I have been reading that even with the Er-4P you will need an amp to get the most out of them. Why get the Er-4P instead of Er-4S? I have found with the Etymotic's that they are very revaling of the source anyway.
Yes the P does not require an amp but the better the source and amp the better it gets, not just more bass. It really scales with what it's fed, probably more than any other phones I have tried
I still think ER4P's need an amp. Yes you hear bass tones and some bass texture with certain instruments but the overall presentation is a little empty. An amp ads a thicker and fuller sound.
I never had a gripe with Ety bass as I thought is was always accurate but it was about the lack of a "fullness of sound" that bothered me. Etys sound like....well...IEM's whereas other more modern day IEM's like SE530 or Triple Fi's actually sound like HEADPHONES. Whether it is artificial or whatever...many people find the sound presentation much more pleasing.
I've noticed that with an amp when using my iPod the sound is a lot more richer when used with the ER4S. I can't really tell the difference between the P and the S other than I need to raise the volume a little more with the S when NO amp is used for either.
Although it discussing modification, it's pretty darned informative and a good read.
Thanks, pretty good article but he bashes the bass of the Ety's mostly and the comfort that I wonder if he had a good seal most of the time. I have to syliva mine once in a while for easy insertion and great seal every time so I am now getting Westone molds made. I was thinking of getting the ER-4P for straight out of my MP3 but it is rare I use it without an amp & powerful amps do light up the Ety's (Headroom Max).
IMHO, looking into the two models, i am going to purchase the P model, as i can always make it into an S later, in fact with my supermacro i can turn it into an S with the flick of a switch.
Get the P with the S convertor cable. If I had to choose only one though I'd pick the S. I almost never listen to the P, even when I don't have an amp. Honestly the S is driven pretty well by most portable sources too, and I prefer the bass levels of the S to the P. The S sounds much clearer and realistic to me. The P sounds more like a Shure IEM and by that I mean muddy and jumbled by comparsion.
The only difference between the ER-4P and S is two series 75ohm resistors... Getting the ER-4P and P->S adapter cable gives you the flexibility to use the unamped when space is at a premium, but still plug them into an amp for stationary listening.
The ER-4P's low impedance can actually cause problems with certain amps. I was getting quite a bit of noise when hooking up my pair to a Headroom Coda LE. Adding the P->S adapter made it go away.
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