[FastAndClean]

The ER 4PT lacks treble accuracy? Does the S-adaptor correct this?

yes

 

[Frederick Wang]

 
 

 
 
The ER4SR is super.
On my TDA1540 DAC, it beats my vintage Telefunken Alnico speakers & headphones,
the ER4SR is better in almost every aspect, very smooth, delicate​ & real.
 
ER4SR > vintage Alnico > Electrostatic, in terms of sound quality, timbre and accuracy.
it's the best transducer on earth? unbelievable

Hi, Pkshan
So would you rate ER4sr above ER4b?
Can you give a general comparison? Thank you. 

 

[castleofargh]

@castleofargh
Alright, sensitivity always confused me, but it seems like you don't have enough information for that conclusion. I would be interested in the formula you used, but ER4XRs state the sensitivity at 100 mV (98db), 104db at 200 mV, whereas the F4100s state it at 106 (conveniently no information given). I have no idea of industry standards, but either your calculations are missing some information or are not accurate for comparison (due to the F4100s having vague description) or 1.5 db/mW and 3 ohms impedance makes a significant difference. I have no idea on how output influences sound either, I would be interested in hearing your experienced ideas on what could cause this effect.

 
the er4 goes 98db at 1khz when fed 0.1v that's the spec we got.
I use P=U²/R to get some idea of the voltage we'd get feeding 1mw into the er4
0.001=U²/45
U=0.21v
 
the db variation between 0.1v and 0.21v, that should be:
20log10(0.21/0.1)=6.444db
98+6.444=104.44db when fed 0.21v or 1mw. thus my answer for the er4xr. I imagine it shouldn't be too far off.
 
about the F4100, they just say sensitivity so I assume they mean 106db for 1mw at 1khz as almost everybody does that, and the very very few who don't use reference for 1mw like sennheiser or etymotic(using respectively db values for 1V and 0.1V instead), are serious enough to actually write down the units of their specs.
 
so yeah I'm making assumptions but not taking much risk while doing it. ^_^

 

[ER4S]

I'm really tempted by SR but these are problems from what I read:
 
1- L/R seperation isn't obvious
2- There's kind of wiggle on connectors
 
These things make me think that Ety can release new edition or do some changes for future batchs. 
These are $349 and I just know that I'm not rich at all. So I should be sure that product that I buy is the stable version.
 
I can buy ER-4S or PT as they can be found cheap nowadays but possible sizzling problem of old ER4s make me think to buy SR/XR.

 

[miceblue]

Only 1 person that I've seen here has a problem with #2. As I've stated, my connectors are firmly locked in place as to not rotate.

 

[ER4S]

Only 1 person that I've seen here has a problem with #2. As I've stated, my connectors are firmly locked in place as to not rotate.

 
I've seen three or four.

 

[castleofargh]

 

Only 1 person that I've seen here has a problem with #2. As I've stated, my connectors are firmly locked in place as to not rotate.

 
I've seen three or four.

there is a distinction to be made between a manufacturing problem that should be pretty rare and will be repaired/replaced by etymotic, and the fact that a MMCX connector is by nature freely rotating and it's in no way a defect. ety decided to somehow limit that movement making it if anything more restrained than this type of connector usually is.

 

[ER4S]

 
there is a distinction to be made between a manufacturing problem that should be pretty rare and will be repaired/replaced by etymotic, and the fact that a MMCX connector is by nature freely rotating and it's in no way a defect. ety decided to somehow limit that movement making it if anything more restrained than this type of connector usually is.

 
I agree with you but I really don't know if they decided to limit or stop it..

 

[ClieOS]

   
I agree with you but I really don't know if they decided to limit or stop it..

 
Even the really big locking mechanism that Sony used on their XBA-H and XBA-A series didn't fully stop the MMCX from having a tiny bit of wiggling around - in comparison, I'll say Etymotic has done a fine job with their much smaller implementation. The one locking mechanism that I find to be perfectly still and without any wiggling is on DUNU DN-2002. Yet it is so tight that it really feel like I am going to rip the cable out of the connector every time I remove the cable, which I think is probably too tight for its own good.

 

[luisdent]

  I'm really tempted by SR but these are problems from what I read:
 
1- L/R seperation isn't obvious
2- There's kind of wiggle on connectors
 
These things make me think that Ety can release new edition or do some changes for future batchs. 
These are $349 and I just know that I'm not rich at all. So I should be sure that product that I buy is the stable version.
 
I can buy ER-4S or PT as they can be found cheap nowadays but possible sizzling problem of old ER4s make me think to buy SR/XR.

#1 is not true.
 
#2 is not a concern.
 
I was one person who claimed to have "play" in the cable connector. It was something I wondered about at first, but what was recently said makes sense. MMCX usually rotate. Etymotic put a "key" in the connector to prevent the rotation. While it generally stops the rotation to keep the cables straight down, it doesn't physically immobilize the cable. There are always tolerances in the manufacturing.
 
I have had no issues whatsoever with mine. In fact, I even forgot all about it after using them so long. I've had no sound issues, no physical issues, etc. If that changes I'll let you know, but I would rate the ER4SR/XR as the best headphones out there in almost every regard. And I wouldn't hesitate from buying them, especially not from those two concerns.
 
Go now. Click buy. Enjoy.

 

[miceblue]

What's an easy way to tell left from right?

I have a hard time seeing the difference myself, so I just look for the serial number on the IEM body. 9 for right, 6 for left. The black L/R markers on the black plastic connectors are hard to see in dim lighting, compared to the white numbering of the serial number on the gunmetal grey body.

 

[Frederick Wang]

I'm a happy owner of er4s for the past six months. If there is one bone to pick, that would be that the soundstage Of er4s is not large enough to make orchestral music alive. So i'm looking forward to upgrade, so to speak, my er4s to either er4b or er4sr. From what I have learned so far, er4b might have slight edge. I wonder if someone who have both can comment on the soundstage and instrument separation properties of the two, That would be a big help, thank you.

 

[castleofargh]

I'm a happy owner of er4s for the past six months. If there is one bone to pick, that would be that the soundstage Of er4s is not large enough to make orchestral music alive. So i'm looking forward to upgrade, so to speak, my er4s to either er4b or er4sr. From what I have learned so far, er4b might have slight edge. I wonder if someone who have both can comment on the soundstage and instrument separation properties of the two, That would be a big help, thank you.

the S and SR won't create a soundstage revolution in your head, they have a relatively similar signature. the B is brighter, if you feel that brighter is better soundstage then maybe go for the B, or if you listen to binaural albums it could work well, but there is no hidden DSP to make for an actual soundstage in any of those devices and the technical variations are aimed at simply changing the frequency response.
EQ your S, something like a super wide high pass filter to tilt the signature of the er4s into something close to the B if you're curious, there are plenty of measurements of both models to guess a close enough EQ.
at a psycho acoustic level, more trebles makes it easier to pinpoint the position of an instrument. that can feel more precise, not bigger.  while more low frequencies actually are hard to locate so they can give a feeling of being surrounded by sound, and that could give a feeling of wider areas of sound. but ultimately, unless you listen to binaural stuff, the soundstage on IEMs is wrong by nature for albums mastered for speakers and you should look for crossfeed or something like that to try and get closer to actual instrument positioning as intended at the mastering stage. that part shouldn't be the job of the IEMs in my opinion.
 
subjectively the IEMs I feel to have the most expensive space, all have a lot of subs. but let me be very clear, I don't feel like it's a proper headstage or whatever that should be called on headphones, only that music feels slightly bigger and more in 3D to me with a good deal of subs. fake but impressive, and pretty much the opposite of what the er4b tries to achieve.

 

[castleofargh]

What's an easy way to tell left from right?

I have a hard time seeing the difference myself, so I just look for the serial number on the IEM body. 9 for right, 6 for left. The black L/R markers on the black plastic connectors are hard to see in dim lighting, compared to the white numbering of the serial number on the gunmetal grey body.

a little piece of tape ^_^ or a drop of glue for a more permanent change. 

 

[WhatToChoose]

the er4 goes 98db at 1khz when fed 0.1v that's the spec we got.

I use P=U²/R to get some idea of the voltage we'd get feeding 1mw into the er4

0.001=U²/45

U=0.21v

the db variation between 0.1v and 0.21v, that should be:
20log10(0.21/0.1)=6.444db

98+6.444=104.44db when fed 0.21v or 1mw. thus my answer for the er4xr. I imagine it shouldn't be too far off.

about the F4100, they just say sensitivity so I assume they mean 106db for 1mw at 1khz as almost everybody does that, and the very very few who don't use reference for 1mw like sennheiser or etymotic(using respectively db values for 1V and 0.1V instead), are serious enough to actually write down the units of their specs.

so yeah I'm making assumptions but not taking much risk while doing it. ^_^

Ahh, I see, thanks for the explanation man. I guess the small variation in impedance and sensitivity do make that much of a difference O.o good to know!