I've had the same pair of ER-4S IEMs for about 10 years, and have used them - no joke - almost every day since I first received them in almost every type of situation, and that says a lot - their build quality is tremendous. I absolutely love these headphones, they are excellent for critical listening. They have a very neutral, balanced sound, they are clean, clear, crisp, tight, not overly bright, not overly bassy, these headphones were designed to reproduce sound that is very close to what the human ear naturally hears.
With this said, these are not the kind of headphones you jam out with IMO. These are for digging out details and exploring sounds, examining a recording, sucking out all the details of your music, as opposed to have a more visceral/emotional experience.
These IEMs, in my opinion, should be used with a higher quality, dedicated headphone amp, ideally something tube (the LittleDot MkIII comes to mind), not solid-state, as the tube amp will give them a slightly smoother more "musical" sound.
I have the Campfire Audio Lyra ii which is very "musical" sounding, and in my opinion is better suited to having an emotional experience with the music you love. The Etymotics and the Lyra's, or another compirable pair of IEMs that have more of a "I'm gonna rock out" sound are the perfect combination of gear - when you want it, you can put in your ER4S and really appreciate the recording process and details in your music - and with a second pair of IEMs or headphones that have more of an emotional voice, you can switch over and jam out when the mood strikes.
I would recommend these headphones to anybody who wants to really examine their music. If you're someone who ends up getting these, keep in mind that you can have custom ear molds made - this REALLy takes these IEMs to the next level.
With this said, these are not the kind of headphones you jam out with IMO. These are for digging out details and exploring sounds, examining a recording, sucking out all the details of your music, as opposed to have a more visceral/emotional experience.
These IEMs, in my opinion, should be used with a higher quality, dedicated headphone amp, ideally something tube (the LittleDot MkIII comes to mind), not solid-state, as the tube amp will give them a slightly smoother more "musical" sound.
I have the Campfire Audio Lyra ii which is very "musical" sounding, and in my opinion is better suited to having an emotional experience with the music you love. The Etymotics and the Lyra's, or another compirable pair of IEMs that have more of a "I'm gonna rock out" sound are the perfect combination of gear - when you want it, you can put in your ER4S and really appreciate the recording process and details in your music - and with a second pair of IEMs or headphones that have more of an emotional voice, you can switch over and jam out when the mood strikes.
I would recommend these headphones to anybody who wants to really examine their music. If you're someone who ends up getting these, keep in mind that you can have custom ear molds made - this REALLy takes these IEMs to the next level.