much they kick the A900's ass. Frankly, it's not even close.

I've always been happy with the Etys, but my question to current or former Ety-lovers is whether they found that they liked any of the dozens of new IEMs available now and, if so, which ones?

[elnero]

I didn't own Ety's but I auditioned a pair in home. I liked them but did feel they lacked a bit in the bass and had just borderline treble for me. The Shure E4's I own now have a bit fuller, richer sound, a more laid back treble (in the good way) and better bass that improves even more with a litte boost on my Rio Carbon.

[Dave1]

The Stax 001's are not reallt IEM's but thet serve the same purpose. The big difference, besides being electrostatic and needing a specialized amp, are that they are open. I really like the ety's, abut the 001's are also very nice. I have also heard the Shure e4's and e5's but prefered the ety 4p's to them.

[grawk]

I'm definitely tempted by the stax 003 after gilmore finishes his portable stax amp

[aerius]

I guess I sorta count as a former Ety-lover in that I liked them until I heard them at a meet, after which I didn't love them anymore. Heard the Shure E2 way back when, was pretty indifferent. Checked out the E4 and was quite happy, finally, a full sounding midrange with decent bass. I thought the general sound signature was rather similar to my Grado 225 with vwap pads, but with smoother treble and less kick in the bass. It has a nice balance and tone to it, I'd own one if I had need for an IEM.

[ojnihs]

The ety's were good at what they did, but the complete lack of bass kinda killed them off me. At the time that I had them, I sort of shrugged it off, because I kept telling myself that bass wasn't my thing or that important to me. After getting some more bassier phones, I noticed that it really did make quite a difference in my enjoyment of music. I've heard the e4c's and in my opinion, I think they are the best IEM's on the market today. I only have the e2c's personally, mainly cause I don't have the funds to purchase my own pair of e4's...

[darkless]

I'm definitely tempted by the stax 003 after gilmore finishes his portable stax amp

Sorry grawk, it's already hard to take a man seriously who walks around with a big woody

[Iron_Dreamer]

Hmm, well even the best IEM's (and I've heard the UE10 and E500) don't do it for me as well as closed headphones do, as far as sound quality goes. I would only use IEM's where the isolation and/or portability are needed, even if I had the E500's (based on what I heard from them). Now I find Etys sound embarassingly bad, considering their price, and would frankly prefer to listen to HD201's, let alone the A900's. The Etys are the headphones, perhaps more than any other, for which I cannot understand how anybody likes them; between tons of sibilance, absolutely no soundstage, K501-like levels of bass, and no particularly good quality I can think of (other than isolation). I can see how folks like almost any other decent headphone, but the Etys just absolutely puzzle me.

[philodox]

I like the E4's quite a bit... certainly better than the HD201's [which I own] and the A900's [which I hate]. But when all is said and done there isn't a chance in hell I would listen to them at home with the K340's and HF-1's around.

[tiberian]

Hmm, well even the best IEM's (and I've heard the UE10 and E500) don't do it for me as well as closed headphones do, as far as sound quality goes. I would only use IEM's where the isolation and/or portability are needed, even if I had the E500's (based on what I heard from them). Now I find Etys sound embarassingly bad, considering their price, and would frankly prefer to listen to HD201's, let alone the A900's. The Etys are the headphones, perhaps more than any other, for which I cannot understand how anybody likes them; between tons of sibilance, absolutely no soundstage, K501-like levels of bass, and no particularly good quality I can think of (other than isolation). I can see how folks like almost any other decent headphone, but the Etys just absolutely puzzle me.

yea the etys just sound plain unnatural. i found my UM2s and they will continue to serve me when i am flying with northwest, but my k81djs look better and sound more open.

[blessingx]

IEMs and soundstage???

Have had less use for my Etys lately also so went around and tested (again) most Shure and Ultimate Ears models at Macworld in January (obviously not the best place to test). Again found them too muddy for my tastes. Would like a bit fuller sound (why I was lookin'), but not at the expense of detail and unfortunatly don't want to spend any more. Still sticking with the Etys here (though prefer other full-sized phones). As they say, "poor mans Stax."

[grawk]

You should check out the stax sr-001s...

[ojnihs]

You should check out the stax sr-001s...

I'm quite interested in checking a pair of these out, from everything I've read on Head-fi lately, apparently they're quite good.

[Dusty Chalk]

They're ridiculously good. But they're also unlike anything else around. I mean, what the L is the target market for that thing? You can't exercise with them -- sweat and electrostatics(!). I guess entry level electrostatics is the target market for them. Portable hi-fi sound, too. Yet not closed.

[acs236]

I listened the Ety 4S last night with my Gilmore v.1 for more than I have in a while. Perhaps it is the Gilmore-ety combination, but the treble with a bit jaring and harsh to me. I may try my 4P with the Gilmore tonight and see if that works better. But I'm starting to believe that I may like an IEM with a bit less, or smoother, treble.

[acs236]

I tried my 4Ps last night with the Gilmore -- it sounded a lot better. The Gilmore has always been picky to my ears. With a lot of headphones, it sounds great, but with even more, it sounds awful. It seems to like lower impedence phones.

[ameyer17]

Personally, I prefer the Altec-Lansing iM716 to the e4 because of the bass factor, the e4 was just absolutely pathetic, bass-wise . I suspect I wasn't getting a good seal on the e4 though.

[KenW]

Well, I enjoyed the etys tremendously....when traveling. Nice isolation which was what I really needed as I tend to fly a good bit. Even the lack of bass didn't bother me as I could eq them with the Karma and get a respectable, if not natural, result. My relationship with the ety soured when cracks of the tubes came. I'd babied those things like they were nitroglycerine coated and they still cracked. Had ety repair them and sold them. When I lose faith in a piece of gear, it's over....for good. Then I moved on to the E5c. As was mentioned earlier, they are a bit rolled off on the top end but from a comfort standpoint, these were sweet. Bass was deep and plentiful as well. Isolation wasn't as good as the ety but still quite acceptable as crying children and loudmouths on the flights were still tolerable.

I'm IEM-less right now as I await the arrival of the E500. I still have a need for isolation and portability so I doubt an IEM will ever be totally out of my setup but I tend to think a closed can might be best for home use. Actually, I've got the itch to give the L3000 a whirl. Problem is that no one seem to want to sell at the moment. Alex has 3...THREE of those and that's after he sold some off!! Yikes!! And KenW just want ONE pair. Where's the justice!?!