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| Customer Reviews: | | Average Customer Review: ( 31 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
98 of 112 found the following review helpful:
 be sure you get what you want Oct 06, 2004
By Shakir A. Akbari
"hierophanta"
these earphones come in 3 types. the type being sold here are (type-s) are ment for home use with a stereo. etymotic makes a set of these made for portable use- the difference? the portables will sound fine from your portable cd player- the stereo set will sound great from your stereo be will be under powered from your portable device.
25 of 28 found the following review helpful:
Perfect for Traveling Aug 14, 2005
By J. Bohner
My primary purpose for these headphones was for superior portable fidelity. These headphones exceeded all expectations.
I have an Ipod which I have ripped my entire music collection using Apple Lossless format. Songs are quite large; typically 20Mb. But I cannot detect a difference.
I spend a lot of time in the air. The Apple ear buds are pretty good and I was fairly satisfied using them, especially in the office or hotel room. But in the planes, I'd have to turn up the volume to just shy of full volume to drown out the ambient noise and it still washed out the details.
I tried a friend's noise canceling headphones. It was an inexpensive pair (not the Bose). I could hear a small improvement. Not good enough.
I considered the Bose. But before trying them, I wasn't willing to carry bulky headphones and batteries. Batteries are also needed to listen without the noise cancellation activated.
So, after searching several Internet sites, I narrowed it down to Etymotic and Shure for:
- High fidelity
- SMALL package
- No batteries
- 30 decibel Noise Isolation through sealing (natural canceling)
I did not test either before buying. I leaned toward the Etymotic mostly based on reviewer comments. I like the option to be fitted with a custom ear canal adapter like a hearing aid for a perfect fit.
Likes
1. Small package. Fits in included 1.5" x 3" x .5" pouch.
2. Great noise reduction. I could only hear the person next to me talking if they spoke at normal levels a few inches from my ear in the plane. It seems to help cross country flights to reduce fatigue from the plane's noises.
3. Foam fitting seals the best in my small ear canals for best bass ambient noise reduction. Rubber fittings can be cleaned but are larger.
4. Sounds slightly better than my home system.
5. Efficiency. Because so much ambient noise was reduced, I only play my Ipod at just over half volume for normal listening. This translates into longer play time. The ER-6 version is even more efficient.
Dislikes
1. Cable Noise. Every time the thick cable touches something like rubbing across your shirt, you can hear it. It sounds similar to lighting rubbing your ear.
2. Too much noise canceling for some situations. I still carry my Apple ear buds for situations that I need to hear my environment around me like, walking on the street, in the office to hear the telephone or colleague, etc.
One other point mentioned by many other reviewers is the feeling of it inserted in your ear. It feels like an overstuffed Q-tip. Inserting far enough is essential for adequate bass and detail. I wasn't sure it I'd like it or not and it did concern me when some described inserting it a few millimeters from my ear drum in a review. It's not in quite that far. Only other option is high-end sealed over the ear headphones. But, they are bulky, hot and not conducive to abuse on the road.
Finally, ER4P or ER6. The ER6I is less expensive. But, the ER4P significantly outperforms the ER6 acoustically and through isolation. It also has an optional cable that converts it into the revered ER4S. I'm only going to buy one pair of head phones for home and away, so I chose the ER4. I've used them for about 4 weeks and will happily keep them.
13 of 13 found the following review helpful:
A decade with the ER4S Sep 22, 2008
By Reticuli
My pair of ER4S is about to turn 10 years old. I thought enough time had passed to finally write an Amazon review. Heh heh. I was the second person on Headwize.com (before there was a Head-Fi) to get them and post comments. I've used a seemingly endless number of headphones over the years: Sennheiser HD580, Denon 950, Sony 7509, Sony 7506, Sony MDR600, Koss ESP950 electrostatics, about half a dozen Koss dynamic headphones, one pair of Stax, Ixos' top of the line 1001, Pioneer's top of the line DJing headphones, two models of AKG studio headphones, JVC's former top of the line (only available direct), HN-7506, both versions of the Extreme Isolation UR-29, and a seemingly unending number of cheapos bundled with music players.
Whew! So what do I think about the Etymotic Research ER4S? I think it is frankly without peer amongst those cans I've heard. It is flat, transparent, resolved, extended, dynamic, fast, tight, totally grain-free, and impossible to distort. It is not capable of the inner-light of, say, Pierre Gabriel of Quebec's loudspeaker systems, or the sheer delicacy, finesse, and seeming perfection of Burmeister of Germany's loudspeakers. But those are, after all, loudspeakers. I've never heard any headphones achieve what those two audiophile names have. And yes, I have listened to them thoroughly and been marveled. If you question my ears, I was the only person in a room run by Thiele at CES (filled with audiophiles and magazine writers) to point out repeatedly and correctly when the active cabling technology was changed without us seeing.
People all have different tastes. We all have different hearing responses, even if slight. Our ear canals vary. And on and on. Your results may vary. But when I can take some of the most lauded DJ mixers and compare them adequately using such a relatively inexpensive piece of gear when heretofore it was only possible to do such comparisons on large nightclub sound systems, I feel pretty confident the little Etys are doing enough right to recommend them. Over time, I have found the black foam earpieces to give the best sound and comfort, but the white rubber flanged tips certainly isolate better, which if there's background noise is more beneficial to the sound than anything else. Years ago, I preferred the sound of the flange tips. Maybe I have hearing loss? Maybe I just didn't test the foam ones enough? Don't know, but they come with both, so you have no excuse not to try both. You can also get larger yellow foam ones and smaller blue flanged rubber tips. I tried the blues recently and they were too small to seal properly.
A word of advice on the flanged tips, use a dab of water on them, pull your ear up slightly, and put it in so the edge of the flanges are the same depth on both ears. After a few minutes, assuming you don't have ear problems, the pressure of the air between the earphone and the eardrum will equalize since the tympanic membrane is slowly permeable to air. If there's not much bass, you don't have it in deep enough, you need a better headphone jack, or the source device sucks. Most MP3 players have poor headphone jacks, so don't blame the Ety for having an impedance of 100ohms and wanting a touch more of current capability. In spite of that, they still sound impressive connected even to cheap gear. I have a $40 portable CD player with a monster headphone jack that, combined with the Ety, you'd have to pay a significant sum to keep me from using on airline flights. It makes flying not only tolerable, but something to look forward to.
27 of 31 found the following review helpful:
Excellent Sound, But they Do Take Getting Used To May 08, 2005
By dakotamoviefan
The sound produced from the Etymotic ER-4P headphones is excellent, but they do take some getting used to. When I first purchased the Etymotic ER-4P headphones I was under the impression they had to be inserted far enough into your ear canal that they almost scratched your brain. But they really don't have to be inserted that far. I have learned that if you moisten them, insert them quickly, with your mouth slightly open, you get a more consistently comfortable fit, tight seal, and improved resonance. I understand other reviewers complaints of a lack of bass, and I do click on the iPod EQ bass for a slightly fuller sound, but the bass on the Etymotic ER-4P's is intended to be a natural sound, not a boomy bass that is so prevalent with less expensive headphones.
It seems to me that I can hear sounds in music that I never even knew existed with other headphones. I have listened to many of my favorite 70's hits on my iPod, and the Etymotic ER-4P's give them a whole new life. For instance, John Lennon's #9 Dream sounds especially good, and when Carly Simon sings I can hear her enunciate each consonant as they leave her lips, and there are bongo drums I had never heard before in the Bee Gee's disco hit, More Than a Woman !! The Etymotic ER-4P's are a great pair of earbud headphones, but they may require patience and a moderate break-in period to get used to the feel of them. I would say the Etymotic ER-4P's easily rival the sound of my Bose Quiet Comfort II headphones.
12 of 12 found the following review helpful:
Great with iPod Jan 12, 2005
By Ethan T. Bold
I've been using the Etymotic ER-4P for about 6 months and I find them indispensable. I spend 2-3 hours a day commuting by bus and train, and the combination of a 20GB iPod with my Etymotic ER-4P is an essential commute accessory. They reduce ambient noise (even nearby loud conversations and normal train noises) to a quiet rumble, such that I can listen to music without feeling like I have to crank up the music to drown out those ambient noises.
I'm not an audiophile by any means, but I do listen to a lot of music. This setup (20Gb 3rd gen iPod + ER-4P) is by far the BEST listening environment I've ever experienced, way better than my crappy home stereo. The sound quality from these headphones, along with the acoustic isolation from outside noises, brings out parts of songs I've never heard before. I prefer listening to songs on these headphones over anywhere else, really.
I can't compare these to the ER-6 or the ER-6i, etymotic's lower priced alternatives. I sprung for the ER-4P's without trying either of those, but I have no regrets spending the extra $100 on them. Like the other reviewer said, just make sure you get the ER-4P if you're getting these for portable listening, as its impedances are tailored differently for portable devices.
These earphones do have to slide into your ear canal, which may freak some people out. I use the 3-flange tip (rather than the foam one, which felt kinda scratchy to me) and it took some getting used to. Allow yourself a few days to get over being weirded out by the feeling. And I'm not even going to get into the ear wax issues. ugh. Still, they're awesome.
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