Wmcmanus
President treasurer secretary and sole member of the Cayman Islands Head-Fi Club.
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2002
- Posts
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I wasn't sure where to post this thread. Would it be headphones? Nah. Would it be the member's lounge? Nah. I know, "tweeks"! That's what the ER20's are, and a good tweek at that! They can save your hearing from some of the nasty things that can happen to it from over exposure to high dB listening.
(Oh, by the way, mods... if this really is the wrong forum, please move it where appropriate.
).
Ok, so is there a point to this story? Yes, of course.
I was fortunate enough to have met Mead Killian, president of Etymotics Research, at Head-Fi's first annual national meet in Bayside, NY, last month. He was quick to press a couple of small packages into one hand as he shook the other. To my surprise, I was now the owner of not one, but two pairs of Etymotics Research ER20's (I kept the one pair and gave the other pair to immtbiker who was the 'chief' organizer of the national meet and somehow got passed over during 'goodies' time). As it turned out, my great luck was only starting that day (I later won a rather nice looking mini to mini interconnect made by Head-Fi member ayt999... thanks Alex!, and even more excitedly, a gorgeous looking and sounding Original CD player... thanks Ping Gong of AAA-Audio, who is the US importer of the Original line of products).
Where was I? Oh yes, the ER20's. This afternoon I finally got around to giving them a try. Sitting in my usual listening position and wondering aloud to myself, "Why do have the volume so cranked up, you big fool?" I pulled out my trusty Radio Shack SPL meter and took a quick measurement. It was "only" 95 dB but with 100 dB peaks. Hmmm, just maybe tad on the loud side, but ever so glorious. Playing was "Roundabout", cut 1 from the Yes "Fragile" albulm. I've got the DVD-A version and it was so life-like and vivid through my still-new-toy-syndrome mbl 101e speakers. But can I get this kind of emotional impact without punishing my ears so much?
Out came the ER20's and a pocket knife to get past the child proof packaging. Kids, don't play with these! They could be good for your hearing! Actually, all you really need to do is cut the outer plastic seal, and even that is just there for sanitary purposes. The "non returnable after opening" label gave me that clue as well as a measure of certainty that I wasn't about to 'share' in someone else's ear wax residue.
A handy little instruction book was found inside. It gives a basic description of the product, demonstrates how to insert, remove, and clean the ER20's, and shows a graph that depicts what the product is designed to do, which is to "reduce all sound 20 dB evenly across the frequency range." But being the skeptic I am, I was about to do my own experiment with the only measuring devices I'll ever really need (besides the Rat Shack SPL meter of course). You've got it: my own two ears!
In go the ER20's. That was easy, and I didn't even have to read the instructions. I guess being a former ER-4S owner helps. The ER20's use the same white tri-flange ear tip design, which I always preferred to the foamies.
Wow! Not good. It sounds so muddled. Could that honestly be only 20 dB of isolation? In with the ER20's and back out several times, wondering if maybe I shouldn't jam them in so far as I once did with the ER-4S to get a "perfect" seal. I'm not liking these things at all. Everything sounds so, uhhhh... well... attenuated. Maybe they are working as described? But it sure seems like the upper frequencies are cut off more so than the lower frequencies.
So now it was time for the experiment! I'll listen to the same track with the ER20's inserted at 95 dB (100 dB peaks), and then listen to the same track at 75 dB (80 dB peaks) without the ER20's inserted.
After some experimenting with the stepped attenuator of my Singlepower Maestro ZR (now serving quite capably as a preamp in my 2 channel rig) with the Rat Shack meter in hand, I was able to "volume match" for the 75 dB and 95 dB levels. In fact, since the meter reads in 10 dB incriments, this was a rather easy task to accomplish. Now back to the listening seat.
Impressions? Recall that at first, I was thinking that the ER20's tended to tame the high frequencies more so than they did the lows. But I think what was happening was that the room itself was still getting a 95 dB signal, so I could still feel the low level impact all the way from my toes to my chest. This gave a false signal of an uneven frequency response.
What I found instead, is that 75 dB is a VERY low listening level for me! Sure, if I were listening to a soft jazz or classical piece as background music while I'm working at home (as I often do these days)... but otherwise, no!!! This isn't loud enough for me and I'm simply not used to listening at this level. So what at first seemed "muddy" at 75-80 dB (as attenuated) with the ER20's inserted, was actually -- to my amazement -- what it was SUPPOOSED to sound like!
In fact, after doing the A/B thing a couple of times, I could hardly tell the difference between the unattenuated 75-80 dB signal and the 95-100 dB signal as attenuated with the ER20's. Not only did they sound the same in tone and evenness of response, but they also sounded like the exact same volume setting. Pretty cool stuff here.
I find the claim made by Etymotics that the ER20's "reduce all sound 20 dB evenly across the frequency range" to be true to my ears. Not only the "evenly" part, but the 20 dB part as well.
Interestingly, on the back of the instructions book included with the packaging, it indicates "Noise Reduction Rating 12 decibels (when used as directed)." But then there is a further note added that squares with my experience. It says "NRR is computed from a formula that does not give the typical sound reduction experienced by users. With properly inserted ETY-Plugs, sound reduction is 20 dB." Indeed! To my ears (with the Rat Shack meter as my assistant), this is as close to 100% true and anything I've ever read.
In fairness, my tests were rather brief and certainly not controlled in any meaningful way. No blind testing by this guy! There may be a slight muffle introduced by the ER20's. That is, a muffle that affects the tonal quality of the music such that some of the more fine nuances that you might otherwise be able to pick up on would be lost in translation. I can't really be sure. But if that is the case, what you might be giving up would be the n'th degree of refinement. It would be nothing that would seriously affect your enjoyment of a live concert. In fact, without the ER20's, I don't know if I could enjoy certain concerts at all, and I guess that's the point. The ER20's are not designed to be used by the audiophile while flipping through to his record collection in his living room at otherwise unbearable volume levels. Instead, they are designed to allow you to enjoy musical events for which you would not otherwise be able to control the volume. They do that brilliantly.
Just for sake of full disclosure (now that I think about it), Mead didn't seem to have any idea that I was a Head-Fi moderator or that I would eventually get excited enough about the ER20's to do a write up. He just noticed that I seemed interested in his display, and handed me some of the freebies that he had brought along with him for that very purpose.
(Oh, by the way, mods... if this really is the wrong forum, please move it where appropriate.
Ok, so is there a point to this story? Yes, of course.
I was fortunate enough to have met Mead Killian, president of Etymotics Research, at Head-Fi's first annual national meet in Bayside, NY, last month. He was quick to press a couple of small packages into one hand as he shook the other. To my surprise, I was now the owner of not one, but two pairs of Etymotics Research ER20's (I kept the one pair and gave the other pair to immtbiker who was the 'chief' organizer of the national meet and somehow got passed over during 'goodies' time). As it turned out, my great luck was only starting that day (I later won a rather nice looking mini to mini interconnect made by Head-Fi member ayt999... thanks Alex!, and even more excitedly, a gorgeous looking and sounding Original CD player... thanks Ping Gong of AAA-Audio, who is the US importer of the Original line of products).
Where was I? Oh yes, the ER20's. This afternoon I finally got around to giving them a try. Sitting in my usual listening position and wondering aloud to myself, "Why do have the volume so cranked up, you big fool?" I pulled out my trusty Radio Shack SPL meter and took a quick measurement. It was "only" 95 dB but with 100 dB peaks. Hmmm, just maybe tad on the loud side, but ever so glorious. Playing was "Roundabout", cut 1 from the Yes "Fragile" albulm. I've got the DVD-A version and it was so life-like and vivid through my still-new-toy-syndrome mbl 101e speakers. But can I get this kind of emotional impact without punishing my ears so much?
Out came the ER20's and a pocket knife to get past the child proof packaging. Kids, don't play with these! They could be good for your hearing! Actually, all you really need to do is cut the outer plastic seal, and even that is just there for sanitary purposes. The "non returnable after opening" label gave me that clue as well as a measure of certainty that I wasn't about to 'share' in someone else's ear wax residue.
A handy little instruction book was found inside. It gives a basic description of the product, demonstrates how to insert, remove, and clean the ER20's, and shows a graph that depicts what the product is designed to do, which is to "reduce all sound 20 dB evenly across the frequency range." But being the skeptic I am, I was about to do my own experiment with the only measuring devices I'll ever really need (besides the Rat Shack SPL meter of course). You've got it: my own two ears!
In go the ER20's. That was easy, and I didn't even have to read the instructions. I guess being a former ER-4S owner helps. The ER20's use the same white tri-flange ear tip design, which I always preferred to the foamies.
Wow! Not good. It sounds so muddled. Could that honestly be only 20 dB of isolation? In with the ER20's and back out several times, wondering if maybe I shouldn't jam them in so far as I once did with the ER-4S to get a "perfect" seal. I'm not liking these things at all. Everything sounds so, uhhhh... well... attenuated. Maybe they are working as described? But it sure seems like the upper frequencies are cut off more so than the lower frequencies.
So now it was time for the experiment! I'll listen to the same track with the ER20's inserted at 95 dB (100 dB peaks), and then listen to the same track at 75 dB (80 dB peaks) without the ER20's inserted.
After some experimenting with the stepped attenuator of my Singlepower Maestro ZR (now serving quite capably as a preamp in my 2 channel rig) with the Rat Shack meter in hand, I was able to "volume match" for the 75 dB and 95 dB levels. In fact, since the meter reads in 10 dB incriments, this was a rather easy task to accomplish. Now back to the listening seat.
Impressions? Recall that at first, I was thinking that the ER20's tended to tame the high frequencies more so than they did the lows. But I think what was happening was that the room itself was still getting a 95 dB signal, so I could still feel the low level impact all the way from my toes to my chest. This gave a false signal of an uneven frequency response.
What I found instead, is that 75 dB is a VERY low listening level for me! Sure, if I were listening to a soft jazz or classical piece as background music while I'm working at home (as I often do these days)... but otherwise, no!!! This isn't loud enough for me and I'm simply not used to listening at this level. So what at first seemed "muddy" at 75-80 dB (as attenuated) with the ER20's inserted, was actually -- to my amazement -- what it was SUPPOOSED to sound like!
In fact, after doing the A/B thing a couple of times, I could hardly tell the difference between the unattenuated 75-80 dB signal and the 95-100 dB signal as attenuated with the ER20's. Not only did they sound the same in tone and evenness of response, but they also sounded like the exact same volume setting. Pretty cool stuff here.
I find the claim made by Etymotics that the ER20's "reduce all sound 20 dB evenly across the frequency range" to be true to my ears. Not only the "evenly" part, but the 20 dB part as well.
Interestingly, on the back of the instructions book included with the packaging, it indicates "Noise Reduction Rating 12 decibels (when used as directed)." But then there is a further note added that squares with my experience. It says "NRR is computed from a formula that does not give the typical sound reduction experienced by users. With properly inserted ETY-Plugs, sound reduction is 20 dB." Indeed! To my ears (with the Rat Shack meter as my assistant), this is as close to 100% true and anything I've ever read.
In fairness, my tests were rather brief and certainly not controlled in any meaningful way. No blind testing by this guy! There may be a slight muffle introduced by the ER20's. That is, a muffle that affects the tonal quality of the music such that some of the more fine nuances that you might otherwise be able to pick up on would be lost in translation. I can't really be sure. But if that is the case, what you might be giving up would be the n'th degree of refinement. It would be nothing that would seriously affect your enjoyment of a live concert. In fact, without the ER20's, I don't know if I could enjoy certain concerts at all, and I guess that's the point. The ER20's are not designed to be used by the audiophile while flipping through to his record collection in his living room at otherwise unbearable volume levels. Instead, they are designed to allow you to enjoy musical events for which you would not otherwise be able to control the volume. They do that brilliantly.
Just for sake of full disclosure (now that I think about it), Mead didn't seem to have any idea that I was a Head-Fi moderator or that I would eventually get excited enough about the ER20's to do a write up. He just noticed that I seemed interested in his display, and handed me some of the freebies that he had brought along with him for that very purpose.
