[Aboogwa]

I usually plug these etymotic er-4p earphones into the headphone out on my computer speakers.

Well I had my earphones out of my ears and on my desk, about 2-3 feet away. However I had forgotten that they were still plugged into the speakers.

I proceeded to play some music, thinking that the music was coming from my speakers. Strangely I didn't hear anything (it was coming from the ear phones) so I turned the volume up, but while I could hear the music it was still kind of faint and quiet. All of a sudden I realized my earphones were still connected..

Do you think the ear phones could have been damaged this way?

I THINK that they sound somewhat OK but I am not totally sure.

What is the maximum volume that the earphones can sustain without permanent damage to the drivers?

 

[Duncan]

Hi Aboogwa, welcome to Head-Fi

Its well known that i'm one of the stupidest people on this board, when it comes to abusing my ears with loud volumes, and I can safely say that I must've driven my plucky little ETYs to the max in their time, but they've never distorted (unlike my ears, which at that time DID protest!!)

As to the direct answer to your question.. as long as the loud volume wasn't sustained for TOO long, and after you dropped the volume, everything still sounds okay... then, you can breathe a sigh of relief...

Even if this is not the case, I'm sure i've seen it documented here several times that Etymotic Research are a brilliant company to deal with in terms of repairs, and... where every ear piece is serial numbered, they have other matching units at their factory, so even if you have damanged one, if not both drivers... Etymotic, for a nominal fee will make everything okay again

 

[Aboogwa]

If the ear phone's drivers were to be damage by excessive volume, is it possible that the damage could be gradual or slight, or is the effect always immediately obvious?

In other words is it possible that the driver may be slightly damaged and as a consequence will not perform as well as an undamaged driver, but because the damage is slight the audible difference, though it exists, will be slight as well?

It would be a relief if someone could show me that the effects of driver damage due to volume are always immediately and audibly evident..

 

[john_jcb]

This question has not come up before as most people cannot stand to turn up the sound on the Etys to the levels you describe. The best person to contact is Don Wilson at Etymotic. He is a member here so you can email or PM him.

 

[d_wilson]

Aboogwa,

As long as you don't melt the voice coil your ER-4's should be o.k. (meaning sound still comes out).

The transducers are protected against overload, unlike launching a voice coil and spyder from speakers.

Don Wilson
Etymotic Research