[koonhua90]

Ipod typically has a boosted bass, from how I heard it (even when EQ is off/set to flat). I assume this is to account for those people using apple earbuds or those low quality earbud that cannot produce bass properly. You should try out your Etymotic on a good source, if you have the chance. 

 

[Anaxilus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by symbolic /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
 Hopefully, my iPod will drive it fine!
 

I promise you max volume on an ipod will get u to medium/mid volume at best on the ER4S.  Been there done that.  FYI, you can tune the bass on the Ety's using insertion depth, just a hair extra away from your brain should help, tip experimentation also.  If the Ety's are too 'boomy' (did I just say that about an Ety?) then the RE0's like Spyro will give you what you want I gather and perform better unamped than the ER4S.  They also cost $100 less.  If you are set on the Ety's I'd recommend a new source like a Clip+ that isn't bass heavy.  A 2gb clip+ costs $26 on Amazon and add a 16gb card u got 20gb w/ a flat resp curve since that sounds like what you want.  Remember a 4P will allow u to add impedance and become a 4S, you cant go 4S to 4P w/o cutting and splicing wires by hand.  

 

[JxK]

Actually, Anaxilus brings up a good point. Sometimes we actually prefer a technically inferior product when the sound signature matches up well with our own personal preferences. That was the case with me liking my M6 more than my pl50, although granted the absolute difference between the two was narrow. It sounds like you may be in the same boat. Perhaps you should just get a clip and rockbox it. Rockbox has an awesome equalizer. You will be able to reduce bass to your heart's content, as well as tame the treble. It is much cheaper than something like the RE0 (not that trying it is a bad idea), and if you don't like it you can sell it without losing much.

 

[dragoonf144]

Go with the ER4P with the P-S converter cable for the best of both worlds.
 
I personally use my ER4P in S mode regardless if I'm amping or not. I can't tell the difference with or without amp but since I prefer the sound sig of them in S mode, I use it like this

 

[semisight]

Not to be a buzz-kill or whatnot, but when I upgraded from my Shure SCL3 (which had almost no bass) I found the RE0 to have much more. It's not deficient, just bass light. Get a sansa clip/fuze and rockbox it; then you can EQ down the bass to your liking. The EQ on the clip is really, really good.

 

[aamefford]

Dredging an old thread here - I just received my used ER4P's with the P/S cable.  A quick minute of comparison with my iPhone 3GS:
 
ER4P is louder at the same setting - no surprise there.
 
ER4S straight out of the HO out seems to have deeper bass???
 
ER4S is plenty loud out of the iPhone HO for me.  Max vol. would be ear damaging to me.
 
Differences are pretty subtle other than volume.
My pair has the blue and red cable ends with the hideous turquoise "pod" in the middle.  I'm planning a cable mod using some bits from Awwan @ ebay and a westone cable, just to get rid of the pod.  I'm just deciding whether to go with the P as default, and use the P/S cable or amp switch if I go for the Headstage Arrow later, or just go with S as default, and not have to fiddle with the thing... 
 
Anyone care to comment? 

 

[Golden Monkey]

Quote:

Dredging an old thread here - I just received my used ER4P's with the P/S cable.  A quick minute of comparison with my iPhone 3GS:
 
ER4P is louder at the same setting - no surprise there.
 
ER4S straight out of the HO out seems to have deeper bass???
 
ER4S is plenty loud out of the iPhone HO for me.  Max vol. would be ear damaging to me.
 
Differences are pretty subtle other than volume.
My pair has the blue and red cable ends with the hideous turquoise "pod" in the middle.  I'm planning a cable mod using some bits from Awwan @ ebay and a westone cable, just to get rid of the pod.  I'm just deciding whether to go with the P as default, and use the P/S cable or amp switch if I go for the Headstage Arrow later, or just go with S as default, and not have to fiddle with the thing... 
 
Anyone care to comment? 

If you're going unamped, stick with the P version.  They are much easier to drive this way due to the impedance.  They'll take a little while to break in, but once they do you'll hear a much more dramatic difference in sound with or without the cable.  For one, the S has a much flatter frequency response, while the P accentuates the lower and higher end of the spectrum.  The great thing about these IEMs in either configuration is that they isolate so well you will find that you enjoy much more of your music at much lower volume levels...yu made a great choice!  Enjoy your music and save your ears.

EDIT: if you are going aftermarket for cables, skip the BS and go straight to Alex at APureSound...what you'll get is a much more durable and beautiful cable made without any splices for the entire run.  Sure they are pricy, but well worth it in terms of materials and craftsmanship.

 

[aamefford]

Thank you.  Mine are 2005 / 2006 vintage.  They still may not have gotten much break in, though.  They look mint.  I just tried them out with my Headroom Ultra Desktop amp.  Interesting that with the S cable, they are less efficient than my Denon D7000's.  Low gain with the Denon's, medium gain with the Ety's.  They are pretty close as ER4P's, which seems reasonable, 25 ohm Denon's, 37? ohm ER4p's.  I only got a couple of minutes with them.  The diferences weren't dramatic, and I'm not sure which I like better yet.  If the ER4P's do feature boosted bass, I might like that better.  We'll see I guess.
 
As to the "boosted" bass, I listened to "Temptation" by Diana Krall.  It's one of my evaluation songs.  The string bass sounded distinctly like strumming rubber bands, vs. quite deep and rich with my Denon's.  Very tight and detailed, but just lacking a bit of body.  Yes, they are polar opposites, yes, the Denon's are fun, rich, deep, and not all that accurate.  That said, I do love them, and they are not that far from the sound of good $4K speakers throughout their range, save for the slightly sucked out mids.
 
I'm looking forward to getting to know the Ety's, and to see if they stay with me.  Interestingly, these are the first tri-flanges that seem comfortable, at least in the short run.
 
As to the Apuresound cable - dang!  My Ety's are used.  The cable is like 140% of the cost of the Ety's!  Anyone want to sell me a used one?

 

[wuwhere]

So far, the best portable amp I found for my ER4S is the Neco Soundlab V.2 with opa637bp opamps. Deep bass, wide soundstage as the ER4S can deliver. If you like the ER4S but wishes for more warmth, bass and less analytical, this amp delivers them all. It is cheaper than an APS cable which I also have and I really don't use much.

 

[ianmedium]

I have the ER4s and absolutely love them. Like most have said though, they need an amp to fully appreciate what they offer.If you don't want the amp then go for the  P version...Having said that the S version is worth getting an amp! Heck it has got me a further $370 out of pocket as I am ordering a Stepdance to fully appreciate what these phones can do!

 

[aamefford]

Well, I am waiting for an Arrow - the impedance switch (P to S without an adapter) and cross-feed sold me.  wuwhere has sent along an APureSound cable to try, I should have it Monday (Thank you!).  I have found these to scale amazingly, going from iPhone 3GS headphone out and ER4P to my Headroom Ultra Desktop and P to S adapter.  Virtually everything I have listened to scales up with a better amp, but the Ety's are particularly amazing in how they scale.
 
I've wanted to try the ER4's for a while now (like since before I joined head-fi...)  I'm glad that I have finally given them a shot - they are a fine IEM.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

in my experience the P->S cable from Etymotic sounds different than just an adapter I bought from Ebay, which is probably a simple 75 ohm resistor. With this the P version still sounds like the P version, but harder to drive. With the P->S cable, the headphone sounds completely different from the P version. Maybe the P-> S cable does have capacitance in it in addition to resistance.

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

Maybe the P-> S cable does have capacitance in it in addition to resistance.

Not really capacitance, just different in impedance. I know we generally accepted 75 ohm to be the number, but Ety cable has actually slightly higher impedance (can't remember the precise number is, but someone on erji.net did a bunch of measurement a few years ago to show the difference). Also, I believe the quality of the resistors also play a small role in the final sound), thus some get it close, some don't.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

First of all, impedance is a circuit that consists of either resistance, inductance or capacitance. Impedance can be purely resistive, purely reactive, or purely capacitive or a combination of any of them.  Impedance that is inductive or capacitance will change depending on the frequency. The impedance, or ohmic value increases with frequency in a reactor. In a capacitor, the ohmic value decreases with increase in frequency. It is a possibility that the variation in measured value you are referring to is due to a unspecified test frequency. Headphone impedance is reported at 1 kHz to allow comparison between apples with apples instead of apples and oranges. To really know the true nature or the impedance of a circuit, measurements need to be made using an oscilloscope to detect any phase shift between voltage and current for a wide range of frequencies. In a purely resistive circuit the voltage will be in phase with the current. In a capacitive circuit the current leads the voltage. In a reactive circuit, current lags the voltage. I know the ER4B cable uses capacitors, so I wanted to throw that out as a possibility regarding the P->S cable. I will at one point verify the nature of the impedance in the P->S cable. I have a multichannel oscilloscope. But I think that to avoid problems, folks should use the P->S cable. 

 

[DJGeorgeT]