[Ken]

i had a pair of ER4S and loved them...Now I am getting ready to purchase again BUT can anyone tell me what the differences will be if I get the ER4P....

I know the story ER4P more suited to portable listening , which I mainly do. So my question is just how much detail will I loose if any. I do have a mini meta from fixup.

I remember when the ER6 came out some reports said that is not much different than the ER4S. Well I got to listen to the ER6 and IMO they are not even close to ER4S. They are definately the poor cousin and I would never bother to get a pair.

So be honest give it to me straight what is the difference between ER4S and ER4P.

 

[stan23]

If you have an amp, I would go for the S. I have not heard the P, but I can drive the S out of my iPod with no problems.

 

[Guyferd]

go for the 4s
I heard it's driven fine out of portables,

 

[Peddler]

Right

Using a convertor cable which converts my ER4P's to S specification to illustrate the differences I can tell you that the differences in sound quality are fairly subtle.

The biggest difference by far is the increase in volume at any given level between the 4P and 4s - the P version is more efficient than the ER6 and ER4S by a fair margin.

From a pure sound quality perspective I would say that the 4S has a smoother transition from extreme bass to extreme treble - no humps at certain frequencies (some say that 4P has a mild upper bass hump - I agree but still like the sound anyway).

The treble has more detail (although please bear in mind these differences are both subtle and source dependent) - don't read this as brightness - more like a more natural metallic sheen to cymbals and the like.

If you listen hard you will also notice more detail in the extreme bass - stuff which had a monotone bass quality before suddenly has more detail and you can actually follow the notes more.

I feel it's only fair to point out that I tend to listen to portable equipment (either straight or through the Airhead amp) most of the time - so it's fair to say that I have never really heard my Etymotics (4P or 4S) at their absolute best but I can also say that they sound wonderful through the Nomad Jukebox 3.

If you do get the P model, bear in mind that with the use of an inexpensive adaptor cable you have a 4S to all intents and purposes - you could sell your 4S and recover some of your losses.

I hope you find this useful Ken.


also - do a search - someone did a far more detailed comparison between the two phones and hit it right on the head as far as I'm concerned.

 

[dgs]

Look in the full featured headphone review section for a long-winded review of this issue.