Etymotic ER-4B vs. Etymotic ER-4P
Dec 4, 2010 at 2:05 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 14

EhteeUser

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Hello.
 
I have a dilemma here: I'm not sure whether, for my Samsung P3, I should acquire a pair of ER-4Bs or ER-4Ps. I've seen reviews of both, but I don't understand if the ER-4Bs can actually do well on a portable device (I know the 4Ps can...), but I've read that they have even more accuracy than the 4Ps. Which would you recommend for a high sound-quality MP3 player such as the Samsung P3?
 
Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
 
P.S:
 
I'm not a huge fan of bass
I love to feel as if I'm "in the music"
Instrument separation and small details are very important to me
 
Dec 4, 2010 at 3:19 PM Post #3 of 14
if you are going to use the head phone out of your samsung player then i would recommend the ER-4p as its easy to drive. If you want to use the 4B, then you need to use an amp. I have personally not listened to the 4B, but am a huge fan of the 4P/S . I still continue to use the 4P every day with my D4 and am very satisfied with wat i hear !
 
I donno how the 4B compares to the 4P, but IMO between the 4S and P (using the P-S adaptor), the P has a little more bass and the S is a little more bright. I also feel the mids in 4P is more "closer" compared to the more neutral 4S. 4B is not actually recommended for stereo music, its more for binaural music so unless you are going to be listening to a lot of binaural music, i would recommend you to pick up a 4P and get a P-S adaptor :)
 
Dec 4, 2010 at 4:04 PM Post #5 of 14
Yes 4S is not suitable for portable players but if u buy an amp in the future, u can use the P-S adapter and enjoy the neutral flat sound of the 4S :)
 
What i would recommend is buy the 4P and enjoy it.... Or else just to put another twist :p you could look into the HF series ! They are cheaper and offer identical sound signature. I have used the HF-5 for a few months before i sold it and then i picked up the ER-4 and IMO they both sounded very similar. I feel its very difficult to tell them apart in terms of sound quality
 
 
Dec 5, 2010 at 4:00 AM Post #7 of 14
Second what karthik ashokhas has said. 4B was originally meant for older recording to compensate for their smoother treble. But people who listen to newer recording complained about the over bright sound so Etymotic modified the 4B to 4S. Later they turned the 4S to 4P so it is easier for portable use (lower impedance).
 
Feb 11, 2011 at 5:29 PM Post #8 of 14
I have a related question (I think)?
 
I've had Ety 4s for several years. I use them either through a HeadRoom USB Total Bithead Headphone amp connected to my iMac; or, from a Sony Portable CD player which has a direct digital output option in addition to the common headphone out. 
 
When I sleep at night I listen to a unique relaxation cd that consists only of a random sequence of bell-like tones across a wide range of frequencies at varying volume levels, and occasional soft swishing sounds. I have never heard anything like it, and it enables me to sleep uninterrupted all night until I wake up in the morning, when I feel profoundly relaxed and refreshed, every time. 
 
The only thing that I occasionally miss is a little more presence of deep bass.
 
I'm debating if I ought to buy Ety's 4s/4p adapter, i.e. will it make a significant difference in bass to make it worth $65.00? The audiophile's ever-vexing question, eh? 
 
I'd appreciate your perspective.  Thanks.    /Tom
 
 
Feb 11, 2011 at 5:36 PM Post #9 of 14
 
 
Quote:
I have a related question (I think)?
 
I've had Ety 4s for several years. I use them either through a HeadRoom USB Total Bithead Headphone amp connected to my iMac; or, from a Sony Portable CD player which has a direct digital output option in addition to the common headphone out. 
 
When I sleep at night I listen to a unique relaxation cd that consists only of a random sequence of bell-like tones across a wide range of frequencies at varying volume levels, and occasional soft swishing sounds. I have never heard anything like it, and it enables me to sleep uninterrupted all night until I wake up in the morning, when I feel profoundly relaxed and refreshed, every time. 
 
The only thing that I occasionally miss is a little more presence of deep bass.
 
I'm debating if I ought to buy Ety's 4s/4p adapter, i.e. will it make a significant difference in bass to make it worth $65.00? The audiophile's ever-vexing question, eh? 
 
I'd appreciate your perspective.  Thanks.    /Tom
 



You're saying you currently have the ER4P & want to convert to the ER4S, correct? In terms of bass, the ER4S actually has less bass than the ER4P. HOWEVER... the bass is much more flat compared to the rest of the freq spectrum as opposed to the ER4P, hence, it will sound deeper. Basically, you'll notice less bass quantity on the ER4S, but it will be better bass that digs even deeper than the 4P's, assuming you're amping. 
 
Dec 31, 2014 at 11:49 AM Post #11 of 14
  Second what karthik ashokhas has said. 4B was originally meant for older recording to compensate for their smoother treble. But people who listen to newer recording complained about the over bright sound so Etymotic modified the 4B to 4S. Later they turned the 4S to 4P so it is easier for portable use (lower impedance).

It wasn't made for older recordings, it was made for binaural recordings, which are strictly designed for headphones, so there's no need to compensate anywhere. It's the other models that compensate.
 
Dec 31, 2014 at 10:40 PM Post #12 of 14
  It wasn't made for older recordings, it was made for binaural recordings, which are strictly designed for headphones, so there's no need to compensate anywhere. It's the other models that compensate.

 
Well, half empty is half full?
 
Dec 8, 2019 at 7:38 AM Post #13 of 14
Well the Etymotic ER4B have so much trebles and so little basses. I measured the direct wave that they emit in a free-field condition: the etymotic is placed on one end of a long tube of 6mm. diameter, and the microphone is placed on the wall of the tube. The measure is windowed at -17/+17ms. to remove the reflection from the other end of the tube, so this is the progressive wave that the earphones generate in free-field condition (I think the spectrum magnitude have a similar shape of the sound intensity because in these conditions the sound intensity is related to sound pressure):


LR is Left, RR is Right.

To allow for comparison (because usually we do not do this kind of measure...) below the measurement of the Final Audio E2000 (intra-auricular headphones too):


My Final Audio E2000 seems to have a ringing (reflections start from +1ms after the first peak impulse) but they have lot more bass (they sound "normal" to me).
 
Last edited:
Dec 8, 2019 at 9:46 PM Post #14 of 14
Well the Etymotic ER4B have so much trebles and so little basses. I measured the direct wave that they emit in a free-field condition: the etymotic is placed on one end of a long tube of 6mm. diameter, and the microphone is placed on the wall of the tube. The measure is windowed at -17/+17ms. to remove the reflection from the other end of the tube, so this is the progressive wave that the earphones generate in free-field condition (I think the spectrum magnitude have a similar shape of the sound intensity because in these conditions the sound intensity is related to sound pressure):


LR is Left, RR is Right.

To allow for comparison (because usually we do not do this kind of measure...) below the measurement of the Final Audio E2000 (intra-auricular headphones too):


My Final Audio E2000 seems to have a ringing (reflections start from +1ms after the first peak impulse) but they have lot more bass (they sound "normal" to me).


I guess this data reflects the general opinion of the ER4B — too bright for most people’s taste.
 

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