Selection Guide

The earphone & audiology research gurus over at Etymotic Research in Illinois, USA have again re-vamped the ER-4P adding the 'T' (for "Traveler") to the name -- which means solely the addition of a handy airline plug adaptor and nifty new packaging. Otherwise, the ER-4PT remain the exact same awesome in-ears they've always been: a low-impedance, highly-efficient version of their 'amplifier-only' ER-4S model. Similar to the ER-4S in every way but impedance, the ER-4PT have attracted great interest in the in-ear world due to Etymotic's ("true to the ear") clean bass response and ability to achieve fast musical dynamics and robust volume levels from portable players (or other weak audio sources) without demanding a dedicated headphone amplifier. Etymotic's signature 'lean but tight' low-end response combines with truly excellent upper treble extension to provide a pleasantly engaging listening experience for mobile audiophiles seeking neutrality and true acoustic transparency. Huge bassheads should probably look elsewhere, however, since the ER-4PT bottom-end is perhaps a tad controlled for extra-funk hip-hop styles. So, what does all this mean? If you want to use reference high-performance earphones directly out of portable audio sources like iPod, iPhone, iPad, MP3, and computers sans amplifier without breaking the bank, the ER-4PT could be precisely what you need.

This low-impedance, single-microdriver earphone is the perfect portable audio player buddy and rates at a highly efficent 27 ohms impedance. The  Etymotic ER-4PT's earphone cabling is made out of a softer rubber material than the ER-4S type which slightly reduces the problematic "microphonic" cable noise effect (the 'cord just hit me' thump that echoes through your skull), which tends to be a common phenomenon with many in ear headphones. As far as other features go, the ER-4PT look like, are the same size, weigh the same, have the same earpieces/accessories, and come in basically the same package as the venerable high-impedance ER-4S model. The ER-4PT come with several different eartip types and sizes -- flanged silicon, rubber-flex, and squishy foam types -- plus 2 pairs of earphone nozzle filter replacements within the box. Although not necessary to drive the ER-4PT to cleanly dynamic audio performance, the additional clarity, impact, and musical detail resolution provided by a portable head-amp, as well as the soundstage cohesion and openness delivered by our superb HeadRoom "crossfeed" processor, will further improve upon the sound of these excellent earphones.

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

CUSTOM FIT OPTION:
As a very cool extra, optional custom audiologist in-ear molds for the ER-4 are available via Etymotic. Any customer purchasing an Etymotic product can register their product at Etymotic.com; after registering, you'll print a voucher from the Etymotic site, then schedule an appointment with an audiologist in the Etymotic network (which can be located through the Etymotic website by entering your zip code). Then take the voucher to the audiologist appointment, the audiologist takes impressions of your inner ears and sends the impressions -- along with the voucher -- to the Ety labs. Customer pays nothing to the audiologist; the lab will contact you for credit card payment ($100usd); the lab then produces the molds and ships them to the customer with the lab compensating the audiologist. BAM! It's a really easy way to get into 'master-level' sound quality performance and superb personalized wearing comfort at a very reasonable expense.

Exceptional Sound
Posted by MXM from Newark, Delaware on 2012-03-13

Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: very accurate, detailed sound
Cons: very revealing of the limitations of compressed music, some microphonics

My first piece of advice on these headphones is: break in, break in, break in. They sound good out of the box but they need at least 100-200 hours of break in to sound really great. Once broken in they are very detailed, neutral and accurate. The frequency response sounds very flat and may sound cold to those used to bass exaggerated phones. However, with a good seal in your ear, the bass on these is tight, neutral and accurate, not exaggerated. I drive mine with the Mico AMP/DAC combo and am blown away by the detail, texture and separation of the sound. I find the Comply P100 tips are great with these phones. They work like the included foam tips but are much more comfortable. They do not require as deep an insertion to get a good seal as the tri flange tips and pick up a lot less earwax. If you detect some muffling in the sound remember to change the included green filters regularly. Finally, with these phones I can easily tell the difference between a 128 kbps MP3 and Apple lossless files to the point where the former are hard to listen too. Feed these high resolution files and you will be very impressed. There are also a few problems with microphonics (sounds of the cord moving) but the supplied shirt clip helps a lot. I do not find this detracts from the headphones and is rarely audible when music is playing. However, I listen with them sitting at the computer and do not know how bad it would be walking around. Probably not the best choice for jogging.

Sound Quality

Comfort

Look & Feel

Durability

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