If you still love Etymotic ER4, this is the thread for you...
Nov 24, 2021 at 11:03 PM Post #17,266 of 19,205
I love the items, but have an issue with tips. The double and tri-flange both hurt my ears. The included foam tips disintegrated fairly quickly. Any suggestions on other tips to try? For other Iems I’ve used M comply tips.

If the tips don't hurt (at all) they aren't Etys :ksc75smile::ksc75smile: There's a learning curving for the ears to embrace (and open up) those ear-fxxkers (literally)

You are lucky you got dual flanges these days...........back in those days when the tri flanges were the only option lolllll I'm listening to my er4SR with the dual flanges and they are actually not THAT bad comfortwise. I can assure you no other tips than the stock dual/tri flanges could achieve the same level of sonic results cos the ERs may be the only series of iems that require that sort of deep insertion - any shallower fit would result in funky and inconsistent sound.
 
Nov 24, 2021 at 11:07 PM Post #17,267 of 19,205
If the tips don't hurt (at all) they aren't Etys :ksc75smile::ksc75smile: There's a learning curving for the ears to embrace (and open up) those ear-fxxkers (literally)

You are lucky you got dual flanges these days...........back in those days when the tri flanges were the only option lolllll I'm listening to my er4SR with the dual flanges and they are actually not THAT bad comfortwise. I can assure you no other tips than the stock dual/tri flanges could achieve the same level of sonic results cos the ERs may be the only series of iems that require that sort of deep insertion - any shallower fit would result in funky and inconsistent sound.
Sadly, they hurt bad enough that I physically cannot wear them with those tips.
 
Nov 24, 2021 at 11:08 PM Post #17,268 of 19,205
Hi, so I got to that point again where I'm having Ety tips issues. No, not about comfort, but about availability :frowning2:

I just saw a friend of mine selling his Shure 215, and guess what, four years, used almost everyday, and that original grey tips are still there! Feel like brand new! Meanwhile, a pair of my tri flange ety only last 2 months, 3 months if I'm lucky. And then, if I want to buy it, I have to resort to overseas shops and shippings.

Someone here once mentioned about buying the tips from him for cheap, and even though it's hard to swallow, I'm even more than willing to waste 60 usd for shipping from etymotic if it arrives in less than a week, and I can just buy 4 packs at once so that it will feel much cheaper. But the thing is, assuming my ety survive for years, I will have to keep buying the tips, unlike my friend with his Shure.

So, my question is, is there any... any tips out there that is: 1. As durable as Shure... 3 years, four years, without even any meaningful damage, so I don't even have to think about buying one again down the line, 2. That sound and isolate exactly the same or very very very close to ety tri flange.

Maybe.... Shure tri flange is more durable? anyone having experience using that? or maybe... I'm just so stupid that perhaps due to how deep ety is inside our ears, any tips won't last that long and I have to adjust my expectations.

About to buy Aonic 3 just because of this but I know very much I'm going to miss Ety sound so much, even though, at least from the graph, they look to sound quite similar to etys. So, yeah, any help will be really appreciated.

Thank you,.

EDIT: I've tried Shure Olives (bloated bass, and treble seems to be really weird), Shure flex grey (sounds metalic in a way? Like neutral but... weird), a cheapo dual flange from ebay (this one sounds quite good, but bass is certainly more prominent here, just a bit, but then the isolation and the insertion suffers a lot compared to ety tri flange).

Shure tips last a good few years but Ety tri flanges last forever. The white tri-flanges I'm using on my ER4P (not SR or XR) was stock that came with the package some 10+ years ago and besides occasional cleaning with wipes they are still good and strong in perfect shape and requires minimal care. What happened to yours?
 
Nov 25, 2021 at 2:13 AM Post #17,269 of 19,205
Sadly, they hurt bad enough that I physically cannot wear them with those tips.
Did you try the S size? Does it still causes pain / discomfort?
 
Nov 25, 2021 at 2:23 AM Post #17,270 of 19,205
Shure tips last a good few years but Ety tri flanges last forever. The white tri-flanges I'm using on my ER4P (not SR or XR) was stock that came with the package some 10+ years ago and besides occasional cleaning with wipes they are still good and strong in perfect shape and requires minimal care. What happened to yours?
Mine always become loose after 2 months or so. Like they just wouldn't stay still on the stem due to the holes becoming too big. And I cleaned them quite regularly.

The Grey ones are even worse, because some of the parts just get ripped into pieces compared to the more durable Clear ones (but again, they both get loose over time).

I also once had a SE215 and I used that regularly for a year and never cleaned it. The tips that came with it were still there. And it was secondhand, and the previous owner already had it for like three months or so.

Yeah... so unlucky me :D

EDIT: You mentioned white. Not Grey right? Perhaps different materials and the white are the strongest of the bunch? I only have ever used Grey and Clear.
 
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Nov 25, 2021 at 3:09 AM Post #17,271 of 19,205
Mine always become loose after 2 months or so. Like they just wouldn't stay still on the stem due to the holes becoming too big. And I cleaned them quite regularly.

The Grey ones are even worse, because some of the parts just get ripped into pieces compared to the more durable Clear ones (but again, they both get loose over time).

I also once had a SE215 and I used that regularly for a year and never cleaned it. The tips that came with it were still there. And it was secondhand, and the previous owner already had it for like three months or so.

Yeah... so unlucky me :D

EDIT: You mentioned white. Not Grey right? Perhaps different materials and the white are the strongest of the bunch? I only have ever used Grey and Clear.

Yes white...........I've come across grey ones but have got white ones on both of my ER4P and ER4SR. You may be right perhaps it does matter.
 
Nov 25, 2021 at 6:04 AM Post #17,273 of 19,205
My first pair was ER4P around 2006. It lasted a couple of years until one of the sides stopped working. Then I got another pair, which lasted me some time before I sold it off. Last year, Adorama had the latest incarnation "on sale", so I grabbed the ER4SR.

The design changed throughout the years. Each pair looked different. The 2006 one had the classic red/blue color coding + green cable splitter. It looked very plasticky and kinda cheap, build-quality was so-so. The middle pair got rid of the red/blue/green colors and looked more lowkey. The last pair finally had metallic tubes, and also the connector to the tube was made of more pliable softer plastic than the hard plastic in the earlier designs.

One thing is they used to be made in usa, now se asia, so maybe that partly accounts for the much lower msrp. Plus, the saturated iem market probably force them to price these lower.

I am annoyed that these days, people are obsessed with the overpriced multi-driver designs that give fat, boomy, bloated sounds. And people keep talking about things like getting bass/soundstage on an iem...Just use full headphones for those things, or just move to speakers...physics?

There's also this element of nostalgia I have about the Etys. Back in the early 2000's they were the only game in town for iems. I still remember people were having flame wars between Shure and Ety when the first Shure iems came out, first with the single driver ones, then multi-driver ones. Then there was sensaphonics (2x-s, specifically) and ultimate ears custom iems, for which people went gaga. And yet, the ER4 series more or less stayed constant, with only cosmetic changes. Can't say the same for those product lines.

One of the great things about Etys is that the sound hasn't changed over the years. It still sounds the same in 2021 as in 2006, only that I got older and hearing is slowly getting worse.

One thing I forgot about is how portable + noise isolating these are. I can literally enjoy hi-fi anywhere I go. Much more convenient than on/over ear cans or stuff with batteries (aka dead in 2 years and need to toss or repair). The only complain is the microphonics...which has always been an issue with Etys. Maybe one day, I will cave and buy the (overpriced) etymotion bt cable (which msrp for more than what I paid for my ER4SR...ridiculous).

I see Etymotic is owned by Lucid these days. And unfortunately in their mediocrity and greed, the new management introduced multi-driver iems. I just hope that the ER4 line will continue to be manufactured 10, 20 years from now so that one can still enjoy them. If Etymotic goes under...I'll probably buy a dozen of these and just hoard for future.

I had other iems, like ue triple-fi (weird bassy sound), shure se535 (enjoyable bass shelf but otherwise not as clear), and shure se210 (surprisingly good for the driver and price). But tbh none of them has the same continuity as the ER4 (as a product), none have same clarity/balance, and in the "if you are stuck on an island and have to pick an iem..." scenario, I'd go with the ER4.
 
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Nov 25, 2021 at 6:13 AM Post #17,274 of 19,205
My first pair was ER4P around 2006. It lasted a couple of years until one of the sides stopped working. Then I got another pair, which lasted me some time before I sold it off. Last year, Adorama had the latest incarnation "on sale", so I grabbed the ER4SR.

The design changed throughout the years. Each pair looked different. The 2006 one had the classic red/blue color coding + green cable splitter. It looked very plasticky and kinda cheap, build-quality was so-so. The middle pair got rid of the red/blue/green colors and looked more lowkey. The last pair finally had metallic tubes, and also the connector to the tube was made of more pliable softer plastic than the hard plastic in the earlier designs.

One thing is they used to be made in usa, now se asia, so maybe that partly accounts for the much lower msrp. Plus, the saturated iem market probably force them to price these lower.

I am annoyed that these days, people are obsessed with the overpriced multi-driver designs that give fat, boomy, bloated sounds. And people keep talking about things like getting bass/soundstage on an iem...Just use full headphones for those things, or just move to speakers...physics?

There's also this element of nostalgia I have about the Etys. Back in the early 2000's they were the only game in town for iems. I still remember people were having flame wars between Shure and Ety when the first Shure iems came out, first with the single driver ones, then multi-driver ones. Then there was sensaphonics (2x-s, specifically) and ultimate ears custom iems, for which people went gaga. And yet, the ER4 series more or less stayed constant, with only cosmetic changes.

One of the great things about Etys is that the sound hasn't changed over the years. It still sounds the same in 2021 as in 2006, only that I got older and hearing is slowly getting worse.

One thing I forgot about is how portable + noise isolating these are. I can literally enjoy hi-fi anywhere I go. Much more convenient than on/over ear cans or stuff with batteries (aka dead in 2 years and need to toss or repair). The only complain is the microphonics...which has always been an issue with Etys. Maybe one day, I will cave and buy the (overpriced) etymotion bt cable (which msrp for more than what I paid for my ER4SR...ridiculous).

I see Etymotic is owned by Lucid these days. And unfortunately in their mediocrity and greed, the new management introduced multi-driver iems. I just hope that the ER4 line will continue to be manufactured 10, 20 years from now so that one can still enjoy them. If Etymotic goes under...I'll probably buy a dozen of these and just hoard for future.
Mate, if you happen to hoard it in the future, do remember to contact me. Willing to buy some for extra money :D

For me, though, Evo is just there to try to get the bass "right". They don't even really market it as the replacement for ER4 SR lineup (the website even mentions just multi driver, not Flat Response), just trying to improve on the already established XR formula. So, greed or not, I'm sure ER4 will be here for a very... very... long... time.

The price though.... Should've been 400 dollar before discount, not 500 :D

But yeah, manufacturers keep trying to add more bass here and there. Perhaps Harman Target is the cause, or it's just that people like it, audiophiles or not. And it kinda saddens me because many IEMs out there have interesting things going on with their designs or their price but yeah... Bass...

And Shure... Shure could've done what Ety have, but their house sound is just... weird. Then there's the price... Yuck! If they're willing to go ruler flat, I might even jump ship to them :D. There's Aonic 3 with single BA driver, priced similarly to ER4SR, but I'm not even sure it can match the performance.
 
Nov 25, 2021 at 6:14 AM Post #17,275 of 19,205
My first pair was ER4P around 2006. It lasted a couple of years until one of the sides stopped working. Then I got another pair, which lasted me some time before I sold it off. Last year, Adorama had the latest incarnation "on sale", so I grabbed the ER4SR.

The design changed throughout the years. Each pair looked different. The 2006 one had the classic red/blue color coding + green cable splitter. It looked very plasticky and kinda cheap, build-quality was so-so. The middle pair got rid of the red/blue/green colors and looked more lowkey. The last pair finally had metallic tubes, and also the connector to the tube was made of more pliable softer plastic than the hard plastic in the earlier designs.

One thing is they used to be made in usa, now se asia, so maybe that partly accounts for the much lower msrp. Plus, the saturated iem market probably force them to price these lower.

I am annoyed that these days, people are obsessed with the overpriced multi-driver designs that give fat, boomy, bloated sounds. And people keep talking about things like getting bass/soundstage on an iem...Just use full headphones for those things, or just move to speakers...physics?

There's also this element of nostalgia I have about the Etys. Back in the early 2000's they were the only game in town for iems. I still remember people were having flame wars between Shure and Ety when the first Shure iems came out, first with the single driver ones, then multi-driver ones. Then there was sensaphonics (2x-s, specifically) and ultimate ears custom iems, for which people went gaga. And yet, the ER4 series more or less stayed constant, with only cosmetic changes. Can't say the same for those product lines.

One of the great things about Etys is that the sound hasn't changed over the years. It still sounds the same in 2021 as in 2006, only that I got older and hearing is slowly getting worse.

One thing I forgot about is how portable + noise isolating these are. I can literally enjoy hi-fi anywhere I go. Much more convenient than on/over ear cans or stuff with batteries (aka dead in 2 years and need to toss or repair). The only complain is the microphonics...which has always been an issue with Etys. Maybe one day, I will cave and buy the (overpriced) etymotion bt cable (which msrp for more than what I paid for my ER4SR...ridiculous).

I see Etymotic is owned by Lucid these days. And unfortunately in their mediocrity and greed, the new management introduced multi-driver iems. I just hope that the ER4 line will continue to be manufactured 10, 20 years from now so that one can still enjoy them. If Etymotic goes under...I'll probably buy a dozen of these and just hoard for future.

I had other iems, like ue triple-fi (weird bassy sound), shure se535 (enjoyable bass shelf but otherwise not as clear), and shure se210 (surprisingly good for the driver and price). But tbh none of them has the same continuity as the ER4 (as a product), none have same clarity/balance, and in the "if you are stuck on an island and have to pick an iem..." scenario, I'd go with the ER4.
Here another Etyfan!
You can get the Bluetooth Etymotion for 60$ in Amazon.com right now.
I have the ER4xr with cables, normal and balanced and the Er2xr with the Etymotion for on the go. Totally worth it for me!
 
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Nov 25, 2021 at 6:14 AM Post #17,276 of 19,205
Oh, the one thing I have against using deep-insert iems like Etys is the risk of earwax build-up leading to compaction.

I had that happen to me around 2016, where I couldn't hear well in my left-ear. Had to go to an Ent to get it removed.

Since then I have not really used iems that much out of fear of having this happen again.

Advise would be, to keep your ear canals clean. Just do some housekeeping there weekly!
 
Nov 25, 2021 at 11:06 AM Post #17,277 of 19,205
For all those who have Ety deep-insertion issues, you should try the Shure EABKF1 "Olive" foam tips. Sweetwater.com (USA) carries them in S, M, L foam sizes, 10-pack for only $21.

They fit on the Ety nozzles VERY securely. They are very durable because of the coating, and can be gently wiped off with a wet wipe. Once you get them on, however, they are not easy to remove -- you have to work them off from the base, pushing up on the center rubber core slowly.

These tips give the best isolation and comfort I've ever had with any Ety phones.

 
Nov 25, 2021 at 11:09 AM Post #17,278 of 19,205
For all those who have Ety deep-insertion issues, you should try the Shure EABKF1 "Olive" foam tips. Sweetwater.com (USA) carries them in S, M, L foam sizes, 10-pack for only $21.

They fit on the Ety nozzles VERY securely. They are very durable because of the coating, and can be gently wiped off with a wet wipe. Once you get them on, however, they are not easy to remove -- you have to work them off from the base, pushing up on the center rubber core slowly.

These tips give the best isolation and comfort I've ever had with any Ety phones.

It kinda does ruin the bass response though. Like big and a bit bloated. And the treble and the mid kinda pushed back a bit. But yeah it’s the most comfortable tips on an ety ever, with isolation similar to tri flange if not more. But the sound… just not for me.
 
Nov 25, 2021 at 11:39 AM Post #17,279 of 19,205
It kinda does ruin the bass response though. Like big and a bit bloated. And the treble and the mid kinda pushed back a bit. But yeah it’s the most comfortable tips on an ety ever, with isolation similar to tri flange if not more. But the sound… just not for me.
If the Shure foam tips are causing the bass response to sound "big and bloated", it may be because you are pushing the foam tip TOO far into your ear canal, and smashing the sound hole. I just barely push the foam tips into my ear canal so that I can tell there is a complete seal, and that is all -- pushing in farther starts to smash the sound hole for me.
 
Nov 25, 2021 at 12:06 PM Post #17,280 of 19,205
If the tips don't hurt (at all) they aren't Etys :ksc75smile::ksc75smile: There's a learning curving for the ears to embrace (and open up) those ear-fxxkers (literally)
So much truth!

You are all making me feel nostalgic with this thread dedicated to Etys, I think I'll go dig them out and listen to them again over the long weekend.
 

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