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Review: Apuresound-recabled Etymotic ER4P (revised) - Page 5

post #61 of 104
12/18/08 at 11:28pm
I love this cable aesthetically (with the all black version) and its sound quality improvements, but I can't justify $190 for it. Does anyone know if there's a cheaper version of a 90-degree cable for the ER4P? Its too bad Etymotic themselves don't sell an option of the original cable with a 90 degree attachment.
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post #62 of 104
12/19/08 at 5:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jhoff80 View Post
I love this cable aesthetically (with the all black version) and its sound quality improvements, but I can't justify $190 for it. Does anyone know if there's a cheaper version of a 90-degree cable for the ER4P? Its too bad Etymotic themselves don't sell an option of the original cable with a 90 degree attachment.
You could try to contact EFN and see if he will do for you what he has done for himself.

Quote:
Originally Posted by EFN View Post
Sorry to hijack your the thread. My ER-4S is the exact opposite:

Modded to have the simplest profile possible for an ER-4




No more Microphonics. The stock resistors replaced with TKD resistors (Audiophile Grade) and uses Sony cables
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post #63 of 104
3/5/09 at 12:14am
I ordered an Apuresound cable for my Etymotic ER4P's, and after a six week wait, the cable finally arrived this week. Unfortunately, I find that the pins on the APS cable are not exact matches to the stock pins, and do not fit into my ER4 driver tubes.

I am fully aware of the two different pin sizes on each side, and am matching up the pins and holes accordingly. I do not wish to apply undue force in an attempt to insert the APS cable. Obviously it is not recommended to try this too many times. The stock cable pins have a nice rounded finish, and even a small detent. By comparison, the APS cable pins seem like just roughly machined stiff pieces of wire protruding. Not the kind of finish I'd expect from a $200 cable.

Can anyone who has the Etymotic APS cable comment on the pins, and the force it takes to insert them into the ER4 driver tubes?

At this point, I am extremely disappointed. Without having heard the cable (I can't get it inserted), I am faced with the very real possibility of sending it back.

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post #64 of 104
3/5/09 at 5:23am
With all three of my APS ETY cables (original P and S versions and my balanced V2) initial insertion has been a bit of a problem requiring a bit of a jiggle and a fair bit of pressure and the one time I had to remove the APS cable to send it back to Alex for repair it took almost ½ hour to get it out again.
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post #65 of 104
3/5/09 at 7:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nc8000 View Post
With all three of my APS ETY cables initial insertion has been a bit of a problem requiring a bit of a jiggle and a fair bit of pressure and the one time I had to remove the APS cable to send it back to Alex for repair it took almost ½ hour to get it out again.
Hmmmm...not cool.

Sounds like the APS cable pins are nearly (for all intents & purposes) permanent, and do not allow easy installation/removal. Attempting so more than once potentially opens the holes more each time, potentially ruining the driver tubes. I wish this kind of thing was discussed in reviews.

Heli has responded to my email & said I can send the cable back for a refund, less shipping. Now I have to decide.
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post #66 of 104
3/5/09 at 7:59am
Thread Starter 
The reasons for I haven't discussed it in my review are a few:
-I got an used Apuresound ER4P that came ready, so I didn't need to swap cables.
-More importantly, one driver started acting weirdly a couple of months ago, after which I tried to swap the two drivers on my Apuresound cable to see if the driver was the problem. It turns out that yes, the driver was the probelm (and a friend helped me replacing it sending me a spare ER4S); more importantly to your query, I haven't had a problem in having the drivers being kept firmly in place after being swapped (even if one of them came of more easily than the other at the time I had to swap them: meaning that one took 2 minutes to be taken out, the other one required over 10 minutes).
-There is more information that can be searched on headfi, mainly a huge thread describing the physical shape of the cable, which I wasn't interested in reviving since I didn't find them critical aspects, and I wanted to focus mainly on the sound.

Add to this the fact that I needed Alex to service my cable in December: my unit was very old (dating end 2007) and had the first version of the connector, which Alex replaced at January 2008 with sturdier ones. This means that the same drivers were took out and put back into other pins another time at his place.

Your take is additional information which is welcome in my thread. Though, you might want to consider that any other IEM with removal cable (I am referring especially to UE IEMs) wouldn't allow removal and reinsertion of cables more than few times, after which the sockets in the earpiece would start loosening, resulting in the risk of losing pieces of the IEM when walking on the road. I haven't had this problem with Etys/Apuresound Etys you are feeling so disappointed with.
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post #67 of 104
3/5/09 at 8:42am
Thread Starter 
Ehm, I have basically rewritten the review in the first post with more insight about the sound signature, as well as brief comparisons with other portable headphones.
I am also adding a mention to the issue jpelg is having and my experience in a similar situation, since both might be of help for others interested in the recable.
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post #68 of 104
3/5/09 at 10:08am
Thanks for acknowledging my post Tony, and incorporating my findings into your revised review.

I didn't mean to single you out wrt to including this kind of information in your review. I chose to post in this thread only, rather than using the "shotgun" approach & posting in all related threads on Head-Fi, because your review thread was so specific. I am only disappointed with the cable because I cannot use it. Again, thanks for the acknowledgement.

I certainly don't expect to insert/remove/reinsert the cables that many times. Etymotic does not recommend this, and Alex reasserts this. I don't have experience with other IEMs with removable cables, but I only expected similiar operation to the Ety stock cable. I fear that the significant amount of force that it would take to insert the APS cable will certainly expand the driver tube holes disallowing reverting back to the stock cable if I so chose/needed. This also makes evaluation of cables pretty much impossible.

Also, applying this kind of force improperly could damage the part of the cable where the pins are located. Alex offered to do it for me if I send the cable & drivers to him, but that leaves me without my headphones for a time, thus removing one of the benefits of removable cables. It also only solves one half of the problem (insertion), but does not address the other half (removal when needed).
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post #69 of 104
3/5/09 at 6:17pm
Thread Starter 
Hey jpelg, it's fine. I would acknowledge anything I find useful in helping someone to make an informed choice.
In case you decided to try the insertion of the cable, I suggest that you don't push the pins the whole length since it's not needed. You'll realize it's firm before reaching the whole length, and the Ety tubes will suffer a lot less than you'd expect.
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post #70 of 104
3/5/09 at 9:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpelg View Post
I ordered an Apuresound cable for my Etymotic ER4P's, and after a six week wait, the cable finally arrived this week. Unfortunately, I find that the pins on the APS cable are not exact matches to the stock pins, and do not fit into my ER4 driver tubes.

I am fully aware of the two different pin sizes on each side, and am matching up the pins and holes accordingly. I do not wish to apply undue force in an attempt to insert the APS cable. Obviously it is not recommended to try this too many times. The stock cable pins have a nice rounded finish, and even a small detent. By comparison, the APS cable pins seem like just roughly machined stiff pieces of wire protruding. Not the kind of finish I'd expect from a $200 cable.

Can anyone who has the Etymotic APS cable comment on the pins, and the force it takes to insert them into the ER4 driver tubes?

At this point, I am extremely disappointed. Without having heard the cable (I can't get it inserted), I am faced with the very real possibility of sending it back.
The APS pins are slightly larger in diameter. I was able to insert them with some force. However, I was very careful and slow in inserting them.
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post #71 of 104
3/5/09 at 10:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wuwhere View Post
The APS pins are slightly larger in diameter.
Heli from APS insists they are identical in size as the stock pins. I disagreed. Your comment re: the pin diameter (and Tony's post regarding length) indicates I am not crazy. Thank you.
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post #72 of 104
3/5/09 at 10:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpelg View Post
Heli from APS insists they are identical in size as the stock pins. I disagreed. Your comment re: the pin diameter (and Tony's post regarding length) indicates I am not crazy. Thank you.
Just to be sure, I removed the ER4P cable again. I just received my brand new APS cable two days ago but I have not installed it yet. I compared the two cables' pins and they look identical in diameter. The difference is that the original cable has a slightly pointed tip but the APS cable has a blunt tip. Also, the original cable has ridges around the pins for better grip but the APS does not.
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post #73 of 104
3/7/09 at 1:56pm
hard to believe these are comfortable to wear for any period of time.
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post #74 of 104
3/7/09 at 5:26pm
No problem at all wearing them for 4-6 hours in a stretch
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post #75 of 104
3/8/09 at 7:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by badgerbimmer View Post
hard to believe these are comfortable to wear for any period of time.
My take on comfort longevity is the same as for all IEMs - depends on you finding the tips that work best for you. Admittedly some people find there can be a trade-off between SQ and comfort but I think it is dependent on the individual. If you really like them I'd suggest investing in custom tips to maximise both comfort and SQ.
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