[qsk78]

Would you want a tonality like ER4XR or ER4SR from a 1K$ IEM?

Absolutely. And I found one very close

 

[Dobrescu George]

Absolutely. And I found one very close

Really glad that you found one!

 

[luisdent]

I have listened to over 100 headphones earphones. From cheap to expensive. Not many iems tho, because I know they suck. For the q701, it does has superb superb imaging. However the tuning is toward unnatural side of full-sizes. Still not bad tho. In terms of srh940, I still have them. They are pretty good. But they have a spike around 9k. And the actual quality of sound is not as good as the classics. As time go by, you will start to appreciate hd600. I did know I would, but I do.

agree completely. the q701 has a somewhat odd shift towards certain treble areas. imaging is amazing, but theres a touch of "tinginess" to the sound. some songs are lush and gorgeous and some are a bit fatiguing. but overall, especially at medium to low volumes, they have a very special sound to me so far. and they are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn.

the 940 does have a peak around 9-10k and overall they have a sort of soft neutral sound to me. the mid bass and sub bass aren't completely balanced. so they lose the bass tightness. still very good though. but I'm currently working on a warranty replacement as mine succumbed to the cracking plastic issue pretty bad. and i baby them.

i had the hd600 for a while and thought it was one of the best headphones i had ever heard. but it is an open headphone, and at the time that didn't work for my living situation. lately now I've been considering getting them again. i thought they had a touch too much mid bass, and I vaguely remember thinking there was the slightest graniness to the upper treble, but otherwise i loved them. there were absolutely no frequency areas that bothered me. hmmmm. there was even a cool amp you could build or buy that eqd them to be even more neutral.

 

[Makahl]

The main issue with $1000 earphones is to find a tonality close to 4S/4SR. This is a real challenge.

Well, there are Massdrop Plus and InEar Prophile-8 options.

The Massdrop Plus looks like a warmer ER4 which makes sense since they had this target to get the ER4 curve and clarity + DD bass. Using measurements from crinacle's thread:

Spoiler

 

[JohnYang1997]

I love E3000's sound... Can't describe how well it satisfies both my bass needs and my typical midrange balance needs.

haha

Well, there are Massdrop Plus and InEar Prophile-8 options.

The Massdrop Plus looks like a warmer ER4 which makes sense since they had this target to get the ER4 curve and clarity + DD bass. Using measurements from crinacle's thread:

Spoiler

No offense or anything. But there is zero reference that you can get from crinacle except the 711 ones. Even on those there are issues with the mic and the coupler. Supposedly pp8 has less 3k than er4.
On the pp8, even tho I still haven't had a chance to take a listen, they went a bit too far from the target. If you have a chance to compare earphones to speakers you will understand.
On the xr, it's already towards the bassy/dark side, xr + PtoS adapter sounds more neutral.
Problem with speakers is that the resonacre inside the body and the room.

 

[Makahl]

No offense or anything. But there is zero reference that you can get from crinacle except the 711 ones. Even on those there are issues with the mic and the coupler. Supposedly pp8 has less 3k than er4.
On the pp8, even tho I still haven't had a chance to take a listen, they went a bit too far from the target. If you have a chance to compare earphones to speakers you will understand.
On the xr, it's already towards the bassy/dark side, xr + PtoS adapter sounds more neutral.
Problem with speakers is that the resonacre inside the body and the room.

No offense taken, lol. I just can't see a big deal if you're comparing both earphones using the same chain. Ofc, it isn't accurate or ideal but you can get a small idea.

My point is just showing IEMs that have a tonality close to 4S/4SR (but I think I should've said XR), not saying they're better or anything. Also, I got a pair of Genelecs 8040 and even tho in a "bad" room with minidsp + their mic it's so easy to fix room resonances and get a flat/reference response (ofc with huge acoustics problems there's no miracle) but tbf I kind of didn't get your analogy.

 

[JohnYang1997]

No offense taken, lol. I just can't see a big deal if you're comparing both earphones using the same chain. Ofc, it isn't accurate or ideal but you can get a small idea.

Measurements from another user:

Spoiler

ER4SR x MD+ (brighter green)

ER4XR x MD+

My point is just showing IEMs that have a tonality close to 4S/4SR, not saying they're better or anything. Also, I got a pair of Genelecs 8040 and even tho in a "bad" room with minidsp + their mic it's so easy to fix room resonances and get a flat/reference response but tbf I kind of didn't get your analogy.

Problem with that is, you still can't compare two earphones through non correctly coupled mic. On every other proper measurements pp8 has less 2k-3k energy.
I was talking about speakers because first they should be good reference, but second the issues may lead to wrong understanding. 8040 is fine, I demoed them, flat, slight shallow. Room correction wise, you can't correct decay time, that is a problem, but I am fine with that.
Btw, forget about sbaf as well. Stick with speakerphone, 0db, seeko, naver, and any other site with proper setup.

 

[castleofargh]

I personally don't really like when the bass rises too soon. with the er4XR I already felt it might be just a touch too soon(paradoxically I do like a lot of low end rumble), so the more consumer curves like the massdrop+ in the low end didn't attract me. but I'm sure it's nice, my criteria are only based on my very own preferences.
now if Marv's impedance graph is correct, the massdrop+ would be one of those IEMs were it's important to consider the amp's impedance output. again, I personally run away when I see an IEM going below 10ohm. not that it's horrible, but it just adds some concerns I can't be bothered with anymore. I've reached the "grumpy old dude" stage of audiophilia. they do the stuff like I want it, or I won't even try.

 

[Voyageur]

Just a little anecdote, the sound of my left earphone (ER4SR) started crackling yesterday, after inspection I found that the cable got weakened/chafing at the junction between the rubber grip and the twisted cable. Right side cable was still in pretty good shape.

Probably caused by the lack of strain relief in that section, and the movements of the cable when using the earphones on-the-go. All these factors led to faulty contact.

Luckily I was able to find a solution quickly as I swapped my XR cable to my SR (I much prefer my 'Studio Ref'). Back to normal operations. (where's the etymoji gone btw?)

 

[motorbit]

i too had to send back my first pair realy early due to cable issues (within 2 weeks). the second pair works fine till now
one leg is slightly longer then the other not a huge issue, but it shows something. (edit: i vastly overestimated this in memory)
im realy happy with the phones, but not so much with the cables. i too would love a better bending protection at the place where voyageurs cable failed.

 

[JohnYang1997]

i love the phones, but the cables are crap. had to send back my first pair realy early due to cable issues (within 2 weeks). the second pair works fine till now, but one leg of the cable is about 1.5cm longer then the other. not a huge issue, but it shows something.
as said i love the phones, so i kept them. but that kind of cable quality is very hard to accept with headhpones at this price class.
you can do better etymocis. please do better.

i owned 11 pairs of etymotics. Actually none of them have cable issues. Maybe I am just lucky.

 

[Dobrescu George]

Weird stuff, but my experience with Etymotic so far has been that their cables are really good and high quality

I had cables break on me before, but not from Etymotic really, Ety is golden as far as I have experienced

 

[TrantaLocked]

Just a little anecdote, the sound of my left earphone (ER4SR) started crackling yesterday, after inspection I found that the cable got weakened/chafing at the junction between the rubber grip and the twisted cable. Right side cable was still in pretty good shape.

Probably caused by the lack of strain relief in that section, and the movements of the cable when using the earphones on-the-go. All these factors led to faulty contact.

Luckily I was able to find a solution quickly as I swapped my XR cable to my SR (I much prefer my 'Studio Ref'). Back to normal operations. (where's the etymoji gone btw?)

Don't forget about that clip for preventing cable wear. The one that comes with the ER4SR falls off pretty easily, but Etymotic sells another variant on their website that I find reliable.

 

[Voyageur]

Don't forget about that clip for preventing cable wear. The one that comes with the ER4SR falls off pretty easily, but Etymotic sells another variant on their website that I find reliable.

I use it in most circumstances as the cable is pretty heavy, maybe the few times I didn't (rushing to commute) were enough to put too much stress on the cable.
Caught me by surprise too, never had cable problems with Etys either. My ER4P are still going super strong.
Anyways problem solved! Now I might want to get a replacement for my XR.

 

[lesale08]

So I am taking back my claims a couple of days ago that the westone grey tips are perfect for 4sr. Earlier today I decided to fit back the white triple flange of etys and sure enough I have a more tight and full sounding bass compared to westone. I think I am going to stick with these flange again.