Headphones

It's hard to imagine that such superb sound can come from such tiny objects, but trust us: these ER4S ear canal headphones [ECHs] are a traveler's best friend. "Extremely detailed across the entire musical spectrum", "well-balanced", and "amazing highs" are just a few phrases used around here to describe the audiophile sound of the Etymotic ER-4S. A lovely sonic check-out from the hectic & noisy 'real world' is what the Etys promise—and they will deliver. The minimum -23db of isolation leave the ER-4S unrivaled by any closed/sealed headphone or by active "noise-cancelling" headsets. Wearing comfort with all in ear headphones depends solely on your ear canals—85% of people find the design fairly comfortable to wear—and if you find the stock eartip sleeves too uncomfortable to deal with, one can always get audiologist-customized ear molds made exclusively for you by the good folks over at Sensaphonics or Westone Labs. The ER4S delivers a very well-extended midrange & ultra-clear treble response that might qualify as one the very best in the ear canal headphone category. However, funk-loving listeners who enjoy a big, full bass presence might find the Ety sound signature a tad lean in the bottom-end for their tastes. The ER-4S are one of the few earphones that require a dedicated portable headphone amp to sound their best. Their very stiff 100-ohm impedance rating makes them slightly hard-to-drive--and thus somewhat 'flat-sounding' and undynamic--when plugged directly into most portable audio players (iPods, Mp3 players) or laptop computers, unless you use a quality portable head-amp like one from our HeadRoom Mobile, Micro, or Desktop series! Please consider the nearly-identical Etymotic ER-4P model for non-amped use.

The high-impedance, single microdriver Etymotic ER-4S provides excellent sound quality while remaining small enough for total traveling convenience. Contrary to popular belief, the chances of hearing damage are actually lessened with the Etys and other ear canal headphones because of their amazing isolation properties—you don't need to turn them up as loud to overcome external ambient noise in order to get full musical clarity and impact. The ER4S come with two different types of variously-sized earpieces: black foam-material tips and white flanged flex-silicon 'X-mas tree' type eartips. If you find that neither of these tip types works right for your particular ear geometry, you can have a custom ear-mold made by specialists like Sensaphonics or Westone Labs. The ER-4S also include a shirt clip that serves dual functions: to keep the tension from the cord off the ears, and to deaden that annoying microphonic "thump" sound made by accidental rubbing/body contact with the earphone cable. The Etys are terminated to a 1/8" (3.5mm) mini-plug with a 5-ft cord, and come in a nice, plastic storage/maintenance case that contains the following: 3 pairs of white flanged rubber tips; 5 pairs of black foam tips; 2 green internal filters; a filter-changing tool; a shirt clip; a hard-shell carrying pouch; and a handy 1/4" inch adapter to a full-size plug.

Obtaining a good ear canal seal with the Etymotics--or with ANY in-ear earphone--is critically important for best sound quality. Please watch the Etymotic Insertion Video to learn more about proper in-ear earphone insertion techniques.

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Everything but the Cable
by Menisk from Canberra, Australia on 2010-01-12

Pros: Amazing sound, small and comfortable, scale well with better equipment
Cons: Microphonic cable, crosstalk problems
Would you recommend this product: Yes

Upon first opening the case for the ER-4s you'll find an array of tips and accessories. 4 different types of tips come in the package. 2 large and 1 small pair of tri-flange tips, 2 pairs of foam gliders and 2 pairs of cylindrical foam tips. There's good reason for including so many different tips. Each tip feels and sound different. You'll also see a packet of 4 filters and a filter removal tool. Lastly there's a 1/8" to 1/4" adaptor, but that's nothing special.

When you plug these IEMs into an iPod it instantly becomes clear that they need an amp to sound good. From the iPod you're presented with a flat and cold soundscape that although reasonably detailed is lacking in dynamics and anything someone might call a bottom end. For me an AMB Mini³ solved the issue perfectly. The amp cleared up some of the noise from the highs making them more resolving, brought out the slightly recessed midrange and added texture to it. The best bit was that it gave the headphones a really nice bottom end. It's not huge and enveloping but that's why it's so great. It's amazingly tight, detailed and deep, easily on par with my HD 600s in that respect, but it doesn't have the problem many IEMs have where the bottom end floods the lower midrange. It's a perfect balance.

The one place most IEMs seem to have lots of problems is soundstaging. Most are small and cramped. The ER-4 is different. Although the soundstage isn't huge it doesn't sound at all cramped or congested in any way and the instrument positioning is extremely precise. All of this makes you forget about the small size because the detrimental effects of a small soundstage don't exist here.

The S pulls away from is small brother the ER-4P in separation. The signature is fairly similar, but the S is noticeably less congested when compared to the P. The higher impedance and lower sensitivity of the S demands a portable amplifier because an iPod simply can't provide the required voltage swing to get reproduce the dynamics in the music.

In terms of isolation the ER-4s do not disappoint. They'll reduce the roar of a 747 or a bus full of screaming kids to a dull hiss that is easily lost in the music which makes commuting much more pleasant if there's no one to talk to on bus or you hate the sound of a roaring jet engine resonating around the cabin of a plane. The ER-4s amazingly manage to maintain a good seal while remaining fairly comfortable. The drivers are small and light with thin stalks allowing tips to be more flexible in terms of size.

Unfortunately it's not all good for the ER-4S. The cable is far from what you'd hope for. Although it is fairly durable it's extremely microphonic and bumping it results in a deafening sound. The shirt clip does resolve this to a degree, but brushing the braided cable on your collar is unavoidable sometimes and is still unpleasant. Unfortunately the connections from the cable to the driver are at an angle that make wearing the cable over the ear difficult and uncomfortable. There's also a noticeable amount of crosstalk in the cable but I can't determine whether it's intentional or not. If you have them at normal volume, tip the balance to one side and remove that driver you can still hear the music in the other driver reasonably audibly, however it seems to be the right amount for a slight crossed effect and makes me wonder if that's why the positioning of instruments on the soundstage is so great.

Of the 4 types of supplied tips I found the cylindrical foam tips to be the most comfortable as well as the most balanced in sound. The foam gliders were reasonably comfortable but put lots of pressure on my ear canals and become achey after a while. They also accentuated the highs too much and made the IEMs too bright. The small tri-flange were a little small for me but would seal. I found they lost the extreme high end.

On the whole the Etymotic ER-4S are an amazing pair of IEMs if you're happy to drag a portable amplifier around with you and if you can live with the microphonic cable. Sonically they are extremely balanced with an amazing high end and a tight, detailed bottom end that doesn't flood the lower midrange.

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Better Sound Quality than the ER-4P
by VinnieVidi from NYC on 2010-01-24

Pros: sound, fit, isolation, durability, extras
Cons: not suited for portable listening
Would you recommend this product: Yes

The only Etymotic model that trumps the ER4P is the ER4S. When used with a headphone amp. the S model proves wrong the claim that Etymotics are bass deficient. The only downside to the ER4S is that they are not efficient enough for an iPod. Because of this, the ER4P with the impedance adaptor is—in my opinion—a better buy. Otherwise, these are fantastic IEMs for just about any one except maybe for dance and rap fanatics.


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Does some things extremely well
by WillDaddy from Seattle on 2010-01-16

Pros: Noise isolation, natural midrange
Cons: No bass
Would you recommend this product: No

This is the only hi-fi product that I feel steered wrong by professional reviews. The "S" model has no bass and needs a brute-of-an-amp to drive them.

While I do love these headphones for air travel via HeadRoom Total Bithead, my Shure SE530's are a much better headphone overall (and 50%+ more expensive).

One other warning is that the noise isolation is so good that I don't use them in an office environment. You'll have to remove them to hear the coworker who just invited himself into your office to chat;)

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Superb IEMs!
by Homeros8000 from San Jose, CA on 2010-01-16

Pros: Accurate, Detailed, Great Value
Cons: Comfort, Versatility
Would you recommend this product: Yes

The ER-4S is a miracle. A tiny pair of earphones delivering the most accurate sound you can ever hear, astonishing details and fabulous live sound. Because of the ER-4S I discovered that my Denon AH-D5000 was extremely colored and not accurate, with ER-4S I discovered my music again. You can hear the clarinet or flute players taking a deep breath before blowing into their instruments, you can hear the performers budging in their seats, you can even hear the whole orchestra moving and taking a breath before starting the performance. I prefer these tiny diamonds to everything else, the sound is very well balanced, there is no instrument being more prominent than another (unless recorded this way), the bass is there if you get the good seal but it is not exaggerated neither is the treble. The ER-4S reveals the recording exactly as it should sound and certainly a good amplifier like the Headroom Micro will do the trick.
The only issue with those phones is comfort, because they should be inserted into your ear canals you cannot forget there is something inside your ears, but it is not painful. I think I will always use ER-4S for serious listening.

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