[Spyro]

The GR10's are warmer and bassier than ER4 but very slightly.  I would still consider it neutral and very balanced.  You could arguably consider it an improved TF10 or something in between ER4p and TF10.  One thing that hasn't been mentioned, though, is it is a bit picky with the source and material.  Not sure why but it just is.  I'd say the ER4P is pretty consistent throught the source and material or moreso that GR10.

 

[ianmedium]

I keep coming back to the ER4s. Accuracy is hard to beat with excess bass or coloration. Sounds good for a bit - but I always come back to neutral. 
 
My suggestion would be to get ER4s and a good amp unless you want to spend $1K+ on JH13s. OR keep the Etys, and get a fun (read: colored) IEM to compliment, so you can go back and forth. 

Could not agree more! I am not replacing my ety's simply getting something else to compliment them and give me a bit of variety for different listening moods. Also. The most amazing thing I found was that the ER4S craves a good powerful amp. They became so much deeper and got more emotion when I amped them well. I think a lot of peoples misconceptions come from not listening through a high quality chain. If you do that I have never heard "phones" that scale in their performance accordingly like the Ety's do. I will always own a pair of that I am sure and you know, hand on heart. If I could only keep one headphone I would even let go of my LCD's over these.

 

[Spyro]

I have owned the Etys a couple times but always unamped.  And always ended up selling due to the usual reasons.
 
Have been using the Ibasso T3 analog for the past 6 months or so.  Has made me want to re-purchase a few IEM(again).  GR10 was first in the list and I did not like what it did.  It made them warmer and bassier which has made we drool at another pair of ER4P's with supplied S-cable.
 
I should have the ER4's by next mid-week and will be sure to comment on how they do with the Ibasso T3.
 
As a sidenote, the JH5 + IbassoT3 is by far the geatest best bang for buck sound I have heard in 9 years on Head-Fi.  No question!  For $500 (minus the player) you are getting a playback sound that beats what 99.9% of the other listening public is using.  No universal can touch it!

 

[mhcarlos]

This thread made me decide to have the Etys repaired and also go look for my P-to-S cable and play around with my amps. I have a porta corda, the old SR-71, a Ming Da and the Matrix M-Stage (don't know if those amps are sufficient or a good match for the Etys, but I love the Ming Da and M-Stage with the K701's).

 

[ianmedium]

Is the cord from meier? Also, the 71 I would think will be wonderful with them, I know my Balanced version is wonderful in single ended mode. I think your going to be very pleasantly surprised when you get the ETY's back. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

 

[proedros]

RE-272 ?
 
I have 272 and eq-5 , and i think 272 rips eq5 apart

 

[goggin]

Quote:

Really? The price is twice or thrice the ER4's...

 
I just upgraded from the Etymotic 4P to the Westone 4 and am very happy! I found the W4 needed some burn in time - and also swapping out the default foam earpiece for the "Etymotic-like" triple flange earpiece. These two changes brought the W4 to exactly what I was hoping for -- a neutral earphone with very wide range, expansive sound stage, great sensitivity, super isolation....I could go on !

 
I'm quite pleased. But...FYI....I would not have been happy until I made the two changes listed above.
 
Hope that helps!

 

[jlbrach]

I am one of those lunatics who has had just about every universal IEM on the market at one time or another and right now have shure 535 and westone 4 and the etymotics er-4p....unamped the er-4p are good solid phones ,amped properly they are to me the finest IEM out there....for on the go fun listening I turn to my westones and shures...for critical listening i turn to my amped er-4p's....these phones amaze me,it is as if I am listening to something different even when i listen to the same music because i constantly hear new nuance and sounds i didnt hear before....simply amazing given they are essentially unchanged for 15 years

 

[goggin]

Quote:

 
I just upgraded from the Etymotic 4P to the Westone 4 and am very happy! I found the W4 needed some burn in time - and also swapping out the default foam earpiece for the "Etymotic-like" triple flange earpiece. These two changes brought the W4 to exactly what I was hoping for -- a neutral earphone with very wide range, expansive sound stage, great sensitivity, super isolation....I could go on !

 
I'm quite pleased. But...FYI....I would not have been happy until I made the two changes listed above.

BTW, just added a portable amp to the mix (iBasso anaconda) and the W4's are just breathtaking. Whew!
 

 

[David58117]

I've considered the W4's before, but I've been too concerned they wouldn't have the clarity of the Etys (I have the ER4S), might lack the detail, instrument separation, and personally may be too warm for me.  I've also wondered how their timbre of acoustic instruments (like cellos, violas, pianos, etc) would compare to the Etys.    
 
Sounds like the OP and myself both listen to tons of classical, so unless they improve on the characteristics up above it would be hard to consider them an upgrade.  I'm assuming it's the same for him.
 
Can you tell us how the W4's compare with regard to classical music and the characteristics listed up above?  

 

[Spyro]

I can't see how anyone could go from ER4 to W4.
 
How could you possibly get over the cloudy veiled haze of W4?

 

[mhcarlos]

Quote:

Is the cord from meier? Also, the 71 I would think will be wonderful with them, I know my Balanced version is wonderful in single ended mode. I think your going to be very pleasantly surprised when you get the ETY's back. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

 
Hi ianmedium, yes it's from Meier. I got it when I was just a lurker at Headfi and a group buy was set up for the Porta Corda II. My Ety's are not balanced though and my 71 is the older version (not your 71B -- don't know what the difference is). But I'll be sure to use my P as an S and run it through the amps I have. I remember testing the Etys through the Ming Da and M-Stage, but by then, I moved on to the K701 for home listening through those desktop amps and just used the ER4P with the old iPod (5th generation iPod video and still alive -- never got the iPod Touch or newer Classic and I don't know if they improved the DAC).
 
Quote:

RE-272 ?
 
I have 272 and eq-5 , and i think 272 rips eq5 apart

I'm curious about those as well...

Quote:

I've considered the W4's before, but I've been too concerned they wouldn't have the clarity of the Etys (I have the ER4S), might lack the detail, instrument separation, and personally may be too warm for me.  I've also wondered how their timbre of acoustic instruments (like cellos, violas, pianos, etc) would compare to the Etys.    
 
Sounds like the OP and myself both listen to tons of classical, so unless they improve on the characteristics up above it would be hard to consider them an upgrade.  I'm assuming it's the same for him.
 
Can you tell us how the W4's compare with regard to classical music and the characteristics listed up above?  

 
 
Quote:

I can't see how anyone could go from ER4 to W4.
 
How could you possibly get over the cloudy veiled haze of W4?

From the comments of above and other folks on Headfi, I'm convinced not too "upgrade" from ER4 but rather to get another IEM to compliment the ER4. Not sure what to get though. W4, RE272... [sigh] I'll probably just pick one and go with it. If it's from Amazon, I can return it anyway if I'm not that happy...
 
 

 

[mhcarlos]

Quote:

I've considered the W4's before, but I've been too concerned they wouldn't have the clarity of the Etys (I have the ER4S), might lack the detail, instrument separation, and personally may be too warm for me.  I've also wondered how their timbre of acoustic instruments (like cellos, violas, pianos, etc) would compare to the Etys.    
 
Sounds like the OP and myself both listen to tons of classical, so unless they improve on the characteristics up above it would be hard to consider them an upgrade.  I'm assuming it's the same for him.
 
Can you tell us how the W4's compare with regard to classical music and the characteristics listed up above?  

 
Hi David58117 -- that's exactly my worry. I've tried a few IEMs years back (Shures, forgot what else) and I end up going back to the Etys. The Etys are really good for classical -- especially string instruments. Also, before, I could listen to other types of music with other IEMs I've tried and it's usually ok. Nowadays, I actually crave the detail and instrument separation I get from the Etys for other genres. And I even listen to the ER4P mostly without the P-to-S cable (it was so good with the impedance cable and the SR71 or Cord, but it became a bother for me to bring an amp for my subway commute).
 
I'd be curious about how the W4's perform as well. I've read conflicting reviews. Some say it's an upgrade from the Etys (like all the detail plus more, like tighter bass or whatever).
 
Other people just say nothing beats the Etys unless you go custom. But I'm not willing to spend $1k on custom IEMs right now though...