[yliu]

Does anyone heard these IEMs? Is there any difference between the PT and P?

 

[DJGeorgeT]

No sound difference between the two, but now you get more for the same price. The PT version comes with few more accessories and frequency plots that are unique to your pair. 

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

No sound difference between the two, but now you get more for the same price. The PT version comes with few more accessories and frequency plots that are unique to your pair. 

 
Not 'a few more', just one - an airline adapter. Also, it is not a frequency plot, but a channels matching plot showing how close the left and right match to each other (nothing unique about that). The thing is, I believe Etymotic already matched all ER4 they sold, so adding a signed paper really doesn't make anything different, unless of course there is some kind of new matching test they do that will match both channels from something like 5% to 0.1% - but I seriously doubt that's the story here. Coupled with the fact that now they seem to apply some sort of price control and almost all the ER4 stock have been pushed back to MSRP of $300 (used to be around $140~$180), it really makes the ER4 series not that attractive anymore. I am an Etymotic fan, but all I have seen lately is that they are slowly losing their way in the market.

 

[audiophilefreak]

i ever heard ER4P and ER4PT but i think the sound is not to much for different

 

[dan1son]

Based on what etymotic says on their website, the phones are identical.  The PT model comes with more accessories for the on-the-go consumer.  That probably means, as mentioned, an airline adapter (which oddly my ER-4P came with 6 years ago when I bought it).  I fly quite a bit, and have never been on an aircraft that didn't have a standard headphone jack anyway.  The channel matching chart is a nice touch, but I'm pretty sure nothing else has changed. 
 
I'd imagine the price increase and channel matching chart are just ways they're trying to split up their product line.  They're making the ER-4 series the high end product it always was.  Their product line is pretty stacked now, and the HF5 would be selling at the same price as the ER-4 if they didn't force a price increase.  I've started seeing a lot of etymotic products out and about... I don't think they're doing poor at all.  Even for sale at Apple stores as well as other brick and mortar retailers. 

 

[Aizura]

I noticed the ER4-PT is slighty thicker than the regular ER4-P/S. What's up with that? Surely they changed something to the internals.
Nvm. Guess they are the same. Maybe it was the angle of the picture.

 

[pedxing]

The PT was probably a quick gain for creating a new SKU with a higher price, enticing retailers to carry a higher margin product. I bought the PT at the time because I had a hunch they were sweeping and binning the drivers to increase yield rate and try to keep the ER-4P prices down, a common practice in the semiconductor industry of selling higher quality versions of the product as higher priced and higher performing products.

The PT has a piece of paper with geeky looking frequency response chart of both drivers. They are supposedly matched within a tolerance and the serial number of each driver are written down in hand. Kinda of a nice touch to have a technician autograph it with serial numbers.

I notice the price of the PT is widely fluctuating recently. Might be a sign of things to come.

 

[techmonstr]

Hey guys. I'm planning on getting these baddies in awhile. A few questions. These are made of plastic, but do they feel sturdy and premium-ish? They've got a matte finish am i right? Also, some of my music is 128/192/256kbps. Will they sound like **** on these? Also, will VBR music sound like ****? Thanks!

 

[techmonstr]

Pardon my language

 

[Wildblue]

techmonstr, the Ety ER-4's are very well made, and do feel premium.  The phones have a matte finish, although there is a bit of a sheen to the cord.  They are very transparent, so 192/256kbps will sound okay if they're good recordings.  128k and poor recordings probably will have their limitations revealed.

 

[techmonstr]

Oh ok thanks!

 

[stereoscopic]

My ER-4PT also came with the adaptor to turn it into the ER-4S