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Etymotic Research ER-4S Consumer Headphones
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Etymotic Research ER-4S Consumer Headphones
34 reviews   4.59 of 5

Product Description

Summary

I bought these headphones after years of trying anything to cut the backgrond noise at the plant where I work while still allowing me to listen to my tapes of my favourite radio shows. I even tried earplugs with headphones over them. Nothing worked very well until I discovered these little beauties on the internet. Fantastic is the only word for them,I had only hoped to be entertained in a relatively quiet enviroment but suddenly there was near silence with real Hi-Fi sound. I use Sennheiser HD600's at home like a lot of you other guys and this was just as enjoyable and from only a Sony tape Walkman! One last point concerning loudness, as one other owner said they don't need to be as loud because of the quietness but if your C.D./M.D. isn't loud enough try an oldfashioned tape Walkman. I love digital but with any headphone I have found tape to go louder.

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Summary

I received my Etymotic ER4-S and Headroom Airhead amp today. Source is their recommended Panasonic SL-SX460 portable cd player. I realize these may require some break-in but I thought I would post my initial impressions.
1.)They completely isolate you. Have someone stand in front of you and talk loudly. You can't hear them. At all.

2.)I feel the complaints about lack of bass are overstated. Without a good seal to the ear canal they sound like they should cost about .79 cents. The white rubber tips happen to work wonderfully for me so I can say that the bass is accurate and flat right down to the lowest tones I was able to listen to.(synthesizer bass and drums) I didn't even really notice the reported perceived lack of 'felt' bass. They do need an amp. Plugging these into the jack of a portable is a disappointing experience. Unless you have an amp for these you should probably look into the newly release ER4-P or a more effecient alternative.

3.) They are pretty much perfect in every way that I can hear except for one flaw which nobody seems to have brought up in all the reviews I have read. They seem to be missing a lot in the higher frequencies. The frequency response here is 20Hz to 16KHz. I frankly didn't even pay attention to the specs before I bought these and only re-read them after I had listened to the ER4-S for about 3 hours. I realize that a major variable here is the condition of my own ears but I immediately noticed a perceived lack of what I think would be higher frequencies which I didn't notice on some other high-end phones I have tried. A hit on a snare drum or cymbals just lacked the sharp definition that I was expecting. Some critics berate .mp3 audio because one of the common techniques for perceptual encoding is removing frequencies which most people don't hear. Most mp3 encoders, among other thing, pretty much remove frequencies above 16KHz. These phones would seem to lop off the top 4KHz from what most people w/ these will listen to, a compact disc. I am somewhat surprised that nobody has brought this up in criticism of the ER4-S. That being said, they are perfection from 20Hz-16KHz.

I bought these for isolation and boy did they deliver. I am almost wondering if I bought too much isolation but all the sealed headphones I tried didn't offer enough. If I flew a lot these things would be mandatory. They do everything they claim to do beautifully but the lack of high frequency response makes me question whether or not I can honestly call them hifi. There is definitely nothing as small as these that sound this good.






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Summary

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.

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Summary

I hesitate to call myself an audiophile after looking at some of the reviews on this site and others. I'm not wild about spending tons of money on things that may or may not actually improve sound quality. No $5000 CD player will ever decorate my audio rack.
That said, a few months ago I spent big bucks for a pair of glorified earbuds. Don't get me wrong, I'd carefully researched the purchase. I first heard of these headphones in a review in Stereo Review. The sentence that sticks out in my mind is "the closest thing yet to a direct sonic connection to the brain." Well, after listening to them, all I can say is "Yep." Is is worth it for just anybody. No, probably not. The level of sound quality is not 10 times better than a $30 pair of earbuds. But if you are a hardcore audio enthusiast who wants a new piece of equipment, you'd have to search pretty hard to find a better way to spend your dollars.

The detail you can hear with these headphones (earphones?) is amazing. It is the type of product that will make you go back through your entire music collection listening to everything again to see what you've been missing.

Pay attention to the caveats mentioned in other reviews (must get used to having something inside your ear, transmitted sound through the cable rubbing against stuff, bass is present but different). But don't let those stop you if you want the best sound possible--literally.

Also, I can report that listening with these at home with a powered subwoofer is very pleasing. In fact, I'm doing that right now. Funny how two of the three reviews here were written while listening to the product being reviewed. I can't even hear the clacking of the keyboard...

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