[PowerCycles]

Hi PowerCycles,

Your lucky, I have had an ER3XR for a year now and added an ER4XR last week so I started comparing them this morning. For this comparison I have used an Ibasso DX160 DAP, the original Etymotic cables, and original tripple flange ear tips, 3.5mm SE connector. Impedance adpater of 30 ohm. Tests are all done by ear. The ER4XR's are still brand new and I only have about 50 Hrs usage on them.

ER3XR vs ER4XR:
My first impression is that the bass on the ER3XR is similar in strength as that on the ER4XR, but the ER3XR I find more woolly and congested. The notes on the ER4XR are a better defined. The biggest change I hear are in middle and upper frequencies. On te ER4XTR these note feel faster, more airy and more "fresh". To be fair the difference is not huge. This was a bit of a surprise to me because I was expecting a drop on bass volume on the ER4XR, as is happening by adding the impedance adapter.

ER3XR + 30 ohm adapter vs ESR3XR without adapter.
I used a 30 ohm impedance adapter which comes close to you 20ohm request. The ohm values I have find on the web go form 23 ohm to 75 ohm so there is a rather big variation. When adding the impedance adapter, the bass volume drops by a few decibel. This lifts the middle and highs and make it less woolly, the bass bleed less into the middle notes. IMO this gives the effect of stronger (louder) middle and high frequency notes. This works well on heavy bass tracks lifting the mids and highs. A subtle but welcome change in frequency response.

ER3XR + 30 ohm adapter vs ESR4XR
Now the million dollar question, how do these compare. Adding the impedance adapter on the ERS3XR lifts its mids and highs making them feel louder/stronger, making them sound more like the ER4XR. However IMO the quality of the notes on the ER4XR are better, faster and more fresh. The changed frequency response on the ER3XR+30ohm can not make up for the lift in quality of the ER4XR.

Again, the differences between the ER3XR and ER4XR are small and I can understand that some cant hear the difference. I only bought the ER4XR because I love the ER3XR. I wanted a spare pair and Black Friday prices (on amazon US) pushed me into buying the ER4XR because they are the top op the range of Etymotic.

While experimenting I also tested the ER4XR + 30ohm impedance adapter. The impact is similar to the ER3XR + adapter. The bass volume drops a few decibel, making the frequency response more like the ER4SR.

Hi emklap,

That was a great write up, and just exactly what I was looking for. It's interesting to know the effect of impedance adapter to the overall SQ. If I understand correctly, it simply lessens the bass, making the mids and highs more prominent. Further, there are still other factors like details which is difficult to capture in graphs.

I guess there's no need for me to get the ER3XR anymore.

 

[ClieOS]

Apologies for the slight necro here but @ClieOS how do you do finish the connectors so cleanly? I'm handy with a soldering iron and i've got some notched etymotic connectors coming in along with some diy cabling. Are you using two-part epoxy? And is that colored shrinkwrap? Can I ask what the diameter is?

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

how do you do finish the connectors so cleanly? ...Are you using two-part epoxy?

UV glue actually. It is much easier to work with than epoxy.

And is that colored shrinkwrap? Can I ask what the diameter is?

The red/blue sections are heat shrink, encased in UV glue. Can't recall the specific diameter as I bought heat shrink in mixed bundle package that comes in all different diameters. I just picked the size that will fit over the cable.

 

[Blackwoof]

I still have my ER4SR sheet, mine seem to average 0.3% too. That near LCD2 low since the bass THD is <0.3% on many units too, ER4 distortion are always fun topics. Most blogs/forums at launch only showed ER4SR's at 0.7% but never showed the rest at <0.3%, Same with 0.4% ER4XR's.

Meanwhile the hyped KSE 1500 rates 1% which this blog shows. https://clarityfidelity.blogspot.com/2016/08/shure-kse1500-iem.html

 

[crazywipe]

First month owning the er4xr (my first ety). I am quite happy for this purchase at 199$ price. I got many other iems at home: se215, titan1, re400, ie80, ie40pro, eph100, um3x, m6pro, edc3... and others I don't even remember.

I have to say that the er4xr is on a league of it's own. Detail retreival is amazing. I don't think any of the iems above is a match technically.

For the fit: I managed to get the second bend fit with smaller 3 flanges and bigger tri flanges. Funny thing I always used small eartips with other iems, but with the er4 I got the best sound out the bigger tri flanges. Bass is much deeper and upper mids smoother. Very balanced sounds that I like. Most of the time the fit is quite tricky, you need to experiment a lot, and it's not rare that I got some channel imbalance and I need to re-fit them to properly balance the sound. This is the most annoying part of this iem.

Isolation and leakage are extreme in both cases. I got a baby in the house and I can listen in the night, same room, even extreme metal songs, no one complains.
Those things are fantastic for bed time listening or commuting.

I was wondering if it will be worth to purchase the double flanges tips. Ety says they are an "evolution" of the 3 flanges with better comfort and same sound quality. Also there is a small beige foam tips that is sold separately. Some feedback on those?

Thank you guys, very happy to join the ETY club!

 

[Luis Mad]

First month owning the er4xr (my first ety). I am quite happy for this purchase at 199$ price. I got many other iems at home: se215, titan1, re400, ie80, ie40pro, eph100, um3x, m6pro, edc3... and others I don't even remember.

I have to say that the er4xr is on a league of it's own. Detail retreival is amazing. I don't think any of the iems above is a match technically.

For the fit: I managed to get the second bend fit with smaller 3 flanges and bigger tri flanges. Funny thing I always used small eartips with other iems, but with the er4 I got the best sound out the bigger tri flanges. Bass is much deeper and upper mids smoother. Very balanced sounds that I like. Most of the time the fit is quite tricky, you need to experiment a lot, and it's not rare that I got some channel imbalance and I need to re-fit them to properly balance the sound. This is the most annoying part of this iem.

Isolation and leakage are extreme in both cases. I got a baby in the house and I can listen in the night, same room, even extreme metal songs, no one complains.
Those things are fantastic for bed time listening or commuting.

I was wondering if it will be worth to purchase the double flanges tips. Ety says they are an "evolution" of the 3 flanges with better comfort and same sound quality. Also there is a small beige foam tips that is sold separately. Some feedback on those?

Thank you guys, very happy to join the ETY club!

Just like you, I am a new Ety fan. I also bought the ER4XR, and I simply love them. Didn‘t you get the double flanges inside the carrying case? I had a set of those in two sizes inside the large case, and after much trying I am using the large double flanges. Like you say, I also believe fit is essential, and it is also completely personal. For me the foams are completely useles. With the right fit not only isolation is perfect, also the sound quality really appears.
Also today, I took the underground in my city. It was a bit surreal how this isolate and the sound quality that made my commute so much better!

 

[crazywipe]

Just like you, I am a new Ety fan. I also bought the ER4XR, and I simply love them. Didn‘t you get the double flanges inside the carrying case? I had a set of those in two sizes inside the large case, and after much trying I am using the large double flanges. Like you say, I also believe fit is essential, and it is also completely personal. For me the foams are completely useles. With the right fit not only isolation is perfect, also the sound quality really appears.
Also today, I took the underground in my city. It was a bit surreal how this isolate and the sound quality that made my commute so much better!

No I didn't get the double flange (also rechecked now to be sure). My set comes with the old (i guess) black and green box.
So, large tri flanges sounds the best for you. Same here!
Usually I commute a lot, now not to much for covid, next year much more, my ety is ready

 

[LIVE_EVIL]

No I didn't get the double flange (also rechecked now to be sure). My set comes with the old (i guess) black and green box.
So, large tri flanges sounds the best for you. Same here!
Usually I commute a lot, now not to much for covid, next year much more, my ety is ready

Keep in mind that double flanges dont occupy the ear channel in the same way so region of 6-10kHz might be affected. I tried all double flange sizes, prefer large clear triflanges. Not stopping you from trying doubles ofcourse.

 

[Luis Mad]

For me so far the best is the double large, not the triple flange. I can hear sound differences in all, but the biggest thing for me is to get perfect isolation, otherwise I do not get the quality sound. Also a compromise with comfort. I have tried the large triple, ended up hurting, the small triple, no seal. Same the small double, no seal. The foams are useless for me. I have also tried various tips I have from other iems, and the ones that fitted best were the Final e-tips, but I couldn’t get a perfect seal.
For me once perfect seal is accomplished, then they sound really amazing.

 

[crazywipe]

Keep in mind that double flanges dont occupy the ear channel in the same way so region of 6-10kHz might be affected. I tried all double flange sizes, prefer large clear triflanges. Not stopping you from trying doubles ofcourse.

Thanks you.
Mmm maybe the double flanges are not ideal... At this point I am curios about the small beige foam tips.

Also, one minor cosmetic thing. The large trasparent tips got a "yellowish tint" after some use. Even if this not affect the sound, they look a little bad. Maybe I can get the large grey tips. Do they sound the same right?

 

[adolchristin]

Thanks you.
Mmm maybe the double flanges are not ideal... At this point I am curios about the small beige foam tips.

Also, one minor cosmetic thing. The large trasparent tips got a "yellowish tint" after some use. Even if this not affect the sound, they look a little bad. Maybe I can get the large grey tips. Do they sound the same right?

Check the length of the stem on the large grey tips; if memory serves they have a long stem. New MMCX etys want short stem tips. The yellowing is just oils impregnating the tip; that means they're good and ripe! You might soak them overnight in 70% isopropyl to clean them up.

 

[bms44974]

For over 15 years I have used the triple-flange tips on ER4S and ER4SR. I have never been bothered by the fit or comfort (one of the lucky ones) and still consider these the reference standard for my IEM listening.

Cheers... Brian

 

[trellus]

I was wondering if it will be worth to purchase the double flanges tips. Ety says they are an "evolution" of the 3 flanges with better comfort and same sound quality. Also there is a small beige foam tips that is sold separately. Some feedback on those?

I use the double flange tips -- they did come with my ER4XR, although not with my ER2XR so I bought them separately for the latter -- they are definitely more comfortable than the triple flange, and seal with the double flange works perfectly for my ears at least and thus I get very ideal sound (to my ears), but of course your mileage may vary.

 

[LIVE_EVIL]

Stating the obvious. Sound depends not only on seal but also the depth of insertion. So the same tip causes different sound for different people as ear canals differ in shape and length.
I used foamies for a long time and they always had a resonance around 7-8k as they would not go deep enough to reach reference plane.
Now i use er38-18clx from er20 earplugs. These go deeper so no more resonance peaks. They are the best for me as they reach 2nd bend and past it without hurting ears at all.

 

[Carlsan]

Not sure if it has been mentioned on this thread but Adorama (linked) has these Etymotic Research earphones
on sale.The full list is in the link above.

Etymotic Research ER4SR Studio Reference In-Ear Earphones $139 Regular Price: $299.95
Etymotic Research ER4XR Extended Response In-Ear Earphones
also $139 You save: $160.95 (54%) Regular Price: $299.95
Etymotic Research ER3XR Extended Response Earphones$74.99 Regular Price: $169.95

 

[Sam L]

Not sure if it has been mentioned on this thread but Adorama has these on sale.

Etymotic Research ER4SR Studio Reference In-Ear Earphones $139 Regular Price: $299.95
Etymotic Research ER4XR Extended Response In-Ear Earphones
also $139 You save: $160.95 (54%) Regular Price: $299.95
Etymotic Research ER3XR Extended Response Earphones$74.99 Regular Price: $169.95

yeah, just heard about this deal. That's insane.