I loved my old Acoustic Energy AE1’s with dedicated stands which manage to be driven by a Musical Fidelity A100 
a Dual Deck, Marantz CD63 se and a Musical Fidelity Dac and a Nakamichi cassette all wired with Kimbers 
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Post was removed as irrelevant.
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Absolutely astonishing amplifier… super smooth, good Taste
Sounds like a great setup!
you know, don’t talk about cables or people get triggered haha…
The A100 is a classic class A act for sure…not a lot of power but with a lovely, fluid presentation…Oh and I loved my AE1’s so much… a mid/treble forward bias with a wide soundstage for such a small speaker, fast, light but quick decaying bass response…Still my sound sig today tbh…
yeah Kimber make great cables they look ‘REALLY GOOD’ and sound?…lol.
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Got a new amp (RNHP). Friend sent my NDH-20’s back with more headphones to review/sample before sending them back. Ones in boxes are the ones to sample.
I’ll be posting a thread with gear since apparently I have some budget/mid level stuff here.
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Does your friend just order multiples of headphones and then return most/all of them?
Those aren’t multiples, those are his spare’s he is loaning me to try out (ones boxes). The ones outside of boxes are a small sample of mine. Blon B20, Ether CX, NDH 20, and took the picture while on a conference call wearing my LCD X + mod mic.
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I picked these up after Max Settings’ positive review comparing them to the JVC HA-FX01, which I’m a big fan of. I wouldn’t have considered them if he hadn’t specifically pointed out the new dual flange tips that now come with the ER4s. I’ve tried Etymotic iems in the past, and I never could get used to the fit, and I wasn’t super crazy about the sound when I had heard them before with the triple flange tips.
These came preinstalled with the tri-flange, and I gave them a quick try before immediately removing the tips. I had the same comfort issues I remembered, and they didn’t sound great to boot. Switching to the dual flange fixed the soundstage and imaging for me, and it brought the sound closer to where I’d prefer it to be. I went with the Extended Bass Response, which I would normally avoid, but I definitely wouldn’t call these bassy iems. They are closer to neutral, and I can see why Max Settings would compare them to the JVCs. I’m just not sure I need two neutral $250-$300 iems. I bought them from Amazon, so I can return if I still feel that way in a couple of weeks. The included cable is single ended only, and pretty microphonic, so I want to see how it sounds balanced. I do like them, but they are not super exciting or game changing at the first impression
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Nice. Those are a great value for a neutral/reference iem. 
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Yeah, I’m kind of glad to own a pair of Etymotics that I can finally use. The dual flange tips still feel pretty invasive, but nowhere near as awkward as the triple flange tips felt to me.
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They are tried and true references, pretty solid overall. Something I personally could work with for pro work
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I can see that, and I will probably hold onto them. I just don’t know how often I’d reach for them if I’m looking for something fun or musical. These won’t bump the Eikons or Empyreans out of the rotation any time soon
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I prefer the foam, but I have pretty large ear canals.
Big ears, too. They always touch the insides of pads and drivers.
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Yeah of course, they aren’t the most engaging iem I have ever heard lol
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They look like aerating aquarium stones to me. I usually avoid foam tips with my iems, but I will give them a shot
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Just like the air stones, one should change them out with frequent use!
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And I knew that going in. I have friends who have sworn by them for years, but I’ve never had much luck with them until now. It’s not so much the new experience I get from a new purchase, but more of a relief that I finally got them to work out for me after several attempts
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Balanced on high gain turned these into a definite keeper. They sounded better just with the switch to balanced, but adding high gain made a bigger difference than I expected. Mental burn in is also part of it too I’m sure
Edit: I take back the balanced comment. My cable worked at first, but there is a small flange I didn’t notice on the Etymotic cables that was preventing a good coupling with the right driver. It worked at first, but I began to hear crackling before losing all audio. High gain is still the way to go though
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At the suggestion of @Chocolate_Bear I picked up the empire ears bravdos as a powerful bass cannon. Normally my iems are used in the office and out and about which hasn’t been often due to recent events. Time to dust off my btr5 and pretend I’m back at work
Also got some replacement sundara pads which will probably be my main listening device the next few days. Excited to try both!
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