[calipilot227]

   
Good point. That's exactly how I feel. It's almost like a great reference for clarity and detail, but you need something that's not as painful on the ears and has a more warm and smooth sound to cover all bases. 

 
All you need is a little EQ for that. I use Poweramp on my Galaxy Note 3, it can turn them into downright bass monsters. They respond very well to EQ thanks to their naturally flat response.

 

[Vitalstatistix]

My ER-4s is broken...after 11 years! No sound is coming from the blue side. I haven't used it for like a year, and noticed the problem only today. After some testing I discovered the cable is ok, but the driver is dead.

 

[robm321]

Change the filter. If you don't have one, take it out then test it.

I thought mine was dead too. No sound at all. It turns out the filter was clogged.

 

[SilverEars]

If you guys think the ER4P is bright, I recommend experimenting with impedance adapter until you get the treble where it's at(that's if you have low output impedance)  I noticed that the impedance graph has sharp rise at the treble region.  This means treble is tweakble with impedance adapters.  My guess is ER4S is less treble than ER4P.  If your amp has output impedance around 75ohms, it would automatically become a ER4S if you connect a ER4P.  

 

 

 

[Francisk]

  If you guys think the ER4P is bright, I recommend experimenting with impedance adapter until you get the treble where it's at(that's if you have low output impedance)  I noticed that the impedance graph has sharp rise at the treble region.  This means treble is tweakble with impedance adapters.  My guess is ER4S is less treble than ER4P.  If your amp has output impedance around 75ohms, it would automatically become a ER4S if you connect a ER4P.  

 

 

 
Yes, your theory is absolutely correct regarding the impedance adapter but from my experience, the ER4S has better high extension than ER4P.

 

[Jupiterknight]

  If you guys think the ER4P is bright, I recommend experimenting with impedance adapter until you get the treble where it's at(that's if you have low output impedance)  I noticed that the impedance graph has sharp rise at the treble region.  This means treble is tweakble with impedance adapters.  My guess is ER4S is less treble than ER4P.  If your amp has output impedance around 75ohms, it would automatically become a ER4S if you connect a ER4P.  

 

 

 
The effect of an increased output impedance from an amp/source is not quite the same as adding impedance to an IEM/headphone.. So an Etymotic ER4-P will not sound/perform the same with an amp with let's say 75 Ohm impedance output vs. adding a 75 Ohm resistor to the ER4-P used with an amp. with 0.1 impedance output.
 
Why is that? I'm sure someone else will explain.. Adding around a 30-50 Ohm impedance resistor to the ER4-P can be the sweet spot for some..

 

[SilverEars]

   
The effect of an increased output impedance from an amp/source is not quite the same as adding impedance to an IEM/headphone.. So an Etymotic ER4-P will not sound/perform the same with an amp with let's say 75 Ohm impedance output vs. adding a 75 Ohm resistor to the ER4-P used with an amp. with 0.1 impedance output.
 
Why is that? I'm sure someone else will explain.. Adding around a 30-50 Ohm impedance resistor to the ER4-P can be the sweet spot for some..

You made the statement, so that means you should have an explaination.  Please explain.  

  If the output impedance is a certain value and does not change with frequency, it's a resistance.  

 

[luisdent]

No, no, no. If a player's output impedance is say 75ohms, that is exactly the same as adding a 74ohm resistor adapter to a 1ohm player. Impedance is impedance.
 
Also, adding 'more' resistance (ohms) INCREASES the treble on the er4p, or lowers the bass/mids. Either way you want to think of it, the result is the same. The er4p comes closer to the er4s as you increase the impedance and BECOMES the er4s when you have a 75ohm adapter.

 

[SilverEars]

  No, no, no. If a player's output impedance is say 75ohms, that is exactly the same as adding a 74ohm resistor adapter to a 1ohm player. Impedance is impedance.
 
Also, adding 'more' resistance (ohms) INCREASES the treble on the er4p, or lowers the bass/mids. Either way you want to think of it, the result is the same. The er4p comes closer to the er4s as you increase the impedance and BECOMES the er4s when you have a 75ohm adapter.

My bad, I was thinking the TF10.  Got both of them mixed up because the graph above overlap.  

 You and Francisk are right.  If you look in the graph it makes sense as the bass impedance is low so the bass power will drop.  I was looking at the TF10 impedance graph for some reason.  so the bass drop should be more drastic with increased impedance.

 

[SilverEars]

This mutha scales up like a mutha.  If you want to compare details of a phone, make sure you try this.  It will sound different when you scale up, believe me.  The horns will sound noticibly resoluted.
 

 

[Francisk]

The only reason I actually use my ER4P version of my ER4PT is when I want to plug it straight into my iPhone without using a DAC/AMP (the bulk puts me off) but thanks to the FiiO X3 I can now permanently use ER4S version without an external headamp.

 

[Vitalstatistix]

Change the filter. If you don't have one, take it out then test it.

I thought mine was dead too. No sound at all. It turns out the filter was clogged.

Thank you thank you thank you! It worked!! 

 

[Francisk]

  Thank you thank you thank you! It worked!! 

Wow....I never knew a clogged filter can completely block the sound....well, then again 11 years of ear wax can surely do some serious damage 

I've learnt something new today. Thanks for the tips robm321 & Vitalstatistix

 

[Vitalstatistix]

Wow....I never knew a clogged filter can completely block the sound....well, then again 11 years of ear wax can surely do some serious damage 
I've learnt something new today. Thanks for the tips robm321 & Vitalstatistix

The filter doesn't look bad at all actually. But it's clearly the defect as the sound returns when I swapped in a new filter.

By the way, is there a way to figure out if I got the 4p or the 4s?

 

[Francisk]

The filter doesn't look bad at all actually. But it's clearly the defect as the sound returns when I swapped in a new filter.

By the way, is there a way to figure out if I got the 4p or the 4s?

Plug the ER4 into your mobile phone and if you need to push the volume to almost max or max volume to get a decent level then chances are you have an ER4S. ER4P is more efficient so by pushing your mobile phone volume to almost max or max volume, you'll probably blow your ear drums. You only need half volume or slightly above half to achieve a decent listening level on your ER4P. Hope this helps.