[FastAndClean]

   
Well, we've gone many years without delving into multiple drivers.  I always take a never-say-never approach to things, but I certainly couldn't say when we would do something like that.

i just love my er4s so much, i thing Etymotic can crash a lot of multidriver flagships if they want to play that game

 

[astromaddie]

The answer to this question is yes you can EQ them to sound the same tonally BUT I lost a lot of resolution doing it with just iTunes eq. If you had a good plug in it might work better. I would not recommend it. Using heavy eq both became pretty average and lost their sparkle in both the mids and highs.

With that being said it is better to eq up the SR than EQ down the XR. The XR seems to have more distortion in the bass and around 1k. It shows itself when you start EQing them.

All in all I feel the SR is a little more refined with less stress in the mids and more accurate tonally, UMMV.

I used my etys on my main rig for the first time and I have to say they really opened up on the 2watt Burson and wyred 4 sound dac2. It inspired me to do a little 5 way battle, ER4SR,ER4XR, Grado PS500e, Focal Elear, and my Thiel 2.4/JL audio sub combo because they are all in the same room... I came away more impressed with the ER4SR than I was before. Really shocked with how good these are.

Maybe I will write a little quick comparison for all those people that start speaker vs headphones vs IEM threads lol.

 
 

   
I tend to agree that it's easier to EQ the SR up than the XR (or any bass boosted earphone) down.
 
Basically, it's easier to start with the most accurate and EQ to taste than it is to flatten something out with EQ (unless you can measure it).
 
It's probably a little easier with the XR than most earphones because of the included channel compliance graph as it provides a starting point.

Interesting... I could have sworn hearing that it's usually more accurate to EQ down than EQ up (which made sense in my head too, since you're bringing down a signal instead of trying to boost a signal), but it makes sense that it's better to start with the flattest/most accurate source and EQ from there. Oh well... I guess I'll just stick with my S and XR as separate units if I want flat vs boosted bass Maybe someday I'll replace the S with a pair of SR if I ever find a sale, lol
 
Thanks for trying that out for me, James, and thanks for throwing in your input too, Dave!

 

[robm321]

Etymotic receiving some non-audiophile mainstream press:
 
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/9/14558092/etymotic-er4-grado-gr10e-headphones-review

 

[AnyDave]

   
 

Interesting... I could have sworn hearing that it's usually more accurate to EQ down than EQ up (which made sense in my head too, since you're bringing down a signal instead of trying to boost a signal), but it makes sense that it's better to start with the flattest/most accurate source and EQ from there. Oh well... I guess I'll just stick with my S and XR as separate units if I want flat vs boosted bass Maybe someday I'll replace the S with a pair of SR if I ever find a sale, lol
 
Thanks for trying that out for me, James, and thanks for throwing in your input too, Dave!

 
It sounds like you are talking about a different, but valid point.  If you EQ up, it is important to make sure that the system has the headroom for it.

 

[AnyDave]

  Etymotic receiving some non-audiophile mainstream press:
 
http://www.theverge.com/2017/2/9/14558092/etymotic-er4-grado-gr10e-headphones-review

 
Thanks for posting that.  I hadn't seen that yet.

 

[james6333]

Interesting... I could have sworn hearing that it's usually more accurate to EQ down than EQ up (which made sense in my head too, since you're bringing down a signal instead of trying to boost a signal), but it makes sense that it's better to start with the flattest/most accurate source and EQ from there. Oh well... I guess I'll just stick with my S and XR as separate units if I want flat vs boosted bass Maybe someday I'll replace the S with a pair of SR if I ever find a sale, lol

Thanks for trying that out for me, James, and thanks for throwing in your input too, Dave!

I think the other side of it too is that the SR seems a little cleaner (less stressed) in the bass and mids to start with. Also the quality of the recording makes a big difference in the ability to EQ it.

 

[castleofargh]

 general EQ advice is good advice, I'm one to always suggest to get too much of something and EQ it down, if only because that way I don't end up with a guy screaming about how bad EQ is for music because he doesn't know what digital clipping is. it also discourages people from trying to get a -20db roll off back up with EQ, as if that could ever result in something right. that advice also deals with power requirements for the amp as EQing that way won't require any more power for normal listening level. so it is a good rule to follow, even more so for people not very familiar with EQ and related consequences.
 
but once we get past the general rules, if the "too much of something" is a spike or a shape I know will be hard to EQ simply, I will usually just run away because no DAP has the EQ do deal with those FR shapes. and obviously in this particular case if the target we aim for is closer to the SR, it would be silly not to buy the SR. and same for the XR. a small easy EQ is always the first rule of EQ. in this very situation I decided to go against my own general advice of EQing down, and picked the SR to EQ it up because I knew what I wished for. on the SR I just need one band EQ to boost the sub a little where I like it. with the XR I would wish to lower all the low end a little, but I would also wish to remove all traces of a boost around 100hz because I never enjoy that(personaltaste.com). it would be a walk in the park on my computer with equilibrium, but it's impossible to do on some of my DAPs. so the choice was simple and I got the SR.

 

[Max Choiral]

  i just love my er4s so much, i thing Etymotic can crash a lot of multidriver flagships if they want to play that game

Etymotic have been crashing it already long time ago

 

[noneedlessnoise]

I've been curious about the XR - being very fatigue prone, would these be a good choice for me?

 

[Widgetworks]

Hi All,
 
Long time ER-4P user here (about 8-9 years now). Looking to replace these with something a little different. Over time, I find myself cranking treble and reducing mids slightly in EQ, so I was thinking about moving into a more v-shaped sound sig. 

Looking at Westone W30... hopefully this is a good choice. 

I suppose my direct question is this - is it just going to be a "different" sound, or is going to something with triple drivers and a different sound sig going to be somewhat of an "upgrade?" Comparing sound sig, the W30 seems to unanimously have much better trebles, with some increase in bass, and a slight decrease in mids compared to ER-4PT, which sounds like exactly what I may be looking for. 

Thoughts? Really appreciate any opinions here, thanks much! 

 

[astromaddie]

  I've been curious about the XR - being very fatigue prone, would these be a good choice for me?

Have  you any experience with other Etys? In my experience, the additional bass actually made them less fatiguing than other Etys. I still listen to my ER4P (and ER4S with the adaptor), but at night I prefer the ER4XR because the bass adds some 'softness' to the music, and makes it less fatiguing since the bass effectively reduces the sharpness of the treble.
 
But, either way, I never really get fatigue from any of my Etys.

 

[james6333]

I've been curious about the XR - being very fatigue prone, would these be a good choice for me?

Fatigue prone from highs or general standpoint? If you are sensitive to fatigue I would not recommend the Etymotic headphones (either of them). While the highs are very balanced I do find the mids a little forward (just a hair) but many headphones have very ressessed upper mids. Even some well respected headphones like the HD800S have pretty soft upper mids. If you are used to this type of sound the etys will sound very forward which could bother you

If you wear them VERY deep some if the forwardness goes away.

 

[Larethio]

Hi All,

Long time ER-4P user here (about 8-9 years now). Looking to replace these with something a little different. Over time, I find myself cranking treble and reducing mids slightly in EQ, so I was thinking about moving into a more v-shaped sound sig. 


Looking at Westone W30... hopefully this is a good choice. 


I suppose my direct question is this - is it just going to be a "different" sound, or is going to something with triple drivers and a different sound sig going to be somewhat of an "upgrade?" Comparing sound sig, the W30 seems to unanimously have much better trebles, with some increase in bass, and a slight decrease in mids compared to ER-4PT, which sounds like exactly what I may be looking for. 


Thoughts? Really appreciate any opinions here, thanks much! 

Well you do have a preference for bass and highs to take a seat infront of mids so ill have to say the etymotic in ears wouldnt be for you if that is what you want. Also keep in mind that more drivers doesnt always equate to a better sound. The folks at etymotic are adepts at crafting beautiful and detailed sound from just one driver. The er4 series has to be the most natural and detailed in ear monitors ive ever heard. To address your concerns with driver count ill have to say ive had the 12 driver roxannes and to me they are squashed by the etys in everything except bass quantity (not quality) and maybe soundstage. But thats to be expected since the roxannes sit farther from the eardrum. And they are HUGE.

So if you had the pts for that long and always felt something wasnt right then you should go for a v shaped earphone for sure. Id check out the Noble Trident if i were you. They make very fine in ear monitors and the trident might be just what you need. The doc knows what hes doing. Just another choice besides the w30

I always keep this in mind. The perfect earphone should be one you never need to eq. My personal belief is that an earphone that sounds right off the bat to you will be more enjoyable than one youll have to eq whether you like neutral, v shaped, u shaped, or whatever shaped sound signatures. Gotta look hard though.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Widgetworks]

Fair, understood on the drivers... not really hung up on the fact that one has more drivers than the other, just curious on build quality, overall sound quality, etc, if it's actually an "upgrade" or if it's just "different." Either way, the Etys are getting old and probably time for something different. 
 
I also have a pair of HD600 that I use for desktop and have to change up the EQ to something like "punch and sparkle" to get the type of sound I want. I believe they are similar in sound sig (flat) as the Etys, yes? I guess I hadn't done enough homework before buying these, hah. 
 
I guess I need to learn how to interpret sound sig charts. The Tridents peak at about 5khz-7khz then drop off a bit from there, and the W30 at about 10khz, so I'm not sure which would be the better "punch and sparkle." The rest of the sound sig is pretty close to each other. 
 
Hmm... thanks for the suggestion! Off to learn some more. 

 

[castleofargh]

   

Well you do have a preference for bass and highs to take a seat infront of mids so ill have to say the etymotic in ears wouldnt be for you if that is what you want. Also keep in mind that more drivers doesnt always equate to a better sound. The folks at etymotic are adepts at crafting beautiful and detailed sound from just one driver. The er4 series has to be the most natural and detailed in ear monitors ive ever heard. To address your concerns with driver count ill have to say ive had the 12 driver roxannes and to me they are squashed by the etys in everything except bass quantity (not quality) and maybe soundstage. But thats to be expected since the roxannes sit farther from the eardrum. And they are HUGE.

So if you had the pts for that long and always felt something wasnt right then you should go for a v shaped earphone for sure. Id check out the Noble Trident if i were you. They make very fine in ear monitors and the trident might be just what you need. The doc knows what hes doing. Just another choice besides the w30

I always keep this in mind. The perfect earphone should be one you never need to eq. My personal belief is that an earphone that sounds right off the bat to you will be more enjoyable than one youll have to eq whether you like neutral, v shaped, u shaped, or whatever shaped sound signatures. Gotta look hard though.

Just my 2 cents.

so you suggest IEMs with crossovers just to end with some idealistic views on avoiding EQ?