[pacman46]

Another pic of my office system head stack, sometimes used with my Etys.

Wow!!! That is SWEEEEEET!!!!

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Nice stack.  Where did you get the rack?  What speakers are you using?

 

[TheBoss]

Is ER4 like the Sony MDR V6's/7506 of IEMs in terms of "beater-tability", neutral flat, and being in the market for long? 
 
 
I no longer have Sony MDR 7506... but I sure still know its sound and its quirks.
Anyone here with Sony MDR 7506 feel at-home with ER4's sound?

 

[luisdent]

Quote:

Is ER4 like the Sony MDR V6's/7506 of IEMs in terms of "beater-tability", neutral flat, and being in the market for long? 
 
 
I no longer have Sony MDR 7506... but I sure still know its sound and its quirks.
Anyone here with Sony MDR 7506 feel at-home with ER4's sound?

I don't own the 7506, but I've heard it a few times.  The er4s is flatter technically.  From what I remember, the sonys have move brightness and a little less low mids, but not necessarily better brightness.  They're both good, but the er4s is smoother sounding...

 

[luisdent]

The filters have arrived.  I will do the envelopes and ship them out asap.  Sorry for the brain fart.  I could have had the envelopes labeled and ready to go already.  I don't know why I was thinking I needed to wait for the filters... Dur.

 

[luisdent]

o.k.  It's 12:29 in the morning here and I'm probably losing it, but I think I made a mistake and I'm actually surprised no one caught it when I posted the original spreadsheet. ha.  I mentioned a few times that the order was for "pairs".  So if you asked for "2 red" you would get two "pairs" of red.  Well, that's all great and dandy, but I calculated the price based on individual filters like a complete dope after specifying that.
 
No problem, except everyone paid for individual filters and not "pairs".  Oops.  No one seemed to notice  Unless I'm reaaaally tired, I think you all owe another 50% of the filters cost.  See here:

The paid amount should match your paypal payments to me.  But if you calculate the actual cost as I did, you see that it was for individual filters.  Oops.  Could everyone please submit another gift payment of just the "total filter" amount again (since you need twice as many individual filters to make the pairs)?  Sorry for the mistake.  I feel like an idiot.

 

[gnarlsagan]

Wow I totally missed that too. Will send payment shortly.

 

[Wildblue]

  Another pic of my office system head stack, sometimes used with my Etys.
 
 

 
 

  Nice stack.  Where did you get the rack?  What speakers are you using?
 

 
Thanks!  Everything there, with the exception of the URC iPod dock on top, is from Parasound.  They make their own "Zcube" half-rack for the Zcustom equipment.  I think it's perfect for an office or other small area system.  All my cabling is custom from Cat Cables, and I current have Klipsch bookshelf speakers, but definitely could get better than that.  I have my own office right now, so I'm not as sensitive to others around me, and use my speakers more than headphones.

 

[music_4321]

So, after many years, I finally caved in and ordered a pair of ER-4S yesterday, which should be here on Friday.
 
My sole intention and objective is to put Messrs luisdent & gnarlsagan (and other Ety fanboys) firmly in their place, i.e. I'll be trashing the venerable and legendary ER4S. Can't wait for Mr Pianist to come and tell me all my findings are wrong using lots of impressive audio jargon in the process which I so much luuuv. Not particularly looking forward to Inks' direct or indirect responses to some of my comments, but that's almost inevitable — we'll see how that goes.
 
As some of you know already, I owned the FitEar F111 a while ago and, while I thought it was a very good IEM (loved the mids & treble), I wasn't ultimately fully convinced, particularly by the subpar bass response / performance. In that respect, the FAD FI-BA-SB & FI-BA-SS are more convincing / pleasing / lifelike to these ears.
 
Please note I don't intend to EQ these phones; I'm aware this is considered a rather silly thing by some, really, but that is one aspect I still refuse to do — this is the one aspect where I'd call myself a 'silly purist' ("silly" in the full sense of the word).
 
I know the 4S is relatively hard to drive, so I'll be doing most of my listening out of my MacBook Pro (WAV files) > V200 (with onboard DAC), but I'll definitely be testing the Etys with my 4G iPod Touch (192 & 256 kbps AAC VBR files) and no portable amp.
 
I already know the Etys must be inserted in such a way that they reach my ear eardrum or preferably deeper (a very comfortable feeling I just can't wait to experience for myself soon enough).
 
My understanding is these Etys come with green filters. Could someone please tell me which are the, er, 'bass-head' filters and how these affect other freqs, if at all?

 

[eke2k6]

  So, after many years, I finally caved in and ordered a pair of ER-4S yesterday, which should be here on Friday.
 

 
Whaaaaatttttt!!!! Nice!
 
 
Remember, use the white triple flanges, and you'll want to moisten them first before inserting.

 

[music_4321]

 
Whaaaaatttttt!!!! Nice!
 
Remember, use the white triple flanges, and you'll want to moisten them first before inserting.

 
With saliva (after having had a curry or some nice spicy Mexican food)? Yuck! Or with some K-Y jelly? Yuck!! Or with some Oto-Ease (by Westone)?
 

 

[luisdent]

   
With saliva (after having had a curry or some nice spicy Mexican food)? Yuck! Or with some K-Y jelly? Yuck!! Or with some Oto-Ease (by Westone)?
 

 
No, no.  Just breathe on them like you're fogging your glasses.  That's plenty.  As for putting us in our place, what exactly is your goal here? haha

 

[dnullify]

This should be interesting!
 
I always thought that good treble went hand in hand with slight harshness/sibilance to some degree or another.
The ER-4S is so clear and well extended, yet not the slightest bit harsh. It just goes to show that there's no excuse for sibilance.

 

[music_4321]

  No, no.  Just breathe on them like you're fogging your glasses.

 
Hey, thanks for that, hadn't thought of that. (Seriously)
 

  As for putting us in our place, what exactly is your goal here? haha

 
My aim is just that, what was stated above: to "put Messrs luisdent & gnarlsagan (and other Ety fanboys) firmly in their place, i.e. I'll be trashing the venerable and legendary ER4S". I think 200€ is well worth the price to get all those in this thread (and lurkers alike) to soon sell (or throw away) their Etys and eventually cause Etymotic Research to go bankrupt.
 
EDIT: Still curious about the "bass-head" filters.

 

[gnarlsagan]

  My aim is just that, what was stated above: to "put Messrs luisdent & gnarlsagan (and other Ety fanboys) firmly in their place, i.e. I'll be trashing the venerable and legendary ER4S". I think 200€ is well worth the price to get all those in this thread (and lurkers alike) to soon sell (or throw away) their Etys and eventually cause Etymotic Research to go bankrupt.
 
EDIT: Still curious about the "bass-head" filters.

 
This will be fun! But it's a shame I could have saved you 200€ by writing your review for you. "The ER4S is lacking any semblance of bass. The soundstage is claustrophobically small. And as for the fit, I might as well be jamming pencils in my ears; they might even sound nicer."
 
How's that? 

 
And the red filters are recommended. There is plenty of info here, including where to buy them and graphs from Rin. The effect is rather minimal, but the reds bring down the mids and some upper treble about 2dB. This sounds more accurate to me and lusident.