[Young Spade]

Doing some light listening by the river today, I noticed that I liked the P more than the S for acoustic music; there was more bass in the music and it was just more exciting. However when going to classical I prefer the S for accuracy and balance. 
 
What are your preferences?

 

[mhcarlos]

I've had the P for years, but just this afternoon, I bought a 75 ohm adapter ($18 on Ebay and free shipping) that will turn my P into an S. The reason why I never bought the Etymotic ER4P to ER4S adapter cable is because I didn't feel like bringing a portable amp around with me anyway. But now that I'm getting into amps, I'd like to find out if an amped S is really that much better than an unamped P.
 
So maybe just buy an ER4P to ER4S adapter cable so you can get both? The Etymotic brand one is $50 and it extends the cable further (another thing that I didn't like aside from the price). Otherwise, you can get this:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ETYMOTIC-ER4P-ER4S-RESISTOR-ADAPTOR-3-5MM-PLUG-/290372905689?cmd=ViewItem&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item439b92ead9#ht_3728wt_913
 
(I found out about the existence of this option from another forum thread here somewhere...)

 

[GreatDane]

I have the ER4P. When I can, I use my XM5 to power them when I get the urge to hear them. I always use the +75 switch with bass boost. The "S" has a more balanced, more forgiving sound. If I need to, I'll listen straight from an iPod which still sounds great.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Easy one, I'd get the ER-4P and then buy the P-S cable...et viola, you have both!

 

[Young Spade]

OH, sorry if I didn't clarify, I already have the Ps and the P to S adapter, I was just wondering what you guys like lol. I have both versions and love them. 

 

[tnmike1]

I have the adapter for my Ety4p as well as a Minibox E+ that has the P/Sswitch on it.  Like YoungSpade I like the P or S for differrent types' music.  The adapter stays in my Portaphile when I listen to that amp with the Ety4p; otherwise, I'll use the P or S adapter on the Minibox when needed.

 

[Anaxilus]

I liked the S better.  The P sounded more entertaining depending but I found it fatiguing.  The S seems more accurate and balanced and gives a smoother presentation.  I like the benefits that adding power brings to the sound of a phone and you need Ohm's for that.  I forget the technical term for it.    

 

[Young Spade]

Yea; just today I decided to mess around with the EQ a bit while in the car on my trip up to the college. I found that adding some emphasis on the mids and a little less on the bass while keeping the upper region untouched gave me that feeling of "power" that I was looking for. I love it. 
 
EQed for the ER4S and flat for the K702s. I love the combination for home and on the go listening. 

 

[John2e]

Quote:

Easy one, I'd get the ER-4P and then buy the P-S cable...et viola, you have both!

yup !
 

 

[RedSky0]

I'd been using 5.5G+Mini^3->ER4S for a couple of weeks portably then one day forgot the adapter. The difference in detail felt pretty obvious, not day-night, but it definitely felt like something was missing and that it was a slight bit more muddy.
 
As far as balance, I don't really know, everything I listen to is pretty heavily EQ-ed at the 30-50Hz mark.

 

[Young Spade]

Yea adding that S adapter really cleans everything up. The bass quiets down a bit and when I'm listening to busy passages it becomes a lot cleaner and it's all crystal clear.