Dynamics way beyond the ER-6: incredible performance for the money - if you use it correctly.
I'm on record with a total rave of Etymotic's ER-6 headphones - but the ER-4P is vastly more satisfying. The difference is bass (the most immediately obvious difference). The ER-4p has phenominal bass for headphones - probably state of the art in this reguard. But what makes the ER-4p really special is its amazing dynamics. The soundstage is huge, and sonic textures leap out of velvet silence. It's hard to characterize superb dynamics. Music sounds "bigger". Quiet passages have more presence - and louder passages have more inner detail. Another strength of the ER-4p is that the extra bass energy allows the vibrant treble detail to sound balanced - not strident or analytical (as the ER-6 can sometimes sound). Between the dynamics and the bass, the ER-4p ends up sounding more musical and alive than the ER-6 (and thus virtually every other earphone). There is a touch of mid-bass ripeness - sometimes deep voices like Mark Knopfler sound a little chesty. There's also a downside...
Great bang (and crash and boom) for your bucks
The JBL L880 floorstanding towers are EXTRAORDINARY value for money compared with other manufacturer's and internet only dealers products. Many will claim to have very neutral response and dynamic potential, but JBL has been in the business of making speakers since before many of those companies were glimmers in the eyes of their founders.
You can find excellent measurements of the L880's response curves online (Stereophile has an excellent review with such measurements) and the measurements don't lie. Flat response on axis from 40KHz down to about 30 Hz (with some leeway for room reinforcement). What that means in terms of listening is that everything sounds exactly as the mixer, engineers, and musicians (or movie makers if that's your bag) intended it to; nothing is being unduly influenced by characteristics of the speakers themselves, hence the description as neutral.
I've been using these paired with an Onkyo TX-SR606, a JBL LC2 center, and some surrounds...
Hard to beat
I owned the ER-6i headphones for about a year before I left them on an airline seat and made someone's day. I loved them and most of what I liked about them factored into my decision about what to replace them with. I shopped the Shure models and several others, but I really did like the performance of the ER-6i. So why did I go for the upgrade? While the ER-6i's were overall excellent (4 stars by me), at times they seemed incapable of providing a full bass response at reasonable volumes. They either were dull at low volumes or distorted at high volumes. Yes, there are times when I play my music too loud, that's why I choose headphones, so I do not annoy others with my often odd musical tastes. I do expect a good headphone to be capable of delivering good bass.
The ER-4p excels where the ER-6i fell a bit short. With either model it matters a lot how you seat the ear pieces. A poor seal (insufficient depth) results in very little bass. Correct insertion provides the best...
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