ER-4P woes
Jul 21, 2003 at 3:54 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 5

uoods

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Before you flame me, no, I love the sound, they are the best I've ever heard. However I have a problem. I travel a lot, so the ER-4P's made perfect sense. I barely flinched at the price -- I figured they would be an excellent investment. They turned out to fit my ears perfectly, I mean, flawless and effortless seal every time. My ears were delighted, as well they should have been for all the acclaim these wonders have received.

The problems started innocently enough. I coiled the cord into a small enough coil to fit in the provided carrying case every time I was finished using the 'phones. This started to make the internal twisted pair uneven, and I noticed I could see one of the pairs pressing out on the cord's sheathe. I really never thought much of it until I noticed it getting worse. I decided a larger coil would have to be used, so indeed I found a larger pouch to carry them in, but to no avail. The sheath eventually stripped away totally where the wire entered the driver exposing two bright green insulated wires. This, by the way, is a result of only my coiling habits.

The problem worsened until eventually the wire itself pushed through the green insulation, exposing bare wire. This just led to what you might expect, the exposed wire started to fray rapidly until there was a single filament left connecting.

Out of anger I just left them in a pile of magazines and tried to forget about them, as if I had lost some beautiful woman and was in denial about it.

I finally got over it though, and found your forums as I searched for a (relatively) cheap extra set of headphones that would be a good investment. Thanks for the great comparisons of the Sony MDR-7506's and company (especially the Senn HD280's, I was highly considering these until I found out about the quality of the
Sony's.)

Right. Anyway, I was wondering if any ER-4P owners have had similar cord issues. I emailed Etymotic a few days ago and I am hoping they can work this out. I would be more than willing to pay ~$100 for repair, and I am hoping that this is the least they would be able to offer. I'll be sure to keep you guys posted on how it goes, as service is as important a part of the headphones as the construction is.
 
Jul 21, 2003 at 4:11 AM Post #2 of 5
uoods, welcome to Head-Fi.

I'm really sorry to hear about your Etys. I recall reading a couple of threads about this issue, personally I have not experienced it. I'm sure that they (Etymotic) will take care if it, they have a reputation for outstanding customer service. Don Wilson (d_wilson) of Etymotic is a member here so you might want to try sending him a Private Message as well.

I find the small pouch that came with my Etys woefully inadequate, not only due to size but also because it doesn't seem to provide any protection at all. I use an Oakley sunglass case to store my ER-4S when not in use. I like the fact that the sunglass case is hard and much more protective than the pouch.

Keep us posted.

etysmile.gif
 
Jul 21, 2003 at 7:12 AM Post #3 of 5
Guys!
There is an awesome new etymotic case that you can purchase at the etymotic website that costs $4. I purchased it when I got my etymotics repaired for the same issue you were talking about and it is far better than the travel pouch for storing the etymotics without being much bigger!
 
Jul 21, 2003 at 5:59 PM Post #5 of 5
er6pouch.jpg
 

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