[luisdent]

 
Please help. Are the Etymotic ER-4XR CE-approved as hearing protection? Reason for asking is that suddenly the company I work at are handing out these Peltor HTB026 EarBuds for us to use and say that equipment that isn't CE-approved as hearing protection is forbidden to use. Needless to say I'm not too happy about it since I've been using ER4 as hearing protection for 15 years.

Unfortunately, they are not CE approved as hearing protection, but our HD series is.

http://www.etymotic.com/consumer/hearing-protection/hd5.html

But those appear to be less isolating then the ER4. I've always wished that you would make an earplug out of the ER4 that is strictly an earplug. It could probably look a lot like the comply foam musicians
's plugs. And I'm not talking about musician earplugs. I'm talking about straight noise isolation. I get insane amounts of isolation with my ER4. But I don't always want to risk damaging my earphones or having the cables hanging. If you got it out that your phone and just made them small plugs that would be awesome. I've actually thought about buying a broken pair and cutting off the cable...

 

[AnyDave]

But those appear to be less isolating then the ER4. I've always wished that you would make an earplug out of the ER4 that is strictly an earplug. It could probably look a lot like the comply foam musicians
's plugs. And I'm not talking about musician earplugs. I'm talking about straight noise isolation. I get insane amounts of isolation with my ER4. But I don't always want to risk damaging my earphones or having the cables hanging. If you got it out that your phone and just made them small plugs that would be awesome. I've actually thought about buying a broken pair and cutting off the cable...

 
There isn't actually a huge difference in isolation between the two.  Because of the way the NRR is measured, the rated number almost always comes out lower than what most people get if they know how to get a good seal.  I suspect the ER4 would probably end up with something similar.
 
The real issue for Thomas is that his employer requires CE certification specifically for the devices as hearing protection which the ER4, unfortunately, does not have even though it works fantastic in that application.

 

[AnyDave]

Thanks Dave... maybe a niche accessory for the new ER4... a yellow replacement cable that limits the maximum output and thus becomes CE approved as hearing protection

About the HD series... why not advertice the CE conformity in your documentation? I've yet to find this information when looking through your pdf documents. I'll need some easy to understand booklet that has an easy to unterstand statement that it's indeed CE approved (similar to the Peltor picture I attached earlier).

Brgds... /Thomas

 
Yeah, that's certainly a possibility.  As with all things like that, it probably depends on how big the potential market is for that.  It basically would have to be enough to justify the cost of certification, all the regulatory paperwork and the cost of inventorying the yellow replacement cable.  It's really not a bad idea if the market is there for a higher end safety earphone (I'll admit I don't know the answer to that question).
 
I'm not sure why the CE mark isn't advertised more obviously.  I'll ask our marketing department for something you can use to prove it's CE.

 

[luisdent]

But those appear to be less isolating then the ER4. I've always wished that you would make an earplug out of the ER4 that is strictly an earplug. It could probably look a lot like the comply foam musicians

's plugs. And I'm not talking about musician earplugs. I'm talking about straight noise isolation. I get insane amounts of isolation with my ER4. But I don't always want to risk damaging my earphones or having the cables hanging. If you got it out that your phone and just made them small plugs that would be awesome. I've actually thought about buying a broken pair and cutting off the cable...

There isn't actually a huge difference in isolation between the two.  Because of the way the NRR is measured, the rated number almost always comes out lower than what most people get if they know how to get a good seal.  I suspect the ER4 would probably end up with something similar.

The real issue for Thomas is that his employer requires CE certification specifically for the devices as hearing protection which the ER4, unfortunately, does not have even though it works fantastic in that application.

Ah, ok. I've always seen the er4 rated at above 30-35db isolation. So i had just assumed it was all apples to apples. But it looks like the same physical design so it makes sense they'd be similar.

However, something like this with the er4 design would be awesome. Again, not a musician style plug. I have the ety musician's earplugs and love them. But strictly massive isolation in a small wireless plug...

 

[Thomas-]

   
Yeah, that's certainly a possibility.  As with all things like that, it probably depends on how big the potential market is for that.  It basically would have to be enough to justify the cost of certification, all the regulatory paperwork and the cost of inventorying the yellow replacement cable.  It's really not a bad idea if the market is there for a higher end safety earphone (I'll admit I don't know the answer to that question).
 
I'm not sure why the CE mark isn't advertised more obviously.  I'll ask our marketing department for something you can use to prove it's CE.

 
Thanks Dave! Even though I would buy the yellow cable I unfortunately doubt there's a market for high end CE certified IEM plugs... but maybe I'm wrong
Another product I can't believe is missing on the market is (either as a replacement cable or a separate device) a way to quickly pause or mute whatever you're listening to and instead via a microphone listen to the "outside world" without having to remove your IEMs that happen to have that perfect seal. I've searched like crazy for a product like that without success.
 
/Thomas
 
PS. Looking forward to an easier way to prove the HD series is CE, thanks!

 

[Voyageur]

Another product I can't believe is missing on the market is (either as a replacement cable or a separate device) a way to quickly pause or mute whatever you're listening to and instead via a microphone listen to the "outside world" without having to remove your IEMs that happen to have that perfect seal. I've searched like crazy for a product like that without success.

/Thomas

Shure did that with some of their IEM. They called it PTH for Push To Hear. It used to be available with their high end earphones (E500, SE530, ...). Not sure it was very successful though, but the idea was very nice indeed. The PTH unit was quite bulky.

 

[Thomas-]

Shure did that with some of their IEM. They called it PTH for Push To Hear. It used to be available with their high end earphones (E500, SE530, ...). Not sure it was very successful though, but the idea was very nice indeed. The PTH unit was quite bulky.

Thanks for the tip... I found a store that had it in stock so I actually ordered it. It looks quite bulky but I'm willing to give it a try.
 
The optimal product would be a Bluetooth dongle which you connect your headphones to. The dongle would connect to your phone via Bluetooth and have microphone for phone calls and the same microphone should be able to pick up ambience sounds if needed  (directly from the dongle to the headphones... not adding latency by going via the phone's sound system).

 

[luisdent]

Has anyone heard a bluetooth anything that was reference quality? I have vluetooth in my car, in a portable jbl speaker, from my iphone, galaxy s6... You name it. It is always inferior sound quality to a wired connection, usually noticeabley. :-/

I'd love a bluetooth er4 adapter, but not if there is any quality loss.

 

[Thomas-]

Has anyone heard a bluetooth anything that was reference quality? I have vluetooth in my car, in a portable jbl speaker, from my iphone, galaxy s6... You name it. It is always inferior sound quality to a wired connection, usually noticeabley. :-/

I'd love a bluetooth er4 adapter, but not if there is any quality loss.

Haven't tried with Wav/Flac but Mp3 and and Spotify/Youtube actually sounds better in my ER-4XR when listening via my Elecom LBT-PAR500AV Bluetooth headphones amp compared to connecting them directly to my phone's headphones jack. Maybe the amp's DA-converter/components are so much better compared to the components in my phone that they make up for any losses in the Bluetooth protocol.

/Thomas

 

[Aero Dynamik]

  Surprisingly I found westone startips very close in sound signature to the original standard foam tips. Not bad at all.
 

How is the durability compared to Ety's own excellent tips which - unfortunately - loses their elasticity quite fast? Thanks!

 

[imackler]

Westone tips are super durable. Love those things. 

 

[astromaddie]

I've been scanning this thread and gone 20-30 pages back, but haven't found the answer to my question, so here we go: in use, how does the ER-4SR's sound compare to the ER-4P/PT?

I recently bought the ER-4XR, and after really enjoying it, I discovered my decade-old ER-4P... at first, my reaction was that I liked the ER-4XR better, but the more I listened to the two, the more I started feeling like the extra bass was losing some of the crispness present in the ER-4Ps. There's just something different about the sound of the ER-4P's that I can't place my finger on. Maybe it's the less accurate sound response of the ER-4P that I actually like?

I really love all the new physical updates to the XR/SR line though, and am starting to wonder if I'd be happier with the ER-4SRs. I'd rather. It go through the hoops of returning my XRs, ordering the SRs, and then potentially returning them again for the XRs. Has anyone compared the two and put them into context with the older models?

 

[thefitz]

I got some advice on the SE846 thread - install Comply tips backwards to avoid treble reduction.

On medium Isolation tips, the driver of the ER-4 extends about 1mm farther than the plastic sleeve of the foam tip, so the foam does not obstruct the sound whatsoever. Fantastic stuff.

Not only that, you can get a set of red tips and a set of blue tips and immediately know which is left and which is right.

 

[jleewachter]

I've been scanning this thread and gone 20-30 pages back, but haven't found the answer to my question, so here we go: in use, how does the ER-4SR's sound compare to the ER-4P/PT?
 

 
Have you used the ER4PT w/ the P to S impedance adapter & a decently-amped source? If so, that's 99% of what you're going to hear w/ the SR. Just my humble opinion.
 
Very similar sound sig. The treble on the ER4SR is more extended/precise which gives the impression of less bass presence, but after a brief adjustment period, you'll discover just how excellent the ER4S/SR bass presence really is. It's not over-emphasized, but if you're listening to a recording w/ heavy bass, that's exactly what the 4S 4SR will give you.
 
Simply put, I've tried many, many headphones of all different types/brands & the ER4S & SR is the closest thing to perfection to my ears. 
 
Just my opinion. 

 

[jleewachter]

  Westone tips are super durable. Love those things. 

Too bad their iems aren't as durable as their tips.