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butter71 · Jan 30, 2003, 02:17 PM

i'm looking into in-ear canal headphones for my ipod. something small and good at noise-cancelling.

anyone using the shure e2c or etymotic er-4p or er-6 headphones? any new products compare?

Freeflyer · Jan 30, 2003, 03:52 PM

I bought a pair of sony ex70sl from

http://www.audiocubes.com/product_in...59527abf7e0b0f

the bass is a little heavy, but can be tuned if you wish (tape over the rear ports).

They are great at cutting out the noise, but not as good a quality as the ety's, which is not surprising as they only cost $50.

Cheers,

J.

GORDYmac · Jan 30, 2003, 06:16 PM

Holy Crap!!! The MDR-EX70SL set looks awesome!

butter71 · Jan 30, 2003, 06:47 PM

Originally posted by GORDYmac:
Holy Crap!!! The MDR-EX70SL set looks awesome!

the shure and etymotic ones aren't bad looking either --

shure e2c

etymotic er-6

etymotic er-4p

xcapekey · Jan 30, 2003, 07:50 PM

i haven't tried the shure ear canal phones but i have a pair of fontopias and er-4s....believe it or not, the sony's do suprisingly better IMHO than the etymotics...the etymotics get some great detail but have little to no bass, causing the overall sound to be a bit tinny....the fontopias get pretty good detail, great bass for ear canals and have an overall warmer more even sound..i'm not super into bassy music or anything, so don't think i'm a bass whore...most of the stuff i listen to is jazz, rock, classical where detail really counts...if i were to choose between the two, having tried both, i would get the sony's..

AssassyN · Jan 30, 2003, 08:22 PM

I can personally testify to the outstanding quality and amazing sound reproduction you'll find in the Shure headphones.

I'm in a band that gigs heavily and is in the process of recording our first album now, and we always had issues with the on-stage monitoring system and feedback, ground loops, extra hums, more speakers to lug around, etc. and so we switched to an "in-ear" monitoring system in which all the other band mates' instruments come directly to your ears via your own set of ear-canal headphones instead of by speakers on the floor of the stage. These Shures are amazing. Even playing on stage, at 120 decibles +, these things are amazingly loud and never distort. The bass guitar is tremendously clear (which is next to impossible to acheive w/ standard floor monitors) and the mids and highs are just as wonderful.

I can't recommend them highly enough, you'll never go back once you've heard them.

butter71 · Jan 30, 2003, 08:34 PM

i have a pair of fontopias and er-4s....believe it or not, the sony's do suprisingly better IMHO than the etymotics...the etymotics get some great detail but have little to no bass, causing the overall sound to be a bit tinny..

did you use the er-4s with an amp or directly into your ipod?

from what i've read the er-4s needs something more powerful driving it. the er-4p is the same as the er-4s but with less impedance so it gets better bass response with portable devices.

xcapekey · Jan 30, 2003, 10:05 PM

i've only used the er-4s through the ipod, sans amp.

maxintosh · Jan 30, 2003, 11:23 PM

Originally posted by GORDYmac:
Holy Crap!!! The MDR-EX70SL set looks awesome!

I can also attest that the Sony Fontopia in-ear headphones are freaking unbelievable. Sound quality is out of this world for such little things. I usually can't wear ear buds but I don't even notice these are in, and they don't fall out. *thumbs up*

Zim · Jan 31, 2003, 08:15 AM

Anyone tried any of these on a plane?

I had been using the very cheap (but functional) KOSS in-ear buds. The foam expands to fill the ear canal and block the airplane noise. With normal headphones I was not able to get enough isolation.

How are any of these also at being low profile? ie. can you sleep against the side that has an earbud in? Or do they stick out?

Thanks,
Mike

GORDYmac · Jan 31, 2003, 09:13 AM

Originally posted by butter71:
the shure and etymotic ones aren't bad looking either...

I was looking more at the iPod aesthetic. The Sony ones look like they match the iPod perfectly. $39 at Buy.com.

Now, where can I get $39...

emdash · Jan 31, 2003, 02:38 PM

Yes! The Sonys are amazing! I have "bass reducer" turned on in my iPod because the things actually have too much bass!

I used them on an airplane recently and they provided the best plane-listening experience I've ever had. They're excellent at cutting out background noise. This is also helpful for the rear seats in a diesel bus. :-)

BTW, no amp, I plug them straight into the iPod.

I highly recommend the Sony MDR-EX70s (even though I'm not much of a Sony fan in general).

TheMosco · Jan 31, 2003, 08:01 PM

If you like the sony ones, make sure you get the right version.

there are 2 versions, the american and the japanese.

the american version is black and it doesn't match the ipod. It also has a regular cord.

the japanese version is white and has an extra long cord with a detachable part. So you can either have a really long cord for your pants pocket or a really short cord for your shirt pocket.

I have a pair of the sony japanese ones and they do sound really good. they come with 3 sizes of buds and i use the smallest. I couldn't see anyone being able to use the bigger ones.

Make sure your ears are always clean.

The only downside to these headphones for me is that they aren't something you can share with someone else unless you want them sticking it into their ear canal.

Freeflyer · Jan 31, 2003, 11:24 PM

Yep, that's true. The link I put in my post higher up, is to a company called audiocubes, who are in Japan.

It took about a week for them to arrive, they even marked the package as a gift, with a lower value so that customs wouldn't sting me for import duty etc, which I thougt was a nice touch.

Cost was the same as buying the black pair for my wife's minidisk from the local sony dealer.

Cheers,

J.

butter71 · Feb 1, 2003, 01:11 PM

i ended up buying both the etymotic er-4p and shure e2c. since they both come with a 30 day return policy, this gives me time to evaluate them back to back.

the etymotics came today. they do offer very good isolation and are pretty comfortable.

my test disc is the h�tel costes 5 compilation which has faily dynamic range playing through my powerbook.

with flat eq, the highs sound very good. i can hear cymbal hits and hand claps very clearly.

lows also sound pretty precise. i don't recall noticing the timpanis before, but now they sound very good. turning on bass booster helps a bit, but i think it's more a listening preference than a necessity.

it will be interesting to hear how these sound after they burn-in a bit.

the shures will be here on monday. i'll post a comparison after that. at 1/3 the cost of the etymotics, i'm hoping the shures sound just as good.

phidauex · Feb 1, 2003, 09:58 PM

Having listened to hundreds of different headphones (from 4$ phones, to 10,000$ phones), I'd have to say that the etymotic 4s's rock the house. Under proper amplification, they are generally considered to be in the top 4 or 5 headphones manufactured.

Now, having said that, the most common problem people have with them is 'lack of bass' which is one of three problems..

Bad fit: They are difficult to fit properly. If you aren't used to canalphones, they can be hard to get a good fit on at first. A poor fit will result in poor sounding bass.

Poor amplification: Most portable devices (ipods included) do not push much current, and have a hard time dealing with high-impedance headphones like the 4S. An amplifier like the ones Headroom makes would help you immensely. The other option is to get the ER-4P, which is the same as the 4S, but with a lowered impedence, which is designed to work directly from a portable device. My friend has that combo, ipod and the 4Ps, and it sounds simply amazing. Another friend uses an ipod, a headroom cosmic amplifier, and the 4Ss, and they are definately in the top 3 headphones I've heard. In my opinion, they put any other earbud/canalphone to shame.

Third reason they might sound low on bass.. People who are used to speakers and headphones that produce harmonics instead of true bass (like what the 'ultra bass' settings on some walkmans does) are used to being 'rattled' by bass. Canalphones do not 'rattle' you because the actual amount of air being moved is very small. A 30hz tone comes across as 30hz, not 120hz harmonic rattling. If you aren't used to listening for the real bass, you might miss it. People usually get used to the bass after a short time, and then generally find other headphones to have overblown and boomy bass.

Of course, they are expensive. If cost is a concern, there might be better phones for you. But my personal choice for a small canalphone combo would be the ipod and the er-4p. Ultimate portability (no big amp) and awesome sound.

Peace,
sam