[Pokeylicious]

Hi all,

So last night, I was in the process of changing my foam eartips on my ER-4P, and the top of the nozzle on my right transducer broke off inside the eartip, filter and all! Upon closer inspection, there was a hairline crack halfway down the nozzle on the left transducer as well. I've called Etymotic and have sent them off as a warranty call since I've only had them for four months, so here's hoping...

The question I want to ask you Ety lovers out there, though is this: Has this ever happened to anybody before? I read the manual cover to cover

and I've inserted and removed the eartips exactly as the manual illustrated. I only use the foamies (I can't use the flanged tips, they irritate my ears too much), and I swap out my foamies every three weeks or so. If it helps, I also put my Etys fairly deep inside my ears.

Any horror stories or any ideas as to how this might have happened would be appreciated so I don't do this again in the future.

It's going to be a rough commute for the next few weeks. I had to use my stock earbuds on the bus and it was awful *shudder*

Thanks, guys!

 

[BushGuy]

I've had a pair of er-6i for 1 1/2 years with no problems. and a friend has had a pair or Er-4P for nearly 3 years with no problems................so, whatever happened in your case ......? Perhaps it has to do with the frequent need to change tips (I use Shure Softflex tips, and he uses std triflanges). You can rest assured, however, that Ety customer service has had an outstanding reputation for being one of the best in the business. They consistantly err in favor of the customer.

 

[Aevum]

no has a 100% record, even the best of products will suffer becuase of a manufacturing defect, condition changes, envirenmental conditions, and other reasons, the warranty is there for a reason, the ER4 have been on the market for close to two decades, the manufacturing process is quite established, and they do provide good quality, but sometimes, a bad one does make it trough QC to the marketplace and thats what the warranty is for,

 

[mdarnton]

ER6 snorkles are sturdier and a slightly different shape, but there have been several reports here of ER4 tips cracking. It looks pretty weak to me, and I'm always extremely careful to pull tips straight off with a little wiggle, rather than twisting them off.

 

[EFN]

My ER-4S broke 4 times so far

, a quick fix using Super Glue did the trick. Yes the stems can break if you are not careful enough. Specially when taking the foamies off.

As a precaution, I will always smear a dip of plain water around the stems when inserting new foamies - this will lubricate them just fine for the tough insertion

 

[Max Minimum]

I haven't had this problem, but I don't change tips very often, which I'd imagine significantly reduces the wear and tear on the 'phones. I use standard size comply tips and they're incredibly comfortable. I've used the same tips for months now and they still work fine. I think everyone produces a different amount of wax, though, so I'm not sure if this would be a typical experience.

 

[Pokeylicious]

I'll be the first to admit though, that i am positively anal about taking care of my stuff, though. I simply don't have 300 bucks to burn buying repeat sets of these phones.

As far as insertion and removal though, to put them on, I push them straight on, and for taking them off, i pull straight off while twisting them at the same time. Nothing else. I don't wiggle, I don't bend. It's not exactly like i'm tearing the tips off like a maniacal hulk or something.

EFN: Thanks for the tip with the water. I'll try that when I get my babies back and I'll see what happens. 4 times, though!? I'm the kind of guy that gets paranoid after something breaks the first time! Not only that, doesn't it say something about the build quality of a product if it breaks 4 times over normal use??

 

[jellojoe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pokeylicious /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's going to be a rough commute for the next few weeks. I had to use my stock earbuds on the bus and it was awful *shudder*

I had to do the same in between E2C replacment cycles. I ended up just not listening to music until I got home to speakers.

 

[MRT-Man]

I had a stem break on my ER-4P, after 3-4 years of usage. If they're out of warranty, Etymotic will basically sell you a new pair at a discounted price (I forget what I paid specifically, but maybe something in the $90-130 range? not sure)

 

[n_maher]

Wow, sorry to hear about the break. My ER4Ps have withstood 4 years of use now and show no signs of issues. IIRC there was another thread here about broken stems that may have had more information, you might want to try searching for it.

 

[SONGsanmanwah]

Yep, sorry to hear your trouble. Make sure you write them nice email though. When I sent mine in for cable replacement (totally my fault) they replace the entire phones and charge me $50.

 

[cugel]

I had the same thing happen to me this week, after three months and I'm pretty careful with stuff I pay a lot of money for.

The part of the stem that broke off is still stuck in the tube of the foamy and if I put the rest of the stem in it still works fine.

I mailed etymotic at the beginning of the week, but haven't heard from them as yet. Will keep you posted as to how things turn out.