Martin Tillman wrote:

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 18:16:24 -0000, "Stoned Hippy"
wrote:


the etymotic er-6s which are meant
to sound very good. I was wondering if anybody had any experiences with
these, are they comforatable and are they worth the money are my two major
concerns.


I had the misfortune to own a pair of ER6s. The thinnest, shrillest
audio I've ever heard. Horrid. I've also had the misfortune to own
the Sony something-or-other 70s or 71s imitation in-ear phones. I
also very much disliked those too. I've also listened to the ER4,
which wasn't quite as bad as the ER6, but not much better.


That was my first reaction to the ER4P as well. They are
_very_ light on bass. I find they need as much as 7 dB low
shelving boost cornered at 500 Hz to have about the same
bass as my Senn HD590 but then they are incredible in their
reproduction. When I don't have response shaping in the
path I much prefer the EX70LP.


Bob
--

"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

A. Einstein

"Bob Cain" wrote in message

Martin Tillman wrote:

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 18:16:24 -0000, "Stoned Hippy"
wrote:


the etymotic er-6s which are meant
to sound very good. I was wondering if anybody had any experiences
with these, are they comfortable and are they worth the money are
my two major concerns.


I had the misfortune to own a pair of ER6s. The thinnest, shrillest
audio I've ever heard. Horrid. I've also had the misfortune to own
the Sony something-or-other 70s or 71s imitation in-ear phones. I
also very much disliked those too. I've also listened to the ER4,
which wasn't quite as bad as the ER6, but not much better.

That was my first reaction to the ER4P as well. They are
_very_ light on bass. I find they need as much as 7 dB low
shelving boost cornered at 500 Hz to have about the same
bass as my Senn HD590 but then they are incredible in their
reproduction. When I don't have response shaping in the
path I much prefer the EX70LP.

Bass from IEMs is very much dependent on the seal with the inside of the ear
canal. By choosing flexible inserts, you can literally tune the bass end of
a EX70 so that it sounds like a ER6 and vice-versa. I know, as I have both
ER6s and EX70s. Notwithstanding upgrading of the ER6s with better-fitting
foam tips, I agree with the author's preference for the EX70s.

Given the importance of fit and comfort with IEMs, investing in
professionally-made ear molds could be a good idea.

The shrillness of the ER4s and ER6s come largely from a ca. 2.5 and 7 KHz
peak that Etymotic claim should be there. If you want to see some
independent comparative measurements of a number of headphones and IEMs,
please check out the Linkwitz
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/reference_earphones.htm web page

If you read the Linkwitz web page, you'll see that Linkwitz is strongly in
favor of Shure E2 IEMs. My initial experience with E2s was poor because I
didn't know about the importance of sealing. Once I figured this out, I
addressed the issue with some foam tips *borrowed* from a pair of Koss "The
Plug" IEMs and became a far happier camper.

BTW, if you want to get your feet wet with IEMs, the under $20 Koss "The
Plug" IEMs are readily available (Circuit City, etc) and cheap enough to buy
with your mad money. They don't sound bad, in fact I prefer them to the ca.
$120 ER-6s. OTOH, I would say they provide equal value for the dollar, as
EX70s or 71s. IOW you pay about double for the Sonys, and you get pretty
much what you pay for in terms of sound quality.

I know of no "ear bud" type headphone that I would compare to any of the
IEMs I've mentioned in terms of sound quality. I would compare Shure E2s
favorably to my Senn HD 580s, and I would compare my Sony EX70s to my Sony
MDR 7506s.

Sennheiser does have some IEMs, in the $120 range which I have not yet had a
chance to audition. Then, there are the really expensive higher-end Shures.

Arny Krueger wrote:


The shrillness of the ER4s and ER6s come largely from a ca. 2.5 and 7 KHz
peak that Etymotic claim should be there. If you want to see some
independent comparative measurements of a number of headphones and IEMs,
please check out the Linkwitz
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/reference_earphones.htm web page

Great link, Arny. I wish there were a way to more
objectively measure the response. Not many of us have ears
as well calibrated as Seigfried's. I'm giving thought to
using the tiny Knowles FG-3329 capsules and making some kind
of adapter to the ear which will place them in the canal
just beyond the reach of IEM's. Not sure how to proceed
from there to some kind of reference calibration though.

Since they are stainless steel, if it weren't for the messy
environment of the ear canal, I'd consider having them
surgically implanted. Now there would be a stealth binaural
setup. :-)


If you read the Linkwitz web page, you'll see that Linkwitz is strongly in
favor of Shure E2 IEMs. My initial experience with E2s was poor because I
didn't know about the importance of sealing. Once I figured this out, I
addressed the issue with some foam tips *borrowed* from a pair of Koss "The
Plug" IEMs and became a far happier camper.

You've got me thinking about adapting the EX70/71 tips to my
Ety's. I use the Ety's rubber ones, though, instead of the
the foam because the seal seemed better. How would you
compare the two?


BTW, if you want to get your feet wet with IEMs, the under $20 Koss "The
Plug" IEMs are readily available (Circuit City, etc) and cheap enough to buy
with your mad money. They don't sound bad, in fact I prefer them to the ca.
$120 ER-6s. OTOH, I would say they provide equal value for the dollar, as
EX70s or 71s. IOW you pay about double for the Sonys, and you get pretty
much what you pay for in terms of sound quality.

Agreed. I was not at all impressed with the Koss.


Sennheiser does have some IEMs, in the $120 range which I have not yet had a
chance to audition.

Got a handy link to those?


Bob
--

"Things should be described as simply as possible, but no
simpler."

A. Einstein

"Bob Cain" wrote in message

Arny Krueger wrote:

You've got me thinking about adapting the EX70/71 tips to my
Ety's. I use the Ety's rubber ones, though, instead of the
the foam because the seal seemed better. How would you
compare the two?

I seem to be getting along well with foam, particularly the coated foam that
Koss uses.

Sennheiser does have some IEMs, in the $120 range which I have not
yet had a chance to audition.

Got a handy link to those?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tegory=23 786