[dr cornelius]

yeah. it's a toss up on bass for me. the sr clears up the mid bass that the xr softens a bit. and the sr "bass" is spot on perfect. it is the sub bass that is just a bit lacking. but that can provide body and balance.

i too have found the er4 series to be difficult to use in the studio when judging very small level differences, but my overall experience with them still yields excellent results.

i really am torn between the xr and sr/se. so good all of them...

Good point, more specifically it’s about the sub-bass... I was just cleaning up a dialogue track and missed some mic rumble that I heard on a pair of headphones. I went back to the SR’s, I knew it was there so I could hear it, but I didn’t catch it with them the first time.

The slightly cleaner mid bass is what sold me on the SR.

 

[Signal2Noise]

One thing I'll say about the tiny black letters is that although they are hard to read, they are on opposite sides of the connector so as long as you can see or feel where they are, you can tell which side is which. If you hold the earphone between thumb and forefinger and with tip pointed forward, the indicator will be under your thumb if you are holding the correct earphone in each hand.

I tried this tip. In low light I can't see the letters. Holding between thumb/finger I cannot feel the ever-so-slightly raised markings. I'll just put a dot on with a marker for now.

 

[luisdent]

My favorite quality of my er4s is bass. I like it so much that I sold my er4xr. XR bass seemed a little soft to represent acoustic bass accurately when used with my gear. And er4s can handle some eq if you want a different sound signature than stock. I listen to jazz mostly (99%) of the time and Ive been pleased with my er4s over everything else I've tried/owned. Including the er4xr and er4sr. I love the bass, but I can't live without the clarity they also provide, however, I almost take it for granted these days. Just happy to hear all the music, even in loud environments.

interesting. i find i prefer the er4s over the sr sometimes. it's almost as though they sound smoother. but the er4sr is almost identical in frequency response. but they are easier for me to wear deeply for some reason without generating a vacuum. so i almost prefer the er4sr.

can i ask what you find better about the er4s?

regarding the bass, I'm a proponent of the er4xr, but i do believe the s/sr are more accurate and better sounding bass. i just also believe the sub bass is slighty lacking in the deepest region. i still prefer the s/sr overall but i think the relaxing tone and body of the xr are sometimes nice to have and most people might prefer that since the most common complaint is thin bass.

i think, as i always say, they need an er4 with the sub bass of the xr but none of the mid bass. i can continue to dream. for now i think the more i listen to all four er models the more i find i prefer them in this order from best to leasr best with my rough opinion on quality percentage:

er4s/er4sr 97%
er3se 95%
er4xr 94%
er3xr 90%

 

[qsk78]

I have both now...
​

 

[luisdent]

I have both now...
​

curious if your findings are the same...

 

[qsk78]

curious if your findings are the same...

Well, to me the ER4SR do everything better, not with a big margin but still this is noticeable. More transparent / cleaner.
ER3 is easier to drive and I will stick to my DAP whereas ER4 will be paired with the DAC/Amp (and will get a balanced 2.5 mm cable)
The ER3SE is just great at 179 usd.

 

[JohnYang1997]

Please someone try to add resistor to er3. IMO, the driver from er4sr xr are essentially the ones in er3 with 20ohm extra resistor built in the driver.
please read the impedance curve carefully
er3xr
https://m.blog.naver.com/PostView.n...248&targetKeyword=&targetRecommendationCode=1
er4xr
https://clarityfidelity.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/etymotic-research-er4xr-iem.html?m=1

 

[JohnYang1997]

I don't have a 75ohm resistor right now (well I do, but it's hiding with my breadboard somewhere in the house). still here is the idea with around 30 and 100ohm that were nice enough not to hide with the other resistors:


but as the default sound seems IMO closer to what the old S sounded like(from memory blablablah maybe I'm wrong), I'm not sure many people would love to add even more trebles.


edit: the little wiggling at 50hz has nothing to do with the IEM or the resistors, it's the crappy input I use that has a lingering 50hz noise.

new er4 can improve hf response by adding resistor. Since the ratio of hf impedance and lf impendance of er3 is greater the effect will be greater even. To the point that they will highly possibly behave the same.

 

[castleofargh]

new er4 can improve hf response by adding resistor. Since the ratio of hf impedance and lf impendance of er3 is greater the effect will be greater even. To the point that they will highly possibly behave the same.

given the impedance curve you linked for the er3, yes we'll get a nice little treble increase with added resistors. now how that is desirable is as always a matter of personal preference.

 

[JohnYang1997]

given the impedance curve you linked for the er3, yes we'll get a nice little treble increase with added resistors. now how that is desirable is as always a matter of personal preference.

Since i have owned er4b er4sr xr hf5 mk5, I dont want to buy a er3 just to confirm whether er3 has basically the same driver as new er4. Yes sure, sometimes less treble can be preferable. But at least for most people, if they buy a er3 now they may have the choice of the sound between er3 and er4. I just want someone to confirm my theory.

 

[Gomas]

Hi guys
I had a mc5 couple years back, (might have been mk4 or something), cable broke.
Again. last year I bought mk5 because I remembered I loved the sound so much, and the sound was great again, loved listening to them for some months, but again, the cable broke (near the jack).
Now I'm looking to buy something new, but can't find anything thats not etys that would match my wants: deep in-ear insertion, clean sound, loads of isolation. My only problem was the fact that the etys broke twice on me... Should I buy again and just somehow avoid breaking it? Advice? Tips?
Thanks

 

[csglinux]

Please someone try to add resistor to er3. IMO, the driver from er4sr xr are essentially the ones in er3 with 20ohm extra resistor built in the driver.

That was the conclusion I reached from my measurements. So, yes, a savvy consumer could save some money on ER4XR by purchasing the ER3XR and a suitable impedance adapter.

Of course, the only way to be 100% sure of all this would be for someone to crack open their ER4XR. Any volunteers?

 

[Makahl]

That was the conclusion I reached from my measurements. So, yes, a savvy consumer could save some money on ER4XR by purchasing the ER3XR and a suitable impedance adapter.

Of course, the only way to be 100% sure of all this would be for someone to crack open their ER4XR. Any volunteers?

I think those x-ray pictures ( http://alexmod.do.am/forum/10-292-1 ) are more useful and you won't break anything lol. Apparently, there are no resistors in the housing, maybe it's like old ER4 and resistors are placed in Y-splitter? I can't tell by those pictures. However, would be interesting if someone can check the cable impedance with a multimeter.

Reading with translate some forums it looks like the new ER4 lineup is using a custom Knowles RAB and might ER3 isn't exactly the same custom BA. But, that is just random thoughts not the actuality at present.

 

[AnyDave]

As I mentioned earlier in the thread, the drivers between the ER3 and ER4 series are earphones are not strictly identical, but they are quite similar (much like was the case with the old ER4 and the HF5). As many know, balanced armatures don't have a flat impedance curve like dynamic drivers do, so adding series impedance to the ER3 (or the ER4 for that matter) will bring up the mid and high frequencies a bit. Certainly, one could add series resistance to the ER3 to make it closer to the nominal frequency response of the ER4.

 

[JohnYang1997]

I think those x-ray pictures ( http://alexmod.do.am/forum/10-292-1 ) are more useful and you won't break anything lol. Apparently, there are no resistors in the housing, maybe it's like old ER4 and resistors are placed in Y-splitter? I can't tell by those pictures. However, would be interesting if someone can check the cable impedance with a multimeter.

Reading with translate some forums it looks like the new ER4 lineup is using a custom Knowles RAB and might ER3 isn't exactly the same custom BA. But, that is just random thoughts not the actuality at present.

What i meant is that in the design stage of the ba driver you can add extra wire. And what i mean of the "same" is the behavior of the ba driver. If you add 20 ohm to er3 and get same fr of er4. I can say 99% they are the "same". And well, if not they are more different