ER4XR mini-review (the stuff that interests me)
Why is Head-Fi so full of positive reviews? I guess because we like to write about the stuff that we like, and I
really like the ER4XR! So where do we start? How about the ear tips?
Ear tips
It can’t be emphasised enough. The more we can make the ER4XR isolate the better the sound it will yield.
It’s absolutely crucial to achieve a perfect seal!
I’ve tried all the included ear tips and the ones I like the best are the included foam tips (two pairs R38-14F). They’re easy to insert (with a bit of practice), comfortable, and have the best isolation.
The included 3-flange ear tips (medium and large) aren’t bad either, but they make my ear canals itch and I believe the isolation is a tad less compared to the foam tips, so for now I’ll pass.
I’ve also tried the Comply Foam P-series. They’re almost as good as Ety’s but I’d expect the P-series to last longer. The P-Series is a bit taller than Ety’s and the core is a bit too soft so it tends to bend when being fitted onto the stem of the earphone. Not a big deal, but there is room for improvement of the core if you ask me.
The Comply Foam T-100 tips are very comfortable but just don’t isolate well enough for my needs. That actually surprised me a bit as they’re recommended by Comply Foam for the other ER4s. I tried the medium size and maybe they’re a bit too small for my ear canals, or maybe they just aren’t tall enough!? Until I’ve tried a larger size I can’t recommend them.
Overall, the ER4XR phones are easy to insert and – with the right tips – extremely isolating as long as you’re OK with the deep insert approach to earphones. By easy to insert I mean you don’t have to spend weeks to figure out which tips sound the best, how deeply and in what angle to insert them. With the ER4 design you simply “go all the way” and you’re done! Very convenient if you ask me!
Isolation
Is there any other IEM having better isolation than the ER4XR/SR? I haven’t researched it but I doubt it! With a pair of good foam tips – either Ety’s own or the P-100s – the ear drums practically become unresponsive. Until the music arrives it’s an enormously muffled world. I really appreciate this feature of the ER4XR as it enables me to focus on the music at very safe volume levels even in very noisy environments. Although for safety reasons I’d never wear them when out and about, except when seated while commuting.
Cable
The cable is definitely an improvement compared to my previous ER4; the ER4PT. The PT cable felt thick, stiff and unruly. The ER4XR cable, being softer and slightly thinner (I guess?), is a lot easier to handle and I find it very convenient that it’s a bit longer than most other IEM cables. It enables me to fully lean back in my office chair while connected to my desktop amp (O2).
The braided cables above the Y-split are unfortunately still very noisy. However, this time around they can be worn more easily over the ears and that basically eliminates all microphonics. I can also report that the cable chinch works perfectly which certainly hasn’t been the case with many of the other IEMs I’ve had. So, thumbs up for the new cable design!
Phones and Accessories
Etymotic seem to be dead serious about their QC, and I just love it! The ER4XR is delivered with a signed (yes, a genuine ink signature) “performance certificate” with measurement graphs for each individual phone having its own individual serial number matching the serial numbers on the phones delivered. How more serious can you get, and are there any other manufacturers delivering their IEMs with a signed “performance certificate”? I doubt it!
Also, the phones are now made of metal and not plastic. Not that I think that it matters much but it lends itself better to the feeling of overall quality. Nice touch!
I also appreciate the assortment of various ear tips and the fact that it’s delivered with a metal tool for changing the filters. The zippered storage case feels really nice and can, except for all the accessories, also harbour at least one other pair of IEMs. I like it a lot and it looks and feels as serious as the rest of the package.
Finally, Etymotic have a reputation of outstanding customer service and I can second that first hand.
Sound
To these ears the ER4XR bass is exquisitely implemented. If I didn’t know any better I’d take it for neutral. There is just no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision between the ER4SR and the ER4XR! For more about why I picked the ER4
XR over the ER4
SR please click
here.
The most tangible sound feature of the ER4XR must be its transparency though. The contrast between the completely muffled world - that the outstanding isolation provides - and the transparency and naturalness of the sound is staggering. It gives the brain the impression it could hear an external needle fall on the floor. It’s such an emotional paradox as my intellect tells me my hearing is “blind as a bat” to external sounds.
Over the years I’ve come to notice how people claim that their latest and greatest IEM have the ability to project details that they’ve never even noticed before. What took me some time to figure out is that it’s actually true, and for the (not so) obvious reason that the various frequencies of basically all IEMs are tuned differently. FR is everything, right?
In a sense, this “new details retrieval effect” fails to come with the ER4XR. If anything – especially if you’re used to IEMs tuned for an “exciting” FR – the ER4XR could even appear to subtract treble and bass details. The reason, of course, is that the ER4XR is perfectly neutral (except for the much needed tad of bass elevation). And since our hearing is less sensitive to sounds in the lower and higher frequencies it naturally follows that details in the bass and treble is a bit harder to detect with the ER4XR.
For example, with one of my favourite IEMs, the DUNU-DN2000J, I notice details that simply go unnoticed with the ER4XR. In this sense the DN2000J is to the ears what a magnifier is to the eyes. So, is this a good or a bad thing? Well, that mostly depends on your preferences and a myriad of other parameters. The DN2000J, being v-shaped (done with exceptional sure instinct) provides me with a sense of super hearing, and with the right recording can be extremely satisfying. The price paid in the long run is a bit of treble fatigue (which leads to tensions), a somewhat subdued or distant mid-range, and an overall less natural sound than the ER4XR. However, with its speedy titanium treated dynamic bass driver and its elevated BA treble the DN2000J can, with the right recording, give me a very full, extremely detailed, extremely resolving, and spacious sound image in a way the ER4XR can’t. If you're interested I made a few more comparisons between the ER4XR and the DN2000J
here.
The ER4XR on the other hand is more or less fatigue free while still being perfectly transparent. It feels like a small miracle and has the pleasant side effect of making me relaxed and thus more open to the many fine details and facets of the music (bass and treble included). The mid-range has perfect presence and timbre which make voices and solo instruments (for example in a violin concerto) sound absolutely superb. As a matter of fact, mid-range wise I haven’t heard any other IEM perform better (timbre, presence, detail, resolution, transparency, and what not). The mid-range appears to be - for lack of a better word – more or less perfect.
So, what about the ER4XR treble and bass? Well, it’s probably more or less perfect too but it doesn’t provide the most “exciting” bass and treble sound I’ve ever heard. However, the ER4XR doesn’t aspire to provide “exciting” sound but neutral sound, and as far as I can tell that's exactly what it does.
I’d say that for any acoustic music (classical, jazz, etc.) the ER4XR is probably the obvious choice. For all other music it’s more open. Some recordings
do benefit from a more exciting tuning whereas others don't.
Finally
I’m going to hold on to my ER4XR! Overall it’s definitely one of the best, in a sense perhaps in even the best IEM I’ve heard. Plus, I feel I need a reference IEM for reference purposes, and I know that for those days when nothing is going to satisfy me, the ER4XR will at least sound “clean” (devoid of - what that particular day feels like - failed ambitions to create “exciting” sound).
If you’re interested, click
here for a list of other IEMs I own or have previously owned.
Thanks for reading
