[soundstige]

It wouldn't be beneficial, and it wouldn't destroy the ER4. What the resistor tends to do is increase sound stage, treble, and detail. Too much impedance will exaggerate those features to way too far a degree and the IEM will no longer be enjoyable. I have a 100ohm resistor that I used with an HF3 (it gives similar effects to using it with an ER4P) and the difference was noticeable compared to the stock Etymotic resistor which is 75ohm. 
Quote:

I... I have a question. People keep saying that when ER4P transformed into the S and fed with enough power, it will sound better. The question is, if I use... say... 300 ohm impedance adapter with my ER4P and feed it with enough power from my Xonar STX sound card, would it be beneficial or would it destroy my ER4P? The Xonar can support up to 600 ohm of gain.

 

[Leslie Dorner]

I got the ER-4P -> 4S adapter and it noticeably improved the sound quality. There's more even tonal balance especially in the deep bass and high trebles. There's also more detail retrieval and resolution resulting in greater clarity. I got a cheap 6' long 3.5 mm headphone extension cord and it definitely helps me to move around more freely while not sacrificing sound quality. I got it for less than $2.40 from Amazon. Now, I can sit back in my listening chair and listen to Spotify or my private music library without worrying about cable length.

 

[GN-0015]

Quote:

It wouldn't be beneficial, and it wouldn't destroy the ER4. What the resistor tends to do is increase sound stage, treble, and detail. Too much impedance will exaggerate those features to way too far a degree and the IEM will no longer be enjoyable. I have a 100ohm resistor that I used with an HF3 (it gives similar effects to using it with an ER4P) and the difference was noticeable compared to the stock Etymotic resistor which is 75ohm. 

Thanks for your reply. As long as it won't destroy the drivers, I wouldn't really mind to give it a shot. Maybe I'll go and try it someday, just for the heck of it 

 

[Trepidation]

Hi, I hope I'm in the right topic to ask this sort of question.
 
For starters, I'll try to summarize what it is that led me to initially purchase the er4s.
- Highly recommended.
- IEM
- Described as analytical.
- Something I could grow with.
 
I've had them for 8 years now and have loved them more and more over time. This brings me to my question. I'm looking for a portable setup. Out of the mp3 player itself, I have the following preferences.
 
-SDHC or SD compatible
-At least 4 hours of battery life. I would love to have 8 hours.
-No touchscreen or video. (this is the lowest importance, if there is the slightest increase in quality elsewhere, I would take these two things over my preference for not having them.)
-Size makes no difference to me.
-Lossless.
 
I'll now try to describe my child-like perception of what I appreciate in audio.
 
-I'm not knowledgeable, so I can only describe my sound preference as being "like" the er4s. I would describe this as being opposed to something that tries to be "complementary" to the er4s, or something that will mean to affect the er4s to be other than flat or more "warm".
-I listen almost exclusively to piano and string.
-I could care less about bass.
-Size is meaningless to me, I would have no qualms carrying around a brick if it was competitively priced and better quality than a smaller amp.
 
I plan to purchase a music player, amp, and interconnect cable (is that everything?). My budget right now is ~$100. I realize that this price setup will not take full advantage of the er4s. I'm looking to start low, and eventually I may get a nicer setup. I was thinking about purchasing the following.
-Sansa Clip+
-Fii0 E11
-This cable? http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/3-5mm-to-3-5mm-plug-headphone-cable-for-headphone-amplifier-Black-cable-/281044134669?pt=Other_MP3_Player_Accessories&hash=item416f892b0d
 
So, on to the questions.
-Is there anything that stands out here as being unnecessary or clearly limiting? (besides everything to the er4s)
-Are any of these on the edge of a jump in quality? Is there one of these components that I could spend ~30-40 more on and gain a noticeably appreciable difference in sound quality?
-I've read that the Clip+ can push the er4s by itself. Am I wrong in assuming there is good reason to use an amp with it? Sound quality?
-Line out?
 
I saw a post where a person had an image that showed "clip+amp+er4s=love", so I am feeling a bit confident in this proposed setup.
 
Thank you in advance for taking the time to consider my post.

 

[bba1973]

Get the Clip+ and put Rockbox on it. After that, set crossfeed to Meier and adjust EQ settings if you wish. I use my ER4S with a Clip+ (Rockboxed, Meier crossfeed on, slight bass boost), and it sounds great. Before, I had used this same setup with a mini3 amp. The mini3 helped a bit, but after taking it out of the setup, I thought its improvement was negligible. With the amp, I really liked being able to dial in the volume to that perfect level, but the Clip+'s controls are good enough.
 
Anyway, try the Clip+ with Rockbox and Meier crossfeed on. If you don't like it, play around with the EQ settings. If you like it, look into amps and go from there.
 

 

[Ypoknons]

Not a ER4 expert but an objectivist in general I don't see the need to worry so much. For the P at least just stick then inside any decent low output impedance source (eg clip) and enjoy, and then critically read the materials on cables and amps and see if you believe what people say about them.

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

teraplayer if you've the budget

 

[mark_h]

Quote:

teraplayer if you've the budget

 
Clip+ Rockboxed if you've the budget for the Tera player, use the difference to buy a car!

 

[daniel_hokkaido]

Quote:

 
Clip+ Rockboxed if you've the budget for the Tera player, use the difference to buy a car!

 
or a nice bicycle  

 

[Leslie Dorner]

Etymotic ER-4PT with the 4S adapter is technically more accurate and neutral than my Ultimate Ears Ue-18 PRO and AKG K 702 with the Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable. It has a coherent tonal purity and clarity that is superior to the much more expensive CIEM and full-sized open design headphone. It tells me the plain honest truth. I find it to be one of the most revealing UIEMs or headphones that I have ever listened to. It provides 42 dB of passive sound isolation which is outstanding. If I want to be transported to my own private listening studio, then I reach for these first. There's really nothing quite like them. I love them. I highly recommend them to anyone considering a reference grade UIEM with outstanding passive sound isolation and quality. These are definite keepers.

 

[uelover]

Quote:

Etymotic ER-4PT with the 4S adapter is technically more accurate and neutral than my Ultimate Ears Ue-18 PRO and AKG K 702 with the Moon Audio Silver Dragon cable. It has a coherent tonal purity and clarity that is superior to the much more expensive CIEM and full-sized open design headphone. It tells me the plain honest truth. I find it to be one of the most revealing UIEMs or headphones that I have ever listened to. It provides 42 dB of passive sound isolation which is outstanding. If I want to be transported to my own private listening studio, then I reach for these first. There's really nothing quite like them. I love them. I highly recommend them to anyone considering a reference grade UIEM with outstanding passive sound isolation and quality. These are definite keepers.

 
I believe in that. I am still curious to know if UERM does do it better than the ER4S (I am not sure how since the ER4S already gets so many things right).

 

[Leslie Dorner]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I wouldn't sell my ER-4PT/S to get the UERM. Ultimate Ears CIEMs are tuned to their house sound except their personal reference monitor which you can tune to your preferences. Ue custom products are designed for audio engineers, recording engineers, audio mixing, and mastering along with live stage performers. Their Ue-11 Pro and UERM are most frequently used by audio professionals behind the glass at the consoles. The ER-4S is still technically more accurate than the Ue-18 PRO because it's essentially colorless. This is one of the best single custom tuned balanced armature universal in-ear monitor in the industry. People often look past the ER-4S because they're old, but I have not heard anything more accurate or neutral than them.
 
The problem is that they're not comfortable to wear for long listening sessions. The ear tips don't feel comfortable to me. The AKG K 702 feels painful after one hour of listening because of the bumps in the leather head band.
 
The most comfortable headphone is my Ue-18 PRO. However, I only use them for live choir rehearsals or performances. I don't trust them for accurate sound. The bass is too powerful and richly textured which is not accurate. For popular pre-recorded music, it does not make a difference, but with live performances it's important to feel and hear the bass to maintain visceral timing cues during live performances.
 
I would not use the ER-4S for live performances. It's more for post recording purposes to spot check specific cuts before settling upon the final release.
 
Headphones and IEMs should not be used during the mixing and mastering process because studio monitors do a much more accurate and realistic job.
 
The ER-4S will reveal mistakes or unwise decisions made during the performance or mastering process. They are ruthless in revealing everything laid bare. I trust them implicitly.

 

[uelover]

The UERM is their reference monitoring ciem that is not tuned to their house sound but tuned with ultimate neutrality as their goal. The UE18pro is the most colored sounding ciem in their offering and should not be compared to the neutral sounding UERM, UE10Pro or ER4.

 

[Ypoknons]

Custom iems are generally tuned for what manufacturers perceive Is what stage performers need rather than diffuse field linearity. Jh13 is close to linear but apparently used a different standard from ER4.

(edit - silly of me to say this, I think Leslie's covered the topic better above).

 

[uelover]

Quote:

Custom iems are generally tuned for what manufacturers perceive Is what stage performers need rather than diffuse field linearity. Jh13 is close to linear but apparently used a different standard from ER4.

 
Traditionally ciems are designed with the performing artists in mind but recently there are many ciems designed with audiophile in mind. I will not stereotype customs against universals as I believe both groups have the products that could meet the need of stage performers and/or sound engineers and/or audiophiles.
 
The UERM is tuned for sound engineers doing the mixing rather than for those performing on stage so its sound is more on the analytical side.
 
On the other hand, ciems like JH16/JH13/UE18Pro and etc. are tuned for the performing artists. There are sound engineers who use them for mixing as well.
 
Like the UERM, the ER4 is more of an analytical tool to be used off the stage which is what piques my interest their side by side comparison.