Tonality; isolation (Air-travel!)

Construction - (ought to be alloys, not plastic for $300)

These earbuds are phenomenal. I primarily purchased them for their isolational abilities, but have found them to be absolutely remarkable in tone as well. While, as a previous reviewer noted, they lack an extra crispness at the high end, they do seem to make up for this by rounding it off into a tight treble that is even sometimes preferable to the original.

They're remarkable, in terms of transperancy. They don't have the "soul" that comes with such greats as Grado and Beyerdynamic, and they aren't quite a precise as the HD 600s - but you aren't buying these to put in a studio setting. If you don't like running around with two huge cans strapped to your ears, and don't want to give a concert to any passerbys with your open headphones, these are, by far, the most convenient and best-sounding headphones I've owned.

Similar Products Used:

Grado, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, AKG

This is a follow up to my previous review. I recently had a problem with one of the transducer tips breaking off while being used with custom earpieces. The ER-4S were out of warranty, so I sent an email to Etymotic asking for help and the probable cost of repair. They instructed me to return the transducers with the earpieces, and they would be repaired free-of-charge. When they returned, Etymotic had added an extension tube to the end of each transducer -- which both reduced the amount of stress on the tips (since they would no longer have to be shoved far into the silicon earpieces), but also improved the sound. Outstanding!

As far as amps go, if you're looking to save cash, you can't go wrong with basic Headroom Airhead ($99) or the "Total" Airhead ($160). I'm using a Musical Fidelity X-Cans V2 at home, which so far has stubbornly resisted my attempts at sweetening the sound by replacing the stock Philips 6922 type tubes with some affordable stuff I have around...but the Mullards are next! For an all-out assault on the home headphone experience, my guess would be the Cary integrated amp that Sam Tellig loves so much...or possibly a completely NOS re-tubed Sonic Frontiers Line 1, 2 or 3 preamp (with the built in Headroom circuit). But, of course, we are now in the realm of audiophile obsession.

In the end, this is an extraordinary product, produced by a company that offers extraordinary customer service. The only product line I've ever heard as good are the big Apogee ribbon speakers (how good, you say...I am the co-founder of the Apogee Acoustics Users Group). The tonal balances are completely different, but the astonishing transparency and degree of detail are equal.

Isolation,sweet sound, superbly portable.

Nil.

I purchased the ER4S specifically for taking quality sound with me on a 2 month trip to Europe. I use them with a Panasonic SL-SX500 CD player.
Prior to purchase I had some concerns whether the Panasonic would drive the phones sufficiently. I had absolutely no need to be concerned as I have never had then need to raise the volume above 8/10 and usually use 4/10.

Sealing the earpieces correctly in the ear canal is essential. I have not needed to use the foam earpieces as I find I can get a good seal with the white rubber pieces. It looks a bit suspect but a quick lick (not a pleasant taste) on the earpiece and pull the ear up and out while inserting and slightly rotating the earpiece is all that is required for a good seal.

I use the ER4S mainly on planes and trains, occasionally at work. With the earpieces correctly fitted and no music playing it is still possible to hear the jet engines from my economy seat, but it is a verly low level noise. With the music playing and background noise is not noticeable.

It really is great, you just close your eyes and you are in your own private world anywhere, anytime.

The sound of the ER4S is absolutely superb from top to bottom. The highs are sweet and the bass is full. You don't feel bass but it sounds accurate.

My initial pair had a defect with the cord. Headroom quickly replaced them and Etymotic reimbursed me for my shipping costs and then some, without asking. Thanks guys -good service.

Non-audiophile friends were amazed at the expensive price tag but after trying them without exception all agreed they were worth it if good music is your thing.

Caution: when trying to talk with the earpieces fitted & no music playing it is very hard to gauge how loud to talk. I have frequently tried to order from flight attendants while moving my lips and apparently making no sound.

For taking quality sound away from your home I cannot recommend the ER4S highly enough. Also worth trying for home use as I find the only time I use headphones at home is when I can't use my system because the TV is on. The ER4S isolates you from the TV and doesn't produce any sound into the room that would annoy the TV watcher. Can't do that with an open phone design.

Similar Products Used:

AKG 301 for home use but they aren't in the same league.

This is a follow up to my previous posting. I have since tried the black foam tips on the Etys and have discovered that they do have BASS!

For me, there is quite a difference between the white rubber tips and the foam tips. Physically, the foam tips have a wider opening for the sound at the end--but I don't know if this is significant or not, but suspect it might contribute to providing more bass.

Also, because they can be squished to be slightly more compact than the rubber tips, I am able to place them deeper in my ear canal, producing better bass that I previously was desiring. Also, for my ears, the foam tips block much more outside noise and seem to form a better seal deeper in my ear canal than I can get with the white tips.

Given that peoples' ears are probably all shapes and sizes, make sure to try both and try to adjust the placement in your ear to get the sound that you desire.

As for comfort, I haven't really come to any conclusions as to which tips might be more comfortable. Both feel similar to me at this point, but given that I definitely prefer the sound with the foam tips, I'll probably just stick with those.

Nice but not overwhelming sound

Build quality - an ear piece broke after 2 weeks

After an ear piece broke 2 weeks after I received these headphones I sent them back for a refund.

The sound was good but not great. Certainly not worth the $345 I paid for these.

I sent these fragile cans back and purchased Sennheiser 600's. I am very happy now.

Similar Products Used:

Grado, Sennheiser

Build quality

Sound reproduction, comfort

Imagine wearing a vise on you head with 2 tin cups as ear phones and you get an idea of what these headphones are like. I got headaches wearing them and the music reproduction from my CD player was so bad I seriously had to double check to see that these weren't hooked up to an old 45 rpm record player.

Painful to wear and painful to listen to - avoid these - I wish I did.

Nancy

Similar Products Used:

Grado, Sennheiser

sound quality, isolation, durability, everything!

maybe too much isolation at times, microphonic effect

The last reviewer (nancy) has no idea what she's talking about. While it is true that at first the white eartips are uncomfortable, the foamies are very comfortable, and after a month or so of listening the white tips are unnoticable and sound better than the foamies.

The sound, ah! the sound! These sound better, more open and more accurate and quicker and more effortless than any speakers or headphones i've heard, including Senn HD600s, martin logan prodigy and B&W 802s. Nancy is obviously not an audiophile and obviously does not know what accurately reproduced music sounds like. These are transparant phones, and if she hears tinniness, it's in the recordings or the associated electronics.

Oh yeah, these sound much better with a dedicated headphone amp such as those built by Headroom. I have a Total Airhead and it sounds great.

These phones are also extremely durable and i have dropped, sat on and thrown around these headphones and they worked fine. Don Wilson who works at etymotic has even washed his etys with his jeans and after a filter change they worked fine still.

All in all, a top notch audiophile product and the best value in high end audio

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-80, Sennheiser HD-600

They don't look like they should cost that much but they sure sound better than they ought to at that price.
Once they are properly broken in (takes awhile) and you have gotten used to the fact that you only hear bass not feel it, they are the best I've heard. After having them for 3 years I thought it was time to upgrade when the Senns HD600 was released. I A/Bed the 600s with the Etys many times in numerous occasions using different setups and still prefer the utter clarity and transparency of the Etys compared to 600s. The 600s sound dark, less immediate, less impactful and less involving - too sweet for my taste.

And they're so versatile. Whether I use it with my Melos SHA1 or Headroom Supreme or straight from my hi-end discman or plugged into the plane's audio system, they sound terrific.

Using them on the plane's audio system to listen to music or movie is quite a new and totally fabulous experience. First of course you need to buy or make your own adapter to plug into those two socket things on the plane. Then when you plug it in you would be transported to an environment that's as quiet as your home...no engine noise, no chatter. You'd discover that there are actually details in the music the plane provides. And no more problems listening to the dialog on movies...and you get all this while actually turning the volume down since you don't need to compete with the plane's engine - no hearing impairment. This reduces listening and travelling fatigue beyond belief. I totally recommend it to those that fly often.

accuracy, control, separation, and isolation

none

For those looking to be complety connected and absorbed by their music these are the cans for you. The isolation, while great, is not their strength however. The sound produced by these little guys is absolutely amazing! These are all about accuracy. The sound is tight and controlled across the board. The soundstage is magnificent, leaving you with the feeling that you're on stage performing. Some would say that the bass is lacking. I find it to be anything but! While you don't feel the bass against your ear, you do hear it very well. In some cases I could actually feel the bass reverberating within my ear canal, especially with the foam eartips. Not until I purchased these had I really unserstood what it meant to be an audiophile. Listening to cymbals crash off into infinity with the utmost clarity is a pleasant experience. I had never really heard a consistent, and clear, high hat either. As far as construction goes, etymotic uses the strongest plastic they could find for the application. And besides, if they do break, they usually repair them for free. If you want true audiophile sound, with the utmost accuracy and detailed presentation possible, along with sound isolation to boot, then you can't go wrong with the etymotics.

Similar Products Used:

sennheiser 570, Grado SR-80

superb detail, unmatched isolation, Etymotic service exceeds even the most unreasonable expectations, earphones rival anything out there (including electrostatics)

Require getting used to, perception of bass (albeit with qualification; see body of text), inserting ear plugs into ear canals may not be everyone's cup of tea

I have had my pair for six years now. I purchased it for full retail price from HeadRoom in conjunction with the Supreme amplifier: a really remarkable combination that reveals hidden sonic treasures in every recording, this without sacrificing musicality.

My experience confirms and corroborates every one of the positive attributes touched upon in prior reviews, so I will forgo dwelling on them here.

As to the categorically negative reviews and comments (some of which I find astounding in light of my experience), I can only conclude that the listeners in question seriously misused the earphones. Unless they are properly seated in one's ear canals, they will sound utterly horrible and tinny beyond description. Similarly, they sound superb plugged straight into portable CD players, so I do not understand the negative comments there either. In all fairness, of course, the sound here will not rival the HeadRoom Supreme's, but it will sound very, very good nevertheless.

I will corroborate another reviewer's observations about the Etymotics vis-a-vis the Grados, which, while musical and highly enjoyable in their own right, will sound muddy when compared to the Etymotics, which are clearly more accurate and detailed without sacrificing musicality in the least.

They rival the Stax Lambda Pros (for which they merit an easy five stars for value). Indeed Audio magazine concluded as much in its review of the Etymotics years ago. Would you want to wear Lambda Pros on an airplane or on the subway given that, one, it would be a most remarkable fashion faux pas, and, two, you probably would not be able to hear their virtues given the ambient noise in those environments?

As to the perceived thinness of the bass, trust me (and your ears), it is all there. Try Medeski, Martin, and Wood's "Friday Afternoon in the Universe" or Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite"/"Rite of Spring" on Reference Recordings and you will hear the most phenomenal and yet utterly natural deep bass. Play Mobile Fidelity's "Muddy Waters: Folk Singer" for a real treat. While you're at it, play anything under the sun for a real treat.

As to Etymotic's customer service, on three separate occasions the shaft broke on one of the transducers as I attempted to introduce it into my ear (curiously, this only happened while using the custom earmolds). On three separate occasions (two of them well after the warranty had expired), Etymotic fixed my set. For free. And they paid the return postage, to boot. I only wish Etymotic built cars.

Do yourself a favor: If you can stand shoving ear plugs (or custom earmolds) into your ear canals, buy a pair of Etymotics, and with the $1700 you will have saved over the Stax Lambda Pros buy yourself a pair of used Magnepan 1.6's and a brand new Ah! Tjoeb CD player. Then work hard to earn the money you'll need on a nice integrated amp, cables and interconnects, and you can thank me for the rest of your life.

Similar Products Used:

Grado SR-60, Stax Lambda Pro