Best Cans for Travel??

The e4s definitely are one of the best sounding buds. Only the shure E5s have as good sound. If your willing to spend the money, get them.

I'd get Etymotic ER6i for $110, or like you say, one of the higher end Etys. The 6i were designed for use with portable devices, which is a plus. There are probably comparative reviews around here somewhere.

The E4 p's are set up to run un-amped from a portable source. I had a pair and they have the best isolation I have ever exprienced. I say I had a pair, because I lost them on a trip to Las Vegas this past summer. The sound was very detailed, good bass response as far as extension goes, the highs also had excellent extension. I used them for everything from Airline movies (what a revelation that was, I could actually understand every bit of dialogue without trying) to playing from my iRiver 790 player. Little Feat, Joan Osborne, John Hiatt all were rendered beautifully over the ER4P's. The only complaint I had was the comfort level for me with them in my ear canal. The triple flange adapters felt like they were so close to my ear drum (they felt like it) that I was sure in adjusting the fit to ensure the best bass response that I was going to push into my ear drums.

After losing them I waited to get another set. I got enough money to get another pair, I bought the Shur E3C's. 1. They were much more comfortable. 2. the carrying case for the Shure earphones is Fantastic (there's a spool to wind up the cord of the earphones). ER 4P's use a pouch, where you basically stuff the earphones into this small space and hope for the best. The softflex ear cones are so easy to put into your ears and so so so so so comfortable to use it was no contest.

Sound wise they're close IMHO. Isolation wise, the ER 4P's are the best you'll get. No leakage of Jet Engine sound or other passengers. The only problem is when the pilot makes an announcement it was like someone had turned up the VOLUME because they must have been deaf!

The Shure's isolate a lot of the sound, but I've never duplicated the experience of that "Sound Proof Booth" I had grown to love.

I did ask about slightly larger tips for the Shures, but no definitive noises from Shure on that one. On balance, the ER-4's with the big tips have the isolation edge for plane travel, but I also happen to find those tips the most intrusive and irritating. YMMV.


However, the E3c works very well with MD equipment (probably because of the higher efficiency of the E3c), and the sonic difference between the ER-4P and the E3c is probably the most minimal on your 5mw Sony MD, as well as being the most controllable (good EQ on most MD's). Tough choice... I'd consider if you have more plane or regular commute/general purpose-type use. If the former is the case, I'd go Ety. The latter, I'd go Shure.