[Pepzhez]

Great forum! As you can see, this is my very first post here.

I've decided to buy some Ety's, and I was all set to get the 4S and the Total Airhead amp, but it turns out that I have a little less to spend than I originally planned for. That leaves me with two choices: either wait a while longer until I can afford both the 4S and the amp (what good are the 4S's going to be without an amp, after all) or buy the 4P's right now. (I should add that I have desperately wanted a pair of Ety's for well over a year and am getting impatient!)

I want maximum versatility out of the Ety's, both home listening (when I can afford an amp) and portable use (something to take me away from the hell that is the 9 hour flight from Germany to the US). I do have a couple of decent Sharp portable MD units with acceptable headphone amps (better than Sony's, anyway). They'd at least be usable until I can afford an amp, giving me the benefit of enjoying Ety's now, rather than later.

Now I was looking through this forum and found many references to a 4P to 4S adapter, but I can find no concrete info on this item. No URL's, nada. And websearches aren't turning up anything.

So here's my question: can anyone here tell me anything about this adapter? Does it work? How expensive and any downsides to using it (over using 4S's)? And, most importantly, where the hell can I get one??!

Seems to me that (provided the adapter works with no problems), owning a pair of 4P's with the S-adapter plus an amp would be the best of all possible worlds.

Can anyone help me out here? Thanks!

 

[Audio-Me]

Unless you're desparate (or just have to have something until you can make due like with cars), if you know what you want, and know you'll be able to afford it later, save up.

 

[AtEase]

Quote:

Originally posted by Pepzhez So here's my question: can anyone here tell me anything about this adapter? Does it work? How expensive and any downsides to using it (over using 4S's)? And, most importantly, where the hell can I get one??!

Here is what ya need:
http://www.fixup.net/tips/ety/ety.htm

 

[Pepzhez]

Thanks, AtEase!

Audio&Me, I can wait until I can afford the amp. (I guess I've waited this long already ...) It's just that at this stage I'm not sure which way to go - 4s or 4p. The adapter (which I was not aware of until today) changes - or confuses! - the picture entirely. Ah, decisions, decisions.

So let me propose the question to all at this forum. If you were going to buy some Ety's, which would you go with:

- 4s and amp

or

- 4p, amp and adapter cable

Which is the better choice, do you think?

I really am having a hard time deciding here!

 

[AtEase]

My vote would have to go to the 4p, amp and adapter cable combo. With the adapter cable you turn the 4p into a full blown 4s, plus you get to enjoy the 4p until you get your amp, and also whenever you don't have an amp around. I don't see any reason to go for the 4s, if you can get the adapter... (especially if you can't afford an amp just yet).

 

[joelongwood]

Quote:

Originally posted by AtEase My vote would have to go to the 4p, amp and adapter cable combo. With the adapter cable you turn the 4p into a full blown 4s, plus you get to enjoy the 4p until you get your amp, and also whenever you don't have an amp around. I don't see any reason to go for the 4s, if you can get the adapter... (especially if you can't afford an amp just yet).

Good advice, AtEase.....and welcome to Head-Fi, Pepzhez.

 

[RMSzero]

I would say that you are asking the following question:

Does the Ety 4S sound different or better than the Ety 4P with the adapter cable?

I would like to know the answer to this also.

 

[r4z0r]

I couldnt notice any differences at all myself.. There should be a difference however if the original 4S cables are of very much higher quality than the cable of the 4P + the cable of the P to S converter.

 

[kelly]

For what it's worth, I opted for the 4P in anticipation of the official Etymotic adapter coming out sometime soon.

I have a Panasonic 570 now and I wonder if it would have driven the 4S fine but I wanted to have something that I knew for sure I could drive with anything (Gameboy, crappy walkman, whatever) and the 4P gives me that luxury. THe 4S does sound better so I am looking forward to using the S adapter with an amp.

 

[Audio-Me]

I have no idea which I'd go for, which ever one sounds better. People say the 4S, so most likely if I happen to like the sound of the canalphones (

will take some gettign used to), I'll probably get them (4S).

 

[r4z0r]

4P + P to S converter if you want the most versatile setup.

 

[Suedama]

The adaptor cable (which is a high quality Radio Shack cable with gold connectors) is a relatively inexpensive solution to someone debating the merits of a 4P vs. a 4S. I find that the difference in sound is very subtle no matter what source I use. The 4P with the adaptor even sounds good on my Radio Shack PCDP.

Interestingly, I tried the adaptor on my Bayerdynamic DT-931s. There was a more pronounced difference here. The up-front brightness of the DT 931s seemed to mellow out and the bass seemed a bit fuller. Maybe someone with a technical background can explain why this might be so.

 

[BDA_ABAT]

Get the 4P plus the adapter cable from fixup AND pm JMT for a VERY reasonably priced amp that will power the 4S.

If you are planning at all to do some truly portable listening, makes sense to get the 4P so that you have the flexibility of running it straight from a source (pcd or MD) without amplification. THe sound of the 4P is excellent! But the sound of the 4S is amazing. The adapter cable from fixup is a low cost way to have the equivalent of both headphones for ~$30 more than the cost of just one set of ER4. Truly a bargain!

To make the 4S sing from most portable sources, you will need an amp. JMT can hook you up for a very modest cost.

If finances are REALLY tight but have enough for a set of headphones now AND you're getting REALLY impatient, you can get the ER4P and get the Ety 4 sound right away. Works well with just about any portable source. You can always save a bit more to get the fixup cable and the JMT built amp. I've been using the 4P plus fixup cable and JMT built amp for the past month and have been EXTREMELY satisfied.

One note: These headphones should come with a warning sticker that says something like.....

"CAUTION: Etymotic 4P/S are extremely revealing! Flaws in the rest of your system and source material will suddenly become evident. Serious financial instability may result from the compulsive search for a more perfect auditory experience."

Good luck!

Bruce

PS: for long flights, Ety is TOTALLY the way to go! The difference between the experience with Ety vs without is just night and day. One caveat... don't try to bring along an amp that looks DIY...

 

[r4z0r]

I'm curious how the official Ety 4P to 4S converter will perform against the current lineup of Fix-up solutions.

 

[Pepzhez]

Thanks everyone for your views and advice!

I didn't know that Ety was planning on releasing an "official" 4p to 4s adapter (saw nothing about it at their site).

I think I will go with the 4p and adapter cable. Then an amp in about six weeks from now.

Now, what exactly are these JMT amps? (Websearch turns up nothing again.) Can you provide me with a URL, please?

Thanks again everyone. I really appreciate your help.