[TheDreamthinker]

 
If you didn't like the sound signature of the other Fiio DAPs, then unfortunately I don't think you would like the X7 either. They all do share a similar sound.
 
And I have to admit that when paired with my ER4S, the X7 does get a bit too bright for me. It's not to the point of being unlistenable, but it is somewhat annoying. Otherwise, I thought the X7 drove the ER4S well - plenty of power for the IEM, and created a pretty 3D soundstage (well, as 3D as it gets on the Etymotic IEM).

To me, on initial impression, all the Fiio DAPs i tried felt splashy and aggressive (not in a good way), to the extent that it lacked separation. 
Although I am generally on the look-out for more aggressive soundsigs (as with the ER4s), the Fiio overdid it for me.

 

[uzi2]

what is the best upgrade cable for er4?is any body try silver cable is,there improve the sq?

The best upgrade cable is the one that is most comfortable without transmitting noise.
Linum Bax is my favourite.

 

[ClieOS]

 
The best upgrade cable is the one that is most comfortable without transmitting noise.
Linum Bax is my favourite.

 
There is upgrade on the ergonomics side of things, and there is also keeping the right impedance curve for either P/S/B and thus you can't just go out and randomly buy a cable and hope that it will be some kind of upgrade.
 
I do however own two pair of Linum BaX cable and agree they are really good on ergonomics, but they are not really ER4 compatible without the right adapter.

 

[uzi2]

   
There is upgrade on the ergonomics side of things, and there is also keeping the right impedance curve for either P/S/B and thus you can't just go out and randomly buy a cable and hope that it will be some kind of upgrade.
 
I do however own two pair of Linum BaX cable and agree they are really good on ergonomics, but they are not really ER4 compatible without the right adapter.

Agreed. I was assuming the use of an adapter, (I have Awwan's S 2 pin) which will be required, not only to provide the impedance, but also the termination for your standard cable of choice.
The topic has been discussed on numerous occasions within this thread...

 

[chowmein83]

Actually X7 doesn't just have one sound signature - AM1 and AM2 sounds quite different from each other and I'll say X7 with AM2 is about as good as any DAP driving ER4S. That's what I am using right now.

Based on what everybody has been saying about the AM2, it sounds like it's a noticeable improvement over the AM1! I'll have to try it out when I actually get one for myself (I've only listened to the X7 on the review tour).

Any impressions on the ER4S with the AM1 vs AM2?

 

[episiarch]

   
There is upgrade on the ergonomics side of things, and there is also keeping the right impedance curve for either P/S/B and thus you can't just go out and randomly buy a cable and hope that it will be some kind of upgrade.
 
I do however own two pair of Linum BaX cable and agree they are really good on ergonomics, but they are not really ER4 compatible without the right adapter.

ClieOS thanks very much for this. I was thinking I'd try the BaX plus P-S adaptor soon.  What's the impedance difference between an ER-4P and the 'naked' driver units with a third-party cable?

 

[ClieOS]

Based on what everybody has been saying about the AM2, it sounds like it's a noticeable improvement over the AM1! I'll have to try it out when I actually get one for myself (I've only listened to the X7 on the review tour).

Any impressions on the ER4S with the AM1 vs AM2?

 
It is lesser on how ER4S sounds different between the two, but more on how AM2 sounds better than AM1 in almost every way. In all fairness, AM1 can drive R4S well enough, but it is not showcasing how good the X7 DAC can sound. AM2 pretty much just removes that restriction and turns X7 to the impressive ToTL DAP it supposed to be. I recently brought the X7 with AM2 to CanJam Singapore and it impressed everyone who got to try, including a few who had heard X7 with AM1 before and are not nearly as impressed as they are with AM2. To put it short, X7 with AM2 is very similar to using X7 line-out feeding to FiiO's own E12A.
 

 
ClieOS thanks very much for this. I was thinking I'd try the BaX plus P-S adaptor soon.  What's the impedance difference between an ER-4P and the 'naked' driver units with a third-party cable?

 
A 4P impedance adapter should be 20ohm. A naked ER4 driver is just under 4ohm resistance if you measure it with a multimeter. But if you have the rig to measure its impedance across all frequency, it will go up to around 7ohm around 1kHz (and continue to go up on higher frequency), thus giving you the official (20+7) = 27ohm Etymotic listed.

 

[episiarch]

Thanks very much!

 

[thehexagonal]

For tips, I go with Shure Olives which are very resilient and provide a very good seal. Once they get matted down with wax, I put on a new pair and I soak the old ones in hydrogen peroxide which brings them back. I've never actually thrown them away and I have had them for years.

 

   Hi! I used to have ER4p and S 3-4 times during my life) So from my experience the most fixed seal gives the best sound from Etys. I've got big ears, so Shure silicone L-sized tips with a good deep seal sounds to me the best. Foam was not good, i was loosing a lot of treble but mid-bass became more punchy. Tri-flanged was not for me, but is suppose their sound should be the best for normal eared people, so no foam. IMO.
When you start hearing that treble is not very long and you start loosing microdetails, filters should be changed. On a new filters treble is very long and detailed. I'm cleaning my ears regularly, so 1-1.5 years for a one pair of filters 

 
Brilliant. Thanks for the words of wisdom!
I'll give the standard set a listen and see how I get along.
I wanted to buy more tips and filters before I left the US (cheaper than UK) so will def get filters (any filter set anywhere without the tool? amazon only stocks the tool + filters...) and then see about tips after.
 
Cheers

 

[thehexagonal]

   
It is lesser on how ER4S sounds different between the two, but more on how AM2 sounds better than AM1 in almost every way. In all fairness, AM1 can drive R4S well enough, but it is not showcasing how good the X7 DAC can sound. AM2 pretty much just removes that restriction and turns X7 to the impressive ToTL DAP it supposed to be. I recently brought the X7 with AM2 to CanJam Singapore and it impressed everyone who got to try, including a few who had heard X7 with AM1 before and are not nearly as impressed as they are with AM2. To put it short, X7 with AM2 is very similar to using X7 line-out feeding to FiiO's own E12A.
 
 
A 4P impedance adapter should be 20ohm. A naked ER4 driver is just under 4ohm resistance if you measure it with a multimeter. But if you have the rig to measure its impedance across all frequency, it will go up to around 7ohm around 1kHz (and continue to go up on higher frequency), thus giving you the official (20+7) = 27ohm Etymotic listed.

 
How about Forza? I read someone else mentioning they can make a cable with the plug built in (no adapter needed) and a custom impedance as well.
 
Wouldn't that suit the ER-4s better for sound rather than an adapter plus another cable (shure or whatever) ?
 
I was thinking that since I got ER-4PT, I might as well try a total 100ohm cable and then add the 75ohm impedance resistor that it's included in the PT package and see if the sound improves or what..

 

[ClieOS]

   
How about Forza? I read someone else mentioning they can make a cable with the plug built in (no adapter needed) and a custom impedance as well.
 
Wouldn't that suit the ER-4s better for sound rather than an adapter plus another cable (shure or whatever) ?
 
I was thinking that since I got ER-4PT, I might as well try a total 100ohm cable and then add the 75ohm impedance resistor that it's included in the PT package and see if the sound improves or what..

 
Never deal with Forza before, as I am a DIY'er myself and make my own cable. But it is not hard to make if you know how to solder.... and yes, theoretically the shorter the audio path the better.
 

 
 Here are the finished cable that converts my 4P to 4S and 4B
 

The ressitor-caps circuit is built into the adapter in order to minimize the footprint. 4S on the left, 4B on the right.
 

Finished cable - red is 4S and blue is 4B
 
The SPC cable and the adapters are sourced from Lunashops, caps and resistors from RS-online. Due to the size restriction, caps have to be 0805 ceramic 0.22uF while the resistors are 0805 metal film 100ohm. Overall, I am quite happy with the result as they measure almost as good as any other 4S and 4B measurement that I have came across. If you are interested in the measurement, check them out here.

 
 
...and I have answered the exact last question before:
 
 

  Here is how it looks with a ER4
 

Red is ER4P, Blue is ER4P with 75ohm adapter (= ER4S), and grey is ER4S + 75ohm (or in this case, ER4P with two 75ohm adapter).
 

Here is how they look when re-centered on 1kHz - you can see that the curve on ER4S and ER4S + 75ohm are almost identical. In fact, I have also measured ER4S + 175ohm and the result is more or less similar to to ER4S as well. That means there is little reason why you want to use more than one 75ohm adapter as the change in FR curve is minimum at best.

 

[GreatestUnKnown]

400+ pages and a week later I NEED THESE! (sorry for shouting but if you had your ER4s in you probably didnt hear me....

)

Since I almost never get to use my rig in an ideal listening environment I know that the cable will be a certain upgrade. Missed out on ClieOS awesome cable service and I am proficient with a fine tipped soldering iron I am inclined to tackle a custom cable.
 
Navigating Luna Shops has been a daunting task but I did find an item that I could possibly repurpose for our needs. The adapter is for those concerned with the 45°/90° adapter angle issue; it was originally intended for FitEar but am wondering if I could replace the pins with those from the Etymotic adapter. My question is what is the difference in spacing for the FitEar pins and Etymotic pins? If anyone could throw a ruler or pair of calipers on their ER4s cable I would appreciate it. I will be posing the same question for the FitEar counterpart in the DIY cable thread and report back with my findings...

FitEar DIY pin adapter @LunaShops link

 
And for reference the Etymotic pin adapter link

 
p.s. btw if the person who won the vintage/retro style ER-4Ps off ebay is reading this, Congrats you got an awesome deal and those phones look to be in great condition....I was so close but not close enough.
 
EDIT: Thanks to ClieOS for already having the knowledge off hand that what I had suggested was not an actual viable option.

 

[Happytalk]

I got mine for $120 on eBay a little under a year ago. I ran over the cable with my suitcase over the summer. Looked bad but still worked. Then my S adaptor started conking out, so I looked into buying another. Didn't they used be findable for $20 or so? Couldn't find one for less than $40. ClieOS to the rescue! Thanks!

 

[ClieOS]

  400+ pages and a week later I NEED THESE! (sorry for shouting but if you had your ER4s in you probably didnt hear me....

)

Since I almost never get to use my rig in an ideal listening environment I know that the cable will be a certain upgrade. Missed out on ClieOS awesome cable service and I am proficient with a fine tipped soldering iron I am inclined to tackle a custom cable.
 
Navigating Luna Shops has been a daunting task but I did find an item that I could possibly repurpose for our needs. The adapter is for those concerned with the 45°/90° adapter angle issue; it was originally intended for FitEar but am wondering if I could replace the pins with those from the Etymotic adapter. My question is what is the difference in spacing for the FitEar pins and Etymotic pins? If anyone could throw a ruler or pair of calipers on their ER4s cable I would appreciate it. I will be posing the same question for the FitEar counterpart in the DIY cable thread and report back with my findings...

FitEar DIY pin adapter @LunaShops link

 
And for reference the Etymotic pin adapter link

 
p.s. btw if the person who won the vintage/retro style ER-4Ps off ebay is reading this, Congrats you got an awesome deal and those phones look to be in great condition....I was so close but not close enough.

 
Unfortunately someone already rules out that possibility.
 
 

   
They don't. The ER4 pins are like a hybrid; the smaller pin is really similar in size to a typical 0.78mm CIEM pin, while the larger pin looks to be similar in size to the smaller pin on the FitEar, though I haven't taken actual measurements. Thus, the FitEar connector wouldn't fit into an ER4. Also, the distances between the two pins are much wider on the FitEar.

 

[Happytalk]

Unfortunately someone already rules out that possibility.

Would it be possible to source pins from two different parts?