It’s the same as the previous version with the addition of back electric tape to get a better seal between the tube and the mic and improve the bass response.
Setup
Hardware: Laptop > Shanling UP4 > IEM > DIY tube coupler > Black Electric Tape > Dayton Audio iMM-6 > ddHifi TC35B > USB Audio Interface
After having tried many different AUX extension cables, I really like this short 0.5m 3.5mm male to female AUX extension cable from DTECH. The TPE material is nice and soft and blends well with the MH755 cable unlike the fabric ones that sorely stand out.
Please note that this is a 3.5mm 3 pole (TRS) cable and doesn’t work with 3.5mm 4 pole microphone (TRRS) connectors.
The Azla SednaEarfit XELASTEC are some of the grippiest wide-bore tips I’ve come across and as far as I know the only ones made of TPE (thermal plastic elastomer), which means they softens with body heat and change shape to fit your ears (unlike urethane foam tips that changes the shape of the ear canal).
I find, I need to choose a size smaller (MS) for these than the JVC Spiral Dots (M). I think this is because the Sprial Dots are spherical (hence wider) while the Azla’s are cylindrical.
While reviewing the Etymotic ER4SR and ER4XR here is what Tyll had to say about bass response:
For me, the bass level on the ER4SR simply isn’t enough. Frankly, even the ER4XR doesn’t have enough bass for me, but it’s much better. I believe quite strongly that bass response on headphone should have about a 5dB bass boost below about 150Hz.
When the ER4XR was launched, Tyll applauded Etymotic for making the brave move of catering to user preferences and deviating from that they believed to be technically “accurate”. I think Etymotic went further with the ER2XR (and it’s almost like they took his feedback into account) and for that I am grateful as the ER2XR has just the right bass response for my preferences 🤗.
For me, having over 20 years of close experience interacting with Etymotic and the ER4 product evolution, I find it an interesting example of corporate learning at work. On the one hand, Etymotic has very strong reasons to believe they have a grip on what “accurate” means, on the other, they have 20 years of experience with customer feedback about the desire for more bass. Adding bass willy-nilly is simply not something this audiometry company would do; but having strong feedback that customers want more bass can’t be denied either. Making the corporate decision to deviate from technically accurate to cater to user preference is actually a pretty brave move from their point of view. I applaud this development!