[eke2k6]

Using a tone generator and ER-4S, I can unequivocally say there is no peak or bump between 5k and 10k. At all. It's is flat, soft and easy to listen to- dare I say ever so slightly recessed compared to the lower midrange. However, I hear a peak right at 3k, which doesn't present a problem until I turn the volume up- at low volumes it sounds flat. Reducing 3k a few db's really helps for higher volume listening.

Eke- compare volume levels and see if you hear a difference at lower volumes versus higher like I do.

Most other iems have major peaks and valleys from 5k o 10k. I hear none on the ER-4S in music, nor tones, and it is one of the most pleasant to listen to in that part of the FR.

I get plenty if body and note weight as well. The ER-4S bass is my favorite part. Simply the most detailed and clearly textured bass I've heard. Some of my other iems are more fun here and get my feet tapping/head bobbing but they also don't awe me with their detail retrieval there.

I think the biggest issue ear to ear is the 2k to 4k tuning and how it will be perceived person to person.

 
I just did, and I agree that volume makes a difference. Still, it' pretty noticeable. Also no worries on the treble spike, things like that can vary by individual.
 
When I speak of body, I really don't mean bass... that's gravy. The thinness is in the mids. I hear it like this... imagine two prisms side by side. The first prism I normal and solid, while the second prism is made of a single layer of aluminum foil. There's nothing inside but air. The ER4S' midrange sounds to me like the second prism. The utter aluminum layer represents the upper midrange spike, while air is the surrounding area that is also lifted. In this space, the harmonics in the upper mids just dance effortlessly. It's almost ethereal. But the coldness and thinness there detract from the experience for me.

I find the HF5 to have a similar effect, but it retains some body and realism.

 

[brofeelgood]

After few months with ER4 P/S and after few listening sessions with Cosmic Ears BA4r (which said to be neutral cIEMs similar to Etys) I tend to have similar view as eke2k6. For me, bass in S is better than in P, but I think that this superb clarity and detaility in S results from the peak in the uppder midrange and highs, in particural in the 6-10 kHz regions. For me ER4P is on another level in comparison to HF2/3/4/5, I wouldn't compare them as being similar; for me, the biggest downside of the HF line is the highs - I had to bump up 6-10 kHz regions by a few db to have this clarity which ER4P have without those bumps.

 
The little 7-8kHz bump is a rather well-known characteristic of the ER4S. What it does different to the ER4P/HF is it keeps everything up, thus achieving a rather flattish response all the way until 10kHz or so.
 
Believe it or not, the 7-8kHz bump is also there on the HF but it's less obvious because the response already starts dropping off from 1-2kHz. If you implement the same eq extension to the HF from 2-10kHz instead of just 6-10kHz, I'm pretty sure you will hear something more akin to the ER4S signature.
 
For me, the ER4P doesn't have a lot over the HF5. Charts show it doesn't continue to taper off in the high-end (above 12kHz) which is a good thing but it's not enough to my ears to put it heads and shoulders above the HF. If not for the option to turn it into an ER4S, I would never pay what it's asking for.

 

[shakur1996]

When I speak of body, I really don't mean bass... that's gravy. The thinness is in the mids.

I agree.

I love the bass in ER4s, its detaility and texture is superb and even two bass dedicated drivers of my Cosmic Ears BA4r can't reproduce such detaility (the difference is minor but I can easily hear it). But after making some comparisons to my cIEMs I tend to think that Etys lacks something; they are a little bit thin. Maybe this thinness results from this lack of body in the midrange and not from peaks in the highs

 

[shakur1996]

For me, the ER4P doesn't have a lot over the HF5. Charts show it doesn't continue to taper off in the high-end (above 12kHz) which is a good thing but it's not enough to my ears to put it heads and shoulders above the HF. If not for the option to turn it into an ER4S, I would never pay what it's asking for.

I'm not saying that ER4P is far better from HFs, but for me ER4P has better treble and bass. But I started to wonder whether ER4s are not a little bit unnatural and a little bit thin. And as results of this thinness S are more accurate. I don't have clear answers but I'm searchin for one.

 

[shotgunshane]

   
I just did, and I agree that volume makes a difference. Still, it' pretty noticeable. Also no worries on the treble spike, things like that can vary by individual.
 
When I speak of body, I really don't mean bass... that's gravy. The thinness is in the mids. I hear it like this... imagine two prisms side by side. The first prism I normal and solid, while the second prism is made of a single layer of aluminum foil. There's nothing inside but air. The ER4S' midrange sounds to me like the second prism. The utter aluminum layer represents the upper midrange spike, while air is the surrounding area that is also lifted. In this space, the harmonics in the upper mids just dance effortlessly. It's almost ethereal. But the coldness and thinness there detract from the experience for me.

I find the HF5 to have a similar effect, but it retains some body and realism.

 
 

I agree.

I love the bass in ER4s, its detaility and texture is superb and even two bass dedicated drivers of my Cosmic Ears BA4r can't reproduce such detaility (the difference is minor but I can easily hear it). But after making some comparisons to my cIEMs I tend to think that Etys lacks something; they are a little bit thin. Maybe this thinness results from this lack of body in the midrange and not from peaks in the highs

 
 
I'm guessing you two are probably more sensitive to the 2k-4k peak and I think that's what makes you perceive less body; and I think it definitely explains the aluminum analogy.  IEM's that have big dips/scoops in this same region sound much thicker, heavier and even veiled.  The Earsonics house sound for example- many models have a huge scoop here and is one of the thicker bodied armature notes I've heard (of course they usually couple it with mid bass boost). So something with a slight dip in this area might sound flatter to you guys.  Believe it or not, I perceived the Future Sonics mg6pro to have a harsher peak at 3.5k.  It made vocals and guitars have this weird echoey harshness. I don't get this on the ER-4S but do think it sounds flatter with an approximately -2db cut at 3k on higher volumes.
 
Anyway, there is something to be said for the organic and natural note of a properly tuned single armature.

 

[mark_h]

 
The er4s are terribly source dependent and revealing to a fault!

 
I have a nice old and warm valve receiver/amp that I use a lot with the ER4S and it fleshes out what can be, with a poor source, a thin ER4S sound.
 
It is worth noting that as I step up the Bass attenuator on the amp the Ety's respond to the increasing weight effortlessly, all the way to its highest setting with no distortion whatsoever or loss of detail. I know of no multi driver IEM that can accommodate the equalization so adeptly? 

 

[ilikemonkeys]

I'm a bit late to the game, but I can't pas sup this thread without a shout out to the Etymotic Customer Service.  They will go out of their way to help and are crazy friendly.  I have had my pair for many years and when changing out a tri-flange, the plastic tip snapped.  I called to inquire about a replacement and they said they would just send me another.  Got it a couple days later with a couple spare tips and filters.  How nice is that?  Love Etymotic.  Great product, great people.

 

[brunk]

  I'm a bit late to the game, but I can't pas sup this thread without a shout out to the Etymotic Customer Service.  They will go out of their way to help and are crazy friendly.  I have had my pair for many years and when changing out a tri-flange, the plastic tip snapped.  I called to inquire about a replacement and they said they would just send me another.  Got it a couple days later with a couple spare tips and filters.  How nice is that?  Love Etymotic.  Great product, great people.

+1 Etymotic is the bar-setter in customer service.

 

[fnkcow]

How does the ER4S compare to the RE272?

 

[luisdent]

   
The er4s are terribly source dependent and revealing to a fault!
 
 
I have a nice old and warm valve receiver/amp that I use a lot with the ER4S and it fleshes out what can be, with a poor source, a thin ER4S sound.
 
It is worth noting that as I step up the Bass attenuator on the amp the Ety's respond to the increasing weight effortlessly, all the way to its highest setting with no distortion whatsoever or loss of detail. I know of no multi driver IEM that can accommodate the equalization so adeptly? 

 
I've had the opposite experience with sources, but I assume there are some that the er4s will simply reveal their flaws or lack of power.
 
Regarding the eq, this really amazes me.  The pfe112 is a very very flat IEM like the er4s.  It suffers from a bit of uneven treble (not in any bad area though) while the er4s suffers from a bit of lacking sub bass.  However, If I boost the sub bass on the pfe, it only goes to a certain extent.  It seems to react different to the varying level of EQ.  The er4s on the other hand pounds the hell out of the bass if I want it to.  In fact, it is practically a bass monster with the jds c5 boost turned on with certain songs.
 
I find the eq I use on the er4s is subtle, but because it handles it so well, it truly makes them as flat as I've heard.  On another note, I just got a pair of sony mh1.
 
I'm shocked.
 
Wow, they sound good.  Bassier than the er4s.  A bit more than what I consider neutral, but it is low bass and doesn't really ruin the overall sound.  But even with this bass, these are up there in the top two or three flattest "stock" iems I've heard.  By stock, I mean using no eq.  By far the flattest thing I've heard is the er4s, mh1, pfe112, ba200.  Probably in that order.  Maybe swap the ba200/pfe112, depends on how you look at it.
 
Nonetheless, the mh1 has incredible bass, mid, treble performance.  I'll do a review soon.  Needless to say, they are an excellent pair to have with the er4s for when comfort is a problem or volume sensitivity is an issue without an amp.  Or just to have another amazing IEM.  I got these things for $20.  I have to say, I think the er4s is well worth the $300 compared to everything I've ever heard out there.  But hearing these for $20 is like a kick to the head.  I'm talking you could argue they are almost as good as the er4s, but they have extra bass in about the amount the er4s is lacking the bass.  So with just a bit of eq (both in the bass only) they both sound extremely flat.  Rin has a mod I might try to make the bass cut by a physical modification to the iem.  That would mean NO eq.  I highly recommend everyone try these things.  They don't replace the er4s, but they are up there with the best I've heard.  Of course they're not made retail anymore, so they're only second hand or through stores that have stock.  But that means you can get them a lot cheaper than normal ($20) if you look around.  Wow.
 
Anyway, comparing the two, the er4s sounds smoother in the fact that it is almost silky.  The mh1 sounds drier.  There is no distortion issue like the pfe112, and now that I've been comparing them all, the pfe112 is noticeably less smooth, not in frequency response, but in silkiness.   I think the mh1 dryness is more a matter of the presentation and probably subtle eq differences.  However, there are no issues anywhere in the frequency response with the mh1 at all that I hear.  Just a drier treble sound and a bit more on the bassy warm side.  But still very flat and amazing details and reference quality.
 
Er4s wins in isolation and silkiness though.  And I like the er4s cable a lot more.  Believe it or not, i'd say the er4s probably has LESS microphonics than the mh1.  lmao.  But like the er4s, with the included shirt clip and wearing the cord behind the neck as designed it helps a lot.  But I wish they would rerelease the mh1 with a new cord, a case and make them a current product.  The sony xba3 is more in line with there reasonably priced studio quality monitor.  But that doesn't sounds nearly as good as the mh1.  Not that it's bad, but the mh1 is superior if accuracy is what you're after.  Really surprising.
 
Anyway, er4s and mh1 are now my favorites.  The mh1 has most likely pushed my pfe112 into the used iem pages on the forum.

 

[shotgunshane]

How does the ER4S compare to the RE272?

The 272 has a very small increase in mid bass quantity and is a good bit brighter, with less even FR in the treble. The 272, to my ears, has more of that so called audiophile hifi sparkle. It's a very nice iem that has very good bandwidth but overall falls a good bit short of the ER-4S. (My personal favorite Hifiman iem is the 262.)

Regarding the mh1c- meh. Serious bass differences from production runs. I eq'd my set down -12db in sub bass and it was STILL bassy. After eq it was decent but I gave it away and kept the tips.

 

[gnarlsagan]

The 272 has a very small increase in mid bass quantity and is a good bit brighter, with less even FR in the treble. The 272, to my ears, has more of that so called audiophile hifi sparkle. It's a very nice iem that has very good bandwidth but overall falls a good bit short of the ER-4S. (My personal favorite Hifiman iem is the 262.)

Regarding the mh1c- meh. Serious bass differences from production runs. I eq'd my set down -12db in sub bass and it was STILL bassy. After eq it was decent but I gave it away and kept the tips.

I highly recommend picking up one of the remaining pairs on amazon for $20. It must be from a good run because I'm hearing exactly what luisdent is describing, and we bought it from the same place. I'm going to write a review as well, but preliminary results put the mh1 up with the absolute best I've heard. Over the UERM, over the F111, anything really. I know that sounds hyperbolic, but I am quite serious.

The pair I have now has emphasized but NOT overly emphasized bass. If anyone follows my impressions they'll know that I have a very low tolerance for flabby bass, and even a lower tolerance for bass that even remotely leaks onto the mids. I find the the mh1 has not to leak into the mids at all. Bass around 125Hz is only about 2-3dB over what I'd consider to be excellent. I have the ASG-2, GR07 BE, Quadbeat 2, and cn40 at my disposal right now, and the mh1 sounds flatter, clearer and more accurate than all of them to my ears. It really is an accomplishment imo. Besides slightly emphasized bass, I'm not sure I can find any other fault with the sound of these things. And believe me I'm looking.

For the record luisdent and I have the mh1, not the mh1c. The mh1 is the one on sale for $20 on amazon, and it only works with specific phones or players. It does not work on the Fuze, but it does work on the uha.6s mkII. Its because the older mh1's connector was made to work only with OMTP connections that certain Sony phones have, and the newer mh1c was updated to work with newer CTIA connections. I just run my fuze to the uha with no issues.

 

[palmfish]

I had a pair of Mh-1c's and wasn't impressed. I gave them away to someone.... I can't remember who....

 

[shotgunshane]

According to Rin's second set, sub bass is still boosted over 11+ db's at 50hz or so, which makes it approximately 6db's less than my old set. Everything else pretty much measures the same. And they have the worst cable ever. I'd never use them just based on he cable alone. Now if someone could recable me a pair...

Hopefully the new Fostex iem will live up to the impressions I've read about.

 

[Padgoi]

I just had my first experience with the Beats by Dre headphones that a friend of mine has.  He paid $600 for these headphones and defends them until the end of the earth regarding the sound quality.  So I asked him for a test run and all I can say is, compared to the $270 Ety ER-4S that I recently purchased, there is ABSOLUTELY, UNEQUIVOCALLY NO COMPARISON!  The Beats had way too much bass, which totally drowned out the mids and highs.  I couldn't get a good feel for the music at all using the Beats and the worst part is that my friend will never know the difference because he swears by them.  Just another shout out to the Ety's, which absolutely destroy the Beats in a head-to-head comparison.