If you still love Etymotic ER4, this is the thread for you... - Page 52

Just got my pair of ER4S yesterday. I am very impressed with them. I have been really disappointed with headphones in general but especially IEMs. Apart from the Sennheiser HD580, I have never really heard any headphone or IEM that sounds convincing for classical in such a way that does not make me miss my old speaker-based systems. As far as IEMs go, almost all of the ones I have tried have sounded mediocre at best, but mostly horrible, especially those that contain two or more drivers (i.e Shure SE310, Shure SE425, Westone UM2). But the ER4S sounds about as close as I could reasonably expect to a small broadcast quality monitor loudspeaker such as the LS3/5A. The vastly improved bass over any other headphone / earphone I have heard is a huge relief, as I no longer have to whince at the bass bloat. They also seem to be more forgiving of mediocre recordings than I was expecting. I have purposely been listening to my poorer recordings today, and they all actually now sound quite good - with other headphones they have sounded poor to the point where I never really listened to them.

The only downsides to these excellent little monitors for the price are that they suffer the same shortcomings as a small broadcast monitor speaker does (i.e lack of overall scale) and they are not as comfortable as my other IEMs (CX300 and SE215). I am using the grey foam tips as they are the only ones in the package that work and are not uncomfortable, but my other IEMs are so comfortable I would not know I was wearing them (were it not for the isolation and music coming out of them). So I think I will try the Comply tips, but picking the right one is going to be trial and error I am afraid. I also notice that there is still a very slight low level hiss when connected to my XCan V8, despite the 100 ohm impedance and not being a highly sensitive IEM. Still, the hiss is far, far less than I was getting with my old noise cancelling PXC300. Whilst I certainly agree the cable is incredibly microphonic, luckily for me I am only using these for home listening with my desktop setup, so it isn't a problem.

Although I am really happy with the ER4S and I could say that my "search" is over, I will still buy others in the future, but for me the ER4S now sets some sort of benchmark and reference, since it really is the closest I have heard to a good small monitor speaker (and the HD580 the best I have heard compared to a medium or large speaker). I had reached a point of disillusionment with headphone sound in general such that I was contemplating selling all my headphone gear and saving up for an amplifier, speaker stands and a pair of LS3/5A speakers. But I think the ER4S has saved me from needing to take this very expensive step.

I would be really interested to see how my setup (XCan V8 with Mullard tubes plus ER4S) compares to the entry level portable Stax setup - they are worth about the same in dollar terms if you exclude the cost of my Mullard tubes. Another comparison I am interested in making is with the new Musical Fidelity EB50.

Get Shure Olives. They're the best tip made for the ER4/HF series. Seals better than all other tips I've tried and doesn't need (though slightly benefits from) deep insertion. They come in S, M, L; most people are Medium. They're very dense and soft foam and easy to clean and reuse, unlike Comply.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADD 
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Microphonics with the er4 can be virtually eliminated by looping the cable over the ear.

Quote:

Originally Posted by soundstige 

Get Shure Olives. They're the best tip made for the ER4/HF series. Seals better than all other tips I've tried and doesn't need (though slightly benefits from) deep insertion. They come in S, M, L; most people are Medium. They're very dense and soft foam and easy to clean and reuse, unlike Comply.

Agreed - if it weren't for the Olives, I'd have to get the customs. Nothing else really worked as well.

+1 for olives. Get them if you love your ER4

If you can't afford Shure Olives, I hear you can buy about 60 regular Olives in a can for $2 at your local grocer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnarlsagan 

I'm spending too much on tips.

Special thanks to Gnarlsagan for recommending to me the ER4S. I'm absolutely loving these right now, far more than I liked the GR07. The GR07 isn't bad, but for my personal preference, the ER4S is clearly the winner. Better imaging, better detail resolution, and much better treble quality. I'm extremely happy with this purchase.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnarlsagan 

You're welcome! Glad you like them. Can you get a decent fit with the triple flanges? Etymotic is going to change mine out for the new version btw. I'll send you my gliders when it comes since they don't fit me.

I'm curious to see how those might fit, thanks! The triple flanges fit okay, although I prefer the double-flange which allows the drivers to be two millimeters closer to the eardrums. Hope you get your ER4S shipped back to you soon. If I were Ety, I'd ship them back with overnight shipping. It's a better than merely saying "We're sorry."

Has anyone ever reshelled their ER-4s into a custom shell?

I have the large Shure Olives that I use with my SE215 (for computer gaming). The nozzle does not seem to be the same size as the Etymotic nozzles and I have read a few stories here about the "stickiness" of the Shure nozzle bore and having trouble pulling them off the ER4 series and causing breakage or cracking. In any case, I wanted to try a couple of the Comply tips anyway. so I will try those and if no luck I will try one of my Olives (but they are really reserved for use with my SE215 given the price of them). Actually after a day of use the original Etymotic grey foam tips are not too bad (no worse than a Chemist ear plug). I think I could get by with them if I had to given I probably only use the ER4S for an hour or so every day. Also, every tip sounds different and the "sound" of the tip has to take priority (within reason). I actually like the sound of the grey foam one the best. As for those new "glider" tips they are including in the packages these days, I am lost on those. I haven't even a clue as to how one is supposed to use them. They are too big to insert deep into the canal and if you place them where they naturally seem to want to go, the earphone just wants to gradually fall out.

btw, where are people buying their ER4S these days? I want another pair for a second system and I bought my original pair from Headroom. But I wasn't happy about the freight charge (over $50 to Australia) and it was not really adequately packed to my satisfaction. If anyone knows an authorised online dealer with reasonable freight charges and who packs stuff so it is well protected and can't shift around inside the outer box, please let me know.

Thanks

Whoa. Gray foamies are doing it for me. They accentuate the 8-10kHz frequencies like crazy.. it's too bad, cause they're rather comfortable.

EDIT: Okay, I'm finding the triple flange to be equally comfortable.

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigon_ridge 

Whoa. Gray foamies are doing it for me. They accentuate the 8-10kHz frequencies like crazy.. it's too bad, cause they're rather comfortable.

 

EDIT: Okay, I'm finding the triple flange to be equally comfortable.

If you can get your hands on some Klipsch oval biflange (or single flange) tips, try them out. They're pretty much the only tips that allow me to tolerate the fit of the ER4.