[AnyDave]

To be honest, I never tried it with XR. Probably @EtyDave can confirm knowles dampers can't fit in the new housing.

The answer is "maybe."

The Knowles dampers use a metal can and the tolerances are fairly wide. With the old ER4 series the snouts were obviously plastic, so an oversized damper could be fit in it, although it sometimes was too tight, which put a lot of hoop stress on the earpiece and could result in a cracked stem. Conversely, they can also be so undersized that they can fall out, which is something to be wary of.

The new XR/SR earpiece housings are obviously made of metal, which can create problems when using the Knowles dampers because they don't have much give if there is a lot of interference. The plus side is that the earphone isn't likely to break because of oversized damper. The potential under size issue still applies.

To be fair to Knowles, that damper was designed long before people were putting them in eartip stems. They originally were put in hearing aid tubing where the outside diameter variability was less of an issue.

 

[AnyDave]

Just a general question about BA drivers. I understand they can be quite fragile and shouldn't be dropped. I'm quite careful with my gear, but I've managed to accidentally knocked my XR against various objects. They're still working fine but I'm just not sure how much abuse they can take. How durable are these things and what are some symptoms of a damaged driver? Low volume? Distortion?

It really depends on how the earphones hit the hard surface. Having eartips on usually helps quite a bit.

If they do hit wrong, the armature itself will bend, which takes it out of its center position. When this happens, the distortion goes up. Tyll at Innerfidelity did a nice presentation of how BAs work:

https://www.innerfidelity.com/content/how-balanced-armature-receiversdrivers-work

 

[AnyDave]

I'm also curious about this. I usually throw my earphone to the bed from several meters.
Another question is, Etymotics don't recommend to replace cable without sending to them. I still don't know exactly the reason. Because recently I found my ER4S cable is broken at splitter (quite disapointed, just 2-year usage). I don't want to wait for repairing (I'm in Korea, it would take long time for sending to US and getting it back), so I bought a new 3rd party cable. However, I found that the connection is quite loose (I had to use glue to fix). Therefore, I am wondering how much it affects to the sound quality. Thanks!

I would recommend not throwing the earphones. Since it's a soft surface, it may or may not damage them, but it's not worth the risk, IMHO.

 

[castleofargh]

I'm not sure I can have that on my conscience.

Just curious, if you were theoretically dying, would you have time to carve "argh" in the wall or is it a faster demise?

when I'd see people rioting in the streets, I would probably leave town and go hide in a cave. and after setting my rabbit free and praying that he learns the skills to survive on his own in that new harsh environment, I would probably start carving some message about important stuff I'd remember for the next generation of survivors. I'd do so using the last of my strength after eating some poisoned berries because I'm the worst camper ever and out of the all 5 kinds of vegetables I can recognize, there are 4 that I dislike.



Joseph of arrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhhhh.....

 

[TrantaLocked]

I finally realized that my Soundblaster E1 just sucks for SQ. It's such an amazing product on paper, but the one job it's supposed to do best it fails at. I'll stick with the X-Fi Go Pro until the FiiO K1 arrives, if that isn't good then Dragonfly it is, even though a lot of the reviews and hype around those products seem like fake shilling. I am legit considering the Dragonfly Red.

 

[ClieOS]

Took me awhile to find the right parts but here it is - my first experimental balanced cable for ER4SR. I know I am not the first to DIY the balanced cable for ER4SR/XR as I already saw someone selling it on eBay, but they are using the original ER4SR/XR cable and reterminating it with balanced plug. Mine is perhaps a more difficult route.

 

[mw7485]

Took me awhile to find the right parts but here it is - my first experimental balanced cable for ER4SR. I know I am not the first to DIY the balanced cable for ER4SR/XR as I already saw someone selling it on eBay, but they are using the original ER4SR/XR cable and reterminating it with balanced plug. Mine is perhaps a more difficult route.

Smart looking cable - I especially like the transducer connectors...

 

[ClieOS]

Smart looking cable - I especially like the transducer connectors...

Not sure anyone will notice this from the 2nd picture, but the really neat thing about this MMCX connector is that its cylindrical sleeve fits right into the groove on the earpiece and stops it from any unnecessary spinning.

 

[mw7485]

Not sure anyone will notice this from the 2nd picture, but the really neat thing about this MMCX connector is that its cylindrical sleeve fits right into the groove on the earpiece and stops it from any unnecessary spinning.

I was wondering about the notch - great you've found something to engage it and which doesn't require modification.

 

[Audiophile_Apprentice]

So I know there was a debate about this earlier in the thread, but it was never really resolved. Do the customs create a tonal imbalance because the drivers are further from the ear drums? I've been doing a lot of testing but I can't quite tell.

 

[castleofargh]

So I know there was a debate about this earlier in the thread, but it was never really resolved. Do the customs create a tonal imbalance because the drivers are further from the ear drums? I've been doing a lot of testing but I can't quite tell.

any change in position or shape of the tip can have an impact on the signature. so you can look at it as meaning customs are wrong, or as meaning that we probably all have some differences anyway so what is the reference signature? are you sure you get it with your way of inserting the IEM? maybe custom tips would at least make the insertion more consistent?
it's probably as much a matter of interpretation as it is a matter of FR. and then there is comfort. sadly like for most IEM tips, you trying is the only way to be sure it works for you.

 

[GreatestUnKnown]

Just checking in with my 1.5 year old pair of ER4PT. I recently tried a set of the P Series tips from Comply and I did not notice any change in sound but they are significantly longer than their normal tips. I will trim down the length the next time I need to switch out tips. I will be catching up on this thread to see if I should look into upgrading either (SR/XR or Audeze iSine) or simply investing in another pair of ER4S as backup/insurance. I use mine every single day and most use cases prefer them over my Beyerdynamics which are reserved for serious listening sessions and gaming. I just purchased some Jaybird X3s for my mother and during setting them up for her I was just not impressed by the sound to be enticed by their Bluetooth convenience.

 

[ledzep]

Took me awhile to find the right parts but here it is - my first experimental balanced cable for ER4SR. I know I am not the first to DIY the balanced cable for ER4SR/XR as I already saw someone selling it on eBay, but they are using the original ER4SR/XR cable and reterminating it with balanced plug. Mine is perhaps a more difficult route.

Nice job, planning on terminating mine to a 4.4mm for the Sony. What's the sound like on balanced vs single end ?

 

[AnyDave]

So I know there was a debate about this earlier in the thread, but it was never really resolved. Do the customs create a tonal imbalance because the drivers are further from the ear drums? I've been doing a lot of testing but I can't quite tell.

I somehow missed that earlier post.

If the canal length in front of the earphone is longer, it will absolutely affect the frequency response. I would ask the earmold lab to try and keep the sound channel to approximately 4mm in length.

If the sound channel is longer, you can try pulling the damper from the earphone and putting it at the end of the ear canal. Just make sure it's tight enough that it won't fall out. I would push it in so that it's 3-4mm deep in it.

 

[ClieOS]

Nice job, planning on terminating mine to a 4.4mm for the Sony. What's the sound like on balanced vs single end ?

Didn't actually hear a huge difference between the two. Then again, the SQ difference between the balanced and single ended output on FiiO X5III isn't big to begin with. That probably won't going to be the same for Sony as I read somewhere that their balanced output does sound better than their single ended.