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Whether it's worth it depends on how picky you are. The Sonys have a sound that's fun to listen to, but it's not particularly accurate, and sounds a bit hollow and thin to my ears, and the bass is probably a bit more pronounced than it should be.
I'll confess that I haven't heard the Etymotics, but having listened to some low-end audiophile equipment, I can tell you what sort of differences to expect. Right now, listening to your iPod probably sounds like listening to a recording. Instruments are missing some of the finer details and just don't sound as life-like as they could. If you get the Etys, or Grados, or some high-end speakers, it'll start to sound more like you're listening to an actual performance than a recording. Everything will be more detailed. I can hear this pretty well in drums, but you can also listen for it in pianos, strings, brass, and lots of other things, particularly on well-recorded albums and well-encoded files.
Whether it's worth the money is up to you, though. Try before you buy if you can, or order from a place like headroom that gives you a money-back guarantee.
Thanks for the advice...well put. I notice several listed on e-bay at $215 ...quite a bit under the retail $330. hmmmmm
thanks
Well, I have both - the Sony MDR-EX70SLs (the white, Asian version of the MDR-EX70LPs) and the Etymotic ER-4Ps.
How do they compare? In a nutshell, there is no comparison. They are like night and day. Which is to be expected considering the price difference ($50 vs. $270 - what I paid for each).
The Etys are simply amazing. Full, detailed, and well-balanced, they sound great throughout the spectrum. Great bass (assuming you get a good seal), punchy but not overpowering mids, and crisp, clear highs. A true "concert inside your head".
In comparison, the MDR-EX70s sound bass-heavy, with decent mid-range, but poor highs. And their detail is quite lacking in comparison to the ER-4Ps - the MDR-EX70s are relatively "muddy" sounding to be honest.
I highly recommend the ER-4Ps with iPod, but they indeed come at a high price.
Tom
A nice alternative is the Shure E2's, especially if you're going to use your ipod actively (cord noise from the Ety's is supposedly a problem with heavy physical activity, but the sound from the Ety 4's is going to be better.). Shure E2's are $80.00 and sound MUCH better than the EX's, and are definitely worth the extra dough IMHO...
And when are you going to do that review on the Shure E2's Tom?
Really interested in your opinion on them!
Tom,
That's what I thought you were going to say...I think the niche that the E2's will fill nicely are for exercising--I pretty much figured the e4's would blow them away otherwise, just wanted to hear you say it (although I am still anxiously awaiting your full review). Any chance you could compare the Shure E2's to the Ety 6's if you get the chance (not sure if you've got the Ety 6's, but I'd love to hear what you think) pretty pretty please? Just out of curiosity...
I have the ER6 and I'm afraid to say that they are disappointing to say the least. They lack bass (no I'm not a bass-head - I have the ER4P's and they are fantastic), have a fatiguing sound and only start to sound good when driven to high volumes through an external amp.
I've not listened to the Shure models but have heard that the lower priced ones tend to lack top end detail.
I have heard the Sony EX-70's and the only good things I can say about them is that they are comfortable and sound good when listening to classical music at very low volume.
I would get the ER-4S. Dont bother with the P version, it is not nearly as clear as the S version and it is easily driven through an iPod unless you are looking for ear bleeding volumes. I would get the S because the microphonics are less, yes i said less. Etymotics must have a typo with the microphonics part on there website. The P is not as prone to the cord hitting your shirt microphonics but it is extremely prone to dragging. if you are sitting down you will hear your breath everytime and it will cause you to drag the cord against your shirt, which is very annoying. The S has mors microphonics interms of thumping it against your shirt but there are NO RUBBING MICROPHONICS. Trust me on this and get the S version, you will not be let down.
When it comes down to everything minus the microphonic noise, is the S truly better than the P version?... after all , they say the P works better on units that aren't amped. Been reading that everywhere (lot of research done on this tonight). Says they even sell portable amp kits for the S.
I currently own the Sony EX70's and have been looking to upgrade for awhile now., so this forum was a big score to find. Just as it was said , they're very bassy and muddy... I find myself adjusting EQ's all over the place to find a happy medium. Im guessing the 4p's (or S) wouldn't need the endless tinkering?
Jay.
I have the ER4-P earphones with my 30gig Euro iPod and the sound is awesome. I would say definitely get the P over S, not only because it is more suited to an unamped source, you can get a converter cable that modifies the 4P to 4S (the only difference being a different value resistor used in the plug).
Consequently, get the 4P and you can modify it to a 4S should you want. This may be important should you decide to get a small portable amplifier or some other such thing in the future.
Just a note, the e2c's should not be directly compared to the er-4's since the e2c's retail for less then 1/3rd as much. The e1c's are also under the retail of the er-4's but from my experiences deliver comprable sound quality. Other areas of SQ aside, the e1c's fix the e2's lack of top end detail.
No one is going to argue the E2's sound better--but there is an instance where it's reasonable to compare the E4's and Shure's--and that's for exercise, like I noted in my previous post. If you're buying the E4's for working out, you're probably better off considering the E2's, which are built for durability, and do not have the problem with movement induced phonic cord noise that the Ety's have. On the other hand, if you are going to use them for quiet listening, the E4's are so much better that they aren't comparable. The Shure's are more comparable to the E6's (Which is why I was hoping Tom would be able to give us a direct comparison).
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I have the Sony ex-70's and they sound great but was interested in getting the Etymotic er-4p. Anyone have any comments regarding the er-4p's? I know they will sound better but are they really worth the money? Is there as big a difference as people say?
Rob