If you still love Etymotic ER4, this is the thread for you...
Oct 2, 2017 at 6:32 PM Post #10,921 of 19,198
Thanks castle! BTW, do you have any links to ER4B frequency-response graphs? Innerfidelity don't seem to have measured this one.
I have this, but TBH I don't remember where it comes from.
for+JIM.png
 
Oct 2, 2017 at 11:28 PM Post #10,923 of 19,198
Thanks ClieOS
...
assuming this is for the ER4-B although it does not say explicitly...

Originally when this patent was filed over 20 yrs ago, there was only one ER4 models, and it was the ER4B version. ER4S came about 1~2 yrs later, then ER4P came a few yrs after that.


You can use any suitable caps of the right capacitance, but different caps do affect the sound slightly and there is no telling how each caps will do without trying. I stick to SMD caps myself since Etymotic uses them as well and they are small enough to fit into tight places (as I built my 4B circuit into the 3.5mm plug for a minimalist design ). If you decided to go for electrolytic caps, you need to think about where to fit them as they are generally not very small.
 
Oct 2, 2017 at 11:58 PM Post #10,924 of 19,198
Originally when this patent was filed over 20 yrs ago, there was only one ER4 models, and it was the ER4B version. ER4S came about 1~2 yrs later, then ER4P came a few yrs after that.



You can use any suitable caps of the right capacitance, but different caps do affect the sound slightly and there is no telling how each caps will do without trying. I stick to SMD caps myself since Etymotic uses them as well and they are small enough to fit into tight places (as I built my 4B circuit into the 3.5mm plug for a minimalist design ). If you decided to go for electrolytic caps, you need to think about where to fit them as they are generally not very small.
Many thanks for the information!
 
Oct 4, 2017 at 8:17 PM Post #10,925 of 19,198
Finally soldered up my ER4 using an apple "earpods" wire harness with in line remote/mic and the 100ohm resistors (ER4S). Don't tell my girlfriend, but I think I am in love. I personally did not like the stock cable all that much and absolutely needed the in line remote + mic.

These are AMAZING headphones for the money especially if you are thrifty (I think I paid around 100USD used!). I have had Sennheiser HD600, HD650, HD800 and Beyerdynamic dt1350, I think they may be my favorite out of them all. Obviously, the HD800 were the better resolvers, but the functionality, size and ease of use of the ER4 actually means that I use them way more (and am not worried about scuffing them...). I use them with my iPhone SE directly without an outboard dac or amp and it can just drive them loud enough one or two marks from the maximum volume and they sound absolutely fantastic. I also use them with a nearly 15 year old iPod mini that sounds great too, possibly better than the iPhone. I had shure se315 iem's before as well, absolutely no comparison in fact I sold them immediately when I first heard the ER4. Just figured I would get this info out there because I can't believe it took me so long to discover them. I also found the difference between ER4P and ER4S to be quite an important one.

Just placed an order with digikey for the capacitors can't wait to see how the ER4B sounds. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

I was daydreaming about this today: Anyone know if the ER4B is easier to drive? Resistance will be effective 50ohms due to the two 100ohms in parallel, but also there is now capacitive reactance which varies with source frequency... I would imagine they may be easier to drive than the ER4S for some music.
 
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Oct 4, 2017 at 8:24 PM Post #10,926 of 19,198
Finally soldered up my ER4 using an apple "earpods" wire harness with in line remote/mic and the 100ohm resistors (ER4S). Don't tell my girlfriend, but I think I am in love. I personally did not like the stock cable all that much and absolutely needed the in line remote + mic.

These are AMAZING headphones for the money especially if you are thrifty (I think I paid around 100USD used!). I have had Sennheiser HD600, HD650, HD800 and Beyerdynamic dt1350, I think they may be my favorite out of them all. Obviously, the HD800 were the better resolvers, but the functionality, size and ease of use of the ER4 actually means that I use them way more (and am not worried about scuffing them...). I use them with my iPhone SE directly without an outboard dac or amp and it can just drive them loud enough one or two marks from the maximum volume and they sound absolutely fantastic. I also use them with a nearly 15 year old iPod mini that sounds great too, possibly better than the iPhone. I had shure se315 iem's before as well, absolutely no comparison in fact I sold them immediately when I first heard the ER4. Just figured I would get this info out there because I can't believe it took me so long to discover them. I also found the difference between ER4P and ER4S to be quite an important one.

Just placed an order with digikey for the capacitors can't wait to see how the ER4B sounds. Thanks to everyone who helped out.

I was daydreaming about this today: Anyone know if the ER4B is easier to drive? Resistance will be effective 50ohms due to the two 100ohms in parallel, but also there is now capacitive reactance which varies with source frequency... I would imagine they may be easier to drive than the ER4S for some music.

Congrats on the soldering job! Did you cut and solder to the existing plugs on the earbuds, or did you use some 3rd party plugs?
 
Oct 4, 2017 at 8:26 PM Post #10,927 of 19,198
I actually have aftermarket plugs coming in the mail from lunashops, but it is taking way too long for them to get here and I didn't think I would ever have a use for the ER4P cable so I just cut them and used the existing plugs/braided cable with the resistors simply in line (they are super small). Worked out fine.

The apple cables are quite finicky though, helps to remove all the non-metallic reinforcement strands for anyone interested in doing it, otherwise the solder won't take.
 
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Oct 5, 2017 at 5:30 PM Post #10,928 of 19,198
Nice work zpro - got any pics of the build? (I love looking at build pictures)

Finally took the plunge and put together my ER4P cable, I went for 20ohms resistance, and I bought some 80ohm ones to make an adaptor as well.

I went for an Oyaide right angle mini plug, I thought it might be a challenge to put the resistors into it, and it was, got there in the end though.

I used blue and red heatshrink as a person tribute to Ety, I'm a huge fan.

Be kind, it was my first foray into cable building :)

it's been a long month without these, needless to say to having them back today was just great :)

IMG_20171006_102526.jpg IMG_20171003_234143.jpg IMG_20171003_213445.jpg
10010474_thumb.jpg


Plan now is to get clear tips and colour the pin connectors red and blue like the old school ones and then i'm done.
 

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Oct 5, 2017 at 5:53 PM Post #10,929 of 19,198
Nice work zpro - got any pics of the build? (I love looking at build pictures)

Finally took the plunge and put together my ER4P cable, I went for 20ohms resistance, and I bought some 80ohm ones to make an adaptor as well.

I went for an Oyaide right angle mini plug, I thought it might be a challenge to put the resistors into it, and it was, got there in the end though.

I used blue and red heatshrink as a person tribute to Ety, I'm a huge fan.

Be kind, it was my first foray into cable building :)

it's been a long month without these, needless to say to having them back today was just great :)


10010474_thumb.jpg


Plan now is to get clear tips and colour the pin connectors red and blue like the old school ones and then i'm done.

Fantastic job blin, I wont bother humiliating myself by showing pictures of mine! I have white heat-shrink tubing coming in the mail as well by 3M to match with the apple harness. Just curious though: did you just pick those resistance values arbitrarily or was there calculation involved?

Thanks for sharing :beerchug::beerchug::beerchug:
 
Oct 5, 2017 at 6:32 PM Post #10,930 of 19,198
Fantastic job blin, I wont bother humiliating myself by showing pictures of mine! I have white heat-shrink tubing coming in the mail as well by 3M to match with the apple harness. Just curious though: did you just pick those resistance values arbitrarily or was there calculation involved?

Thanks for sharing :beerchug::beerchug::beerchug:

ClieOS mentioned that the original ER-4P cable he saw torn down years ago had an 18ohm resistor in it, which is what I originally ordered, but I misordered, and they were a lot larger than would fit in the plug, so when I reordered I got 20ohm ones, and then 80ohms, because that obviously equals 100, which is what an ER-4S cable is, so my next plan is to put the 80ohm resistors into a 3.5 jack and turn it into an adaptor so when i'm using my amp I can have an ER-4S cable.
 
Oct 9, 2017 at 3:09 AM Post #10,932 of 19,198
I'm legit at a point where I'm switching between ERs and my HiFiMan RE-400s every week or so. Both are just fantastic, neutral and pleasing earphones.
 
Oct 11, 2017 at 10:17 AM Post #10,933 of 19,198
Hi,

So I just picked up a pair of ER-4XR, after using the ER-4P for many years. My DAP is the Sansa Clip +. I'm happy with the ER-4XR for sure, but I think I may need to change my setup to fully realize what they can do. So I'd like to briefly share what I feel are positive and negative aaspects of my current setup, and then ask for your advice.

Positive:
- they are more comfortable in the ears than the ER-4P (are these slightly narrower?)
- bass is fantastic
- much more detail in the treble, I can hear things I wasn't able to hear with the ER-4P
- I can hear much more separation between the instruments (is the term for this, a wider soundstage? in any case its obvious and welcome)

Negative:
- these are a bit harder to drive than the ER-4P. For some tracks I feel like they could use a little more power behind them. I never felt that with the ER-4P and Sansa Clip + combination.
- On a few tracks I feel like the sound is a bit "thin" in the treble. The treble sounds... over pronounced, as if its very obvious and sticking out in the music too much. I feel like this could lead to some fatigue, not to mention just not sounding great, so I'd like it to be a bit warmer.

Does this make sense, with my setup? Anyway, it's what I'm hearing.

So, I'd like a bit more power, and warmer in the treble, not as sharp. As I mentioned, I have the Sansa Clip +. I know it's an old player, and also a cheap player. That said, it has good sound for sure and for me it was great with the ER-4P, but not as much with the ER-4XR. Given that I'm looking for a bit more power (volume), and warmth in the treble, I'd love to hear your recommendations about how I could improve the sound with my current setup. I don't use an amp... might that be exactly what I need here? Which one? (would need to be small and portable). Or perhaps you have a recommendation of another DAP that works wonderfully with the ER-4XR, one that has significantly better sound quality than the Clip +, both more powerful and easier on the treble?

I did go back through many pages of this thread but I'm not sure what to do. So... I'm all ears!! Any advice welcome. THANKS...
 
Oct 11, 2017 at 10:40 AM Post #10,934 of 19,198
Hi,

So I just picked up a pair of ER-4XR, after using the ER-4P for many years. My DAP is the Sansa Clip +. I'm happy with the ER-4XR for sure, but I think I may need to change my setup to fully realize what they can do. So I'd like to briefly share what I feel are positive and negative aaspects of my current setup, and then ask for your advice.

Positive:
- they are more comfortable in the ears than the ER-4P (are these slightly narrower?)
- bass is fantastic
- much more detail in the treble, I can hear things I wasn't able to hear with the ER-4P
- I can hear much more separation between the instruments (is the term for this, a wider soundstage? in any case its obvious and welcome)

Negative:
- these are a bit harder to drive than the ER-4P. For some tracks I feel like they could use a little more power behind them. I never felt that with the ER-4P and Sansa Clip + combination.
- On a few tracks I feel like the sound is a bit "thin" in the treble. The treble sounds... over pronounced, as if its very obvious and sticking out in the music too much. I feel like this could lead to some fatigue, not to mention just not sounding great, so I'd like it to be a bit warmer.

Does this make sense, with my setup? Anyway, it's what I'm hearing.

So, I'd like a bit more power, and warmer in the treble, not as sharp. As I mentioned, I have the Sansa Clip +. I know it's an old player, and also a cheap player. That said, it has good sound for sure and for me it was great with the ER-4P, but not as much with the ER-4XR. Given that I'm looking for a bit more power (volume), and warmth in the treble, I'd love to hear your recommendations about how I could improve the sound with my current setup. I don't use an amp... might that be exactly what I need here? Which one? (would need to be small and portable). Or perhaps you have a recommendation of another DAP that works wonderfully with the ER-4XR, one that has significantly better sound quality than the Clip +, both more powerful and easier on the treble?

I did go back through many pages of this thread but I'm not sure what to do. So... I'm all ears!! Any advice welcome. THANKS...

Two suggestions that work well for me: 1) Foam tips instead of silicone 2) FiiO X1 second gen.
 
Oct 11, 2017 at 11:36 AM Post #10,935 of 19,198
Two suggestions that work well for me: 1) Foam tips instead of silicone 2) FiiO X1 second gen.

Thanks very much for your response.
Might anyone know if the FiiO X1 second gen would be a definite step up in sound quality from the Sansa Clip +? How about the power to drive the sound, is it comparable, or more so?

Seems like a real possibility, thank you. Am open to any and all suggestions here.
 
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