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mozrelic
17
Apr 17, 2017
I've had the same pair of ER-4S IEMs for about 10 years, and have used them - no joke - almost every day since I first received them in almost every type of situation, and that says a lot - their build quality is tremendous. I absolutely love these headphones, they are excellent for critical listening. They have a very neutral, balanced sound, they are clean, clear, crisp, tight, not overly bright, not overly bassy, these headphones were designed to reproduce sound that is very close to what the human ear naturally hears.
With this said, these are not the kind of headphones you jam out with IMO. These are for digging out details and exploring sounds, examining a recording, sucking out all the details of your music, as opposed to have a more visceral/emotional experience.
These IEMs, in my opinion, should be used with a higher quality, dedicated headphone amp, ideally something tube (the LittleDot MkIII comes to mind), not solid-state, as the tube amp will give them a slightly smoother more "musical" sound.
I have the Campfire Audio Lyra ii which is very "musical" sounding, and in my opinion is better suited to having an emotional experience with the music you love. The Etymotics and the Lyra's, or another compirable pair of IEMs that have more of a "I'm gonna rock out" sound are the perfect combination of gear - when you want it, you can put in your ER4S and really appreciate the recording process and details in your music - and with a second pair of IEMs or headphones that have more of an emotional voice, you can switch over and jam out when the mood strikes.
I would recommend these headphones to anybody who wants to really examine their music. If you're someone who ends up getting these, keep in mind that you can have custom ear molds made - this REALLy takes these IEMs to the next level.
tooki
6
Jul 6, 2018
mozrelicBut this is a different model. These are the ER-4 SR and ER-4 XR, which are not the same as the old ER4S and ER4P.
mozrelic
17
Jul 9, 2018
tookiYou're correct, however, based on the frequency response graphs for the respective models, it's apparent that the ER-4SR/XR have basically the same frequency response aside from some extra gain across the board but specifically greater gain on the low end on the XR. There are also cosmetic differences between the S and SR series. From what I've read, the additional gain to the lower frequencies has been characterized as a "timid" bump. I think it's a fair to compare the S models with the SR models. But you are totally correct, the model I have/love is not the same as the models on sale here.
tooki
6
Aug 23, 2018
mozrelicThe "timid" bump between the ER-4XR vs the ER-4SR is, to me, a huge difference actually (I auditioned both before purchase). Anyone interested in this caliber of IEM is going to be sensitive to small differences. So I really do think that experiences with the older models are simply not helpful towards making a purchase decision, sorry.
mozrelic
17
Aug 25, 2018
tookiThanks for sharing your opinion, that's what this place is for.
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