[491838]

I find that very bizarre. If the same driver exhibits less bass in each ear then yeah, it is the driver that's the problem. 2 dB of difference isn't that huge. I reckon my LCD-2F and HD600 had as much as 3 dB of difference in some areas. All Etymotic stuff I've tested was virtually perfectly matched even down to the sub bass.

 

[Nalin]

Further update after 1 week with Spinfits CP800 on 2XR, lows especially sub-bass has become a little boomy with highs becoming a little tinny and exaggerated. Soundstage is now big, earlier it was non-existent on triple flange. Overall speed is not as fast as BA iem's, but is more natural and thick.

I prefer lows especially sub-bass a little tighter with a smoother highs but retaining the same soundstage and increased speed.

UPDATE: -2 to -4.0 db on sub bass is the answer, highly recommend to try it with EQ.

 

[LIVE_EVIL]

Further update after 1 week with Spinfits CP800 on 2XR, lows especially sub-bass has become a little boomy with highs becoming a little tinny and exaggerated. Soundstage is now big, earlier it was non-existent on triple flange. Overall speed is not as fast as BA iem's, but is more natural and thick.

I prefer lows especially sub-bass a little tighter with a smoother highs but retaining the same soundstage and increased speed.

UPDATE: -2 to -4.0 db on sub bass is the answer, highly recommend to try it with EQ.

Have you tried -6 db? They become much more transparent.

 

[Nalin]

Have you tried -6 db? They become much more transparent.

I have actually settled for -3 db, below that rumble looses it's texture and above makes it loose and boomy.

In fact this is the first time I am hearing a proper rumble in any IEM.

 

[Blackwoof]

Been a fan ever since i had the ER4PT, But was kinda annoyed at that the ER4S was hard to power & the darker treble of the P version. Didn't think 1 BA set up could sound this good since i more liked dynamic drivers, But that changed after trying them. a


Driver performance: Going FR/THD data these top at 20 ~ 17,500Hz's with 0.3%(100db). Better than the ER2 at that level since the XR at 98db tops 0,95%. And many 1DD/Multi BA still roll of after 10KHz, This one reason i like the 2SE it can reach 17.5KHz like the ER4/ER3 can.

Bass: I dare say better than 2SE an other DD headphones from a decay standpoint. When playing Sunn O's - Richard & Dylan Carlson, Bass aliens. The punch is the same but dosen't sound bloated & obese, With a +6db shelf at 100 or 110Hz the very fast decay help's them sound clean bit like what many say with planar/electrostatic. Also on sine sweeps it stops at 25Hz.

Midrange: No idea what Etymotic did but it is insane how real stuff in this area can sound. Noticed that the 1.6KHz area needs a -2db cut there since there a peak. Seems like there making full use of the BA driver since they were mainly used in hearing aids but much smaller than <5mm.

Treble: Even with EQ on the ER2SE, the ER4 is king here everything is detailed/sharp without being peaky mess. Despite having the same tuning as the ER4S/SR the 2SE seems more muted bit like the ER4P. Oddly the detail gains more points if the 7 ~ 7.5k area is boosted by 2.8db giving the treble more energy.

A impression i was gonna post at Reddit, but got -4 when i commented in a thread about the ER4 Bass & bandwidth with rule breaking hostility.

 

[carmatic]

I find that very bizarre. If the same driver exhibits less bass in each ear then yeah, it is the driver that's the problem. 2 dB of difference isn't that huge. I reckon my LCD-2F and HD600 had as much as 3 dB of difference in some areas. All Etymotic stuff I've tested was virtually perfectly matched even down to the sub bass.

then why do they not include anything below 100hz in their matching graphs?

 

[blse59]

then why do they not include anything below 100hz in their matching graphs?

1db channel matching at 100hz to 10khz is waaay beyond what other manufacturers promise. If it matches at 100hz, then it's highly likely everything below 100hz matches extremely well below that, too. It does not just start swinging widely in different directions right below 100hz. EtyDave, an engineer at Etyomtic, said that if the channels match at *only* 1khz, then the lower end usually matches very tightly:

- Both the ER4 and the ER3 have to pass within certain acoustic acceptance limits. The ER4 channel matching is the primary difference, however. The ER4s are matched within 2dB from 100hZ to 10kHz. The ER3s are only matched at 1kHz. Some units, like csglinux's will run very tight (not uncommon for balanced armature drivers). I won't go as far as to say most would pass the ER4 matching spec (which we don't promise). Generally, they run pretty tight at the low end if the 1kHz sensitivity is matched. If there are differences, it's more likely to appear in the higher frequencies, but there can be exceptions.

That said, I don't know of any earphone outside of the ER4 that matches the channels to such a stringent degree. The ER3 is tested as the HF series has been for years and I can't recall any complaints of people having issues with the channels being too far apart. Somewhat interestingly, we've gotten more complaints about that with the ER4 series once we started putting in the channel compliance graph.

I have to agree with JohnYang when he said:

Since you said that 3 pairs of etymotic iems have same "issue" I guess it's your ears. Or maybe you didn't fit them correctly. There is very low chance that they all becomes imbalance. Also remember that er4 series is hand matched. It's very low possibility it's the iem themselves. You may try different amplifiers, swap left and right drivers, different songs(or tone generators) etc.

From my point of view, it seems like you became suspicious when you saw the channel matching was started at 100hz and you just perceived what you were looking to perceive.

 

[vchawla]

Hi, I have bought the ER4XR and I’m very happy with them.

Just a few questions if someone could help:

1. Can I use any MMCX cable, or do you have to have a specific one.

2. this is mainly regarding a Bluetooth transmitter. I have seen Ety’s own Bluetooth setup and it seems a bit overpriced. Does anybody have experience of this as the micro phonics of the cable are really irritating me.
Thanks:
Vikesh

 

[carmatic]

From my point of view, it seems like you became suspicious when you saw the channel matching was started at 100hz and you just perceived what you were looking to perceive.

Trust me, I can hear the mismatch in the low frequencies, clear as day. I don't need no chart to tell me how the drivers are matched, I am hearing it straight from the drivers themselves. I listen to the musical genres represented by radio stations such as www.sub.fm , www.bassport.fm and www.bassdrive.com , where the material is relentlessly bass-heavy. I also have a Fiio Q1 with the bass boost switch turned on all the time.
How do sweep measurements work, anyway?
Suppose that you have a modified frequency sweep, where the low frequency regions are boosted in amplitude, assuming that no clipping happens. The rest of the sweep is unaltered.
Would any difference in bass response in the drivers be 'multiplied' or 'magnified' by the bass boost? Intuinitively it would seem that all drivers should have a linear response, thus the bass imbalance would linearly scale with the amount of bass boost.
But my question is what does this mean in terms of the audio charts which are in the logarithmic decibel scale ?

 

[fmdlnt]

First time Etymotic buyer yet to receive the shipping from $160 Adorama Deal of the Day. Any tips and suggestions from veteran users of ER4SR?

I have the ER4SR and used to own the ER4P. The former is more neutral sounding of the two (has a flatter response). The tips that fit my ears best were the stock triple flange, and Comply foam type. The triple-flange delivers better detail, the foam one has better bass. Nowadays I mostly use the foam tips because they gave me the best combination of sound and isolation. You will have to go though a whole set of tips to find the best fit.

 

[kalas]

Been using the ER4XRs since 2016. Very happy with etymotic (EtyKids --> HF-3 --> ER4XR) which I discovered from lurking here forever. The cable broke last year and I'm thinking of getting aftermarket cables:

I found these in Lunashops, 8-core (LN006591) vs Lunashops 16-core (LN007206) but I remembered from earlier thread comments a few years ago that not all mmcx connectors work with etys and that a specific one in lunashops works perfect with the etys

Will these mmcx cables work well with the ER4XR notch? Is there a noticeable advantage with 16-core cables compared to 8-core ones in terms of durability, comfort and microphonics?

Thank you in advance!

 

[emklap]

I own the LN006591 and it includes the etymotic notch on the mmx connector. I use it with the 4.4mm balenced connector on my ER3XR and ibasso DX160.
Microphonics is similar to the stock cake that came with ER3XR, but i use it over the ear which helps to reduce it. The cable is quit flexible but a little more heave than the stock cable.

I have no experiance with the 7206 cableso i cannot comment on that.
I hope this will help you decide.

 

[kalas]

I own the LN006591 and it includes the etymotic notch on the mmx connector. I use it with the 4.4mm balenced connector on my ER3XR and ibasso DX160.
Microphonics is similar to the stock cake that came with ER3XR, but i use it over the ear which helps to reduce it. The cable is quit flexible but a little more heave than the stock cable.

I have no experiance with the 7206 cake y so i cannot comment on that.
I hope this will help you decide.

Thanks, looks like I'm going in the direction of less cores. Did backreading earlier (searched lunashops + notch keywords here) and saw ClieOS replies in 2018:

Think you reply to the wrong person. There are two kind of cable on Lunashops that is listed for ER4SR/XR (in the same link @smorgar posted) - the first kind doesn't have an Ety specific MMCX connector but a generic one that will still works, though not going to 'lock' the earpieces in place to stop it from spinning around. The 'type2' cable I mention does however have that Ety specific MMCX connector that will lock the new ER4 earpieces in place like the stock cable does. All of these are kind of an old knowledge that were discussed in this very thread when the Ety specific MMCX connector first came out last year, but I guess many of you probably didn't read into the older posts enough to discover it. This is why you have to tell Lunashops what you really want (type2!!!) ori else they will ship you the generic one.

Did you have to contact Lunashops for the "type2" connector with the notch or do they ship with type2 mmcx connectors by default?

 

[emklap]

Thanks, looks like I'm going in the direction of less cores. Did backreading earlier (searched lunashops + notch keywords here) and saw ClieOS replies in 2018:





Did you have to contact Lunashops for the "type2" connector with the notch or do they ship with type2 mmcx connectors by default?

I did not had contatc with lunashop, I aquired mine through aliexpress andt hey came shipped with the nodge. The noth is not a big deal, i also have a Fiio cable that does not have the notch and they work fine as well (after a small mod on the mmx connector, not related to the notch)
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/if-...r4-this-is-the-thread-for-you.538615/page-858

 

[max232]

Further update after 1 week with Spinfits CP800 on 2XR, lows especially sub-bass has become a little boomy with highs becoming a little tinny and exaggerated. Soundstage is now big, earlier it was non-existent on triple flange. Overall speed is not as fast as BA iem's, but is more natural and thick.

I prefer lows especially sub-bass a little tighter with a smoother highs but retaining the same soundstage and increased speed.

UPDATE: -2 to -4.0 db on sub bass is the answer, highly recommend to try it with EQ.

Help me understand how an ear tip can change the sound signature of an Etymotic? Do they somewhat plug up the hole in the end? Maybe obstruct a portion of your ear canal? Since discovering Etymotic, that's all I use for portable listening. I've experimented with all types of ear tips and none of them actually changed the sound. The only thing different was the level of isolation. Are you certain that's not what you're experiencing?