If you still love Etymotic ER4, this is the thread for you...

[Blackwoof]

Thx. For the reply. I’ve no problem at all with 0.5% or .7% THD. My XR have both .95%. My concern/question was more about the small difference and if it is a real world problem.

1990 who does EQ's on Reddit more or less told me 2 ~ 3% is when THD at 1KHz would a issue. And going by another thread the THD for ER4 might lower by a few percent, That 0.9% ER4 chart many who unfairly hate on it use?. That actually mic distorting from it being at 94 ~ 105db, Etymotic using a TOTL mic for there sheets. Many seem to have a hard on for the ER4SR showing that Single BA set up can beat many DD/Multi driver IEM's, Since the 4SR can handle some pounding bass with EQ.

The ER4SR pretty much an electrostatic IEM for £299, Since many say that the Bass decay & detail are pretty much the same just that you notice that since the ER4 is really neutral to many TOTL headphones tuning wise. BA's having high THD is just a old myth from when shure/Westone started doing multi driver in ears in 2000's.

 

[supadupaninja]

@Blackwoof So I will put this certificate back in the box and never look back as I can’t hear a difference at all + Etymotic consider this variances as within standards …

Other question: I saw you mentioned using a low shelf -6db/100Hz on your 4SR. What would be the Peak EQ equivalent for it? I tried the 2XR once. The bass sounded right but was way to much fo me. The XR bass is fine but i somehow not like it on many tracks.

 

[OspreyAndy]

1990 who does EQ's on Reddit more or less told me 2 ~ 3% is when THD at 1KHz would a issue. And going by another thread the THD for ER4 might lower by a few percent, That 0.9% ER4 chart many who unfairly hate on it use?. That actually mic distorting from it being at 94 ~ 105db, Etymotic using a TOTL mic for there sheets. Many seem to have a hard on for the ER4SR showing that Single BA set up can beat many DD/Multi driver IEM's, Since the 4SR can handle some pounding bass with EQ.

The ER4SR pretty much an electrostatic IEM for £299, Since many say that the Bass decay & detail are pretty much the same just that you notice that since the ER4 is really neutral to many TOTL headphones tuning wise. BA's having high THD is just a old myth from when shure/Westone started doing multi driver in ears in 2000's.

I never use software EQ to "fix" my ER Etys, it's either I use tips rolling or amps and now the Etys filters with my ER4SR liking the Red and my ER2XR liking the brown.

And yes you are right the ER4SR sounds like an Electrostatic. I have a Shure KSE1500 and what's lacking on ER4SR was the audible organic airiness between layers and treble especially. However what separates them the biggest is how much realistic Shure KSE1500 in everything else it does. For the first time since indulging into this portable audio, I am hearing real sounds reproduced especially on percussions (like pedal drums, snares, cymbals), guitars etc. It actually makes you feel you are in the studio. ER4P, ER4SR and ER2XR was already very close on that regard depending on what type of source you feed them

 

[InvisibleInk]

Also earwax can clog the filters - then it's time to change it.

+1 on the Comlpy w/earwax protection. Haven't had to touch the filter since I've started using them years ago.

I never use software EQ to "fix" my ER Etys, it's either I use tips rolling or amps and now the Etys filters with my ER4SR liking the Red and my ER2XR liking the brown.

And yes you are right the ER4SR sounds like an Electrostatic. I have a Shure KSE1500 and what's lacking on ER4SR was the audible organic airiness between layers and treble especially. However what separates them the biggest is how much realistic Shure KSE1500 in everything else it does. For the first time since indulging into this portable audio, I am hearing real sounds reproduced especially on percussions (like pedal drums, snares, cymbals), guitars etc. It actually makes you feel you are in the studio. ER4P, ER4SR and ER2XR was already very close on that regard depending on what type of source you feed them

The Shure electrostatic system seems like great investment. It comes in at the same price a a Meze Empyrean, which probably can't come close to matching the Shure in resolution and detail retrieval.

 

[Zachik]

Etymotic EVO world tour is launching - see details:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/etymotic-evo-world-tour.957666/

 

[Ashimaru]

Does anyone have measurements using a dual flange?

 

[tinyman392]

Does anyone have measurements using a dual flange?

That's an interesting request. I've never seen IEMs measured with multiple tips. I have seen them measured using different insertion depths to see how shallow vs deep insertion affects things, but never actually swapping out tips.

 

[Blackwoof]

I never use software EQ to "fix" my ER Etys, it's either I use tips rolling or amps and now the Etys filters with my ER4SR liking the Red and my ER2XR liking the brown.

And yes you are right the ER4SR sounds like an Electrostatic. I have a Shure KSE1500 and what's lacking on ER4SR was the audible organic airiness between layers and treble especially. However what separates them the biggest is how much realistic Shure KSE1500 in everything else it does. For the first time since indulging into this portable audio, I am hearing real sounds reproduced especially on percussions (like pedal drums, snares, cymbals), guitars etc. It actually makes you feel you are in the studio. ER4P, ER4SR and ER2XR was already very close on that regard depending on what type of source you feed them

The ER4SR + EQ It still blows away dynamic drivers on sheer detail and bass decay, Which helps on fast electronic with deep bass which many DD headphones struggle to handle without sounding like a mess. The ER4 seems to only reach 17.5KHz & the KSE 1500 can reach 20KHz, Maybe that could explain the slight differences. Noticed a 3.5 db high shelf at 10Khz can squeeze more treble out of It which many here seem to love about the ER4B, Also forgot add the 4db boost at 7KHz too since the ER4 quite recessed there too.

 

[sndp]

Does anyone have measurements using a dual flange?

I do, for the ER2XR, along with quite a few other tips (standars and large triple flange, foam, Final E, CP800 and CP240) over at the Etyheads Facebook Group. I'll try to post them on my blog soon for easy public access. In the meantime, attached is the dual flange vs. standard triple flange measurements.

Measurement rig details:
https://soundchaser.org/iem-measurement-rig-v1-0/

 

[Blackwoof]

@Blackwoof So I will put this certificate back in the box and never look back as I can’t hear a difference at all + Etymotic consider this variances as within standards …

Other question: I saw you mentioned using a low shelf -6db/100Hz on your 4SR. What would be the Peak EQ equivalent for it? I tried the 2XR once. The bass sounded right but was way to much fo me. The XR bass is fine but i somehow not like it on many tracks.

10db would be my peak since the ER4SR uses BA driver. On the ER2XR the peak for me is 3db 100Hz low shelf with a cut at 150Hz to stop upper bass bloat, Since that an issue I notice with Dynamic drivers when pushed with bass. The ER4SR driver stiff enough I can still sound clean with a 10db 100Hz low shelf without any upper bass bloat. Something many praise about electrostatic/planar being able to do despite being open back.

But 6db does a good job sounding like the ER2XR but with detail/speed of the ER4 on top. Could be possible to make cable that forces a 6db boost under 100Hz without going Multi BA like other IEM's do since the ER4/ER3 can handle the boosts no problem. I wonder If other Single BA IEM's could sound just as full with a 6db 100Hz low shelf like the F7200, X12i and more with full seals. More proof that size means nothing since these are IEM's with 5mm drivers doing the whole range(same with ER2 & KSE 1200).

 

[magicalmouse]

Has anyone fitted the knowles (metal bodied) filters to the er4/er2xr and been able to remove them easily?

Anybody actually fitted them and found them to be easily removed?

d

 

[Dobrescu George]

If anyone's looking for the most affordable but not necessarily cheap monitoring IEM in the entire world, that should be ER3SE from Etymotic, a Lucid Audio Company !!

This one is really natural in the midrange, has a flat and clean bass, with extreme speed, and a smooth treble that helps a lot if you spend many hours with them in your ears. Also great isolation, paired with straight-down wearing, and good resistance to hiss and other noises. Basically you can enjoy music exactly as it was intended and mastered, uncolored and precise. Or, if you're a music producer, this should be a really affordable yet practical and capable tool to help you~

They are also on sale on Amazon at the moment, you can find the links inside the review

Hope the review comes in handy, and if you have questions, I would be deligthed to help~~

https://www.audiophile-heaven.com/2021/05/etymotic-er3se-iems-deep-connection.html

 

[Blackwoof]

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[CK Moustache]

10db would be my peak since the ER4SR uses BA driver. On the ER2XR the peak for me is 3db 100Hz low shelf with a cut at 150Hz to stop upper bass bloat, Since that an issue I notice with Dynamic drivers when pushed with bass. The ER4SR driver stiff enough I can still sound clean with a 10db 100Hz low shelf without any upper bass bloat. Something many praise about electrostatic/planar being able to do despite being open back.

But 6db does a good job sounding like the ER2XR but with detail/speed of the ER4 on top. Could be possible to make cable that forces a 6db boost under 100Hz without going Multi BA like other IEM's do since the ER4/ER3 can handle the boosts no problem. I wonder If other Single BA IEM's could sound just as full with a 6db 100Hz low shelf like the F7200, X12i and more with full seals. More proof that size means nothing since these are IEM's with 5mm drivers doing the whole range(same with ER2 & KSE 1200).

Some people seem to think that a single-BA implementation is generally weak on the bass and has got poor extension on both ends, while many single-BA IEMs (including Etymotic's) have got proper super treble extension past 10 kHz (sub-bass extension is rarely an issue on most single-BA IEMs) that is superior to that of some multi-BA implementations, and there are several single-BA IEMs that are tuned for a warm and bassy low-end presentation without the need to boost the lows with the help of an equaliser (Etymotic could, just like some other companies, also release a single-BA model with a stronger and warmer bass boost than the ER3XR/ER4XR, but that's most likely not what they were or are ever after (without compromising lower midrange/midrange/treble linearity by too much)).

 

[Blackwoof]

Some people seem to think that a single-BA implementation is generally weak on the bass and has got poor extension on both ends, while many single-BA IEMs (including Etymotic's) have got proper super treble extension past 10 kHz (sub-bass extension is rarely an issue on most single-BA IEMs) that is superior to that of some multi-BA implementations, and there are several single-BA IEMs that are tuned for a warm and bassy low-end presentation without the need to boost the lows with the help of an equaliser (Etymotic could, just some other companies, also release a single-BA model with a stronger and warmer bass boost than the ER3XR/ER4XR, but that's most likely not what they were ever after (without compromising lower midrange/midrange/treble linearity by too much)).

They don't bother trying a deep seal cause of "Reasons", like using foam tips. The ER4S/SR still sounds very deep with Doom metal with heavy bass, Yeah there a quite a few bassy full range BA IEM's without any issues. The ER4B also proves these type of IEM's can have rich treble, It just amazing how flexible the ER4SR really is to EQ if you want only one headphone.

The X20i the only IEM i seen that fixes the only Single BA issue, reaching 20KHz. But the ER4S/SR comes close with high shelf of 3.5db at 10Khz.