If you still love Etymotic ER4, this is the thread for you... - Page 8

So I just bought a er4p and want to get the adapter to make it er4s. Where is the cheapest one available of good quality?

i picked one up from wemakeamp on ebay. 10 bucks shipped. came in about a week from hk to central us.

Hello!

One must be careful with the "P to S" adapter, because not always the sum of the impedances (ER4P earphone + "P to S" adapter) is identical to the original ER4S headphone.

In my case, I found the setup ER4P + "P to S" adapter better than the original ER4S.

I believe that the impedance of my old setup ER4P + "P to S" adapter is greater than the original ER4S headphones.

Cheers,

Peter

as long as the adapter adds 75 ohms of resistance, it'll work fine, no?

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardozo 

Hello!

 

One must be careful with the "P to S" adapter, because not always the sum of the impedances (ER4P earphone + "P to S" adapter) is identical to the original ER4S headphone.

In my case, I found the setup ER4P + "P to S" adapter better than the original ER4S.

I believe that the impedance of my old setup ER4P + "P to S" adapter is greater than the original ER4S headphones.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter

Yes, in theory... :o)
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ubercaffeinated 

as long as the adapter adds 75 ohms of resistance, it'll work fine, no?

 

Hey fellow Ety fans!  Sorry to leap into the thread blindly, but I'm low on time and I did a thorough search and didn't find what I'm looking for.

So here's my question, forgive me if it might have already been answered:

I've been using my ER-4 since 2004, and they go everywhere I go.  But I've been wondering lately if I am supposed to graduate to a "step up."  After extensive reading of Playback's "Guide to Earphones and Custom-Fit Ear Monitors" guide, the two I've been looking at are the Shure SE-535, and the Westone Truefit 4.  

Any comparisons of these specific IEMs with the Ety on Head-Fi?  You guys want to chime in?

Things I love about the Etys:

1.  Incredibly accurate sounding, with no emphasis in any frequency (at least to my ears).  Accuracy is paramount to me.  I don't like emphasis.

2.  Legendary noise isolation - I use these on planes, trains, and crowded cafes and noisy gyms with crappy loud music with no trouble.  This is number 2 priority, after accuracy, and I won't buy / use an IEM that doesn't offer perfect sound isolation.  It's kind of the point.

3.  Mind-blowing durability.  I put them through the ringer, and they're still chugging along.

4.  Incredible customer support.  After 6 years of ownership, they replaced the whole ball of wax for me for $50 when I accidentally damaged them.

5.  Ridiculously comfy, and basically water proof, and will not come out of your ears bar nothing.

Things I don't love:

...

Headphones I use now, and love, after extensive testing are the AKG K702.

P.S.  I use my Ety with the "S" cable and a simple BSG amp designed for 600-ohm cans, and the bass is fantastic.  It also greatly extends soundstage and opens up the sound.  Just so you know...

For me, the Etymotic ER4S tops the list of the best balanced armature earphones on the market. And I've had a lot of top headphone in my ears ... Find a good source and a good amplifier and you will hear the best sound of your life... : o)

I suggest you test the Westone UM3X. They do not have the same sound signature, however, share a number of small features that I think you'll like it. Amazing headphone too.

Cheers,

Peter
 

With the description of the things you love, it would be a toss up between the W4 and SE535. The SE535 has better isolation and are very durable. Imo, I have a hard time seeing the W4 last more than 2 or 3 years, though I strongly expect the SE535 to. (That's not totally fair because has neither been out that long!) The Westone 4 is more accurate of the two (but not by a ton); it is also a slightly darker sounding iem than the ER4 which could contrast nicely for you. I love both and find both improvements to the the ER4P (though I haven't tried the ER4S) yet, except for a violin/cello solo, which the ER4 does remarkably well. I personally couldn't find myself going back to the ER4, primarily because I don't like deep insertion iems. You seem to though. That being said I sonically find both more engaging: the W4 has some real technical sparkle and the SE535 has mids that make you love being human.

I would buy a pair of either used or at a good deal. With the description of what you love, I honestly could see you disappointed by either. But to me both of them really opened up to me what IEM's can do. Personally, I find them a step forward than the ER4. I'll never look back, though deciding between SE535 and W4 is tough: both are fantastic but neither are ruler straight accurate. With what you value in the ER4, it's a real toss up which you would enjoy more! Try them both...you probably will anyways! (Or at least that's the experience of lots of us around here!)
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kouzelna 

 

Things I love about the Etys:

 

1.  Incredibly accurate sounding, with no emphasis in any frequency (at least to my ears).  Accuracy is paramount to me.  I don't like emphasis.

 

2.  Legendary noise isolation - I use these on planes, trains, and crowded cafes and noisy gyms with crappy loud music with no trouble.  This is number 2 priority, after accuracy, and I won't buy / use an IEM that doesn't offer perfect sound isolation.  It's kind of the point.

 

3.  Mind-blowing durability.  I put them through the ringer, and they're still chugging along.

 

4.  Incredible customer support.  After 6 years of ownership, they replaced the whole ball of wax for me for $50 when I accidentally damaged them.

 

5.  Ridiculously comfy, and basically water proof, and will not come out of your ears bar nothing.

 

 

Things I don't love:

 

...

 

 

Headphones I use now, and love, after extensive testing are the AKG K702.

 

P.S.  I use my Ety with the "S" cable and a simple BSG amp designed for 600-ohm cans, and the bass is fantastic.  It also greatly extends soundstage and opens up the sound.  Just so you know...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kouzelna 

 

Headphones I use now, and love, after extensive testing are the AKG K702.

 

P.S.  I use my Ety with the "S" cable and a simple BSG amp designed for 600-ohm cans, and the bass is fantastic.  It also greatly extends soundstage and opens up the sound.  Just so you know...

The only step above for fullsize I would consider for you is a stax lambda (not the SR007). If that's not enough, EQing them so they are diffuse field rather than free field will get them even closer to etys (since the ety is a diffuse field for closed canals, whereas the stax lambda is a freefield).

I haven't found anything in IEMs that I like as much as the ER4

I posted this info in another thread, and I think that it might be of interest to some of you. If you have an ER4P/PT, try it with a simple passive inline volume control, like the ones made by Shure or Koss, or the cheap one you can buy at Radio Shack. Dial in the resistance until 75 ohms is in series between your player and the rest of the circuit. The result should be very similar to a P-to-S adapter. In fact, it's a lot more flexible. Think of it as a variable P-to-S adapter. If you dial in less resistance, then you'll get a sound somewhere between a 4P and a 4S. You can even get an exaggerated 4S sound with more than 75 ohms.

The effect is similar with other single-driver balanced armature IEMs. The P-to-S adapter colors the sound of most other IEMSs way too much, but with a passive attenuator, just a touch (<10 ohms) makes some of them sound livelier (for example, Soundmagic PL50, Shure E4). Essentially, you're increasing the output impedance of your source. To a point, you can emulate the sound of a player with a higher output impedance (like the HM801). Personally, I like the 4P the way it is, as the adapter increases the response at 2.5kHz to about 5-6 dB above neutral. But you might find the passive volume control interesting anyway.

Seems cool.

Maybe when I'm older and can appreciate detail a bit more, I'll look into the classic Etys. Right now, I'm a bass-hungry 16-year-old.

Quote:

Originally Posted by yuriv 

I posted this info in another thread, and I think that it might be of interest to some of you. If you have an ER4P/PT, try it with a simple passive inline volume control, like the ones made by Shure or Koss, or the cheap one you can buy at Radio Shack. Dial in the resistance until 75 ohms is in series between your player and the rest of the circuit. The result should be very similar to a P-to-S adapter. In fact, it's a lot more flexible. Think of it as a variable P-to-S adapter. If you dial in less resistance, then you'll get a sound somewhere between a 4P and a 4S. You can even get an exaggerated 4S sound with more than 75 ohms.

 

The effect is similar with other single-driver balanced armature IEMs. The P-to-S adapter colors the sound of most other IEMSs way too much, but with a passive attenuator, just a touch (<10 ohms) makes some of them sound livelier (for example, Soundmagic PL50, Shure E4). Essentially, you're increasing the output impedance of your source. To a point, you can emulate the sound of a player with a higher output impedance (like the HM801). Personally, I like the 4P the way it is, as the adapter increases the response at 2.5kHz to about 5-6 dB above neutral. But you might find the passive volume control interesting anyway.

Very interesting info. Thanks, I'll give it a shot with my ER4.

Is it me or is Amazon no longer carrying the ER-4S? I was about to pick it up for the listed $200 when it disappeared...

Either that or I can pick up the ER4P, but that costs $50 more on Amazon :\