[luisdent]

Also, the connector fits in the phone case i have, whereas the er4s did not. they did a great job of making it more narrow where it matters, without making the connect much different. and the cable is softer and more pliable.


that would be my biggest concern, whether or not the cable lasts as long and through as much movement as my old er4s cable. that thing just feels like a beast, but is very useable (to me). the er4sr is a much more supple and flexible cable. i highly prefer it "if" it lasts long. the bottom half has a very nice smooth layer over it that is nice to the touch. can't comment on microphonics, or better "cable noise" as I haven't compared them much, but with the shirt clip (as usual) i have absolutely no noise issues.





I always wear it in a manner like this. so that the cable "above" the shirt clip hangs a bit below the clip. essentially taking weight off the cable by suspending it upwards a bit, if that makes sense. has always workd for me. give you freedom to move your head, and prevents noises well.

 


it probably has a similar effect I'm sure. As the red filters definitely reduced the honkiness, however I have a feeling the er4sr is a bit more even all around than the er4b. Because the er4s boosted the treble smoothly, but the red filter doesn't necessarily reduce the treble completely linearly. But then it is hard to say without hearing or measuring it.

The er4sr is something else, let me tell you. I'm not completely writing off the er4s though. I switched back, and it is definitely no detail slouch. And the mids and treble are definitely still a bit smoother sounding to my ears than the er4sr. But yet the er4sr sounds more accurate in upper treble details and overal "body" of sound throughout the spectrum. But if I know me, I'll probably just keep them all, because I'll never be able to choose between them. haha.

the er4s gains in incredible detail and crispness what the er4s gains in smooth silkiness. This is most noticeable where the er4s simply sounds gorgeous with strings and soundtrack type orchestral pieces such as james horner, hans zimmer and the like. While the er4sr just blows you away with quality on tracks like pop/rock and more electronic things.

But they are so good overall, each of them. And I almost wish the er4sr has just a slight bit more of that er4s smoothness back. But alas, nothing is perfect. I'd easily say all three of these are the best earphone on the planet.each with just a slight difference that makes it desirable for certain songs. But I will really need a lot more time to formulate a real detailed comparison. I know from experience my impressions can change. For instance, I'm almost thinking the er4sr has more in the 5-6khz region than the er4s, but i haven't played with eq or anything yet and don't want to jump to conclusions.

Anyhow, i'll keep rambling until someone tells me to stop. but i'll try and stay general with my impressions until much more time has been put into listening to the newer models.

FWIW, the red (2200 ohm) damper will definitely damp the primary peak more than the green (1500 ohm) damper.  One of these days, if anybody is interested, I can probably make comparative measurements.

Definitely. Rin had a measurement on his m.r.o. Blog of the various filters. Do these look accurate to you?

 

[Francisk]

   
 
FWIW, the red (2200 ohm) damper will definitely damp the primary peak more than the green (1500 ohm) damper.  One of these days, if anybody is interested, I can probably make comparative measurements.

It'd be interesting if you can do a frequency chart comparison between the the ER4B on red filters (if possible with green filters too) and the new ER4SR. 

 

[AnyDave]

Definitely. Rin had a measurement on his m.r.o. Blog of the various filters. Do these look accurate to you?

Clearly he took the time to present the measurements, but the shape of the frequency responses isn't correct.  It's probably better for general comparative use.  This isn't a criticism; I'm not familiar with the setup of the testing at all and it can be tough to get accurate measurements without expensive equipment.
 
 

 

[AnyDave]

  It'd be interesting if you can do a frequency chart comparison between the the ER4B on red filters (if possible with green filters too) and the new ER4SR. 

 
I can probably grab a couple of earphones and measure them, but it'll be on an n of 1.  This will give you a general idea but won't account for unit to unit variability.  A better comparison would be to measure it across a larger number of ER4B and ER4SR units and average the results, but that's a significantly larger commitment and it's more difficult to get my hands on large quantities of ER4Bs.

 

[Francisk]

   
I can probably grab a couple of earphones and measure them, but it'll be on an n of 1.  This will give you a general idea but won't account for unit to unit variability.  A better comparison would be to measure it across a larger number of ER4B and ER4SR units and average the results, but that's a significantly larger commitment and it's more difficult to get my hands on large quantities of ER4Bs.

No worries EtyDave, I do understand that the ER4B is a rarity nowadays but I believe that you can still achieve the same ER4B results with the correct impedance resistor that turns the ER4S into a ER4B. It'd be great if you can measure the ER4B with the red and green filters and compare it with the new ER4SR and ER4XR. This will definitely help all your long time Etymotic fans with a better idea of the difference between the old ER4B (with red and green filters) and the ER4SR/ER4XR. As I'm typing this, I'm actually enjoying the amazing sound of the ER4B with the red filter and grey triflange tips

 Once again, thank you for your amazing support at HeadFi. 

 

[seanwee]

 
it probably has a similar effect I'm sure. As the red filters definitely reduced the honkiness, however I have a feeling the er4sr is a bit more even all around than the er4b. Because the er4s boosted the treble smoothly, but the red filter doesn't necessarily reduce the treble completely linearly. But then it is hard to say without hearing or measuring it.
 
The er4sr is something else, let me tell you. I'm not completely writing off the er4s though. I switched back, and it is definitely no detail slouch. And the mids and treble are definitely still a bit smoother sounding to my ears than the er4sr. But yet the er4sr sounds more accurate in upper treble details and overal "body" of sound throughout the spectrum. But if I know me, I'll probably just keep them all, because I'll never be able to choose between them. haha.
 
the er4s gains in incredible detail and crispness what the er4s gains in smooth silkiness. This is most noticeable where the er4s simply sounds gorgeous with strings and soundtrack type orchestral pieces such as james horner, hans zimmer and the like. While the er4sr just blows you away with quality on tracks like pop/rock and more electronic things.
 
But they are so good overall, each of them. And I almost wish the er4sr has just a slight bit more of that er4s smoothness back. But alas, nothing is perfect. I'd easily say all three of these are the best earphone on the planet.each with just a slight difference that makes it desirable for certain songs. But I will really need a lot more time to formulate a real detailed comparison. I know from experience my impressions can change. For instance, I'm almost thinking the er4sr has more in the 5-6khz region than the er4s, but i haven't played with eq or anything yet and don't want to jump to conclusions.
 
Anyhow, i'll keep rambling until someone tells me to stop. but i'll try and stay general with my impressions until much more time has been put into listening to the newer models.

Dammit, I was so sure i would be going for the ER4SR until you said that, I like crispy sound but I mainly listen to "soundtrack type orchestral pieces such as james horner, hans zimmer and the like"

 

[Voyageur]

 

  Dammit, I was so sure i would be going for the ER4SR until you said that, I like crispy sound but I mainly listen to "soundtrack type orchestral pieces such as james horner, hans zimmer and the like"

 
Same here. I'm a big soundtrack guy and my SR should arrive tomorrow. I seriously hope that I won't get the same impression, as more than 50% of my library is composed of movie scores and orchestral works.

 

[seanwee]

   
Same here. I'm a big soundtrack guy and my SR should arrive tomorrow. I seriously hope that I won't get the same impression, as more than 50% of my library is composed of movie scores and orchestral works.

 
how big i your collection in GB? Movie scores make up 80+% of my collection. Im listening to Powell's work now

 

[speakerphone]

Clearly he took the time to present the measurements, but the shape of the frequency responses isn't correct.  It's probably better for general comparative use.  This isn't a criticism; I'm not familiar with the setup of the testing at all and it can be tough to get accurate measurements without expensive equipment.

That graph is different from the data that we used to see, because that's not a raw(uncompensated) result. He compensated the raw data with diffuse-field compensation curve.

 

[speakerphone]

Here, the first one is raw(uncompensated) data

 

[Voyageur]

 

 
how big i your collection in GB? Movie scores make up 80+% of my collection. Im listening to Powell's work now

 
My soundtrack selection takes about a half of my iPod Classic's capacity, so about 45-50GB I'd say (mostly encoded in 320kbps for convenience). The rest is a mix of jazz/classical/pop.
 
I like John Powell's work! These days I'm particularly fond of Yann Tiersen's creations. Listening to Goodbye Lenin's OST as I type. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OpLKcqGhxI

 

[AnyDave]

Here, the first one is raw(uncompensated) data

 
That's certainly a lot closer. It does place the primary peak at approximately the correct frequency.  I like how he color coded the curves; it makes it easy to read.  I'm very curious what coupler he used. 
 
Regardless of minor quibbles here or there, it does a good job illustrating the change each value damper makes; especially the damping of the secondary peak at 5k.

 

[AnyDave]

  No worries EtyDave, I do understand that the ER4B is a rarity nowadays but I believe that you can still achieve the same ER4B results with the correct impedance resistor that turns the ER4S into a ER4B. It'd be great if you can measure the ER4B with the red and green filters and compare it with the new ER4SR and ER4XR. This will definitely help all your long time Etymotic fans with a better idea of the difference between the old ER4B (with red and green filters) and the ER4SR/ER4XR. As I'm typing this, I'm actually enjoying the amazing sound of the ER4B with the red filter and grey triflange tips

 Once again, thank you for your amazing support at HeadFi. 

 
Sure, I'm happy to help.  It's been fun.

 

[robm321]

Enjoying the impressions. So far, I'm thinking of keeping my ER4S and getting THE XR from what I'm reading.

 

[luisdent]

And don't misunderstand me about the differences. The er4s may sound smoother for soundtracks, but the er4sr has more details in things like oboes and futes and string texture. So I wouldn't say one is better than the other. There's a bit different. I'm still leaning towards the er4sr as being a bit more accurate sounding to my ears. But they are increibly close. It isn't like the er4sr gave up all smoothness. Far from it.

Sometimes i wonder if The er4sr has borderline sibilance, but then it never really comes off as irritating, and i think it's probably more just the revealing nature of the treble allowing you to hear that some songs have more sibilance than others.

I would just enjoy them for a while. They are atipp amazingly gorgeous with soundtracks. They may even be better! But I'm still getting used to the differences. And when I'm more confident, I'll give song examples...