[Blackwoof]

@Blackwoof :
What Q value would you suggest for the lowshelf on the 4SR?

Q 0.7

 

[SilverEars]

Early impression and experience. Firstly this is the opinion based on personal preference, honeymoon period and lately the Ety fanboy.
By the way, sorry for my broken English.

Some might say that EVO make Etymotic lose their soul. However, I think EVO is still truly Etymotic soul with leaned toward to consumer market.
Audiophile or Ety-head who love the linear sound and want to upgrade from the ER4SR might disappointed. However for me who enjoy with ER2XR, ER4XR or music lover who isn't bass head should be love EVO.

GOOD

+ Sound signature: Using ER4XR as a base, then add more bass especially sub bass, tone down the treble and expand the soundstage. Overall, EVO sound smoother and thicker than ER4XR.​

- Bass having nice texture and rumble.​

- Mid I think it's the same with ER4XR.​

- Treble having less peak.​

- Detail retrieval and micro detail are on the same level as ER4XR. Sometime it was tricked by the expanded stage to make I think something missing but it's still there, just change the position and I lose focus.​

+ Soundstage and Imaging: It is the vast improvement in my though.​

- The stage expand to around head size (ear to ear) instead of cramped everything in your head on ER4XR. Soundstage, Imaging and layering is superb in my opinion, I can point where the instrument came from, not only from left/right, the upper/lower and front and further can still pinpoint easily. Remind that it's still limited to around the head size level.​

- Separation: Another thing the benefit from multi-driver and bigger soundstage. Now every notes and instruments are clearly separated from each other. I switched from EVO to ER4XR everything sound congested and blur.​

​

BAD

+ Cable: BaX cable might be good but it too thin. No support at all when wearing over ear.​

+ Weight: Heavy and combine with zero support from cable, it make me feel like it might came off the ear (well, it don't). I frequently have to press it back to feel secure.​

+ Accessories: Overall is OK but only 2 replacement filters at this price, ER4 came with better accessories at lower price.​

Remark
With the new shell, it can't insert as deep as barrel style and have little room for adjustment. The usual tips that perfect on ER series might not goes well with EVO.

I really enjoy the bass on it. I can listen to all genres and the music sounds engaging and exciting. I can't say that about SR, it's unlistenable. Even if I had the SR, I would never use it, which is the same for BA based XR. I don't see the point of SR version of EVO.

Also, I enjoy dynamic driver bass. I do not enjoy a single BA doing bass/mids/highs.

 

[Zachik]

I really enjoy the bass on it. I can listen to all genres and the music sounds engaging and exciting.

100% agree!

I can't say that about SR, it's unlistenable. Even if I had the SR, I would never use it, which is the same for BA based XR.

The 4XR is definitely more to my taste compared to the 4SR, but I would not call the 4SR unlistenable... To each their own - there is a significant percentage of Ety-heads who prefer the 4SR over 4XR.

I don't see the point of SR version of EVO.

Several people asked for exactly that. Now, does it make sense? I mean if the 2 extra BA drivers are for bass - can it be tuned in a 4SR fashion? I don't know. @EtyDave is probably the only person that can answer that question

 

[qsk78]

I don't see the point of SR version of EVO.

It should not be necessarily "bass light" like the 4SR (for some) but 2-3 dB less than what the Evo has today would be ideal.

 

[Max Choiral]

Implementation of high performance dynamic driver is the way to go, covering the bigger part of target audience.

 

[qsk78]

Why not a planar-magnetic driver?

Spoiler

These guys are not bad at all.

 

[TnV26]

About the bass, I think the source synergy is a major role here.

When I got EVO I paired it with DTR1. Overall It sounds nice but the bass is too much for my liking on some tracks. I was thinking does Etymotic go overboard with the bass boost.

Then I remember that for me DTR1 not paired well with BA driver. So, I switched to Paw6K and everything is perfect.

 

[qsk78]

Look at the FR curve, there is a certain bass boost. It will have this boost even with a dead neutral source.

 

[Max Choiral]

Why not a planar-magnetic driver?

1. At the moment, planar-magnetic closed-back iems have never made obsolete other iems for a reason
2. With Etymotic approach I don't think it's possible to succeed with closed-back design and get an exceptional in-ear monitor. Not because of company's lack of potency but because planar-magnetic technology has quite a few drawbacks when implemented in such manner. I don't need major compromises with a seasoned flavor, do you?
3. R&D costs

These guys are not bad at all.

Aren't these products developed by someone who were involved in development of planar-magnetic headphones with Kennerton? If yes, I'm not missing anything at all =)

 

[AnyDave]

100% agree!


The 4XR is definitely more to my taste compared to the 4SR, but I would not call the 4SR unlistenable... To each their own - there is a significant percentage of Ety-heads who prefer the 4SR over 4XR.


Several people asked for exactly that. Now, does it make sense? I mean if the 2 extra BA drivers are for bass - can it be tuned in a 4SR fashion? I don't know. @EtyDave is probably the only person that can answer that question

Yep, it could be. There's also another option (which I've played around with for myself) where the corner frequency is lowered even further, which leans it out except for the very low sub-bass.

 

[Max Choiral]

About the bass, I think the source synergy is a major role here.

When I got EVO I paired it with DTR1. Overall It sounds nice but the bass is too much for my liking on some tracks. I was thinking does Etymotic go overboard with the bass boost.

It's simple, DTR1 has elevated bass by default. There were measurement graphs on audiosciencereview forum(or on a similar website).

 

[Zachik]

There's also another option (which I've played around with for myself) where the corner frequency is lowered even further, which leans it out except for the very low sub-bass.

Dave, what do you mean by "corner frequency is lowered"? Can you provide a sketch / hand-drawn FR graph to explain that?
Does not have to be accurate, but rather just explain the idea...

 

[AnyDave]

Dave, what do you mean by "corner frequency is lowered"? Can you provide a sketch / hand-drawn FR graph to explain that?
Does not have to be accurate, but rather just explain the idea...

Since it’s not an actual product, I’d rather not. Posting it might confuse matters. If it becomes something in the future, then I certainly will. I was just commenting that it’s possible.

 

[tinyman392]

1. At the moment, planar-magnetic closed-back iems have never made obsolete other iems for a reason
2. With Etymotic approach I don't think it's possible to succeed with closed-back design and get an exceptional in-ear monitor. Not because of company's lack of potency but because planar-magnetic technology has quite a few drawbacks when implemented in such manner. I don't need major compromises with a seasoned flavor, do you?
3. R&D costs

Aren't these products developed by someone who were involved in development of planar-magnetic headphones with Kennerton? If yes, I'm not missing anything at all =)

Granted it’s not the same price range, but I do like the Euclid which are a great IEM.

 

[Infoseeker]

Listening to my Evo, I felt it reminded me of something. And I pulled out my old resin Noble Audio K10u and they really are similar to me side-by-side.