Compared to my Etymotic ER-4S unamplified, the TripleFi's aren't nearly as revealing or neutral. They definitely have a signature sound, which seems a little inaccurate to me. With the ER-4S, you feel like a fly on the wall of the studio, the TripleFi's are more forward sounding. Where the TripleFi's excel is in the bass dept., perhaps a little too much. They are also a lot more full-bodied and a ton easier to drive without an amp.
Ew ER4S unamped? That must sound so thin and fatiguing.
My ER4S amped is just pure audio bliss though. :awe:
The fastness of transducer tubes reveal the timbre and the directionality/soundstage so well. I haven't heard anything quite as 3D sounding. It brought an amazing depth to the music.
I also had a pair of Shure SE530 before. They have a VERY different sound signature to the etys, but I heard similar to the trip.fi, except trip.fi is even more bassy(signature of UE sound). SE530 sounded more pleasant for rock music where a good midrange sounds better than the harshness of the highs. It's much more forward, as you put it.
All in all, I was surprised how different two different manufacturers of hi-fidelity headphones can sound. It's as if there is no objective definition of hi-fidelity. But each sound fits different tastes and different types of music. I see a strong importance to demo before you buy. But at $99 for a top of the line phone from a well respected company is a steal.