[moseboy]

If I had the choice, I would like Etymotic to release 2 new kinds of tips. The first tip would be simply a larger version of the stock frost triple-flange tips (essentially the same size as the large clear triple-flanges, but with the same material as the frost). The second would be like a knockoff Shure olive foam tip that a) doesn't affect the sound in any way, and b) doesn't feel like I'm about to snap my earphone's nozzle off as I'm removing it.
 
I would love either or both of these options.

 

[rawrster]

If I had the choice, I would like Etymotic to release 2 new kinds of tips. The first tip would be simply a larger version of the stock frost triple-flange tips (essentially the same size as the large clear triple-flanges, but with the same material as the frost). The second would be like a knockoff Shure olive foam tip that a) doesn't affect the sound in any way, and b) doesn't feel like I'm about to snap my earphone's nozzle off as I'm removing it.

I would love either or both of these options.

I use the olive tips and if I want to take off the tips it is simple. I don't pull like I would with other tips. instead I use my nail to slowly push the tips out. With the Shure earphones removing the olives is really difficult but the er4 isn't as bad.

 

[Voyageur]

I'd love to see a matte black version and a polished silver version, they would be nice looking variations of the new ER-4. 

 

[ER4S]

For someone looking for SR & XR with discount price, AC Gears gives %5 coupon for subscribe. I know %5 isn't the cheapest one but discount is discount.
 
https://www.acgears.com/etymotic-research-er4sr-er4xr-micropro-earphones.html
 
Discount is $17.45 and "you will have $16.6 to use towards your future order online or in-store(in the increments of $10)."
 
Not bad at all.

 

[droido256]

I just ordered a pair of the XR, (Amazon, from Ety's link cant pass up free 2day). Based on reactions on here, im really itching to get them.

Holy screw these are good.

 

[luisdent]

I just ordered a pair of the XR, (Amazon, from Ety's link cant pass up free 2day). Based on reactions on here, im really itching to get them.

Holy screw these are good. :basshead: :etysmile:

Yes. Yes they are. I've been using the xr lately, and they rock.

 

[DarthUnnamed]

XR came in today. I haven't had a pair of IEMs in months, ever since my heir audio 3.Ai's died
 
These are fantastic. Isolation is pretty insane as well. I will say that it appears that lower quality recordings suffer, but that isn't a huge deal as most of my library is 320kbps. Microphonics aren't nearly as bad as i heard it was, and the sound..well...is great. 

 

[thefitz]

Foam tip rolling is a lot of fun.
 
Comply tips do indeed roll off the treble a bit, and increase the bottom end. Perhaps the treble remains the same and the bottom is just increased. This is, however, a lot less prevalent on 100-series IEMs than 400 and 500-series IEMs. Those sound like there's a blanket between the driver and your ear.
 
The Sport series wasn't as good as I had hoped - the isolation is inferior by a fair margin. The poor isolation may be due to the fact that the Sport series is smaller overall than any of the other tips at a given size. Perhaps the appeal of the Sport series (i.e. staying put) isn't needed for IEMs that are inserted this deeply.
 
My least favourite, believe it or not, are the Etymotic grey foam tips. I don't think they're exceptionally comfortable and I don't care what anybody says - the 3/4" of plastic tube beyond the driver introduces all sorts of crispy and splashy treble.
 
I love the Shure yellow foams, probably the best sounding of those mentioned so far. They're just an absolute bitch to take off.
 
I experimented a bit with Westone tips and the ones I tried (blue and green) just may be my favourites overall. They're extremely comfortable and sound great. I haven't spent much time with them though - going to burn through my Comply cache first.

 

[digitalninja]

Does anyone use custom tips with the ER4SR? I was wondering if anything changes compared to regular tips. I imagine them being more comfortable but not sure if sound changes.

A few other users chimed in on this earlier but I figured I'd give my 2 Cents. I think the sound quality of Custom Fit sleeves are best summarized by this comment Don Wilson of Etymotic made on one of udauda's/Rin's blog posts:

.The point with Custom fit, is to get a consistent, and comfortable seal. There are some slight frequency response trade offs, but for the most part they are not enough to worry about. You can find big changes in the insertion depth, and sometimes even the eartip used. The early ER-4 foam eartips had a horn due to the resources I had available to design the insert.

I've had my ER4XRs for the past month or so with both the small flange tips and the custom sleeves made for my old ER4, and when I've tested them with Joe Bloggs' equalization tones I've found both tips to sound incredibly linear from about 35 Hz and up. I found the differences between the tri-flange and custom tips to be slight with the custom tips delivering a little less impact in the bass region below 100 Hz. I definitely think there's some statistical differences to be found between the frequency responses of both tips but I don't think it automatically translates to major "clinical"/practical significance for most people. The comfort, solid seal, and secure hold in my ears from the custom fit sleeves are definitely worth the extra investment. I had mine done by Sensaphonics and I had an overall good experience buying my Custom Fit sleeves from them.

And since I'm already talking about the ER4XR here I might as well give a mini-review. The linearity in the perceived frequency response simply amazed me as I didn't really find any apparent frequency peaks or dips that I normally have to EQ on other headphones. I was an owner of the ER4 PT which I mainly used with the official S adapter which I found to be lacking in the bass region around 150 HZ and below from what I remember when I tested them with Joe Bloggs' EQ tones a little while back. When I heard about a new ER4 I knew I had to go with the XR model offering increased bass response smack dab in the region I found lacking. I personally couldn't even consider the SR version if the bass response was going to be similar to the ER4S. Handling the XR for the first time, I was impressed with the upgraded build quality which feels solidly put together and much more professional looking. I only wish the Left and Right indicators stood out a bit more. Using the XR, I was satisfied to hear less microphonics through the cable; not completely elminated but greatly reduced from the older ER4 models.

As for the audio quality, like I've mentioned earlier, the true neutrality is amazing! The increased bass of the XR bumps the perceived frequency response for me into truly neutral territory; especially in comparison to the ER4S which is great everywhere else along the frequency spectrum except for the anemic bass. The neutrality of the XR along with the already superb detail and seal carried over from the ER4S has been a great boon for me in my line of work as a Front of House audio engineer. And when doing some live field recordings I've been able to put together some decent enough mixes using just the XR. The neutral sound signature pairs really well with the relatively flat tuning of the sound systems I get to work with and the noise isolation allows me to hone in on details that would normally be lost in the background noise blaring from the sound system when I use headphones. So overall I'm very satisfied with the ER4XR and the only IEM upgrade I can see myself going up to would be some sort of future, reasonably priced version of Shure's KSE1500 electrostatic IEM.

 

[luisdent]

Does anyone use custom tips with the ER4SR? I was wondering if anything changes compared to regular tips. I imagine them being more comfortable but not sure if sound changes.

A few other users chimed in on this earlier but I figured I'd give my 2 Cents. I think the sound quality of Custom Fit sleeves are best summarized by this comment Don Wilson of Etymotic made on one of udauda's/Rin's blog posts:

.The point with Custom fit, is to get a consistent, and comfortable seal. There are some slight frequency response trade offs, but for the most part they are not enough to worry about. You can find big changes in the insertion depth, and sometimes even the eartip used. The early ER-4 foam eartips had a horn due to the resources I had available to design the insert.

I've had my ER4XRs for the past month or so with both the small flange tips and the custom sleeves made for my old ER4, and when I've tested them with Joe Bloggs' equalization tones I've found both tips to sound incredibly linear from about 35 Hz and up. I found the differences between the tri-flange and custom tips to be slight with the custom tips delivering a little less impact in the bass region below 100 Hz. I definitely think there's some statistical differences to be found between the frequency responses of both tips but I don't think it automatically translates to major "clinical"/practical significance for most people. The comfort, solid seal, and secure hold in my ears from the custom fit sleeves are definitely worth the extra investment. I had mine done by Sensaphonics and I had an overall good experience buying my Custom Fit sleeves from them.

And since I'm already talking about the ER4XR here I might as well give a mini-review. The linearity in the perceived frequency response simply amazed me as I didn't really find any apparent frequency peaks or dips that I normally have to EQ on other headphones. I was an owner of the ER4 PT which I mainly used with the official S adapter which I found to be lacking in the bass region around 150 HZ and below from what I remember when I tested them with Joe Bloggs' EQ tones a little while back. When I heard about a new ER4 I knew I had to go with the XR model offering increased bass response smack dab in the region I found lacking. I personally couldn't even consider the SR version if the bass response was going to be similar to the ER4S. Handling the XR for the first time, I was impressed with the upgraded build quality which feels solidly put together and much more professional looking. I only wish the Left and Right indicators stood out a bit more. Using the XR, I was satisfied to hear less microphonics through the cable; not completely elminated but greatly reduced from the older ER4 models.

As for the audio quality, like I've mentioned earlier, the true neutrality is amazing! The increased bass of the XR bumps the perceived frequency response for me into truly neutral territory; especially in comparison to the ER4S which is great everywhere else along the frequency spectrum except for the anemic bass. The neutrality of the XR along with the already superb detail and seal carried over from the ER4S has been a great boon for me in my line of work as a Front of House audio engineer. And when doing some live field recordings I've been able to put together some decent enough mixes using just the XR. The neutral sound signature pairs really well with the relatively flat tuning of the sound systems I get to work with and the noise isolation allows me to hone in on details that would normally be lost in the background noise blaring from the sound system when I use headphones. So overall I'm very satisfied with the ER4XR and the only IEM upgrade I can see myself going up to would be some sort of future, reasonably priced version of Shure's KSE1500 electrostatic IEM.

I think a lot depends on the sleeve and the depth of the earphone in it. Of course seal and fit matter too, but they mean nothing if the earphone has too much distance or the sleeve acts like a horn.

If sensaphonics can do it right that's cool, but multiple others seem not to. Verified by multiple adept listeners and graphing responses. I went through multiple remolds, remakes, methods of bite block, etc. and mine were never close to ety response. I realize one persons might say that a 4db boost in treble is "slight", but not me. And mine was more than that. So not saying it's inpossible, but it still seems unlikely, especially that don even indicates the response won't be identical. Even though the reponse with every universal tip is within better deviation levels. (The foam tip horn effect was in the older model tips not the current)

Perhaps a certain ear shape allows a deeper custon fit of the earphone in the sleeve?

I'd absolutely love a custom sleeve if it sounded within +\-1db in general with maybe 2db at the far ends. Much more than that and you literally have a different earphone. So congrats on a good sleeves! Definitely would be worth $150 if they sounded as good as ety.

And the xr is superb. There are definitely times where the bass does make things sound more neutral and realistic. Other times the sr lets things breathe more for me and sound more transprent. I love them both!

 

[JakiChan]

So far I am loving my ER4XRs.  I have a 15 year-old pair of ER4S that just weren't driven well with portable gear and to be honest I didn't care enough to drag a portable amp around with me.  Back in the day, when I was starting out, my portable player was a Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox and an original Airhead (woah!).  These days I just use my phone.
 
Anyway, the ER4XRs are a big improvement over that setup.  However, I do have one complaint: my old ER4s had a clear set of red and blue markings so I know which is which.  I find the little L and R on these almost impossible to see.  Am I missing something totally obvious?

 

[mw7485]

So far I am loving my ER4XRs.  I have a 15 year-old pair of ER4S that just weren't driven well with portable gear and to be honest I didn't care enough to drag a portable amp around with me.  Back in the day, when I was starting out, my portable player was a Creative Labs NOMAD Jukebox and an original Airhead (woah!).  These days I just use my phone.

Anyway, the ER4XRs are a big improvement over that setup.  However, I do have one complaint: my old ER4s had a clear set of red and blue markings so I know which is which.  I find the little L and R on these almost impossible to see.  Am I missing something totally obvious?

No you're missing nothing. It's an observation many have made - and there is no easy answer it appears....

 

[ashn2k]

just found out about the new ER4 lines, wonder if which is more suitable for classical music among these 2
 
Thanks in advance

 

[mdiogofs]

The SR hands down.

 

[luisdent]

Probably the sr. Many people find the xr isn't much more bass but just enough. So they would both be great. It comes back to which you prefer. Some people might find the body of a piano to be more full and realistic with the xr. Some might find the sr more neutral and transparent.

If i could only choose one it would be the sr.