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Etymotic Research MicroPro™ ER-4P Consumer Headphones
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Etymotic Research MicroPro™ ER-4P Consumer Headphones
34 reviews   4.79 of 5

Product Description

Price Paid:  $209.00 from EBay

Summary

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 ;

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Price Paid:  $330.00 from Etymotic

Summary

I've used these earphones for two years now and I cannot recommend them to anyone who doesn't have an excess of money. Yes, they sound superb. But you must sit absolutely still with your head and body leaning forward so the wire does not touch any object except the device it plugs into. Otherwise, you will be miserable with the resonating booms in your head as the wire brushes against your chest with the motions of mere breathing. If you tend to get excited listening to music like I do, don't buy these. The other reviewers, in my opinion, greatly underestimate this grave shortcoming. Secondly, these plugs must be pushed well into your ear canals to get the full frequency response stated. Not all of us have the same size ear canals. For me and most diminutive people I've introduced this to, no one could tolerate more than about one hour without physical pain. Even without listening to anything, you will have to take these out and rest every 20 or so minutes to allow your ears to breathe and the skin to regain the circulation. And this is coming from an ENT doc.

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Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary

I was a bit hesitent to spend this much money on headphones, but after already having splurged on an iPod, I felt the need to get better headphones. In summary, these things are the best portables I have listened to. There are better headphones out there, but not in such a portable package. I don't want to repeat the rave reviews already given, but I decided to write this to share the following tip. People complain about the irritating effect of friction on the cord. This bothered me as well, especially since I wanted to use the ER-4P while running. I solved the problem by tying a twist-tie around the cord just beneath my chin. This keeps any noise from friction below the twist-tie from traveling up the cord. Result: greatly reduced friction noise. Ety should realy make a small adjustable plastic ring for this purpose.

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Price Paid:  $320.00 from headphone.com

Weakness

After a few hours you'll find that they are harder to wear. Given that this is the PORTABLE model of the phones Etymotic should have a way of isolating cord sound. The seal makes friction on the cord very audible, when walking, this is a major pain in the ass. I have figured out how to keep the cord away from my body in the winter by using my scarf creativly but they should do a little work to remove this problem. The cord is also fairy stiff, probably a quality issue (better perhaps for sound) but that also makes any friction on the cord more audible. They are expensive. The Sony plugs sound good, not audiophile good, but are much cheaper, approx $50 or so... The portable model should have come with more adaptors. Not suited to outdoor activity. You would go mad listening to your breath and the cords friction if you used these when jogging, a good thing perhaps, they isolate you a little too well on streets for your safety.

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