[deathsharp]

This morning I wanted to change the foam on my ER-4P what I noticed that the stem on the right piece was broken.
So what now?
I have to admit I kinda lost track of all the earphones available.
I was interested in the new Westone 3, but it seems like they're never coming out..
Is there something else I could like out there? Like the Ety, maybe with just a little bit less trebles, and a bit more bass.
And I'm not ready for going the custom way.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

I wonder how much it will cost to send it back to Ety for repair.

 

[SBD]

Just call them. Hopefully they'll send you a replacement. If not, both UM3 and the new Klipsch IEMs are coming out. For what's out now, there's UM2, Super.fi 5 pro/triple.fi, jays q-jays, shure...

 

[glac1er]

I was experiencing the same thing 2 months back, sent it to Ety. Was quoted $75 by Ety for repair. Turned out they repaired it for me for free and sent them back to me after about 2-3 weeks. However, I read in a thread that some people actually had to pay that $75.

As an ER4P user, I am very interested in q-JAYS after many people described it as ER4P with more bass.

 

[eruditass]

IM716's for $45 from JR and podectomy with 47 ohms, a good mix between HD and BASS mode without the crap that eats up the sound.

 

[deathsharp]

Well, I already mailed them so will se. But since I'm not in the states, if I have to pay $75 + shipping to Ety, I might as well buy something else.
How are the Triple.Fi or E500?

 

[countach]

If my ER4P were broken right now, I would go straight to another pair...

 

[fl00r]

Quote:

Originally Posted by countach /img/forum/go_quote.gif If my ER4P were broken right now, I would go straight to another pair...

X2

I have mine for years now and they are just amazing. No fancy dual or triple drivers like the E500's (which I own as well). I tried hard to like the E500's as much as the ER4p's but they are unbeatable especially when paired with one of the Xin amps. Everyone who says that the Ety's lack of bass should try this setup.

 

[Dept_of_Alchemy]

I prefer the ER4 over the SF5. I've owned the SF5 and sold them after listening to some ER4's. That's just IMHO though.

 

[nc8000]

Mine have just broken like that for the third time in about 5 years so are certainly out of warranty but I emailed Etymotics and they send me back a rma number and said that they will still repair/replace them for free, I just have to pay postage to them. It has been the same every time. The only time I paid anything was when I had the cable replaced from the original hyper microphonic one to the less microphonic braided one 3 years ago. I still love these phones, so much so that I have gone for the APureSound cable (despite going for some years with the E4C that I eventually sold again and got back to the Ety's). A pair of Tripple.fi will be arriving today, will be very interesting to see how they compare.

 

[unclejr]

Same thing recently happened to mine. I cannot extol Etymotic customer service enough, however. They were pretty prompt and fixed the stem with no charge.

However.

I strongly urge you to consider the Jays q-Jays. All of the problems that I had with the Etymotics (ALL) have been effectively cured by the q-Jays:

--lack of low end: it's present in the q-Jays. It's no Shure level, but it's most certainly there and clearly audible. When paired with ety 3-flanges for good isolation, these things are train-worthy.

--I have not had any significant listening fatigue on the q-Jays after a couple of months of listening, where fatigue was a common problem for me with the Etys, both at reasonable vol. Difference? Hard to say decisively, I suspect treble energy is less in the q-Jays. I have noticed however that its clarity leaves nothing to be desired.

--Microphonics. Notorious problem with the ER-4. At least I can wrap the Jays over the ear and reduce them significantly

--Size. Where the Etys stick out noticeably, the jays are hardly visible in-ear and are incredibly convenient.

I've only compared these phones once before my stems broke on the Etys, and the only audible difference I heard was in the low-frequency range, where the slight improvement by the q-Jays made all the difference to hear the pizzicato'ed standing bass in the group. The system for reference was ALAC from CD > iMod > RSA Tomahawk on high gain > P/S cable > 4P or q-Jays. Soon I will have to do a more thorough comparison, now that I have the Etymotics back. Hope this is helpful for now ...

 

[nc8000]

The Ety's also wrap nicely over the ear. I find that the trick here is to twist the cable several times so as to move the Y point up to just under the chin.

 

[vesther]

$75 + Shipping just to get those earphones repaired?!?!?

Did you try to call Etymotic for an exception to the cost?

 

[janruzinsky]

Well I have not heard the Er4 but the TripleFi 10 are wery clear and have enough bass (not too much). They are great.

 

[jersey_emt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vesther /img/forum/go_quote.gif $75 + Shipping just to get those earphones repaired?!?!? Did you try to call Etymotic for an exception to the cost?

For a headphone that costs near $200, I think $75 to get a replacement pair is a quite fair price.