[lbholde]

Hi,

I'm about to purchase either the Etymotic er4p or the er4s, pending the sale of my Grado SR225s. I have previously owned the er6i, and currently own the IM716, and I love the Etymotic sound. I will be using them with my Samsung T9, unamped.

My question are: How does the sound of the er4p compare with the er4s? Will my Samsung T9 be able to adequately power the er4s (it adequately powers my IM716s)? And how does the er4s compare with an er4p combined with the converter cable (are they exactly the same?)

I'll be listening to one of the following bands, 85% of the time: Iron Maiden, Kansas, Symphony X, Yes, Dream Theater, or any band that Dio is fronting.

Thanks!

 

[40760]

Hi,

I have the ER4P and the S converting adapter. I will say I like the S more but it sure requires an Amp do do well. With the S it sounds more refined and even.

The ER4P does fine with my iPod but it's slightly more difficult to drive than my older ER6i. Without Amp, I listen to my ER4P from my iPod Nano 1G at 70-80% Volume.

I will recommend you get the ER4P if you plan to do so straight from your player. If you have an amp you can always buy the S adapter later.

Regards.

 

[GreatDane]

I agree with the above on all counts...

Get the P, without an amp the S will be underpowered.

The S sounds more refined (better...IMO).

You can always buy the 75 Ohm P to S cable later...which I believe makes the P sound exactly like the regular S.


Get the ER4P for use straight from a DAP.

 

[wuwhere]

I have both ER4P and ER4S and I prefer the S. The S is very revealing and it also needs a good amp. I find that it matches very well with the Pico amp, a warm amp with an excellent mids.

 

[lbholde]

Thanks for your responses everyone. The ER-4P it will be. The converter cable is always an option if I decide to get an amp.

Has anyone actually compared the ER-4P + converter cable with the ER-4S? I'm just curious to know if the sound is identical.

 

[AmanGeorge]

I would be curious if somebody had done that side-by-side as well. I have a P-S converter plug I bought on eBay but I really don't like the sound with it plugged in - it sounds quite veiled and less dynamic to me, relative to the grin-inducing and remarkably lively P sound. I've been wondering for a while if this was just a quirk in my personal tastes or if there was actually something wrong with my converter plug.

 

[mape00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lbholde /img/forum/go_quote.gif Has anyone actually compared the ER-4P + converter cable with the ER-4S? I'm just curious to know if the sound is identical.

If you by comparison mean an open listening test, such a test would only investigate the psychological aspects of adding an adapter. The sound is identical provided the connection in the adapter is good, because the only difference between P and S is the added 75 Ohm resistance. And since we're not dealing with high frequency signals pretty much any resistor is adequate. The individual differences between drivers (which is measurable) also makes such a comparison useless.

The ER-4B also has capacitors in its pod, so that's a different story. There is no way to get ER-4B sound out of ER-4P without replacing the cable. However, you can do pretty well: there was an adaptor design posted here that emulates the ER-4B.

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmanGeorge /img/forum/go_quote.gif I would be curious if somebody had done that side-by-side as well. I have a P-S converter plug I bought on eBay but I really don't like the sound with it plugged in - it sounds quite veiled and less dynamic to me, relative to the grin-inducing and remarkably lively P sound. I've been wondering for a while if this was just a quirk in my personal tastes or if there was actually something wrong with my converter plug.

probably a shoddy soldering job or a really cheap resistor yes most any one will do but maybe not a 10c one in a dodgy neutrik plug and bad solder joint. or you just might not like the more refined SQ. tahts ok too. are you using an amp?? you dont say. because that would be your problem

 

[AmanGeorge]

I was using an amp, yes (though I'm temporarily ampless between selling my headsix and waiting for my zen head to get in). I'll try it again when the new amp arrives. The plug doesn't look or feel particularly cheap (can be seen here)

Maybe I just don't like the sound and wouldn't like a normal ER-4S, but it does sound pretty recessed when the adapter is in place.

 

[mape00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AmanGeorge /img/forum/go_quote.gif The plug doesn't look or feel particularly cheap (can be seen here)

I use the same adapter and I can't hear any difference whatsoever between that one and the different 75 Ohm impedance adapter cables I've soldered myself.

 

[CaspianPH]

Any more people want to vouch for these adapters? http://cgi.ebay.com/ETYMOTIC-ER4P-TO...ayphotohosting

I wouldn't mind getting just those instead of a new cable if the end result is the same.

Thanks dudes!

 

[apnk]

I can hear the difference between the s and p version, the thing that hits me first is the bass, there's a little bit more in the p version. The S version is smoother and the highs less screechy. You have to use a good amp with a good source to hear the difference, not straight out of a mp3 player.

 

[Rinoue]

I'm also curious about the p to s converter that's being sold on ebay at the moment, even though those p to s converters is not a genuine one made by etymotic is the end result in sound exactly the same as the official p to s converter??

 

[mape00]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rinoue /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm also curious about the p to s converter that's being sold on ebay at the moment, even though those p to s converters is not a genuine one made by etymotic is the end result in sound exactly the same as the official p to s converter??

Yes, it's exactly the same. I got the small converter sold on ebay and it measured 75.0 Ohms on both channels and is of good quality. The only problem with it is that if you use it for portable players and pull the cable, there torque can damage the jack if you're not careful (one of my mp3 players got a loose connection in the player jack from this).

 

[Calexico]

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