Summary

Ok, everybody agrees that the sound quality is second to none. Some CONS remain however: 1) Comfort 2) Bass 3) Stethoscope effect of wires rubbing 1) and 2) Throw away the white plastic earpieces - they are uncomfortable, don't make a proper seal, and give crap bass and don't exclude as much noise. Throw away the black foam pads too, unless your ea canal is very small. Buy the YELLOW foam pads and you cure both the bass and comfort problems. 3) The latest versions have cured this. So you now buy without the previus caveats being potetnial showstoppers.

Strength

perfect flat sound

Weakness

nonoe if you folow the above advice

Summary

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...

Strength

Sound isolation and detail are really good.

Weakness

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.

Summary

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.

Strength

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.

Weakness

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...

Summary

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.

Strength

Superb sound reproduction. Outstanding noise isolation. Highly portable.

Weakness

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.

Summary

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.

Strength

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

Weakness

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