Etymotic ER4S "earplug" will have you immersed in music!
Written: Dec 26 '00 (Updated Mar 14 '01)
Product Rating:
Pros: Sound isolation (doubles as an earplug), Superb quality sound, Comfortable to wear
Cons: Expensive, Cable "rub" noise, Non-earplug wearers need to get used to it
The Bottom Line: Excellent sounding earphones that are comfortable and truly isolates outside noise. For musicians/drummers wanting to protect their hearing, this is a worthy $270 investment.
herjazz's Full Review: Etymotic Research ER-4S Consumer Headphones
If I told you that I spent almost $300 on some earphones, you'd probably call me crazy. Many people do, so you're not alone. But those people don't understand why I walk around with a silly grin every time I listen to music with these Etymotic ER4S that makes them worth every last penny I spent on this thing.
It's an earplug and a heaphone
I don't consider myself an audiophile, but just a musician concerned about protecting his hearing, but maybe these earphones are a sign that I may be getting there... One of the main reasons why I bought these Etymotics is that I needed some sort of headphone that would double up as hearing protection. I was tired and in pain from turning up the volume on my headphones while trying to hear the sound of a CD or metronome or recorded track over the loud sound of my drums and cymbals. I had two choices: get really big headphones/sound protectors that weigh a ton or something of an earplug/earphone hybrid: I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be nice if someone could stick a headphone into an ear plug?" And well, I guess some engineer thought about that one before because the Etymotic ER4S is exactly that! The major downside is the price, but if you compare this to wireless in-ear monitor systems (used by big rockstars and singers to hear other instruments and tracks without the use of monitor speakers on stage), which was my other option, the price is actually reasonable and competitive. But on top of that, they provide one of the most accurate sound reproduction and flat frequency range response of any heaphones out there.
Included in the package...
I always played (loud) music using Etymotic HR-20 earplugs which provide 20dB of sound dampening without distorting the frequency as much as regular foam earplugs and I have used them for many years and grew to love them. That's why I knew I'd probably love the Etymotic ER4S. It has the same replaceable silicon earplug at the end that is flexible and you simply insert the earplug way into your ear (optional foam tips are included, which you roll up and insert like regular foam earplugs). The earphones come in a plastic case, with replacement silicon and foam plugs, replacement filters and tool (protects drivers from the gunk in your ear), shirt clip, and carrying pouch. The cable is only 5 feet long which is fine (actually quite long) for use with portable CD/MD players, but I had to buy headphone extensions to use in my studio because my mixer is about 15 feet away from my drum kit. The tip is a gold-plated mini-stereo plug that you plug into most portable players, but the package comes with a 1/4" gold-plated adapter for use in professional audio equipment and in the studio.
Overview of the ER4S, ER4P, ER4B
Etymotic specializes in hearing aids, hearing test equipment, ear plugs, and hi-fi earphones. To give a quick overview, Etymotic makes 3 types of earphones: The ER4S (S=Stereo) is for use with a headphone amp, due to its 100ohm impedance. Most portable music players can't produce enough power at the headphone jack to power these earphones. That being said, I have no problems using this with my Panasonic SL-SX460 CD player at Volume "2" without an amp. If I were to use these earphones solely with a portable CD/MD player I would have gotten the ER4P (P=Power), which is designed for that purpose. It has less impedance (27 ohms) which means that you will not need an amp to increase the input signal that comes out of most portable players. The trade-off, however, is that the sound is not as "accurate" as that of the ER4S which audiophiles care so much about: the lower frequencies are perceived to be "boosted" a little because of the fact that the mid/high frequencies are a bit lower in output compared to the ER4S. But the ER4P supposedly has a better cable design that is less sensitive to "rubbing" noise (see below). The ER4B (B=Binaural) is really just for audiophiles listening to specially-recorded "binaural" recorded music (e.g. KEMAR™ manikin recordings) and not for most music out there, so you don't need to worry about that.
Getting used to the "plugs"
For folks who are not used to in-your-ear-canal earphones or earplugs, I will have to say that at first it may feel strange to stick a piece of stereo equipment way up your ear canal. But you have to make sure it's in there and you have created a tight seal. You will get the "plugged" feeling that you get from wearing earplugs and you'll hear yourself breathing and when you talk you'll hear yourself in your head. I am so used to using earplugs all the time that this is completely normal for me; but it may take you time getting used to. If you do not plug it in right, you will hear almost no bass, so make sure it is sealed well. The red plug goes on the right (Red = Right) and the blue plug goes in your left ear. I suggest you use the shirt clip because the cable will make lots of noise when it rubs again your shirt or any other object. This is the major disadvantage of these earphones: the cables are oversensitive and when it rubs against something, the sound is completely blown up and amplified in your ear. The worst is when you rub it between your fingers, especially after the point where the cable splits into two for each ear. Under normal conditions, you'll probably just hit the cable on your shirt when you walk, which isn't that bad.
The sound
Why live with this compromise? Because you have to hear these to believe the all the rave reviews that these earphones are getting in the audiophile circles. I never realized how "great" earphones/headphones sounded like until I started using these. In short, you can hear every layer of music from CDs that you've listened to all your life; you notice very subtle instrumentation and embellishments and you will hear instruments or layers of sound that you never knew existsted! I dare you to pick up a CD that you think you know inside and out and listen through these earphones: I guarantee you that you'll pick up some instrument track or sound that you've never heard before.
I don't know how to describe this experience in words, but every CD I've listened to makes me feel like I'm right on stage (for live recording/classical music) or in the studio with the band/singer. In short, these earphones lets you become totally engrossed in your music-listening experience, and the 23dB of isolation (aka "shut out the world") only adds to that "sound bubble" experience. My ears never hurt from listening to music for extended periods of time, unlike with cheap headphones with either way too much bass or way too much highs. These earphones have just the right amount of lows, mids, and highs. On a graph, it is not perfectly flat (it drops off a bit at the highs, simulating what our earlobes do to the sound before they reach our ear drums), but tries to simulate what human ears hear when we are in front of a pair of high-quality speakers on a home stereo system. Closed/sealed headphones generally do not offer as good of a sound as open headphones, but these are the best sound you can get from a sealed phone.
For the first time, I realized what great "bass" really sounded like. You don't actually "feel" the bass as you do with other headphones or through your car subwoofers or in front of my bass amp stack, which is a "boomy" or "thumpy" kind of bass. With the ER4S, you "hear" the bass, which is a totally different experience that may throw you off at first. When I first started using these in the studio for mixing down tracks, I had to remind myself to "hear" the bass and its tone and not just "feel" it. By the way, these are great for mixing down and monitoring in the studio due to its sound isolation capabilities as well as predictable and relatively flat frequency response.
Sound isolation
The sound isolation not only comes handy in immersing yourself in your music, but also for listening in loud environments, such as the NYC subway or in an airplane. Let me say that you will never leave for a plane ride without these earphones again! Planes are really loud and have white noise playing in the cabin, but the ER4S will totally shut out those sounds and let you listen to your music at safe volume levels. Before, I had to raise the volume to unsafe levels to compete with the noise, but that usually gave me a headache after 15 minutes of listening. With these Etymotics, I can sit back and close my eyes and listen to my music for hours and hours with a big grin on my face. The 14-15 hour plane ride to Korea isn't bad at all, as long as I have these with me...
Final recommendation
In summary, if you want the absolutely best sounding earphones that provide sound isolation and is portable and versatile, there isn't much of a choice out there, but the choice is a great one: the ER4S. If you are purchasing soley for playing on a portable player, I suggest the ER4P which is sold at the same price.
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Where to buy them
I bought these at HeadRoom's online website (they make their own headphone amps), Heaphone.com, for $269. They have a 30-day satisfaction guarantee which I think is very generous of them. I did a lot of research before buying these and I think you owe yourself to read up on these as well. Go to the Etymotic site and request a brochure/press packet and they'll send you many magazine clippings about the ER4S to read.
If you find that the silicon or foam plugs don't fit your ear canals (they are one size fits all, but you might have unusually large or small canals), you can be hard core and get custom ear molds made by Westone Labs (www.earmold.com) through an audiologist. These are doctors that fit custom ear molds for musicians (and for hearing aids), and you can look up your nearest audiologist on the H.E.A.R. website: http://www.hearnet.com/index.shtml
Links for further research:
HeadRoom's info on the ER4S (and you can order it there for the lowest price, $269):
http://www.headphone.com/ProductsHeadphones/EtymoticER4Sasp.asp
Etymotic Research's official website:
http://www.etymotic.com/
Ear mold manufacturers:
http://www.hearnet.com/affiliates/affiliate_earmold.shtml
-- or specifically, Westone Laboratories:
http://www.earmold.com/
Info about hearing loss and protection for musicians:
http://www.hearnet.com/
Makers of in-ear (wireless) monitor systems for musicians (but they do not all provide sound isolation like the ER4S):
Shure:
http://www.shure.com/psm/default.htm
http://www.shure.com/psm/psm_earphones.html
--use the PSM systems with the Shure E1 and E5 earphones, which DO provide sound isolation!
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