[Colors]

Hi. I highly recommend you to try er4b with tsx100 small size tip. It's like er4s but with better flatter frequency response, especially in the highest range. The bass is also improved a bit.

I will look into this. Thanks!

 

[Colors]

Just got the e3xr. Will write back soon. Does anybody have an extra pair of small shure olives they can snail mail me? I can send a medium pair if you'd like. I just want to try a different size. Also, has anybody modded other mmcx cables to fit?

Looks mega weird (loops around your ears when you wear it over the ear), but sounds great:

 

[hiflofi]

[redacted]

 

[Colors]

My ER3SE came in a couple days ago and I'm largely satisfied with the sound save for a few minor gripes.

• Less bass quantity than the typical v-shaped IEMs (to be expected). Bass is there but I think a good seal is necessary. Sub-bass rumble isn't very present, but again, it's there (Drake - Back To Back). Nonetheless, the bass quality seems clean when called upon (Frank Ocean - Monks). There isn't much of a kick to the bass in the ER3SE, but I might just be accidentally conflating a bass kick to the loudness of the bass. Either way, I expected less bass and that's what I got, so no real complaints. I wouldn't have gone with the XR anyway.
• In terms of quantity, the mids and vocals is are at the forefront of everything (again, expected). Regarding quality, instruments other than vocals are very natural in their sound (Drake - Over). However, I have a slight gripe with the vocals sounding...a little bit veiled (Wallice - Rx, Litche - Voyage, Dermot Kennedy - Moments Passed). That's a heavy word to use when describing sound (Sennys etc.), but I feel like despite the vocals being very loud (i.e. quantity), it's not very penetrative (penetrative meaning "natural, present, and in the room"). However, the vocals can sound penetrative at times (Childish Gambino - 3005). On that particular track, it sounds like the voice is extreme and present. Perhaps it depends on the mastering of the track itself rather than IEMs itself.
• Quantity of the highs is definitely there when called upon. People often say loud highs can be mistaken for resolution. In this case, the highs aren't loud but they're very resolving. As to the quality of the highs, I think it sounds the perfect amount of heat (What So Not - High You Are, Hermitude - The Buzz). You typically want a strong treble region so the headphones don't sound boring, but you don't want it to be too hot so that it murders your ears. The ER3SE gets the balance right in the treble.
• Sibilance is a key factor to my enjoyment of music, as I tend to focus on lingering 's' sounds. I've almost come to accept that a detailed IEM will always have sibilant sound, as it comes with the air more likely than not. However, the sibilance is very well managed in the ER3SE (Drake - Over My Dead Body).
• Soundstage is poor. Separation of instruments is good, but the distance between them is minimal. I can identify the instruments, but focusing on listening to them individually is difficult as they all seem to occupy the same location in your head (Yosi Horikawa - Letter), Yosi Horikawa's discography is usually a freebie for soundstage i.e. it's really easy to get the impression your headphones have good soundstage due to how his tracks are produced, but in this case, the ER3SE definitely wasn't great. With how 'in your head' the tri-flange is, I'm not surprised the soundstage is as it is.
• I listen to hip-hop, pop, indie, classical, electronic, and occasionally rock. I think the least suitable would be electronic because the excitement is killed by a very tame and controlled bass.

Overall, ER3SE is a great experience for the price point. I think it was exactly what I expected (I expected quite a bit), and even a bit better. Clarity and resolution are huge positives. No part of the frequency spectrum is particularly neglected except listeners accustomed to v-shaped IEMs may find the bass lacking. Vocals can sound slightly muffled on one track and crystal clear on another, so I'm still not convinced this can be attributed to the Ety.

It’s on Massdrop right now for $149

 

[chinmie]

Soundstage of the etys are intimate, like sitting in a studio with the musician. I like the ER4PT if i want to listen/focus on the vocals, or i want to listen with a lower volume because it's more mid forward. But compared to the ER4PT, the ER4XR is still intimate, but with the musician a meter or two farther, and in a more cavernous room. I can hear the room reverb better with the XR. I especially like them more for live music and binaural recordings better than the PT

 

[Colors]

Who wants to sell me a ER4B haha? It’s discontinued and Amazon US doesn’t ship Etymotic to Canada. No stores with it here either.

 

[ClieOS]

Who wants to sell me a ER4B haha? It’s discontinued and Amazon US doesn’t ship Etymotic to Canada. No stores with it here either.

You can always buy directly from Etymotic.

 

[pikachuchu]

What's the difference between Etymonic ER4 and ER4SR?

 

[Colors]

I will let you know hopefully next week!

 

[RobinFood]

In Japan, it seems like a few people reshelled their broken ER4Ps into custom shells using Thousand Sound.

http://englishbutler.jugem.jp/?eid=8

Has anyone done anything similar? Would it change the sound a lot?
I love the ety-sound, and would love to go custom if I can find a cheap pair of damaged ER4s, since it's still about 300$ or 400$ to get them reshelled.

 

[ClieOS]

In Japan, it seems like a few people reshelled their broken ER4Ps into custom shells using Thousand Sound.

http://englishbutler.jugem.jp/?eid=8

Has anyone done anything similar? Would it change the sound a lot?
I love the ety-sound, and would love to go custom if I can find a cheap pair of damaged ER4s, since it's still about 300$ or 400$ to get them reshelled.

You don't need to reshell a broken ER4P to get a custom 4P. The BA driver in the original ER4 is an open secret - Knowless ED29689. Just find yourself a custom IEM maker willing to build a single driver IEM based on ED29689 with Etymotic ER4 filter, plus an inline 20ohm resistor, then you will get yourself a custom version of 4P. If you want an 4S instead, just change it to 100ohm inline resistor.

 

[ERock]

I have significant hiss in my pair of ER4P with a particular inexpensive DAC/Amp, Blucoil AQUA (Wolfson) which doesn't produce any noticeable hiss with my over-the-ear headphones the Audio-Technica ATH-M50x. I'm wondering if a cable or adapter for the ER4P might remedy the problem?

A little background: The ER4P are over 12 y/o; purchased them about 15 years ago. Still work great, just not with this Blucoil AQUA DAC/Amp. I recently purchased this particular DAC as a highly portable lightning "adapter" for my iPhone and it does improve the sounds greatly - even with the hiss - esp. for this iPod gen 4 fan which had a Wolfson DAC (still have that iPod and it too works great though 40Gb isn't enough for much lossless space). The ER4P exhibit no hiss with other listening devices nor with my iPhone and the "Apple lighting to 3.5mm adapter" but the sound from that Apple adapter (it's really a DAC) is noticeably of lesser quality.

 

[HiFiChris]

I'm wondering if a cable or adapter for the ER4P might remedy the problem?

ifi Audio iEMatch or EarBuddy (or soldering a voltage divider yourself). You'll of course lose some volume that you need to compensate for.

The ER4P exhibit no hiss with other listening devices nor with my iPhone and the "Apple lighting to 3.5mm adapter" but the sound from that Apple adapter (it's really a DAC) is noticeably of lesser quality.

Too bad that this is your impression as the Apple lightning DAC dongle would've been a great recommendation and seems to measure well.

 

[ERock]

ifi Audio iEMatch or EarBuddy (or soldering a voltage divider yourself). You'll of course lose some volume that you need to compensate for.

Too bad that this is your impression as the Apple lightning DAC dongle would've been a great recommendation and seems to measure well.

Thanks for the recommendations! And, roger that latter sentiment. "noticeably of lesser quality" should be changed to something like "noticeably of lesser enjoyable sound qualities to me". It's really more how I like it - Wolfson warmth vs. clinical clean.

 

[Happytalk]

What's the difference between Etymonic ER4 and ER4SR?

I assume you mean er4s vs er4sr. I owned both concurrently. One way I thought to compare them was er4sr are overall smoother, more liquid, and the er4s is a little more dry and quick. Particularly in the bass and highs. Er4s is known for having a fantastic mid range but I think the er4sr midrange is smoother in comparison. Some people say 3k can be a little shouty on er4s. Not on SR. I actually prefer the er4s, but you can’t go wrong with either. Er4sr has a more premium feel and apearance, FYI.