[Toesnip13]

I find the Klipsch far more comfortable too, they really nailed the ergonomics

Yeah the X20i sound a lot like the ER4XR but perhaps slightly larger soundstage. Stellar pair of iems

 

[rlw6534]

Yeah the X20i sound a lot like the ER4XR but perhaps slightly larger soundstage. Stellar pair of iems

Another X20i fan here. It's a shame Klipsch discontinued the entire line of "higher-end" IEMs. I actually bought a 2nd pair as a backup...

 

[Toesnip13]

Another X20i fan here. It's a shame Klipsch discontinued the entire line of "higher-end" IEMs. I actually bought a 2nd pair as a backup...

What do u think of my brief analysis? What would u say they compare to?

 

[rlw6534]

What do u think of my brief analysis? What would u say they compare to?

I would compare to my ER4XR with slightly more bass, although that may be due to different fit. Not sure on the soundstage as I'm not that sensitive to differences and haven't really done A/B testing. I really like the oval tips and the ease of use compared to deep fit of Etys, especially when the wife wants to talk to me...

 

[carmatic]

Today I have received a new set of green filters, and I found that it was a lot harder to extract the old filter from one of my ER4-SR drivers than the other, and the insertion of the new filter was also stiffer on that driver
and with the freshly installed filters, I could hear a pretty strong bass imbalance , the driver with the looser fit gives a stronger bass
It happened the last time I changed the filters too, but after some time, the bass level equalized between the drivers, and I suspect that my newest filters would do the same

This seems to me like the filters need time to 'settle' into the drivers to give the correct sound response due to the variance between drivers

 

[productred]

What I’m listening to tonight………legends last forever

 

[loveshot]

Sound started to die on the right bullet of my er2xr and finally completely bit the dust today. Really disappointing for a 15 month old iem that's been babied and has maybe 60 hours on it. Would it kill ety to fix these cable issues that seem to be pretty common. Why are dirt-cheap chi-fi iems more reliable than etymotics? Shame, this was my first foray into etyworld and I did really like the sound sig. On to the next (not dropping 55 bucks for another shoddy cable), a $150 learning experience.

 

[Zachik]

Sound started to die on the right bullet of my er2xr and finally completely bit the dust today. Really disappointing for a 15 month old iem that's been babied and has maybe 60 hours on it. Would it kill ety to fix these cable issues that seem to be pretty common. Why are dirt-cheap chi-fi iems more reliable than etymotics? Shame, this was my first foray into etyworld and I did really like the sound sig. On to the next (not dropping 55 bucks for another shoddy cable), a $150 learning experience.

Did you contact Etymotic customer support?
The ER2XR carry a 2-year warranty... Just saying

 

[loveshot]

Did you contact Etymotic customer support?
The ER2XR carry a 2-year warranty... Just saying

Good to know, I assumed it was 1-year. Shot them an email. Hopefully the process will be painless.

 

[IDrinkLava]

Compared to Moondrop Blessing 2, Audeze Euclid, LCD-i4, Shure KSE1500, and even my HD600 the ER4SR seems very bass lean to me. I've been trying to determine if this is the intended FR and perhaps those other references simply are more bass heavy because they are shooting for something closer to the Harman target. I've heard them described as having lean bass with good extension, but I think I was surprised just how lean Etymotic's neutral tuning is.

IIRC Etymotic target is based on Diffuse-Field, which is quite a bit more bass light than the Harman target. I believe Sean Olive said something along the lines of in-ears needing about 6dB to match the perceived impact of over-ears, and that's about the level of bass shelf I need to EQ onto my ER4SR to match my "flat" sounding headphones.

 

[PatrickB]

IIRC Etymotic target is based on Diffuse-Field, which is quite a bit more bass light than the Harman target. I believe Sean Olive said something along the lines of in-ears needing about 6dB to match the perceived impact of over-ears, and that's about the level of bass shelf I need to EQ onto my ER4SR to match my "flat" sounding headphones.

I read that same thing recently as I was researching FR targets used for IEM's and headphones. I had mistakenly understood the Harman targets as simply an average listener preference curve with a big bass boost. But I finally realized it was trying to replicate the sound of speakers in a room and the bass lift is actually perceived as neutral-ish for an IEM.

I thought I wanted a ruler flat curve which the ER4SR has, but didn't understand how bass-light that would sound to me. After auditioning other IEM's such as the Moondrop Blessing 2, Audeze Euclid, LCD-i4, and Shure KSE1500 I think my perception or taste of what I'd hear as "neutral" or "balanced" is probably close to the Harman curve. I suppose as others have stated here I could simply acclimate to the diffuse-field curve and still be able to accurately judge balance for mixing. I know our ears and brain adjust and compensate, but I've decided I prefer something closer to the Harman target.

Interesting educational journey this has been.

 

[IDrinkLava]

I personally do not consider Harman In-Ear Target to sound "neutral". It has way too much energy near the typical ear canal resonance region.

 

[PatrickB]

I personally do not consider Harman In-Ear Target to sound "neutral". It has way too much energy near the typical ear canal resonance region.

Interesting. I need to explore tunings more as I don’t really know what I’m looking for in the mids and treble as much. I guess the epiphany for me so far was realizing that a boosted low end shelf curve on a FR chart doesn’t necessarily mean it will sound bass heavy.

 

[IDrinkLava]

None of the "neutral" target curves out there take the effects of resonances caused by HRTF into account, so there will always be variation from person to person. Etymotic is the only company I know of that has found a way around this by inserting IEMs deep enough into the ear canal that they bypass all resonances. Until we have sophisticated photogrammetry technology that can scan people's ears from a photo, we'll probably never have truly "flat" sound on 99% of headphones and earphones.

Would ER2XR be an option for you? I was considering replacing my ER4SR with it if things didn't work out.

 

[PatrickB]

None of the "neutral" target curves out there take the effects of resonances caused by HRTF into account, so there will always be variation from person to person. Etymotic is the only company I know of that has found a way around this by inserting IEMs deep enough into the ear canal that they bypass all resonances. Until we have sophisticated photogrammetry technology that can scan people's ears from a photo, we'll probably never have truly "flat" sound on 99% of headphones and earphones.

Would ER2XR be an option for you? I was considering replacing my ER4SR with it if things didn't work out.

Now that's interesting... I have read a little about HRTF. I didn't realize the deep insertion was to overcome resonances. That's good to know and sounds like a good strategy.

Embody Immerse (the software behind Audeze's Reveal+ plugin) creates a custom HRTF via a picture of your ear using AI but not sure how accurate it is. I'm very curious.

I did consider the XR actually and was comparing it response to some of the IEM's I've been trying. It still seems a bit light on bass, but I am curious how it compares. I might end up trying them out.