[blse59]

Trying to decide between the ER4SR or the ER4XR for my daily driver. Does the ER4SR repsond to bass EQ well? My main genres are Jazz, R&B, Oldies, Rock and Hip-Hop. I'm definitely not a basshead but I like a little bottom end sometimes without sacrificing the treble.

The ER2 series has the same midrange and treble clarity etymotics are known for, but since it uses a dd driver the bass and timbre might be more familiar to most people.

 

[DBMcElroy]

I have both 3SE and 4SR and I would agree that there is no mistaking the 3 for the 4. The 4 is just cleaner and more precise. Have at times tried the 3SE again just to compare for the fun of comparison but it's immediately clear to me that the 4SR are superior in every way.
The 3SE are really good. It blew my mind for more than a year. But the 4SR is that last mile you think you don't need... till you try it.
I have at times spent days auditing headphones because I want something on/over ear that compares with the 4SR. But same thing over and over again: At the end of the day when I plug my trusty 4SR back in I'm just floored like the first time I heard them. So far, nothing compares.

The thing I like the most in the ER4SR is the bass. It's so fast and clean. It's insane to listen to fast electronic music like psytrance. The sheer technical ability of the singel BA driver is unbelievable.
Lacking in bass they are definitely not.

I'm a little tempted to try the 4XR but when I think a song sounds thin in the bass department I EQ bass by +0.4dB and it's perfect. If I go up 1-2dB it's too much.
I don't think XR is for me but you guys know how it is... Just have to scratch that itch so one day maybe.

HI there,
I got a good buy on an er4sr from ebay. Came in yesterday, so I have been bouncing back and forth between the er3se and the er4sr. I am very glad to have the 2 to compare, and ultimately one will be up for sale. I hear the 4 being clearer in some ways, smoother and a bit more upper end. However I am really surprised in the differences between the it and the 3sr. I have been listening to "Coal Fire" by Jeffrey Martin. The 4 makes the piano feel lush, could be a grand piano. The violin blends in and Jeffrey's voice sounds more relaxed. On the 3's the piano sounds like an upright with a little twang,I get more feeling of separation between the instruments and the voices. Jeffrey's voice is more emotive and desperate. He sounds like he is going to break down at any minute and is fighting to keep his emotions together. The violin is clearer and plaintive counterpoint to his guitar and the female backing stands out more.On the 4sr you have to listen to know she is singing. At the end of the song I think "that was really nice with the 4sr, but with the 3 se, I shed a tear for the emoting of the songs desperation. I'm not calling it yet and want to listen to more types, but on this one for emotion, the 3 is pulling me into the music like a dyson.

 

[robm321]

Continue reporting your impression. Thanks

 

[Precogvision]

ER2 SE and XR going for ~$100 on Amazon. So tempted to try one of them out if only to hear what a DD driver Etymotic sounds like. In the case of the XR, do I really want that much bass though? It might be fun.

I had an ER2XR on demo for review, and it was good enough that I ended up buying my own. There’s really very few - if any - IEMs that can compete with it at that price point. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed, and I most definitely prefer it to the ER3XR which uses a BA. The slight edge in resolution/speed just isn’t worth it for me versus the timbre, dynamic slam, and depth the ER2XR has.

I do think the treble is ER2XR’s weakness. There’s a certain hollowness and roll-off to it that can make the IEM come off as boring for some. It’s certainly smooth and doesn’t offend though.

If anyone is interested, I wrote a review
here. It’s literally the only IEM I have given a five star review for; frankly, I think it knocks it out of the ballpark value-wise.

 

[episiarch]

I'm not calling it yet and want to listen to more types, but on this one for emotion, the 3 is pulling me into the music like a dyson.

It's fantastic, but on listening to more music types. 3ES has a response that really sweetens and reinforces emotional impact on a lot of music. The cost is that other parts of the music feel a little further away, a little further down in the mix, and can feel somewhat thinned out. I listen to a lot of stuff where, for example, instrument timbres really matter to me, and on that I have a preference for 4SR. For other kinds of performance I truly love what 3SE gives me. I've kept both earphones.

 

[blse59]

The best website I've found so far with comparison reviews of all the Etymotics is theheadphonecollector.blogspot.com.

ER2SE
ER2XR

ER3SE
ER3XR

ER4SR
ER4XR

 

[DBMcElroy]

The best website I've found so far with comparison reviews of all the Etymotics is theheadphonecollector.blogspot.com.

ER2SE
ER2XR

ER3SE
ER3XR

ER4SR
ER4XR

Thank you for sharing.

 

[491838]

I would definitely pick the ER4SR. I think the ER4's detail very close to the HD800 in reality but the treble response is a bit too relaxed and it doesn't extend as much as most over ears but to me their clarity is pretty much the best so far in the sense that I get the feeling that an actual sound/instrument is playing in my head. All over-ears that I've tested so far sound out of focus when it comes to rendering instruments precisely as they would sound.

 

[DBMcElroy]

I would definitely pick the ER4SR. I think the ER4's detail very close to the HD800 in reality but the treble response is a bit too relaxed and it doesn't extend as much as most over ears but to me their clarity is pretty much the best so far in the sense that I get the feeling that an actual sound/instrument is playing in my head. All over-ears that I've tested so far sound out of focus when it comes to rendering instruments precisely as they would sound.

Thanks for your input. The 3 and the 4 are very close. I am hearing the 4 as smoother sounding. While the 3 is giving me a little more bite to the pluck of a guitar string. A tiny bit more breath and texture to a singers voice. I am finding that using a balanced cable and radsone Bluetooth amp raises the 3 even closer to the smoothness of the 4. The little extra emotion I am getting from the 3se's may not be 100% accurate, but i like what they are giving me. Like turning the sharpness on the Oled tv 1 or 2 steps up.

 

[Blackwoof]

I would definitely pick the ER4SR. I think the ER4's detail very close to the HD800 in reality but the treble response is a bit too relaxed and it doesn't extend as much as most over ears but to me their clarity is pretty much the best so far in the sense that I get the feeling that an actual sound/instrument is playing in my head. All over-ears that I've tested so far sound out of focus when it comes to rendering instruments precisely as they would sound.

At least the ER3/ER4 max out at 17KHz, Very few IEMs with multi drivers reach 16.5KHz. Rather have smooth but better detail than treble that too hot a lot of modern music. Still makes the HD6XX/600 outdated for detail/clarity & bass speed.

 

[491838]

My intuition is that they could make an ER4 (or ER5) that's more detailed than the HD800 even. I hear that kind of potential in the ER4 but there is a dip in the treble at 6-7K that's noticeable and the treble rolls off after 3K too steeply in my opinion. They have the most coherent tonal balance ever because the treble is so relaxed and it doesn't overshoot most people's HRTF. I also think that I get some major hole in the upper treble with the clear tips for some reason. The foams give me a sharp 9-10K peak unfortunately but those would have the most complete upper treble I think.

 

[Blackwoof]

My intuition is that they could make an ER4 (or ER5) that's more detailed than the HD800 even. I hear that kind of potential in the ER4 but there is a dip in the treble at 6-7K that's noticeable and the treble rolls off after 3K too steeply in my opinion. They have the most coherent tonal balance ever because the treble is so relaxed and it doesn't overshoot most people's HRTF. I also think that I get some major hole in the upper treble with the clear tips for some reason. The foams give me a sharp 9-10K peak unfortunately but those would have the most complete upper treble I think.

Heavy EQ can fix those issues, Which is why i stuck with the ER3SE. I wanna get a ER3XR as a back up since the 3XR fits my bass needs without EQ, A 75 ohm adaptor brings it up to ER4 levels. The 7K dip can fixed with 3db with a Q 2.5, With a +3.8db 10k high shelf(ER4, ER3 + 75 ohm) = baby HD800 imo.

 

[rbf1138]

Has anyone purchased an aftermarket balanced cable for the 2xr? I’m looking for one to potentially use with a Sony zx300...

 

[DBMcElroy]

Has anyone purchased an aftermarket balanced cable for the 2xr? I’m looking for one to potentially use with a Sony zx300...

These guys are in China but they will build you anything you want. I wanted a 50cm balanced cable with a 2.5 right angle plug and they made a very nice one. Sounds GREAT. Buy their stock cable on ebay and then immediately message them and tell them what you want and they will custom design it.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-2m-4ft-S...var=424688395138&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

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[DBMcElroy]

HI there,
I got a good buy on an er4sr from ebay. Came in yesterday, so I have been bouncing back and forth between the er3se and the er4sr. I am very glad to have the 2 to compare, and ultimately one will be up for sale. I hear the 4 being clearer in some ways, smoother and a bit more upper end. However I am really surprised in the differences between the it and the 3sr. I have been listening to "Coal Fire" by Jeffrey Martin. The 4 makes the piano feel lush, could be a grand piano. The violin blends in and Jeffrey's voice sounds more relaxed. On the 3's the piano sounds like an upright with a little twang,I get more feeling of separation between the instruments and the voices. Jeffrey's voice is more emotive and desperate. He sounds like he is going to break down at any minute and is fighting to keep his emotions together. The violin is clearer and plaintive counterpoint to his guitar and the female backing stands out more.On the 4sr you have to listen to know she is singing. At the end of the song I think "that was really nice with the 4sr, but with the 3 se, I shed a tear for the emoting of the songs desperation. I'm not calling it yet and want to listen to more types, but on this one for emotion, the 3 is pulling me into the music like a dyson.

Deciding between Er3se and Er4sr Part 2 The final Decision)

Firstly, I had an Er3se and was very happy with it. I listen to mostly FLAC files and Spotify premium on Radsone es100 with custom silver balanced cable. Many types of music but concentration on Indie Folk. I was curious, if the middle tier Er3se was so good, what in the world would the flagship Er4sr be like? Some reviewers said that the 3 and 4 are almost indistinguishable, and other users said that they were very distinct and the 4 was better in every way.

I was very excited to be able to buy an Er4sr on ebay to compare to the 3se. I expected to be blown away with the 4. The first thing I noticed is that the very bottom of sub bass was missing compared to the 3. Everything sounded very smooth and easy. Where songs were very busy with multiple voices and instruments, the 4 did seem to let everything float out very clearly. The 3se at times would present these busy sounds with a little congestion or rough edge around the voices like they were struggling to get all the sound out. Don’t read too much into that as this is very faint to hear and barely perceptible comparison to the 3 vs the 4.

However, all the smooth and easy flow from the 4 left a lot of emotion out for me. Disclaimer: I am 66 and I know my upper hearing is not what it once was. So, you might have a totally different reaction from mine. After multiple back and forth listening sessions with:

‘Mercy’ by Max Richter and Mari Samuelson

‘Coal Fire’ by Jeffrey Martin

‘Victory’ by the Avett Brothers

I concluded that while the Er4sr may technically be more accurate, for me and my taste I was happier with the Er3se. The voices had more emotion. The Strings had more pluck and reverberation on the guitar and bass. Violin had more feeling of the texture of the bow vibrating the strings. Overall I felt more intimate, being with the performers in the room with the 3se. I could justify that little bit of a rough edge as a trade off for the emotion in the music.

Then after I had made my mind up to post the ER4sr on ebay (they are up now), I tried the new 2 flange tips. OMG. The medium tips fit me perfectly. Easier to fit in the ear, not as deep but still 100% seal. They did not get itchy after 30 minutes. Great, physically I liked them better than the 3 flange. But Oh, the music, opened up, sounded less strained and that little edge of congestion on more complex passages disappeared. I think I have found my Nirvana