[csglinux]

Some thoughts on, and measurements of, the new ER2XR...

1) Very cool to hear an Etymotic with sub-bass The ER2XR definitely has the Ety signature, but it has a little more bass and a tiny little bit less treble than the ER4XR. This is the case with all eartips I've listened and measured with (note I've not measured with the default Ety triple-flange tips, simply because I find them too uncomfortable to use):

Some comments on these eartips. 1) Foam always rolls off the treble. 2) My SpinFit Cp800 medium tips are a little more bulbous than the Ety triple flanges, so insertion depth ends up being shallower. 3) Comply Ts100 foam tips roll really small, so they allow deeper insertion (hence the northwards shift in the resonance peak). To my ears, these peaks end up ~ 10 kHz.

2) Channel matching. It's actually very good, at least it is in the pair I received (note that all other measurements here are averages of L and R measurements):

This is quite comparable with the channel balance in my ER4XR:

3)My THD measurements look to be superficially similar to those of @JohnYang1997's ER2SE. They look to be lower than those of the ER4XR, but that's a little bit of a trick of the log scale. Things actually reverse (slightly) after about 6 kHz:

3) There's maybe fractionally more high-frequency damping, but otherwise no significant differences in impulse response:

In summary, there's a lot to love about the ER2XR and it's hard to go wrong for the price. I've not tried to measure isolation yet, but there are no external vents and that all-important isolation seems to be every bit as good as we've come to expect from an Ety. Nice job Etymotic!

I'm not going to declare a winner or give anything marks out of 10, because it's all going to come down to personal preference. The ER2XR has notably more low-end than the ER4XR (which itself, already has more low-end than the ER4SR). That alone will tend to give the headphone's sound a warmer tilt, because the upper register is going to contribute proportionally less of the overall energy. But the ER2XR also has just a tiny little bit less of the lower treble too (when normalised at 1 kHz). When switching back and forth, the ER2XR can seem a tiny bit veiled in comparison to the ER4XR. Or, conversely, the ER4XR can feel slightly lacking in low end thump when listening to bass-heavy tracks. If you prefer a warmer, bassier sound, I'd recommend the ER2XR. If you want that detail in the upper register, to my ears it's more apparent with the ER4XR.

Overall, a nice headphone. Impressive to see what can be done with a single driver

P.S. Measurements are raw/uncompensated via 711-compliant coupler.

 

[Hadden]

Does ER2SE measure more closely to the ER4XR then?

 

[csglinux]

Does ER2SE measure more closely to the ER4XR then?

It might. I don't have the ER2SE, but @JohnYang1997 may be able to answer that question for you...?

 

[ClieOS]

Interesting, I didn't know that. Thanks!

Just out of curiosity, how is that bluetooth pairing with the ER4? Any loss in fidelity or is it mostly similar?

That really depends on what the source is - if we are talking about a good, mid-lever and above DAP, then obviously the DAP wired connection still hold an edge over ES100's BT connection. But we we were to compare it to a smartphone (assuming LDAC is supported on both ends), I think ES100 can easily best most out there and at least be par with those HiFi oriented smartphone - in short, I really don't see a downside on using ES100 with ER4. I have similar observation with FiiO BTR3 as well - good BT adapter these days can rival most entry level DAP, if not better.

 

[manthisis]

That really depends on what the source is - if we are talking about a good, mid-lever and above DAP, then obviously the DAP wired connection still hold an edge over ES100's BT connection. But we we were to compare it to a smartphone (assuming LDAC is supported on both ends), I think ES100 can easily best most out there and at least be par with those HiFi oriented smartphone - in short, I really don't see a downside on using ES100 with ER4. I have similar observation with FiiO BTR3 as well - good BT adapter these days can rival most entry level DAP, if not better.

Got it. Appreciate the response!

 

[JohnYang1997]

Does ER2SE measure more closely to the ER4XR then?

Actually, er2se is more close to er4xr. Er2xr is even more lower tilt than er4xr. Er2se has a slight warm tilt over er4sr. er2se has better low extension and 1-2db more overall bass response than er4sr. So even though none of the two is exactly like er4xr but I think er2se is closer to er4xr than er2xr.

 

[manthisis]

So, this might come as a bit of a surprise: we're working on some new eartips. It's a bi-flange with softer silicone and is designed to get an easier push-in seal. There are going to be 3 or 4 different sizes.

Ignore the specs of dirt on the tips. That's what I get for taking photos of them outside on the ground.

We're still doing final tweaks on them, but I will bring prototypes with me to Axpona this year. If anybody is at the show, please stop by and say hi: I'd like to meet some Head-Fi folks. If I'm not at the booth, please have whoever is there text me and I'll stop by.

And no, we're not killing off the 3-flange. Unless we find out that everybody is switching over to this and nobody uses the 3-flange anymore (probably not likely) then the plan is to have both options.

Would these provide similar isolation or less, but a more comfortable fit?

 

[manthisis]

Also, is there a difference between the normal clear large tri-flange and the grey opaque tri-flange?

 

[HAMS]

It all deodepe on how you feel about them right now.
Just to calm you down, ee have cracked er4sr and er4xr open. And tested the impedance/fr of the drivers inside comparing to the ones in the old er4. Er4xr basically is the sonion 2354 or 2389 eith vent. Er4sr is basically knowles 29689 but changed the position of the nozzle. 99% similarly of what is in the old er4. And as distortion isn't improved. Also used resistors to tune the response. Only thing you are missing here is the bass. If you think the bass on er4pt is good enough then there is no need to upgrade to er4xr.

In short, technically same level, just a bit mkre bass.

Sonion 2354, same driver used on phonak pfe?. So looking at csd graph the sonion driver seems to have faster bass(doesnt really know how that translate to actual listen)?

 

[JohnYang1997]

Sonion 2354, same driver used on phonak pfe?. So looking at csd graph the sonion driver seems to have faster bass(doesnt really know how that translate to actual listen)?

Not exactly 2354 but 98-99% similar. And it's from sonion. And a design is not just a driver. There are much more to it. But just comparing to the older er4 there isn't much difference.

 

[manthisis]

So I had to do some experimenting but I think I've found the solution. Cut off the largest flange of the large triflange tip, then took another large tri-flange and cut off the small tip. Combined them so the flanges are now large-large-medium. The normal large flanges sealed well, but I think these seal even better and are still as deep inserting. Right ear seals slightly better than my left year, so I'll have to experiment to see if I can fix that somehow.

Though I did notice that I have to play it at a higher volume in order to get the same amount of sound. Is that a bad thing?

 

[lookingforowls]

So is the ER2XR a step below the ER3XR or is tuned to a different sound stage ?

 

[csglinux]

So is the ER2XR a step below the ER3XR or is tuned to a different sound stage ?

It just has a different tuning.

 

[manthisis]

Anybody got any more ideas for tip mods? Even the large triple flanges don’t pass the “finger rubbing” test, though they do isolate some.

I might also order the small beige foams, but I’m afraid they will take away from the sound quality.

 

[RobinFood]

Small comply t-100 tips work great almost all the time. You roll them first, twist them in like triple flanges, and wait for them to expand.

Alternatively, triple flanges work well if you lick them first. They go in deeper.