I fell in love with er2se back then. This is a good deal. But still i think i wanna find er4sr if any selling with a price. Glws!
If you still love Etymotic ER4, this is the thread for you...
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TheoS53
Headphoneus Supremus
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I got a set of the ER2XR today (only took 2 days from the States to me in Dubai.. Love Amazon) after having looked over @crinacle's numerous graphs. I was stuck between getting either the 3 or 2 as I wasn't quite sure if I was ready to commit to the 4's price-tag and also didn't know what the comfort would be like. The 2 also seemed closer to the Harman target.
All I can say for now is that I'm super glad I got the 2XR and none of the others. I'm not even close to being a bass head, but I wouldn't want them to have any less bass.
It's so tastefully done, and the signature as a whole just sounds so incredibly natural and coherent. There's no part that seems to compete with another part, nothing feels overdone or lacking to me.
It does make me really curious to at least try the other models though.
All I can say for now is that I'm super glad I got the 2XR and none of the others. I'm not even close to being a bass head, but I wouldn't want them to have any less bass.
It's so tastefully done, and the signature as a whole just sounds so incredibly natural and coherent. There's no part that seems to compete with another part, nothing feels overdone or lacking to me.
It does make me really curious to at least try the other models though.
Er2xr is the bassiest among the line if im not mistaken. So... better be end game of etys for you with er2xr haha
I still prefer ER4S the best but it is refreshing to listen to ER4B from time to time.
Er4s vs er4sr, any difference on sonic performance at all?
I still prefer ER4S the best but it is refreshing to listen to ER4B from time to time.
FR wise, very hard to tell them apart in brief listening. I'll say my ER4S sounds ever so slightly airier and crispier than ER4SR, while ER4SR is ever so slightly more warmish over the mid-range. I won't say I find one to be technically noticeably better than the other individually. I will however say my ER4S scales up very well with my old JDS Labs C421 (AD8640 version) amp, but not the ER4SR.
Interesting! Basically er4s can be source dependent and er4sr will be sound good as long as it has a decent source. So by saying scale up, what er4s does more when having a better dac amp? Soundstage?
Yep, soundstage. To put it simple, it makes ER4S sounds closer to a full sized headphone. I actually brought the whole setup to the Singapore CanJam a few years ago for others HFers to listen, needless to say everyone who tried was impressed by the combination. Woo Audio WA8 is another DAC/amp that goes really well with ER4S as well, but it is not a particular portable setup.
Thanks for this! Never know anything like this before. Making a bigger soundstage on a small iem is my dream. I just bought er4sr used. Really good deal, so er4s could be one of my next choice if ever need it!
For me the ER4S / ER4SR difference shows up very noticeably in the kind of solo cello (or in some cases cello-led new-agey mixed ensemble) music I listen to enough that its rendition really matters to me. To my ears, and with that sort of music, ER4SR simply sounds right to me. Listening to the same music with ER4S I feel there's something lacking in the cello's lower tones, a sort of lack of the timbral richness that I expect to hear, and have to fill in mentally instead.
In each case I'd be listening with reasonably solid electronics: generally either a Headamp Gilmore Lite (the 15+ years ago one, not the new one) or an amb mini3, out of a Mojo or a Modi Multibit, or else a Headamp Pico amp/dac (another old model but still holds up sonically after all this time).
I still think ER4S is pretty fantastic — I was an unwavering adherent from 2002 or so onwards, and always with an amp since it's quite anemic without — but I'm solidly on the ER4SR side now.
In each case I'd be listening with reasonably solid electronics: generally either a Headamp Gilmore Lite (the 15+ years ago one, not the new one) or an amb mini3, out of a Mojo or a Modi Multibit, or else a Headamp Pico amp/dac (another old model but still holds up sonically after all this time).
I still think ER4S is pretty fantastic — I was an unwavering adherent from 2002 or so onwards, and always with an amp since it's quite anemic without — but I'm solidly on the ER4SR side now.
samuraivoodoo
New Head-Fier
ER4Ps my first love back when
The more I listen and compare the two, the more I am becoming certain that the ER2SE outperforms the ER4S. It's cleaner, with better imaging and depth, better treble extension and bass, and as far as I can tell just as much detail resolution. It just doesn't sound as forward like the ER4S due to having more upper treble and bass, thus the upper mids aren't as prominent and detail in that region isn't pushed in your face all the time. But IMO it's still all there, and the er2se frequently sounds more articulate on dense tracks where the er4s' imaging suffers.
All that said, I am waiting for the ER4B cable from ClieOS to arrive, so perhaps that tuning will change my opinion in the other direction.
I've also noticed that some people seem to experience different results with fit on the ER2 compared to the BA etys. I've seen quite a few people prefer shallow fit, saying that deep fit makes it sound bad, and some of those same people used ER4/ER3 with deep fit perfectly fine. I myself find that deep fit with the tri flanges sounds best on er2, much like any other ety. Though er2 does seem to be a bit more forgiving if you don't put it in all the way.
All that said, I am waiting for the ER4B cable from ClieOS to arrive, so perhaps that tuning will change my opinion in the other direction.
I've also noticed that some people seem to experience different results with fit on the ER2 compared to the BA etys. I've seen quite a few people prefer shallow fit, saying that deep fit makes it sound bad, and some of those same people used ER4/ER3 with deep fit perfectly fine. I myself find that deep fit with the tri flanges sounds best on er2, much like any other ety. Though er2 does seem to be a bit more forgiving if you don't put it in all the way.
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I'm also very impressed with the ER2XR. It wasn't an instant hit with me - it took a bit of tip rolling, but once I got there... Dang. I prefer it to the vast majority of the $1000/$2000/$3000/$4000+ IEMs I've ever heard. I'll probably get banned for saying this, but I think I prefer it to the ER4XR too.
Well, the 2SE does have lower distortion. I'm not sure how relevant that is to forming our preferences though. It might be lower distortion. Or it might just be that subtle differences in tuning mean you may need to play with eartips to adjust the treble to your liking, e.g., maybe one IEM hit the sweet spot and the other didn't. I still think FR is the overwhelming effect we have to get right for us to really enjoy a headphone. I recently found a surprisingly large difference in FR just from switching sizes of triple flange tips. Documented in this post: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/ety...and-your-couplers.908512/page-6#post-15108352
I want to say that I've gotten reasonably good at separating FR from other characteristics when evaluating a headphone. It's easier to see when you start EQing a headphone and notice the characteristics that "stick" regardless of tuning. There's definitely some things the ER2SE does better that are not related to FR.
redrol
Headphoneus Supremus
I loved the ER2XR as well. At the end of the day the Kanas Pro sounded good in all the same ways and better in others. So I sold mine.
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