Etymotic ER-4S

Earphones haven’t really changed all that much in the past decade since the sound quality has reached such high amounts to please real professionals that are listening to live recordings and other professional sounds. More effort is exerted by companies like Etymotic Research in bringing these amazing sound technologies to people that love to listen to their massive music collections stored in their portable media device or mobile phone. In order for the music experience to last, the earphones must also be designed to fit comfortably in any ear.

Etymotic Research responded by introducing the Etymotic Research ER4S MicroPro Reference Earphones several years back resulting to positive reception by both audiophiles and ordinary listeners alike. In fact, Etymotic Research is still offering these earphones on their site because they work remarkably well with the latest gadgets available.

Etymotic Research ER4S MicroPro Earphones

Design and Comfort

One of the secrets behind the ER4S’ success lies on the design of the eartips which strives to achieve some good noise isolation by having the eartips use a 3-flanged design approach. This allows the pair of earphones to fit nicely with the very tip sealing the ear canal effectively. It is much easier to moisten the earphones in order to reach that part, but the sound quality can still sound as good even if they are not inserted all the way. This method of inserting them in can make it a bit more comfortable for some listeners and can improve the resonance.

In case the standard pair of eartips does not fit well, the package includes 5 additional 3-flange eartips as well as 10 foam eartips to cover all the needs of different people from recording engineers to performing musicians or ordinary individuals that want to hear the best of their music. It also comes with a filter-changing tool along with 4 replacement filters. There is also a 0.25-inch stereo phone adapter plug to expand its compatibility with various media devices and a shirt clip for listeners on the go to have some comfort as well.

All of these components and accessories are placed in a nice storage box and can be transferred to a zippered pouch for traveling. Although there are some issues with cable noise, the cable is longer than many of the earphone pairs reaching a total of 5 feet when fully extended. Using ER4S MicroPro can take some getting used to because of the unique design, but once the right earpieces are used, the real quality comes in, taking the form of good audio quality with good comfort.

Actual user review:
“These earphones are probably the best thing I have ever heard. The sound in clear and crisp. The notes, I never knew existed, seem alive and vibrant here. The noise isolation is terrific. These guys at Ety really know their stuff. I was on a trans-atlantic flight and these earphone kept the sounds of the engines to the bare minimum.
The only thing is that you need a headphone amplifier if you’re listening to em on an iPod or personal musical device. The amp really lets you explore these earphones to their maximum potential.
So in conclusion, great earphones, probably the best in the market but you need an headphone amplifier to really utilize the potential of these earphones.” – M.Vaze (MA, USA)

Features

The “S” in the ER4S indicates that the best sound quality is attained when plugging them in on stereo sets. Although audiophiles may notice them slightly underpowered when plugged into portable devices like the many portable media devices and mobile phones out there, the sound quality still manages to be better than the ordinary headphones that often come with the model. They are used best with good sounding devices like iPods and any music-dedicated phones with a 3.5mm jack.

ER4S MicroPro Earphones also perform better in noise isolation than other earphone models that focus on noise canceling. In fact, some people may find the sound to be too isolated when fully sealed in, which is good for people that want to concentrate on the music. Enjoying the music this way allows listeners to hear their favorite tracks while hearing some new sounds that traditional earphones failed to catch. This is because of their amazing accuracy to make even live recordings to sound as if they are being played live in real time. The Etymotic Research ER4S MicroPro are so accurate that they can be a suitable replacement for monitor loudspeakers.

Bottom Line

Noise exclusion can vary depending on the eartips used, reaching up to 33 dB for the 3-flange or 41 dB for the foam eartips. These are not the best earphones for bass, but using them in high quality equipment allows these types of tracks to sound just as good if the equalizer settings are adjusted. Portable users can still find these headphones useful as favorite songs can be enjoyed at lower volumes effectively increasing battery life.

More user reviews:

• “IMO, the single best thing about the ER4S is their durability. I’ve literally owned dozens of earphone sets and all but the Etymotics that I continued to use eventually bit the dust. Usually it was a cord discontinuity most likely very near the plug. I’ve replaced countless cables and plugs, pulling out my soldering iron and rummaging through my collection of parts. Once I got the Etymotics I had put all that behind me. Not once have I had a problem with the ER4S cables or plugs. The only times I have experienced cutout of a channel was when a filter got clogged, which has happened a few times. It’s pretty simple to replace a filter, and they give you extra filters and a tool to remove the old filter. I figure I can probably clean the old filters but haven’t bothered trying because I have an ample supply of new ones. ” – D.Musicant (CA, USA)

• “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 Thiel 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.” – Reticuli (LV, USA)

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