[bbqtngs]

When I started in the hobby in the early 2000's, I was sold on a pair of ER6i. I couldn't afford an ER4 because I was still a college student then. Fast forward - I got into customs, speakers and wireless earbuds. I primarily used my customs which now need reshelling and a service due to channel imbalance. I got sick of heavy bass iems and decided to get myself a new set of iems

I looked at some of the chi-fi stuff but nothing really convinced me. I decided to check out the Etymotic line-up and was surprised that they were using dynamic drivers now. Whilst the price point of the ER2 seems like a really good deal, I remembered the channel imbalance on my customs and decided to go with the ER4XR because of the matching.

I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of kit you get the ER4XR. The moment I put them on, it was a sweet homecoming moment for me. The sound was everything I was looking for in a set of iems. Having had a set of HF5s previously, the fit wasn't anything I had to adjust to. In fact, the ER4XR is slightly girthier than the HF5s and actually more comfortable to me(how?). I've also seen that Etymotic now push differently priced cables (Bax, SuperBax, UltraBax). Does anyone have experience with this or is it merely snake oil?

I primarily listen to Apple Music lossless through a Dragonfly Red.

With the exception of electronic dance music, these things are perfect for everything I listen to. I'm a high school and college music teacher and working musician so listening to music is always involves an element of analysis, perhaps what some might call 'critical' listening (listening to 'criticise'?). Being able to hear every-single-thing at equal representation brings me so much joy.

I've ordered a shorter cable for portable use (5 foot is nearly as tall as I am).

P.S. having recently come back into forum and review trawling, I'm still amused by the terminology used by reviewers such as 'sweet', 'musical', 'warm'.

 

[WilcoRoger]

When I started in the hobby in the early 2000's, I was sold on a pair of ER6i. ... Having had a set of HF5s previously, the fit wasn't anything I had to adjust to

So did I, so did I. I still have both, the ER6i as a backup of the backup (still an outstanding piece of earphones!) and the HF5 for mowing grass

I did go for the ER3SE, didn't splash out on the ER4 series, at that point just too much had been spent on audio gear...

 

[bbqtngs]

So did I, so did I. I still have both, the ER6i as a backup of the backup (still an outstanding piece of earphones!) and the HF5 for mowing grass

I did go for the ER3SE, didn't splash out on the ER4 series, at that point just too much had been spent on audio gear...

I considered the ER3... but I just splurged cuz why not.

I've had to clean the rubber texturing off the HF5s because they got sticky. ew.

 

[jasonb]

I considered the ER3... but I just splurged cuz why not.

I've had to clean the rubber texturing off the HF5s because they got sticky. ew.

$200 isn’t that bad in this hobby really.

 

[riodgarp]

ah this thread makes me missed my er4s, if only they used more universal connector

 

[JAnonymous5150]

ah this thread makes me missed my er4s, if only they used more universal connector

There are third party cable makera now that offer pretty much any cable type you could want for the Etys from braided to twists to single core and just about any core material you'd prefer as well. I have made my own and purchased a couple from a place called LunaShops which you can google and order from their store directly or find them on AliExpress. I also bought the connectors I used on the cables I made from LunaShops as well. There are now several more stores/makers on AliExpress.

 

[Oscarilbo]

Hi guys...

What do you think about this cable for any of the Etys?

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Hi guys...

What do you think about this cable for any of the Etys?

I found the 16 core to be a little too heavy for my tastes. I have an 8 core version that's fantastic.

 

[Oscarilbo]

I found the 16 core to be a little too heavy for my tastes. I have an 8 core version that's fantastic.

Really? do you have a link? How are the microphonics?

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Really? do you have a link? How are the microphonics?

https://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=6591

This is an 8 core from LunaShops, the store I mentioned in my other post about cables before yours. The microphonics are basically zero and the cable is supple and feels good in the hand on top of looking great. I'd recommend you go to their store's main page and search for "er4xr" so you can see all of the compatible Etymotic cables they offer so you can figure out what you'd like. They literally have like 30 Etymotic compatible cables. You can also go to their AliExpress store, but they tend to have fewer options listed/in stock there for some reason.

Also, if you have some custom length or custom option like earhooks or whatever in mind, you should email LunaShops or message them on AE because they'll do minor customizations as well. Their cables (I own 3 and have several friends that own them on my recommendation) are good quality and I have had zero problems with them.

 

[Luis Mad]

For anyone who is interested. It is difficult to buy large triple flanges for Etymotic at least in Europe. Etymotic if you can please talk to your distributors in Europe, they sell some tips including small triple flanges in Amazon Spain but large triple flanges are very difficult to find. Also I have bought already several things from Amazon USA but they do not sell the large triple flanges either. Etymotic you are loosing sales of spares! Etymotic ships internationally but the shipping costs are incredibly expensive.

I bought these tips from Amazon USA https://www.amazon.com/-/es/dp/B07FB5CCSG?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
These are 9 euros in USA and another 9 shipping to Spain. They are not exactly the same but come very close and work perfectly for me. The stem is a bit long. I have cut it and then perfect fit, isolation and sound.

Here you see the new tip and the old beside it.

 

[Oscarilbo]

https://www.lunashops.com/goods.php?id=6591

This is an 8 core from LunaShops, the store I mentioned in my other post about cables before yours. The microphonics are basically zero and the cable is supple and feels good in the hand on top of looking great. I'd recommend you go to their store's main page and search for "er4xr" so you can see all of the compatible Etymotic cables they offer so you can figure out what you'd like. They literally have like 30 Etymotic compatible cables. You can also go to their AliExpress store, but they tend to have fewer options listed/in stock there for some reason.

Also, if you have some custom length or custom option like earhooks or whatever in mind, you should email LunaShops or message them on AE because they'll do minor customizations as well. Their cables (I own 3 and have several friends that own them on my recommendation) are good quality and I have had zero problems with them.

Oh thank you. I’m seeing the cable I mentioned is from the same shop; LunaShops, and I already located the 8 core cable. I like that I could ordered in a 6.35 conector configuration.
Thanks so much for the recommendation.

 

[bbqtngs]

For anyone who is interested. It is difficult to buy large triple flanges for Etymotic at least in Europe. Etymotic if you can please talk to your distributors in Europe, they sell some tips including small triple flanges in Amazon Spain but large triple flanges are very difficult to find. Also I have bought already several things from Amazon USA but they do not sell the large triple flanges either. Etymotic you are loosing sales of spares! Etymotic ships internationally but the shipping costs are incredibly expensive.

I bought these tips from Amazon USA https://www.amazon.com/-/es/dp/B07FB5CCSG?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
These are 9 euros in USA and another 9 shipping to Spain. They are not exactly the same but come very close and work perfectly for me. The stem is a bit long. I have cut it and then perfect fit, isolation and sound.

Here you see the new tip and the old beside it.

are the replacement tips built to a different spec to the packaged tips??

 

[Luis Mad]

are the replacement tips built to a different spec to the packaged tips??

They are basically the same size and similar material. The stem is longer and the material maybe a bit harder. I have been using them for a couple of weeks and work fine.

 

[JAnonymous5150]

Oh thank you. I’m seeing the cable I mentioned is from the same shop; LunaShops, and I already located the 8 core cable. I like that I could ordered in a 6.35 conector configuration.
Thanks so much for the recommendation.

Happy to help! The cable was probably my least favorite thing about Etymotics in general and I know there are other users with similar feelings so I like sharing the third party solutions I know about.