True Reference IEMs! | Etymotic Research ER4S MicroPro Reference Earphones

Etymotic Research ER4S | Etymotic Research ER4S MicroPro Reference Earphones

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	• Etymotic Research ER4S MicroPro Reference Earphones Etymotic Research Etymotic Research average customer review:based on 22 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Superb, natural sounding, reference quality earphones!

Etymotic Research ER-4S High fidelity earphone

I just received my ER-4S earphones, purchased at the bargain price of $159.95 with free shipping from Academic Superstore.

I am a professional musician with extensive recording and performing experience. I have several other headphones in my arsenal, such as Sennheiser HD600, Sony MDR-V6, Nakamichi SP-7, and the Sennheiser PX100 among others, and because of their truest rendition of the recorded sound, my principal standby and favorites are the Sennheiser HD600, driven by the Little Dot MK 1 headphone amplifier.

Much has already been written about the the Etymotic ER-4S, so I will not go into a lengthy discussion. Before ordering them, I was somewhat skeptical about their ability to reproduce a full range sound, but right out of the box, they surprised me with their exceptional clarity, smooth and detailed highs, excellent midrange, and rock-solid bass (provided they are inserted deep into the ear for a perfect seal). While the sound stage on these is not as wide and expansive as on the HD600s, I expect it to expand after about 100 hours of breaking in.

If you are after a booming and earthshaking bass in your music, these cans are not for you, but if you are a classical music fan, or musician, who seeks realistic rendition of the recorded sound without an exaggerated and distorted bass, then you would be hard-put to find many others that could rival these, and you would have to pay well in excess of $1000 to begin to achieve the transparency and clarity that these provide.

A FEW CAVEATS!

1. These cans are going to make a poorly engineered recording sound worse than the average run-of the mill bass boosted medium-fi cheap phones. You will instead be able to hear every little flaw in mike placement, room acoustics, and flaws in the musician's performance if any. The performance of these earphones is analogous to that of an extremely sharp photographic lens that reveals every little wrinkle in the face of the subject!

2. Proper insertion into the ear is a must! If not inserted far enough into the ear, they will sound tinny and weak. If you can not stand to have something in your ear, then these are not for you. One can get used to wearing them, but not everyone.

3. The ER-4S, with their 100 Ohm impedance, require amplification. Without a headphone amplifier, they will sound thin and weak. For the person who does not want to use a headphone amplifier, the ER-4Ps are a better choice -- they have slightly more bass and are more efficient. But, for the best, and truest rendition of the recorded program material, the ER-4S with a headphone amplifier is the way to go.

Aug. 2, 2008 Update:

After only 36 hours of break-in, the sound stage has expanded considerably, the bass is much more prominent, and the treble is now much smoother. These are indeed great earphones, which I would not hesitate to recommend to anyone who has the ability to appreciate them, and is aware of the caveats I have mentioned above! The ability to isolate oneself from ambient noise, and connect completely with the source in a way that is one of a very high quality is one that is hard to beat, even at much higher prices.

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True Reference IEMs!

I've enjoyed the er-4s by etymotic for 4 years now and yes, they are In Ear Monitors. They are True Reference In your head phones. They are as good as your source, garbage in=garbage out, my friends. These are amazing and the best your gonna get. So if you can get past the in your ear canal thing-you will not be let down. They do take an amp to really shine-if your going out of a ipod or other digital source then go for the er-4p-you wont get the audiophile experience out of the er-4p but you can always get the p to s adapter later...enjoy! Thank you to Etymotic and here's hoping these babies are always around...go ahead and experiment with headphones but use these IEMs for referencing of the source. If the source doesn't sound good on these then you've got a bad source or a bad link in the sound chain.

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Etymotic Research ER4S

This is my third set of these earphones. As a production Sound Mixer I first bought a pair for High Noise monitoring. For this they worked as good as my regular headphones, but with the added bonus of being a fraction of the weight and a lot more comfortable during a 10 hour work day. They handle the full spectrum audio well including the bass response and are not tinny like some earbuds that are on the market. My last pair I took with me on a reality show in Palau Micronesia and once again they performed well, until they were caught on a tree branch. When I returned them to Etymotic for repair I experienced fast and excellent repair at no charge, as the earphones were still under warranty. As an added bonus these fit under a crash helmet and help keep wind noise down whilst riding my bike.

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Pretty good ear canal phones

The headphones come with a great case and a selection of three silicon earpieces. The earphones must really be shoved deep into your ears My ear canals are large so that it is hard to get a tight seal unless those earpieces are shoved deep. This makes it a little less comfortable. I found that I could achieve a deeper insertion and better seal if my mouth was open when I inserted the earpieces.

The sound appears to be quite good and accurate. I do not think that the bass is enhanced or exaggerated at all. These appear to be Eymotic's top of the line for a commercially popular product. Amazon has them significantly discounted so that they are very competatively priced. In fact, they are a pretty good deal right now.

The wiring appears stout and is likely to last with proper care. I would say that given the choice, I might pony up a little extra cash and get the Ultra Ear or Shures. I think that you get a slightly warmer sound from either of those ear canal phones and the fit into the ear is not so aggressive.

I do not regret the purchase of the Etymotic ear canal phones, but I think some others are more comfortable. The model that I am referring to is the ER-4P which is meant for mp3 devices. I think it sounded pretty good without a headphone amplifier. However, when I hooked it up to a headphone amplifer, the bass came in quite strong and I found it a better all around listening experience.

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Delivers what it promises

This is my second set of Etymotic earphones. They perform as described, delivering superb stereo reproduction. I wore my first set daily 4-5 hours for 2+ years. Unfortunately my cat got hold of them and destroyed the wiring.

Here's why I think they deliver value for money:
- first and foremost, they deliver terrific sound reproduction
- they block extraneous outside noise
- comfortable fit
- durable, cats notwithstanding

However, these earphones may not be right for you:
- They insert into the ear canals. If this is troublesome for you, take a pass.
- These earphones have filters that require periodic replacement depending on use. I use mine daily and change filters approximately every 6-8 weeks. While it's a very easy procedure to replace them, these filters cost $5.00 per pair, thereby adding to the cost of ownership. I purchase 4-5 sets of filters at a time to save on shipping costs.

If the above caveats aren't a problem, you'll probably be very happy with your purchase.

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The ER-4 MicroPro earphones are the next best thing to live music, with noise isolation far surpassing that of active-noise-reduction earphones. The ER-4's require NO batteries, and can be plugged into any audio source. Their 20-25 dB of external noise exclusion allows you to hear the full dynamic range of recordings without having to play them at unnaturally high and unsafe levels.The ER-4S (Stereo) is the musician's choice. Extremely detailed, well-balanced, and tight bass are just a few words to describe their awesome sound. These phones offer a sonic checkout from the real world!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

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