Noise isolation: 35-42 dB
Maximum output: 122 dB SPL
Weight: less than 1 oz.
Response accuracy: 86%
Frequency response: 50-10 kHz ± 2 dB; 20-16 kHz ±4 dB
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The ER-4P MicroPro noise-blocking earphones from Etymotic Research offer realistic sound reproduction and noise isolation that far surpasses that of active noise-canceling earphones. The ER-4P earphones--which require no batteries--can be plugged into any audio source. They can be used with portable CD, MP3, DVD, and other players without an additional amplifier. The ER-4P earphones were designed to match the response of the ear, creating nearly perfect sound reproduction. They reduce external sound naturally by sealing your ear canals, without the added weight, bulk, or external power supply required for active noise-canceling. Their external noise exclusion (up to 33 dB using the supplied 3-flange eartips and 41 dB with foam eartips) lets you hear the full dynamic range of recordings without your having to play them at unnaturally high and unsafe levels. What's in the Box
ER-4P MicroPro earphones, a 5-foot cord with 3.5 mm stereo phone plug, a .25-inch stereo phone adapter plug, six 3-flange eartips, 10 foam eartips, a filter-changing tool, 4 replacement filters, a shirt clip, a zippered pouch, a storage box, a user's manual, and warranty information.
This review is from: Etymotic ER-4P Portable In-Ear Earphones
I'm on record with a total rave of Etymotic's ER-6 headphones - but the ER-4P is vastly more satisfying. The difference is bass (the most immediately obvious difference). The ER-4p has phenominal bass for headphones - probably state of the art in this reguard. But what makes the ER-4p really special is its amazing dynamics. The soundstage is huge, and sonic textures leap out of velvet silence. It's hard to characterize superb dynamics. Music sounds "bigger". Quiet passages have more presence - and louder passages have more inner detail. Another strength of the ER-4p is that the extra bass energy allows the vibrant treble detail to sound balanced - not strident or analytical (as the ER-6 can sometimes sound). Between the dynamics and the bass, the ER-4p ends up sounding more musical and alive than the ER-6 (and thus virtually every other earphone). There is a touch of mid-bass ripeness - sometimes deep voices like Mark Knopfler sound a little chesty. There's also a downside the huge dynamics - sometimes a touch of congestion can creep in during crescendo peaks. The flip side of this is that quiet passages can have enormous presence and emotional power. Small scale accoustic stuff and female vocalists shine and have amazing presence. Nora Jones, for example, has never sounded better. Big rock doesn't suffer either. The fantastic treble detail and huge deep bass makes both classical and rock really slam. These really are amazing phones.
There are the usual caveats of an in-ear-canal headphone: Ear-canal type headphones like these must be inserted ALL the way down into the ear canal to get good bass. The better the seal the better the bass. One of my ear canals isn't straight and I sometimes have trouble getting that ear's earphone properly positioned. Once I do - the bass on these phones is amazing. This issue causes problems for some. Some people just can't tolerate something in their ears. My wife uses foam earplugs all the time but she's too squeamish to insert these earphones properly. I know plenty of people with this issue. Be honest with yourself about this before you make the plunge. If ear canal type earphones are not inserted all the way to make a good seal they sound tinny and lightweight with no bass.
Then there's the usual caveat for any high-end audio transducer: it's only worth the money if you've made sure the signal you're feeding it can do it justice. If your source material is great you'll thrill to hear all of it. You'll hear things you never heard before, guaranteed. If your source isn't good - you'll hear that too. I suspect this is the source of many of the complaints. There are a lot of people listening to low grade portable players - or to audio files with too much compression. Check out any peer to peer sharing sites and you'll find lots of audio tracks that sound like they were ripped off a poorly tuned AM radio station. If this is your music collection you should probably stick to cheap earbuds that soften and roll off the music. Etymotics will sound glorious if you are using lossless compression or high-bit rate encoding off good source material.
I'm an audiophile. At home I tweak room accoustics, cable types, speaker placement and the like. My lifestyle dictates I end up doing much of my listening on commuter busses, airplanes, subways, and long walks across the city. The Etymotics and my iPod - filled with losslessly compressed tunes gives me an audiophile experience on the road. I frequently hear things on this rig that I don't hear even on my high-resolution home system. This kind of musical satisfaction at this price is astounding - a total bargain. Part of what makes it work so well for passenger transport use is the excellent isolation. These things are earplugs - plain and simple. They cut out ambient noise exactly like earplugs. Be aware that sonic isolation can be dangerous for pedestrians, bikes, drivers, and motorcyclists. You can't hear the car horn that might save your life. I walk NYC streets all the time with these on, but when I jaywalk I'm extra careful to look both ways.
I've used ER-6s for last 3 1/2 years or so and was deeply in love. I'm probably a good candidate for Sensas, Ultimate Ears, or other expensive exotic phones, but decided to upgrade to the ER-4ps on reputation when the ER-6s began to lose some sonic integrity after years of hard use and rough treatment. (I use the ER-6s at the gym now - where they sound great and stay put during vigorous exercise). At first the ER-4p's bass was over-ripe. They need some burn-in time. After 5 hours or so the bass came into line with the rest of the frequencies. It is still extremely strong - sometimes almost overpowering. I find this a rare and desireable trait for headphones. Most phones - even really great phones like Electrostatics or dynamic phones like Grados or Sennheisers have deficient bass. The bass and dynamic prowess of the ER-4p puts them in a different league than the ER-6 - which can sound a bit hard and analytical at times. The ER-4p sounds almost euphonic by comparison. I don't think it actually is euphonic. I've used them for about 75 hours so far and they reveal the source material. They just do so in a beautiful way. If you care about audio quality, can tolerate ear canal type phones, and can feed them high resolution source material, you'll probably fall as deeply in lov...
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