[csglinux]

Seriously! To be absolutely honest and true. I had a listening session with some good vocal jazz recordings the other night, using ER4XR and I felt like the musicians were standing around me for real. It was THAT great! No listening fatigue (using crossfeed on my amplifier) after listening through 3 full CD's, I felt like I could go on and on enjoying my old CD's. If you do not like ER4B than you will probably not like any of the new Etymotics. Etymotic is known for their own sound and you either like them or hate them. Save your money and spend them on gear that please your ears and taste.

Well, your ER4XR will have a bit more low end than @EmPathWalker's ER4B. But even so, I think the comment about the unrealistically lean low end is understandable. IEMs like the KSE1500, Xelentos, FLC8S, etc., can all produce a realistic amount of sub-bass without losing anything up top. Now, if I'm walking, or in a really noisy environment, the Etys still win for me, because I get zero occlusion effects and better isolation with an Ety than anything else. But I'm looking forward to Etymotic making that ER5XR with SE846 levels of sub-bass...

 

[castleofargh]

after Quincy Jones versions of AKG headphones, here comes Vin Diesel's er4XXXr. so much bass your hair will fall off.

 

[luisdent]

working on my review. I'll try to answer the sound questions as much as possible.

 

[Max Choiral]

This topic is soooo booooring. Bass here, bass there... Come on guys, nobody still hadn't figured out yet that Etymotic is for those who hate bass?

 

[episiarch]

Just to - reluctantly - wade into these waters as well:

I'm a long-time Ety fan, and an in-ear with serious bass impact that like quite a lot is the Periodic Audio Mg. You can currently get it for $70 in the US as a "blemished" unit. (My blemished Mg I guess has some unevenness in the enclosure's finish, though I had to look at it closely under strong lighting to discern even that.)

Overseas shipping adds substantially to the price, but it's still a real bargain IMO. Much more information in the Periodic Audio thread.

 

[HiFiChris]

Come on guys, nobody still hadn't figured out yet that Etymotic is for those who hate bass?

I disagree with you - as someone who loves Etymotic's approach to neutrality that is the closest to the diffuse-field target that I am aware of, and as someone who loves their ER•4S/SR for their incredible neutrality and flatness with music and the most realistic and flattest reproduction of white noise and sine sweeps that I have come across yet (although others might disagree and find that different perceived neutrality targets that include the compensation for the lack of mechanical vibrations with headphones/IEMS, which Ety kind of address with their XR models, might be a more "correct" approach), there are several bassy or bass-heavy models that I personally really enjoy, such as my TH-X00 Mahogany, SE846, FA-4E XB, (at times) IE 800, SE215m+SPE, the Nebula 1 & 2, Finder X1, ...

And there are several people who use their Etys EQ'd.


So saying that concluding that Ety's models are for those who hate bass is utter nonsense. But I guess that your statement wasn't meant 100% seriously anyway.

 

[Signal2Noise]

My Christmas present to myself arrived today! This is my first foray into the Ety camp and initial impressions straight out of the box are positive. I first tried the IEMs with the default small(?) triple flange tips. The fit felt good but I could still hear "air". So off they came and I put on the medium(?) triple flanges. What a difference! TV/home theatre sound that was also projecting through the room disappeared once the larger tips were inserted. The only disconcerting thing with these Etymotics is the removal from the ear canal as a "suction" is created when pulling them out, giving me the feeling my eardrums will be vacuumed out. Audio-wise the ER4XR seem good and capable. I haven't really tested any low-end yet but I'm not too much of a bass-hungry listener anyway.

The monitors are smaller than I expected and are quite comfortable. I can wear them over the ear & behind easily. I can see myself using the ER4XR as my "late-night-in-bed-go-to-sleep" earphones (so long as the fire alarm doesn't go off). These are more comfortable than my Sony or FLC8S and just as comfortable as my old but reliable Westones.

Cable microphonics are so-so. Ety could do with a cable like the one Sony uses on their Japan-version MDR-EX1000. I echo the other comments in this thread about the Left/Right monitor determination without really clearly seeing the tiny black letters. I think I'll be going on an ear tip hunt to use a different colour for each side. Overall, I like the ER4XR already.



Note on the music: Pumarosa's debut album "The Witch" is my favourite new release of 2017. Worth a listen if you like alternative/electronic genres. I bought the iTunes "Mastered For iTunes" version (thus the paltry 256kbps) because physical CD (to rip to FLAC which I normally do) is quite pricey atm. Need to find a HD version maybe. This still sounds great on the AR-M2/ER4XR which I'll be using for further audio analysis with mostly FLAC in the days to come.

Cheers!

 

[episiarch]

One thing I'll say about the tiny black letters is that although they are hard to read, they are on opposite sides of the connector so as long as you can see or feel where they are, you can tell which side is which. If you hold the earphone between thumb and forefinger and with tip pointed forward, the indicator will be under your thumb if you are holding the correct earphone in each hand.

 

[donunus]

better at doing what?

Being less forced sounding, less gaps, less abrupt peaks, being more extended in the highs overall while not being harsh and just plainly sounding less disjointed/more liquid and natural.

 

[dr cornelius]

This topic is soooo booooring. Bass here, bass there... Come on guys, nobody still hadn't figured out yet that Etymotic is for those who hate bass?

There has been a lot of back and forth on the bass topic! Since having the SR’s for a month or so now I’ve been really noticing low end performance moving from speakers to headphones and the mixes I’ve been making for work. I wish I still had the XR’s for long term comparison (I still might get another pair) but the SR’s bass has been pretty much right on the money.

I’ve made a few mixes with the SR’s and the results have been working great. But one aspect of these earphones that I miss is soundstage width - they’re narrower than my other headphones. Because bass is less directional when listening with speakers in a room, I wonder if the sound was more spread out on the SR's, that the bass might come across better? When mixing, I did find it a tiny bit more difficult to hear subtle volume differences with SR’s than with some of my wider sounding headphones, and I think this is due to the narrower soundstage.

Anyway, I’m still exploring what is neutral bass, in the meantime here are some tracks to check out, if anyone is interested... I think the SR’s handle the bass pretty well with these tracks....

Ola Kvernberg “Mechanical Fair” The 1/4 note bass drum sits just underneath the more delicate instruments.

Paris Monster “A Vision Complete” Another bass drum reference - this kick drum is wide open and still retains it’s decay even when the bass comes in. The bottom of the mix never gets muddled, but still has lots of presence.

Ricardo Muti Conducts Mason Bates and Anna Clyne “Alternative Energy” Xianjiang Provence, 2112-“ Nominated for an Engineering Grammy, the whole recording is great to check out for a low end experience, but this one again shows how well the SR’s handle low end without it getting out of control.

Terry Callier "Lazurus Man” Nice sustained bass - it actually might just be a dB or two quiet on the SR’s...

Hope these tracks are fun to check out - Thx!

 

[overgang]

My Christmas present to myself arrived today!

Cheers!

Thanks for sharing your impressions, S2N! My Christmas present should arrive later this week.

I notice that you have quite a few digital audio players. Which of them, in your opinion, matches ER4XR best?

 

[Happytalk]

This topic is soooo booooring. Bass here, bass there... Come on guys, nobody still hadn't figured out yet that Etymotic is for those who hate bass?

My favorite quality of my er4s is bass. I like it so much that I sold my er4xr. XR bass seemed a little soft to represent acoustic bass accurately when used with my gear. And er4s can handle some eq if you want a different sound signature than stock. I listen to jazz mostly (99%) of the time and Ive been pleased with my er4s over everything else I've tried/owned. Including the er4xr and er4sr. I love the bass, but I can't live without the clarity they also provide, however, I almost take it for granted these days. Just happy to hear all the music, even in loud environments.

 

[Signal2Noise]

Thanks for sharing your impressions, S2N! My Christmas present should arrive later this week.

I notice that you have quite a few digital audio players. Which of them, in your opinion, matches ER4XR best?

Don't know yet. Will have to spend some time with each one.

 

[luisdent]

yeah. it's a toss up on bass for me. the sr clears up the mid bass that the xr softens a bit. and the sr "bass" is spot on perfect. it is the sub bass that is just a bit lacking. but that can provide body and balance.

i too have found the er4 series to be difficult to use in the studio when judging very small level differences, but my overall experience with them still yields excellent results.

i really am torn between the xr and sr/se. so good all of them...

 

[Lusamars]

I just wanted to write a few lines here. I had the old ER4P for the longest time and indeed the lack of bass was sometimes a bit bothersome out of the iPod. A couple of years ago I offered my Etys to a friend in Hawaii and missed them ever since. I always wished Etymotic would make a bassier ER4 and so they did! When I found out about the XR version I know I had to have them. In June I bought in one go the Mojo and the ER4XR.. man this combo is, like, PHENOMENAL!! After the initial months of burn in the sound is what I would always wanted from the Etys.. The bass is just right as so is the rest of the frequencies, excellent synergy! To achieve this kind of awesomeness Its preferable to listen later in the night in quietness preferably after a proper Dinner

I listen to A LOT of techno, love Drum Code stuff, The Advent, APaul, you know the drill.. Yes, my TH-X00 Mahogany go a bit lower and fuller but the resolution and clarity of the 4XR totally makes up for it and leaves me soo super satisfied. For music style like Merkaba label, well I have to say it just doesn't cut but its ok, thats when the TH-X00 come to the rescue . I also own the Grado PS500 and Westone W30. Grados are so groovy when the mood strikes. The W30 goes a bit deeper down but lacks the high frequency sparkle and a harder sound then 4XR.

So in the end I give an outstanding thumbs up for the combo ONKYO HF Player DSD DoP full on > MOJO + 4XR with Shure PA758 Soft Flex Sleeves.