Sound isolation and detail are really good.

Lack of low frequencies!!! though itself is portable, will require a good source and amplification to justify the purchase and use; which makes the whole package a bit nonsense.

Thought it would be like a portable Sennheiser HD600, reading all these positive reviews here. Unfortunately it wasn't. * I am not a BASS freak. I think Sennheisers have enough lows for any type of music, though a lot of people don't think so. So I safely ignored the comments on lack of lows on ER4P's. Well, I was wrong. I coudn't really hear anything I'd say below 100Hz. That is bad! * There will be a lot of background noise-and-hiss that will ruin the music when you use these with a lot of portables, and laptops. Since it picks up everything, it will amplify the noise also. Well I had to sell it on Ebay... No compare to Senn HD600's...

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Senns, Koss

Silence before the music starts. Superb for dynamic music, like classical, some pop. The better the recording, the more these things are up to the task.

Needs an amp unless paired with a select group of portables. Yes, the 4P needs to be boosted, albeit less than the S. Try it with many casually selected portables and you may be disapointed with volumes all the way up. Too much of an issue has already been made of the cord. Wrap it around the ears. Not all can take ear buds, or live with stuff sticking in there like that. Have to have a good seal and be in pretty far to get any bass. If you use a Q-tip, imagine going in 1 to 3mm shy of that far! Come on in, try them...

Lost long review to brown out, so short/sweet. ..Another big time positive review, sorry. Isolation is amazing. Try earplugs and you'll have an idea what these things do. Not other maker out there, AFAIK, came up with the idea to put so small a transducer inside, literally, an ear plug. Great for commuting. Great for home. Get a good source. Check out MD players, or better the Ipod. I don't have Ipod, but www.headfi.org raves about the Ipod/Ety 4P pairing. Otherwise, try these with an amp if you can. Headroom may just be redifined for even some audiophiles. Search "altoids amp", <$100.

Superb sound reproduction. Outstanding noise isolation. Highly portable.

Some cord noise, but is eliminated when using the shirt clip. Can't jog with these things on, but obviously with the high noise isolation, these earphones are not designed for jogging use. You will also "hear" your walking....but again, these earphones are designed to be portable, but NOT mobile. If you want earphones specifically for jogging or walking, then I advise you to consider other earphones/headphones, as the cord noise/microphonic sounds will interfere with the music to some degree.

Some people may comment that these earphones don't have any bass. I just want to clarify something. These earphones CAN output bass....and a lot of it. The bass can be very rich and very detailed....never boomy. These earphones may sound a little flat compared to your previous headphones, but that's because these earphones have an extremely flat frequency response throughout it's range. Your previous headphones may have been engineered to "boost" bass response (some to the point of being too much). Some headphones may also boost both the treble and bass, in an attempt to give the music a warmer sound.... A word of advice, folks: you don't want your headphones to do this!!! If you want the ultimate in sound quality, you WANT a flat frequency response...and let your equalizer and amplifier boost the frequencies you want. The result will be a superclean, highly resolved, and full-bodied sound. You want more bass? Then amplify the bass frequencies (BEFORE it gets to these earphones), and the ER-4P's WILL DELIVER! I guarantee you that. You will hear your bass and you will feel it. Right now, I am listening to Diana Krall (Live in Paris), and let me tell you....the bass guitars really ROCK. So detailed... so perfect. Diana's voice is so clear and concise. Combined this with a multitude of instruments, I can actually choose the instrument I want to listen to and hear it with stunning clarity. This are one of the best earphones I have ever heard. It's hard to imagine getting better sound without paying dearly for it (and only getting a very small incremental improvement in sound - law of deminishing returns, I guess). For the money, these earphones are definately worth the money.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser 580, 590 and 600's Grado SR-1 ER-4s, ER-6's

Beautifully accurate. Small & light. Isolation- everywhere - great for flights ( Buy the Airplane headphone adaptor plug at the same time )

They seem a little fragile but other feedback says they're durable so count me as 100% thrilled.

It's you & the music - the rest is a movie with the sound turned off. Herein lies the wonder of these earphones; the ER4p earphones do a brilliant job of isolating you from any external sound and placing you within an audio cacoon of your choosing. The earphones deliver simply accurate sound right into the middle of your head. No hype, no wham, just pure balanced rendering of what was recorded. This upsets some of us, especially when we've become accustomed to being literally physically moved by bone shaking bass in movie theatres and dance clubs. I am a pretty mobile guy, moving around the country and writing at my laptop in public spaces and between places. This is why I am so endeared to these earphones - they allow me to create a sonic space for myself wherever, whenever. Roadworks? - I didn't realise, Traffic noise? - really?, Family fight? - when? I love using these earphones with my iPod in the gym - I can pace my workout and cooldown beautifully - I focus easily without overhearing others conversations - I can't even hear the Aerobic Class' thumping techno over the club speakers! It really is a case of Me & my Music...everything else is a movie with the sound turned off.

Similar Products Used:

None

Really revealing! Durable, small, very high fidelity, full frequency response, noise blocking, cheaper than some other headphones.

Really revealing! The cord is the worst design possible, although it can be replaced with home-brew solutions. Etymotic, fix this immediately! May lead to expensive system upgrades. Lowest frequencies cannot be felt. In-ear soundstage. Sound does not 'enter' ear, providing spatial cues, but rather is in your ear.

This is a pretty in-depth review. I'm writing this review because I wish that a review like this one had been written before I made my purchase, so that I could have read it and made a more informed decision. I have had these for some time now (about 9 months), and have used them with a variety of hardware and feel that I can now distinguish between the sound of these headphones and the sound of the equipment being used with them. The 'newness' has long since worn off, they are fully broken in, and I feel that my opinion on the ER4Ps is now an informed one. Engineering is all about trade-offs, some things have to be sacrificed in order to achieve particular design goals, and these ER4Ps are no exception. They have strengths, and they have weaknesses. First, the weaknesses: - Cord Design: This is the biggest pet peeve I have. This is design flaw, pure and simple. First, the cord attaches to the drivers at a 45 degree angle. This means that the cords stick out and down from your ears a few inches like pigtails, which looks goofy, and more importantly, affects sound when mobile. The weight of the cord pulls down on the drivers, acting like a lever which slowly loosens and pries the drivers from your ears. The feeling of this slow loosening is irritating, and if it breaks the seal, reduces low frequency response dramatically. A smarter design would be to have the cord attach at 90 degrees, going straight down, flush with your neck so that there is no leverage for loosening the headphones ( http://www.fixup.net/tips/ety/ety.htm ). The second major design flaw with the cord is that while the cord is durable, due to higher-gauge wires and thick insulation, these two 'strengths' produce vast amounts of microphonic noise, as mentioned in other posts. Do not underestimate how annoying this can be. Even while in bed, turning my head will produce this effect a little, masking the music that is playing. Running is out of the question, and even walking produces this. I have _sort of_ overcome this by pulling the ER4Ps up through my shirt/wife-beater and out through the neck, flush with my torso, so that very little cord is exposed and capable of chafing anything. Etymotic could solve this instantly and easily by offering a replacement cord made from limp wire like that used on lesser earbuds, which if combined with a 90 degree driver connection, would make these almost flawless, five star headphones instead of inherently flawed, four star headphones. This was a poor choice made by Etymotic, who paired this with their excellent drivers. Again, see http://www.fixup.net/tips/ety/ety.htm for details of what I mean. I hope Etymotic is reading this! I'd pay $35 for such a cord. - Low Frequency Bass: This is a tradeoff of having in-ear headphones. Low frequencies are not really heard, but rather felt. You will not feel these low frequencies with ER4Ps, even though, for all I know, the ER4Ps are producing them. Traditional, over-the-ear headphones (eg: Senn. HD600s) produce tones that are felt on the side of the head, a buzzing that provide a richness and depth to the bass. If you've ever been to a rave and felt the music buzzing your entire body, you know what I mean. The result is that the bass on the ER4Ps seems thinner than traditional 'phones. Simply be aware of this, especially drum'n'bass-heads! - In Ear Sound: The soundstage is very close and tight, especially as compared to open-ear headphones like Sennheisers higher quality products, as well as Grados. This is a trade-off of having the noise-blocking provided by foamy drivers wedged in your ear canals. It sounds like little drivers are in your ear, producing sound, as opposed to 'being there.' I must admit, sometimes that feeling does go away, and it is just me and my ocean of music. - Uber-revealing: This is also a strength, but the downside is that you will hear every blemish and weakness in your: transport, amp, interconnects, and source material. This can, depending on the latter, make for a very unpleasant listening experience. The super-revealing nature of these headphones is a two-edged sword. Be prepared to upgrade other audio hardware to accommodate these. Pair these with low-end crap (like my budget Panny discman) and you will have bright, noisy music. And now, the strengths: - Uber-revealing: Also a positive, these ER4Ps squeeze every last ounce of detail from your source material. Try Plastikman's Consumed, cranked up, and you will hear everything in the recording in crystal clarity and punch, from uber-lows to uber-highs. You can hear acoustics of recording rooms on some recordings, and on Miles Davis: live @ Newport 1958, one of the earliest stereo recordings, you can hear quite plainly the bassist humming along while he plucks strings on track 3. These are fast, tight, sweet little drivers. Give them quality hardware and they will reward you. - Quiet: They block noise considerably. It takes a little getting used to, but it is great on the bus, or sleeping w/ GF. It spares others of the trebly 'tss tss' of traditional earbuds/'phones, and allows you to listen at lower volumes with greater clarity. I can't wait to use them on an airplane! - Small: They can be stuffed in your pocket. Sennheiser HD650s cannot. - Durable: These are really durable. The small plastic drivers have been stepped on, with no ill effects. My sister has gone through three pairs of Bose Triports in the last year, without abusing them, so I really appreciate the 'toss 'em on the floor' build of the ER4Ps. Again, stuff them in your pocket/bag. - Frequency Response: These have flat response right through the frequency range of human hearing. Crank the treble/bass on your amp, and these respond in full. While you will miss the 'felt' frequencies, the 'heard' ones are all there, all the way down. These are not 'bright' but extremely neutral. I used to think they were bright, but it turns out both my cheapo, crappy Panasonic MP3 discman and Creek OBH-11 amp were the respective culprits there. If they sound bright to you, check your transports and interconnects. Their ruthless fidelity will make them seem bright if paired with bright hardware. Similarly, the may seem dark if vice versa. This is a testament to their neutrality. I use the foam earpieces for the best seal and thus the best freq response.

Similar Products Used:

A variety of Koss and budget headphones and earbuds.

Excellent Transparency

They don't clean themselves :,)

For those trying to decide between the P and the S model, I elected to go with the P and the P to S converter cable. As an afterthought, I emailed both HeadRoom and Etymotic the following question: "Is there any discernable difference in sound between the ER-4S and the ER-4P+ER4P-24 when connected to quality equipment un-amplified, such as Denon AVR-3803/DVD-2900?" Both HeadRoom and Etymotic said that, and I quote, "No. They are exactly the same". While I don't have any ER-4S's to compare to, the addition of the cable to the 4P's did change the extreme lows and highs, just as Etymotic’s data suggests. The converter appears to live up to its claim of turning the ER-4P’s into ER-4S’s. While it’s expensive at $49, the converter cable is a worthwhile purchase, in my opinion. It’s much cheaper than buying both the P and the S. Un-amplified ER-4P’s are quite adequately pushed by the following equipment: Sony D-NE300 CD Walkman, Palm Tungsten|T3 PDA, Aiwa CR-LD101 Digital AM/FM Stereo Radio, & Sony SRF-M70 FM/AM Sports Walkman. For the best of both worlds, I highly recommend the ER-4P+ER4P-24 combination.

Similar Products Used:

Sennheiser HD545, Grado SR-60, and more earbuds, including the Sony MDR-NC11 Noise Cancelling, than I can count.

SOUNDSTAGE, CLARITY, TOTAL HONESTY. YOU CANNOT BUY A BETTER PAIRS OF CANS!!!!! VERY COMFORTABLE ONCE YOU GET USED TO THEM--TOOK ME ONLY TO MOISTEN THEM A LITTLE FOR TOTAL COMFORT!!!!!!!

NOT REAL SMART FOR JOGGING. YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO HEAR THE CARS...

I REALLY BECAME INTRIGUED WITH THE ETYMOTIC ER-4P'S THROUGH AUDIOREVIEW.COM AND READ ALL THE RAVE REVIEWS THAT PEOPLE WERE GIVING THEM. THEY WERE PURCHASED ON EBAY FOR THE "BIN" PRICE OF $199.00. THAT COMPANY, AUDIOFAIR, HAS NEVER TREATED ME BETTER. THEY UNDERSTAND PEOPLE, THEIR LISTENING DIFFERENCES AND THEY UNDERSTAND THESE ARE QUITE A LAYOUT OF FUNDS. I GOT THEM A COUPLE DAYS LATER, AND FOUND VERY QUICKLY THEY WERE VERY USER-FRIENDLY!! THE WHITE-TIPPED CONES FIT QUITE NICELY IN MY EARS (ALTHOUGH I DISCOVERED A COUPLE DAYS LATER THAT IF YOU MOISTEN THEM, THEY ARE THAT MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE, AND THE FIT IS, ER, WELL, QUITE TIGHT AND AWESOME. THEY BLOCK OUT ALL NOISE AROUND ME WHEN I HAVE THESE BABIES IN USE, AND THATS HALF THE BATTLE!! THE OTHER HALF IS WHAT COMES THROUGH THESE AMAZING CREATURES. SOUND AS I HAVE NEVER HEARD BEFORE. YOU READ THAT SAME COMMENT FROM OTHER REVIEWERS, BUT IT'S VERY TRUE. THERE ARE ROCKNROLL SONGS I HAVE LISTENED TO ALL MY LIFE, BUT WHEN LISTENING TO THEM THROUGH THESE "4"'S, I HEAR LITTLE SOUNDS AND NUANCES IN THE MUSIC I HAVE NEVER HEARD!!! THEY ARE TRULY AMAZING. A FEW REVIEWERS HAVE COMMENTED ON THE CORD THAT GIVES THE "STETHOSCOPE EFFECT" BUT SCOTT AT AUDIOFAIR ASSURED ME THAT THIS PART HAD BEEN REDESIGNED BY ETYMOTIC RESEARCH, AND TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I HAVE NOT HAD THIS PROBLEM ONCE. THE GETTING USED TO ASPECT FOR ME LASTED ONLY AS LONG AS I DISCOVERED A LITTLE MOISTURE ON THE WHITE CONES MAKES A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE!!! I USE MY PAIR WITH MY SONY DIGITAL PORTABLE MDLP PLAYER, AND IT IS TRULY A WONDERFUL COMBO. I RIDE THE TRAIN FREQUENTLY, AND LISTENING TO MY ROCKNROLL THROUGH THESE IS ALL I HEAR!!! YOU CANNOT GO WRONG WITH THESE 4'S. IT IS TRULY WORTH THE MONEY TO GET THESE. YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO AT LEAST TRY THEM. AUDIOFAIR HAS A MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE. CALL SCOTT (1-800-992-0250) AND HE WILL CHANGE YOUR LISTENING LIFE. HE CHANGED THE WAY MY MUSIC SOUNDS--FOR GOOD!!!

Similar Products Used:

SENNHEISER, SONY, ETC--ALL OVER THE EAR, AND THE COMFORT LEVER JUST WASNT THERE.

Very small and portable, amazingly crisp, detailed and transparent sound. Great, natural ambience, especially for small size. COMPLETE noise isolation. Comfortable. Good warranty. Comes with plenty of goodies.

Expensive. Cable amplifies sound to your ears whenever it's touched, like a stethoscope, meaning you either get used to it, or don't walk/exercise with them.

Upgrading from Bong and Olufsen's nice little A8's, which sound good but cancel out no noise, I wanted something equal in sound quality but something that allows me to enjoy my music in the loudest of settings - after all, I do live in New York City. The price has continuously come down on these cans, so at the price I got them for, I feel they are quite a deal. They comfortbaly go in/out of your ears with either tip option (rubber or foam), and cancel out an amazing amount of noise. Cooking breakfast this morning while listening to music was truly bizarre - I couldn't hear the running faucet, the microwave, or even the blender - WITH MY HEAD NEXT TO IT. I'm sure these are stress-killers on long flights, although I can imagine these could get uncomfortable after long wearing-periods, simply because they block all air and moisture from getting in your ear. The sound quality is also amazing, and surpasses that of the A8's. I would describe the sound as very neutral and flat, with no noticible sonic personality (a true sign of a great audio product). The sound is crisp, detailed, and very transparent. I have even began noticing musical details that I never heard listening for years with varios high-end stereo's, including my current set-up. Cymbals crash with a brassy shimmer, vocals are crystal clear and powerful, and ambience is ridiculously natural considering these are are noise-isolating, in-ear phones. The bass is the thing most lacking, but you can't expect head-pounding lower end from tiny buds like these. The bass is, however, far better than other phones I've used in this size - far better even than my A8's. The bass is never overwhelming, just tight and punchy. I also like all the goodies they come with - a traveling case (small and large), numerous tips, a shirt clip, tools for changing filters, etc. My main issue with the phones is the effect caused my it being so far in your ear canal - the cable to the phones amplifies every sound, just like a stethoscope. Whenever you tap it or even brush your shirt against it, a nocible noise is heard in your head, disrupting the music. I'll just have to learn to deal with it, because I definitely got these for portable use - they're obviously so small to be ultra-portable, so I'm not just going to sit around not moving with them. But I can imagine that walking or exercising with them on, even with the shirt-clip, could be annoying.

Similar Products Used:

Bong Olufsen A8

Extremely focused, flat response, isolation, small size. Able to be powered to high levels with reasonable portables.

Price...I can't fault these guys for making a profit on such a great product though.

I have used the 4P's for about three weeks, and was using way too much EQ to bring up the low end, and really did not hear much in the lowest octave. I have been using my new 20GB iRiver player for mp3 playback, and CD playback on my Sony laptop. I called Etymotic about the low end problem, and they sent me out a sample of their larger yellow foam earplugs...an incredible difference!! Apparently I was not getting a good seal with the grey medium foams (and none with the flanged type) The low end has completely come alive and flattened out, and these now live up to all the hype the pro reviewers and you guys gave them!

Similar Products Used:

None

very good isolation audiophile sound quality replacable filters/ear molds ideal for portable devices

small cord noise (stethoscope effect), not recommended for jogging etc. you have to get used to them (pressure in the ear) a little bit expensive

When they arrived they didn't look to impressive at all. They actually looked tiny in comparison to normal ear buds. On the other hand these little thingies are NO ear buds, these are canalphones. That's right, you stick it right INTO your ear canal, just a fraction of an inch away from your ear drums. For that reason you have to clean them and even replace the 'filters' from time to time ... Provided you have a good seal (stick them in deep enough) you won't hear anything from your environment anymore ... no telephones or door bells ringing or children screaming! It's actually so silent that you can hear your own heartbeat if you listen closely. All noise from outside is shielded from you, the only sounds you will hear is from inside you or 'through your etymotics. A side effect of this is that suddenly you become much more sensible to noise/sound, ie. you don't have to turn up the volume so much. On the other hand eating crisps something you won't do a second time with your etys on, since the crunching noise will kill you. Well, this is also the cause of the famous 'microphone effect' (a misnomer) or 'cable noise'. Everytime you move the cable of the etymotics the (albeit small) noise of this will be (mechanically) delivered directly to your eardrums, very similar to how a stethoscope works. The noise of cable movement is not very loud, but it can definitely decrease you listening pleasure. So etymotics are not for people how want to listen to music while walking/jogging (you will hear every step you make). However etys are great for transatlanic flights or long journeys in busses/trains etc. or if you just don't want to carry your Sennheiser/Grados/Beyerdynamics around with you all the time! Due to the isolation (and the very good phones) the sound is crystal clear and very detailed, high resolution, almost linear from the deepest bass to the highest frequencies. If I would have to compare sound reproduction to 'normal' headphones, I'd compare them to Sennheiser HD580 - well, on the other hand you really can't compare canal phones with head phones ... Etymotic Research addressed three issues with the 4P that some customers of the 4S complained about: - lacking bass (actually it seemed on the graphs that it is almost linear, but some people think it a bit to weak. Probably because you can't 'feel' the bass like when listening to music using headphones or even boxes). Etymotic addressed that issue in the 4P (replaced filters?!) - you need an amp, ie. not be able to be powered directly from portable devices. They changed that by decreasing the impedance from 107 ohm (cord: 2 + unit: 5 + resistor 100) to 27 ohm (changing the resistor to 20 ohm). - cable noise. They replaced the cable with a more 'silent one', but unfortunately you can't get rid of the effect entirely. At least the 4P seems to be a little bit better than the 4S in this respect. So basically the 4P is a 4S with a better cable and lower resistor. So you can convert a 4P to an 4S by adding a (80 ohm) resistor. That's exactly what Etymotic also offers: a 4P to 4S adapter cable. So why would anybody 'downgrade' from a 4P to a 4S? Well, actually the 4S is the slightly better canalphone; the lower impedance of the 4P results in a slightly worse sound 'clarity' than the 4S. Nothing you would really realize at the first glance (or second), but if you directly compare a 4S (with amp) to a 4P you'll realize that the 4P sound a little bit 'muddy'. Okay, the sound quality is really excellent (both 4P and 4S), so what's the catch? - it's a little bit expensive (but worth it): the official price is $330, but you acn get them as low as $209 on eBay. Well, get the '4P to 4S adapter' aswell, and you 'll spend another $45. - some people have real problems with sticking things into their ears. I HAVE to agree that the first time you but them in they are really uncomfortable (huge pressure, even pain), but after a week you really get used to it. Sometimes you have a similar feeling to that you have after you were flying in an airplane at high altitudes, but it fades away after a minute or two. Well, this happens to ME, and some people have to complaints about the comfort of the Etys at all. It really depends on the person! Okay, if you want to invest another $100 you can get customized ear molds that will fit perfectly into your ear and you will avoid any problems. If you think spending $200 for 'ear bud' are a waste of money - well, about a month ago I would have agreed. But after listening to Etys you have something like a revelation: you listen to music as it was ment to be and wonder to what kind of crap you were listening all the time! Don't be scared about all the 'cable noise' and the 'ear pressure' that you'll hear and feel. These are minor disturbances that you'll get used to/handle after a short while. It's simply a price you have to pay if you want to listen to the best possible (portable) sound reproduction available at the market today ;

Similar Products Used:

Etymotic Research ER-4S Etymotic Research ER-4P to 4S adapter