[uzi2]

   
Earlier post with a link to my cable mod tutorial.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/538615/if-you-still-love-etymotic-er4-this-is-the-thread-for-you/5595#post_11401877
 
I tried the Complys that came with my Tios and didn't like them. Couldn't get them deep enough, nor a good enough seal. The tri-flanges work best for me, though some I think have recommended the Shure olives(?). http://www.head-fi.org/t/636153/best-place-to-get-shure-olive-tips

Did you do a proper test of your cables to see iif Awwan has built the crossfeed into his adapters correctly. I would think yes as he makes a B as well.

 

[gixxerwimp]

 

uzi2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

Did you do a proper test of your cables to see iif Awwan has built the crossfeed into his adapters correctly. I would think yes as he makes a B as well.

 
As I said before, I am highy doubtful that Etymotic designed any crossfeed into their cables (from what I've seen, this is usually done at the amplification stage). I have sent them an email to confirm, but not heard back yet.
 
AWWAN's adapters are two completed separate units (L and R) that you attach your cables to. It would be pretty much impossible to design any crossfeed in.
 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290630811020
 
I can't really be bothered to put my stock cables back on to compare, and also want to avoid unnecessary wear-and-tear on the pin sockets in the armature enclosures.

 

[uzi2]

   
As I said before, I am highy doubtful that Etymotic designed any crossfeed into their cables (from what I've seen, this is usually done at the amplification stage). I have sent them an email to confirm, but not heard back yet.
 
AWWAN's adapters are two completed separate units (L and R) that you attach your cables to. It would be pretty much impossible to design any crossfeed in.
 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290630811020
 
I can't really be bothered to put my stock cables back on to compare, and also want to avoid unnecessary wear-and-tear on the pin sockets in the armature enclosures.

I'm not asking you to put the stock cables back on. Those have already been tested my me and others. As you say, it would be impossible to add crossfeed at that stage, it is most likely in the Y split bulge.
What appears strange is that he makes P(ortable), S(tereo) and B(inaural).
The P and S should have built-in crossfeed and the B hard left and right to perfectly reproduce dummy head recordings.
He can't possibly acheive this with adapters alone. As you say, it would need to be built into the cable. He can add the appropriate resistors for P and S, but that is all.
Several of us have confirmed the crossfeed in the stock cable - you still believe otherwise?
 
Edit: I have just tried the same test with some Ety HF5s and they display the same characteristics of a small amount of hard left being heard in the right...
Now there is no way any crossfeed can be designed into those cheap simple cables (no bulge at Y split), just nowhere to put anything. We are all probaly experience the limitations of the PC on which the tests are done. It will be interesting to hear the response you get from Etymotic.
What has swayed me to believe it was by design is the presence of the B, which in my mind should be just a plain cable.
I'm back to a more open mind and will wait to hear it from the horses mouth...

 

[tonyd2013]

   
Earlier post with a link to my cable mod tutorial.
http://www.head-fi.org/t/538615/if-you-still-love-etymotic-er4-this-is-the-thread-for-you/5595#post_11401877
 
I tried the Complys that came with my Tios and didn't like them. Couldn't get them deep enough, nor a good enough seal. The tri-flanges work best for me, though some I think have recommended the Shure olives(?). http://www.head-fi.org/t/636153/best-place-to-get-shure-olive-tips

Very clever mod, cheers i will have a look! How do you find wearing them straight down? Not a fan of over ear.

 

[gixxerwimp]

Very clever mod, cheers i will have a look! How do you find wearing them straight down? Not a fan of over ear.

Over ear is best for minimising cable noise. If you can find a really quiet cable, it should be OK, and definitely better than the stock cable which seems to be optimised to pick up noise.

The Linum BaX are a bit pricey, but look really comfy. Plus james444 says there's very little cable noise.

http://www.head-fi.org/t/538615/if-you-still-love-etymotic-er4-this-is-the-thread-for-you/5595#post_11402059
http://www.linum.dk/linum-bax/

 

[uzi2]

  Very clever mod, cheers i will have a look! How do you find wearing them straight down? Not a fan of over ear.

It is the draping of the cable over the ear which damps out the cable noise. A pair of silicon ear guides from Phonak will add to the comfort and make subsequent fitting a bit easier.
I find the easiest way to reverse the cables for over ear wear is to use a the inner tubes from a pair of foam tips...


...just fold back the cable and push them on.

 

[luisdent]

Well, I'm part of another tour where we eq'd a cheap earphone to sound netural. It sounds so good I decided to sell my ER4S. I'm starting to wonder if I ever "really" liked them anyway. They're uncomfortable, bass light, expensive... I really don't see any redeeming qualities in them lately with so many $5-$10 earphones that sound just as good if not better with EQ. So if anyone wants to buy my ER4S just let me know. I'm asking $600 for them.

 

[vtrinidad87]

  Well, I'm part of another tour where we eq'd a cheap earphone to sound netural. It sounds so good I decided to sell my ER4S. I'm starting to wonder if I ever "really" liked them anyway. They're uncomfortable, bass light, expensive... I really don't see any redeeming qualities in them lately with so many $5-$10 earphones that sound just as good if not better with EQ. So if anyone wants to buy my ER4S just let me know. I'm asking $600 for them.

...April...
 
 
Fools?...

 

[castleofargh]

 

  Well, I'm part of another tour where we eq'd a cheap earphone to sound netural. It sounds so good I decided to sell my ER4S. I'm starting to wonder if I ever "really" liked them anyway. They're uncomfortable, bass light, expensive... I really don't see any redeeming qualities in them lately with so many $5-$10 earphones that sound just as good if not better with EQ. So if anyone wants to buy my ER4S just let me know. I'm asking $600 for them.

...April...
 
 
Fools?...

no I'm sure he would really sell for 600$ and get new pairs ^_^
but that's only if his cat doesn't decide to eat them too

oh boy what a day.

 

[imackler]

I think luisdent tried some kind of trick like this last year. Very elaborate EQ'ing if I remember. 

 

[luisdent]

  I think luisdent tried some kind of trick like this last year. Very elaborate EQ'ing if I remember. 

 
Wow, I can't believe someone remembered that. It also featured the wonderful stock apple earbuds. haha

 

[imackler]

Wow, I can't believe someone remembered that. It also featured the wonderful stock apple earbuds. haha

I remember because you had me going for a while! Forgot about the apple ear buds though!epic.

 

[gixxerwimp]

 

Wow, I can't believe someone remembered that. It also featured the wonderful stock apple earbuds. haha

I remember because you had me going for a while! Forgot about the apple ear buds though!epic.

 

luisdent /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

Spoiler: Post

Well, I've been doing a lot of comparisons lately, and I've been starting to find that I'm happier with another iem using eq than the er4s. As great as the er4s sounds, it is just never very comfortable. I find the silicon tips hurt my ears the most, but the foam aren't much better. Sometimes, if I wear the too long, say a 5 or 6 hours straight, I can actually detect a tiny bit of blood on the foam tips.
 
Anyway, after a lot of experimentation, and a lot of a/b comparisons, I've actually found that the apple earphones sound just as good, if not better with my custom eq applied. Not the earpods, but the stock "buds" that came with the older models. They sound horrible stock, but once you add the right bass eq and some treble points to smooth things out they sound a lot better than you would think. In fact, because they sit outside of your ears and not sealed deep inside, they have a more "open" sound to them. Things just sound very real and 3d.
 
I'm sure I'll get a lot of flack for this, but all I can say is that you should try it. It took a lot of back and forth comparisons with all my earphones to finally admit that it just wasn't worth the extra price when they really do sound so good with eq. For anyone interested I'll post the eq settings below. It's a bit of eq points, but the earphones handle it really well surprisingly. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be keeping the er4s as these are a much better value cost wise, and I wouldn't really be using them anymore from the discomfort. So I'll be putting them up for sale. I'm not looking to make too much, just get a fair value back for them. They are a bit used but excellent condition and with all original parts minus the used tips.
 
Anyway, here's the eq:

 
Luisdent's absolute perfect reference eq for apple earbuds:
 

Hz	40	100	475	2200	4900	5350	7700	8900	9600	10450	12000	14200	16000
dB	12	10	4	-3	1	-1	-2	3.5	-2	1	-1.5	1	3
BW	0.5	2.2	0.95	0.3	0.26	0.9	0.48	0.79	0.48	0.26	0.9	0.95	0.9
Q	2.9	0.6	1.5	4.8	5.5	1.6	3	1.8	3	5.5	1.6	1.5	1.6

 
If anyone has these, I'd love feedback too. Let me know if you find any points you think could use improvement or maybe that don't match your ear's acoustics and I can tweak them.

 

[ER4S]

   

 
Haha it seems it was really epic!
 
Also, do you guys have special portable dac/amp suggestion for ER4S? I'm just talking about really portable ones like Dragonfly or Geek Out. I'm looking for one of them and prefer analytical one.

 

[imackler]

   
Haha it seems it was really epic!
 
Also, do you guys have special portable dac/amp suggestion for ER4S? I'm just talking about really portable ones like Dragonfly or Geek Out. I'm looking for one of them and prefer analytical one.

 
I like the E07K with the ER4S. I think it provides just a bit of warmth...