[Tehianh]

I'm testing ER4 pts for two days straight now and am consistently blown away bythen every track I fire up on it (flac from PC+goDapX). For the aesthetics and ergonomics reasons I can't bring myself to buy them and now I wonder - how much does the crystal clear balanced sound has to do with bypassing some of the ear canal, and how much its just the perfect tuning of the driver?
Definetly looking for something sounding identical to them but made well enough and worth the price of the actual product.

Any thoughts on the subject?

 

[thatonenoob]

  I'm testing ER4 pts for two days straight now and am consistently blown away bythen every track I fire up on it (flac from PC+goDapX). For the aesthetics and ergonomics reasons I can't bring myself to buy them and now I wonder - how much does the crystal clear balanced sound has to do with bypassing some of the ear canal, and how much its just the perfect tuning of the driver?
Definetly looking for something sounding identical to them but made well enough and worth the price of the actual product.

Any thoughts on the subject?

Very few items sound like the ER4.  You may wish to look into the Hifiman Re-400 (iirc, don't really remember the product name).  An updated line has come out with better build quality.  You may want to look into that.  Even then, the original ER4 is well made and worth its price.

 

[Tehianh]

  Very few items sound like the ER4.  You may wish to look into the Hifiman Re-400 (iirc, don't really remember the product name).  An updated line has come out with better build quality.  You may want to look into that.  Even then, the original ER4 is well made and worth its price.

So its magic lies at least partialy in the construction I guess? That makes the choice even harder. They sound excellent but I cant agree on the "well made" part - they feel cheap as dirt, molding is bad everywhere, they overall feel very fragile and easy to damage, I cant imagine them lasting more than year, of cautious usage (I'm not that cautious). So no altertnatives beside the hifiman?

 

[thatonenoob]

So its magic lies at least partialy in the construction I guess? That makes the choice even harder. They sound excellent but I cant agree on the "well made" part - they feel cheap as dirt, molding is bad everywhere, they overall feel very fragile and easy to damage, I cant imagine them lasting more than year, of cautious usage (I'm not that cautious). So no altertnatives beside the hifiman?

The new ones are metal with a semi proprietary mmcx iirc. That may help in terms of getting pass the cheap feeling build. And yes, the ER4 most certainly owes at least part of its success to the deep insertion possible thanks to its narrow body.

 

[Tehianh]

The new ones are metal with a semi proprietary mmcx iirc. That may help in terms of getting pass the cheap feeling build. And yes, the ER4 most certainly owes at least part of its success to the deep insertion possible thanks to its narrow body.

Thank you sir, I'll look into these metal ones!

 

[thatonenoob]

  Thank you sir, I'll look into these metal ones!

Cheers m8!  Hope it works out.

 

[crazychile]

I have original ER-4Ps that I bought an "S" adapter for about a year ago. I think these IEMs are about 10 yrs old now. I sent them in once for a recable, and every 2-3 years I buy some new tips and filters.
 
I pretty much hate IEMs. I usually can't get them to fit right. But I like these Etymotics a lot with the flange tips. I don't use them every day, and for a while I would pretty much only use them when I'm on the mower. I just bought a Yggdrasil DAC and decided to try the ER4 with the "S" adapter on my home rig. I had never heard them sound so good. These IEMs are the real deal. I've really grown to appreciate how good they are. Not in a wow factor way, actually just the opposite. They just seem to do stuff pretty well across the board with a nice balanced sound signature.

 

[Tehianh]

Are there any types of music/hardware setup that benefit from using the adapter?

 

[crazychile]

  Are there any types of music/hardware setup that benefit from using the adapter?

 
P version - (Portable) . Is efficient, and thus better for portable sources.
This is what I use when using my iPhone/iPad.
 
S version - (Studio?) - More natural frequency response but significantly less efficient. You need an external headphone amp for these.
This is what I use when plugged into a Lyr 2 on HIGH gain. Better sound quality but needs some decent juice to do it.

 

[crazychile]

Also wanted to add that I hadn't looked at Etymotics model designations recently. The new SR and XR models seem to be a departure from the old models. It looks like the efficiency of the new models is the same, so some of what I wrote above probably doesn't apply any more.

 

[Tehianh]

Thank you gentlemen for your support - I am testing ER4XR from today on for the next 7 days, I like them a lot so far, same level od clarity and separation as PT but added very precise bass response, more punchy and less fatiguing for extended listening. Ergonomics are excellent as oposed to awful ergo of the old PT, cable coat is made of smooth lightweight and easily bendable material - website says its kevlar I guess? - microphonics from PT are still present alkthough not as severe as it used to be. Build quality is great, even details as shirt clip dont feel cheap and aftertought. MMXC connectors are prety hard to deal with, I was afraid I break them when tried to disconnect them. Overal a very solid upgrade over the PT, probably will get them.