[Earbones]

Looking for the absolute best isolation I can get. Naturally, I'm looking into the various Etys. But seeing as how the Etymotic design is veeeery long in the tooth at this point, I was wondering if anything else has come along that surpasses it in that specific capacity? Not too interested in cancellation technology... Just the absolute best isolation. Anybody used Etys and found something even quieter? Or do they remain the standard?

 

[Mooses9]

Looking for the absolute best isolation I can get. Naturally, I'm looking into the various Etys. But seeing as how the Etymotic design is veeeery long in the tooth at this point, I was wondering if anything else has come along that surpasses it in that specific capacity? Not too interested in cancellation technology... Just the absolute best isolation. Anybody used Etys and found something even quieter? Or do they remain the standard?

imo not by a long shot. ive used,owned and tried alot of different iem's and as per isolation goes. etymotic takes the cake.
 
i think they are a tried and true design, and etymotic is more on the lines of if it isnt broke, dont fix it. so over the years design changes have been made but overall it stayed the same.
 
personally beyond isolation its my standard for sound quality, if a iem doesnt beat the er4 its not worth my time

 

[shakur1996]

I owned/listened to number of CIEMs, both acrylic and sillicone ones, and none of them offers the same level of isolation as Etys on triple flange tips (when I owned Etys I only listened to in on triples because I could not insert other tips, including foam tips, to my ears).

 

[Mooses9]

Gotta take into consideration too that etymotic is coming from a backround in hearing aid specialty and ear plug specialty. So its only right that something a company with that backround would product some of the most if not the most isolating in ear monitors on the market and im going with the most isolation in ear monitors on the market.

 

[Earbones]

Thanks for the replies!

So I picked up some ER4PTs...

First the good...

The sound quality is absolutely superb. I can't stress enough how surprised I am by that fact. I mean, I knew they were good, but this purchase was more about maxium sound isolation rather than the best SQ... After all, I have a pair of Sennheiser ie800s that I enjoy when total isolation isn't required, so I was prepared to give up a little to get silence in loud cafes and the like. Furthermore, I've read plenty of reviews claiming the bass on the ER4PT leaves much to be desired. So I was expecting something pleasant-sounding, if a little thin. You know, that 90's hi-end earphone sound. These delivered fantastic bass and amazing clarity and separation. They are a truly great earphone, and absolutely give the $1000 ie800s a run for their money.

Now the bad...

I'm not getting the isolation so far. Tried the medium size triple seal tips, and the large size triple seal tips that are supposed to provide the best isolation... Nope. In fact, so far, I wouldn't even put these in the category of an IEM that provides "good" isolation, let alone "excellent", let alone "best in the world". My go-to isolation IEM has been the Westone UM2 with "olives" (Shure foam tips, modded to fit). Those definitely provide excellent isolation, but nothing like the stories I've read about the ER4s, people claiming they couldn't hear subway trains approaching while standing on the platform, etc. etc... I'd hoped that's what I was getting. The reality thus far is not even close. I was sitting at the kitchen table, and my girlfriend was sitting around 20 feet away on the couch, chatting with her girlfriends. With the UM2 with olives in, I couldn't make out the conversation. I'd occasionally hear a high pitched laugh or something, or a murmer, but mostly silence. With the ER4PTs with both medium and large triple seal tips, I could literally hear every word. It was muffled, sure (I did have something lodged deep in both my ears, after all) but I could make out everything easily. To be blunt, I'm not talking about a little difference between the two IEMs as far as isolation goes... this was a night and day difference. The UM2 with olives has so far destroyed the ER4PT as far as isolation is concerned. It's not even close. I haven't done a direct comparison, but I don't think they will fare much better against most of the IEMs I own, honestly. I think even the ie800 will pretty handily beat them in this capacity.

So this all begs the obvious question... What is going on? Is it possible I recieved a dud pair? I guess I could see being a little disappointed with these, like if they hadn't quite stacked up to their legend... But this is ridiculous. So what next? I'll try the other tips, maybe those will do better. If they don't, these will have to go back... Again, the sound is amazing... But I still prefer the ie800s as far as that goes...

 

[ryanjsoo]

Shure`s iems isolate around the same, maybe a smidge better, I had the er4`s, isolated like crazy with any foam tip but my se535`s I found to isolate slightly more due to their larger housings which physically block some of the sounds entering the ear, plus they have stock olive tips and a long stem. Bose make some very isolating iems and headphones too, personally I thought the etymotics and shure`s blocked more sound the the QC20 in ears but the Bose cancel low frequencies better, such as those experienced on a plane, however the Bose QC25 headphones block more noise than most professional grade ear protection, they`re probably the most isolating headphone/earphone I`ve ever encountered. So in short:
1.Bose QC25
2.Shure se535 (not sure about other smaller models, se846 should be similar)
3.Etymotic er4p>=Bose QC20

 

[bobeau]

So this all begs the obvious question... What is going on? Is it possible I recieved a dud pair? I guess I could see being a little disappointed with these, like if they hadn't quite stacked up to their legend... But this is ridiculous. So what next? I'll try the other tips, maybe those will do better. If they don't, these will have to go back... Again, the sound is amazing... But I still prefer the ie800s as far as that goes...

 
Could you describe what the seal is like?  The combination of a triple flange and thin long bore allow them to be inserted super far into the ear, and when they're in there just right, they will create a vacuum seal so solid that you can blow out an eardrum if yanked out hastily (no joke, I recall seeing at least one report of this happening on head-fi way back when).  That's where their crazy isolation comes from.  

 

[Ivabign]

It sounds like you have a little further to go in your insertion of the ER4PT - you can get isolation like regular IEMs - then you can push in further and block out everything... When I first used mine, I thought they were okay isolation-wise, but then I pushed a bit more and it "popped" in and you could have lit off firecrackers next to me and I wouldn't have noticed.

 

[Mooses9]

I have the se535 and i personal cant say that the 535 can block out or isolate as much as my er4's no matter what tip i use. The geometry of the 535 build just dont allow for deeper insertion into your ear. Where its made to more or less rest inside your ear. They do have good isolation. But the er4 just have isolation bar none imo. Esp for a iem

 

[H20Fidelity]

Ety need to be inserted very deep, into the second bend of your canal. To give you an idea the red circle would be where a standard IEM tips seals, the blue where an Etymotic tip goes, particularly using triple flange or foam tips (foam you must compress before insertion). At first you'll think an IEM has no right to enter your body so deeply, you will have thoughts of it touching your brain, but this is how far they need to be inserted to obtain the isolation we all mention and correct sound from the Etymotic line.
 
 
 

 
 
Try practicing with a triple flange silicon tip, wet it slightly then push it around in your canal slowly, you will find a section which goes even deeper into your canal, (this is the second bend) it may even to some extent be painful or uncomfortable but don't worry you cannot hurt or reach your eardrum. This is the Ety way and why they're praised for such high isolation levels.

 

[Earbones]

Thanks for the replies... I was pretty sure I had them in as far as they would go, but reading H20Fidelity's highly detailed post, I'll give it another shot...

If that still doesn't work, I guess maybe my ear canals are too wide? I used the large barrel-shaped foam tips, and those worked better... However I noticed that when I pulled them out (while they were still molded to the shape of my ear canal) there were several parts that were essentially uncompressed, meaning my ear canal was that wide in those sections. As the uncompressed foam barrel tip is larger in diameter than the largest (end) seal on the triple-seal tip, one can assume that I wouldn't be getting the necessary seal. Maybe I need an even larger triple-seal tip, if Etymotic makes one.

Or maybe once I get home and attempt to implement H20Fidelity's suggestions, I'll get a good seal... I guess we'll see, ha ha.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

Try licking them before you put them in your ears.
 
Seriously.  The moisture will help with making a good seal.

 

[Mooses9]

I think you will get it. Its just trial and error and see what you come up with and what works for you. And what tips work for you.

 

[Earbones]

So tried moistening them and inserting them as deeply as possible... Simply put, they went in as far as they could go without causing significant pain. If I'm not right on the ear-drum, I'm damn close. Called a buddy who's an ENT doctor, and when I described the depth and pain, he stated that what I was feeling was most likely direct contact with, or at least pressure on, the ear drum. But still, there was no seal. Sounds were muffled, but I could still clearly hear everything. I don't know what to say... These just don't seal with the shape of my ear canal. Maybe I'm a mutant. At any rate, I'll call Etymotic on Monday and see if they have an even larger triple seal-tip. If not, these will have to go back to Amazon... I can't justify spending $330+ after tax and shipping for these when I was looking for the best isolation. Unfortunately, as things stand, these are literally the worst isolating earphones (for me) in my entire collection...

 

[Selenium]

Are you actually able to get them in deep or no? Is most of the earphone sticking out, even when you have them in deep as they go? If so, your ears and deep insertion IEMs probably just ain't meant to be. Same with me; more than half of the ER4 would stick out when I inserted them as deep as possible, yet I've seen pics where people have them in so deep you can barely even see the strain relief peeking out. Have you tried those big foam tips they come with? Smash 'em down, then insert and let them expand. That's what worked best for me.