Better steel than iron I always say

Gotcha . Not a native, if that's any excuse...

left my etys on a plane a few years back, picked up some Shures. Surprised to admit I like everything about the Shures better, from the fit to the sound. Warmer, better bass, all that stuff. i can't find my shures now though.  

^ Time to pick up some Etys then...

you REALLY need to reread the welcome post/pm.

I chuckled at his post. =T

I guess his name is fitting?

A friend of mine borrowed my 4P and "forgot" to return it, but I don't so mind because overall I find my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro to sound more balanced, especially without dedicated amps.  

Cool - I believe I'm better off just getting a cheap adaptor off of eBay vs the one sold by etymotic, yes?

Well, I bought what was supposed to be a genuine "Ety" adapter off of eBay and yes - seems to do the trick.  AFAIK, it appears to be genuine.

 

That said, I really don't notice any difference in frequency response.  It's more of a gain convenience.  Tricking the ER-4 into an "S" means that you can use an amp with reasonable power and still be able to adjust the volume with some bit of flexibility.  Put an ER-4P directly into that situation and you're down on the first quarter of the volume dial or less, nothing more.