[alpha421]

My thought on the glider purpose was a hybrid approach: insert like a flange tip, but a little more comfortable like a foam tip.  One shouldn't have to compress as the namesake of the tip should "glide" right in.  I use to swear by them, but after too many "off" presentations, I discovered the glider tips were tilting in my canal over time and needed adjustments, which altered the sound some what, but noticeable.  I'm with you, foam tips all the way. The angle position with those are consistent. I don't use any silicone tips with my Etys as they create a suction like pressure that hurts a little when removing them.
 
It's all about deep insertions with the ER4 line. Mine goes so far in, facing me, you can only see the braided cable hanging down against my ear lobes.  It makes my wife cringe and I love it.

 

[H20Fidelity]

  My thought on the glider purpose was a hybrid approach: insert like a flange tip, but a little more comfortable like a foam tip.  One shouldn't have to compress as the namesake of the tip should "glide" right in.  I use to swear by them, but after too many "off" presentations, I discovered the glider tips were tilting in my canal over time and needed adjustments, which altered the sound some what, but noticeable.  I'm with you, foam tips all the way. The angle position with those are consistent. I don't use any silicone tips with my Etys as they create a suction like pressure that hurts a little when removing them.
 
It's all about deep insertions with the ER4 line. Mine goes so far in, facing me, you can only see the braided cable hanging down against my ear lobes.  It makes my wife cringe and I love it.

 
The way these are working for me is similar to what you said.
 
You don't need to compress them, they do 'glide' in without any compression and seem to sit 'up against' my second bend without actually inserting completely, like there's a cavity there they seal up against. And you're right the comfort is quite a bit better than a foam tip. 
 
I can see why you sweared by them as the detail is large, maybe more than I get with foam. I will keep using these for a while testing their longevity, I may need to be careful of channel imbalance when moving. 
 
Thanks for your help mate, good advice.

 

[uzi2]

   
The way these are working for me is similar to what you said.
 
You don't need to compress them, they do 'glide' in without any compression and seem to sit 'up against' my second bend without actually inserting completely, like there's a cavity there they seal up against. And you're right the comfort is quite a bit better than a foam tip. 
 
I can see why you sweared by them as the detail is large, maybe more than I get with foam. I will keep using these for a while testing their longevity, I may need to be careful of channel imbalance when moving. 
 
Thanks for your help mate, good advice.

You may find they last a bit longer if you compress them before insertion. The pressure of being compressed on isertion tends to tear the material away from the centre tube after a while and then they're useless. Deep insertion is the way to go. As I said before - these are comfortable, but will end up costing a fortune as they fall apart in no time.

 

[H20Fidelity]

 
You may find they last a bit longer if you compress them before insertion. The pressure of being compressed on isertion tends to tear the material away from the centre tube after a while and then they're useless. Deep insertion is the way to go. As I said before - these are comfortable, but will end up costing a fortune as they fall apart in no time.

 
I've been using them a good part of this afternoon.
 
I'm finding I don't need to compress them for insertion. I can feel the tips enter very deep up in my canal inside a little cavity basically flush where a compressed foam tip usually enters (its pretty deep), they then seal-tight, (especially when becoming a little warm / soft) they isolate. Definitely the first attempts I made were incorrect, far too shallow. 
 
I think it sounds right, there's loads of detail and bass response feels a little more present, I notice this when a heavy section of a track comes in there's more atmosphere compared to foam tips (at least by a little). The only thing that's quite different is the treble can heat up fractionally with some albums, backing off the volume tends to correct it. 
 
I find them very comfortable and due to listening mostly whilst laying down hopefully won't have much problem with them shifting or tilting like Alpha421 mentioned. At the moment, its going really well and they're winning much listening time. =)

 

[uzi2]

   
I've been using them a good part of this afternoon.
 
I'm finding I don't need to compress them for insertion. I can feel the tips enter very deep up in my canal inside a little cavity basically flush where a compressed foam tip usually enters (its pretty deep), they then seal-tight, (especially when becoming a little warm / soft) they isolate. Definitely the first attempts I made were incorrect, far too shallow. 
 
I think it sounds right, there's loads of detail and bass response feels a little more present, I notice this when a heavy section of a track comes in there's more atmosphere compared to foam tips (at least by a little). The only thing that's quite different is the treble can heat up fractionally with some albums, backing off the volume tends to correct it. 
 
I find them very comfortable and due to listening mostly whilst laying down hopefully won't have much problem with them shifting or tilting like Alpha421 mentioned. At the moment, its going really well and they're winning much listening time. =)

No - there is no need to compress them for insertion. It's easier to insert them without compressing beforehand. The only reason I suggested it was to make them last a bit longer. They are probably the best you can get for comfort, whilst still getting the true Ety sound. You haven't experienced their Achilles heel yet. Used regularly, they will last days rather than weeks.

 

[H20Fidelity]

No - there is no need to compress them for insertion. It's easier to insert them without compressing beforehand. The only reason I suggested it was to make them last a bit longer. They are probably the best you can get for comfort, whilst still getting the true Ety sound. You haven't experienced their Achilles heel yet. Used regularly, they will last days rather than weeks.

Let's see what happens, I sure hope they can last though trust your word also. Maybe I'll try Klipsch tips next. What I need is a long term solution that's not going to fall apart because since the Pono player came my ER4S are getting used, a lot.

I can see the outcome already, foam tip slave forever..

 

[alpha421]

I can see the outcome already, foam tip slave forever..

 
Once you've accepted this, it's all good.  I usually wait for the once or twice yearly 20-25% discount code from Etymotic and stock up.  A set of tips usually lasts me 1 to 1.5 month of daily use, and this is probably due to my clean ears; at least that's what my audiologist told me.  I went through a few ciem in search of the ER4S sound including the highly regarded UERM.  My discovery along with a few prominent members for the ER4S signature is that NOTHING sounds like it in a custom form despite the use of the same drivers and/or more drivers.  I have yet to find one that captures the diffuse staging like an Ety. I even toyed with the idea of an ER4S conversion into a custom shell and the custom tips, but decided to play it safe with the stock form and foam tips.

 

[afbug]

Update re the eBay seller - he's sending a replacement adapter (the left side periodically loses power which is bizarre, but there it is - the same holds true when I swap the transducers over).

Good on him - that's very good service to send the replacement free of charge.

The sound on these things is so pleasant - I've got them in for the majority of the day each day, perfectly comfortable, and the bass balance is just about right for me. Can't repeat often enough how good this thread is.

I recently bought 33 ohm adaptor from AW Audio. Somehow I got the crazy idea that 4P's 27ohm + 33ohm = 60ohm will make it sound like a Koss Portapro. Anyway, he sent a 75ohm P-S adaptor, I told him he made a mistake. He sent the 33ohm version and told me to keep the 75ohm. So I ended up with 2 different ones.

 

[Happytalk]

How do they sound with the 33 adapter?

 

[afbug]

How do they sound with the 33 adapter?

I haven't have time to spend time with it but my first impression is its SQ is 'in between' 4P and 4S. Slightly better details that the 4P but still fall short of the 4S. Bass is slightly weaker too but it's treble sparkle more.

Is it worth it? Don't bother and just go for the 75ohm for the 4P but if you want to use an iPhone etc without amp, it might be worth considering. And no, it doesn't sound like a Koss Portapro, nowhere near.

 

[h1f1add1cted]

I recently bought 33 ohm adaptor from AW Audio. Somehow I got the crazy idea that 4P's 27ohm + 33ohm = 60ohm will make it sound like a Koss Portapro. Anyway, he sent a 75ohm P-S adaptor, I told him he made a mistake. He sent the 33ohm version and told me to keep the 75ohm. So I ended up with 2 different ones.

 
Interessting I prefer 8.2 ohms (around 12 ohms in summary): http://www.head-fi.org/t/538615/if-you-still-love-etymotic-er4-this-is-the-thread-for-you/5850#post_11543463

 

[uzi2]

   
Interessting I prefer 8.2 ohms (around 12 ohms in summary): http://www.head-fi.org/t/538615/if-you-still-love-etymotic-er4-this-is-the-thread-for-you/5850#post_11543463

But you are not comparing like with like as you have your ER4s inserted to different depths. This makes even more difference to the sound signature than changing the inline resistance.
The figure you quote is also only possible with aftermarket cables as the ER4P has built in resistance to bring it to 25ohms. Presumably this was the lowest Ety thought it could go without damaging the sound signature too much. Bearing in mind that the P was only produced to pander to the low output of ipods at the expense of some sound quality.
The ER4S are 100ohm and are designed to produce the sound that Ety wanted. The 75ohm resistor to convert P to S is desirable.

 

[H20Fidelity]

   
Once you've accepted this, it's all good.  I usually wait for the once or twice yearly 20-25% discount code from Etymotic and stock up.  A set of tips usually lasts me 1 to 1.5 month of daily use, and this is probably due to my clean ears; at least that's what my audiologist told me.  I went through a few ciem in search of the ER4S sound including the highly regarded UERM.  My discovery along with a few prominent members for the ER4S signature is that NOTHING sounds like it in a custom form despite the use of the same drivers and/or more drivers.  I have yet to find one that captures the diffuse staging like an Ety. I even toyed with the idea of an ER4S conversion into a custom shell and the custom tips, but decided to play it safe with the stock form and foam tips.

 
I guess for me ER4S fills a great section of my natural preferences, a preference I wasn't even sure of myself when discovering portable audio The Etymotic helped decide a great portion of this. When I first heard them I was impressed with the detail.
 
Its analytical, extremely detailed when driven to limits and accurate. I think its only downfall is some lacking versatility, not that it cannot play any genre, though its absence of sub-bass presence can slightly hinder some genres. Also, some days I just don't want to stick those long nozzles deep in my ears canals.
 
There was one stage a few months back I copped a really bad earache (probably from my on doings). I put the ER4S away for many weeks.
 
Probably my next favourite inline preference is Fidue A83. 

 

[alpha421]

Yeah.  I wouldn't recommend an ER4S as the only iem.  I tend to rotate amongst it, my FAD VIII, and GR10 - depending on my mood, what I'm listening too, and my where about.

 

[OJNeg]

Any other ER4 guys try out the Rockit R50's? I'm finding them to be pretty solid...a similar sound in certain regards. And I greatly prefer the wearability of the R50.