Etymotic ER-4 microPro Sound Isolating Earphones

Reviews: Multimedia

Author:
Editor:
Sponsor:
Published:

Cameron Baker
Kurtis
Etymotic
Nov. 10, 2008

Specifications

<< Previous

Next >>

Sound Quality

Once I got comfortable with the earphones, I settled in for several extended sessions at with the music player du jour.

The first thing I noticed was a heightened level of detail compared to the Shures and Ultimate Ears that I had recently been testing with. I noticed nuances in recordings that I had burned into my head from repeat listening. It was like hearing the albums again for the first time.

As far as specific nuances, I would have to pick out two that really stuck with me.

Reverb is a whole new animal with these headphones, especially on vocals. You can hear the echos perfectly at medium to high volume. Particularly overt reverb sticks out with the Ultimate Ears (and Shures) but there were a few occasions where I couldn't pick it out unless I had the ER-4Ps plugged into my ears.

I also experienced percussive elements, both in guitar and drums, in a whole new way. Instead of hearing the drums rolling along, I was able to pick out the sticks hitting the heads and the shake that followed. Guitar work had this same quality. It's hard for me to explain, but the bottom line is that the detail is wicked awesome. On a good recording, you don't just hear the song; you experience the musicians playing it.

Bass response isn't gigantic, and it's not supposed to be - I'd say it is tight. In the same way that the rest of this sound quality discussion has gone so far. There's plenty there, but it's not overly enthusiastic like some lower end in-ear 'phones.

There wasn't too much that I found to fault these headphones for my listening tastes. I appreciated the accuracy as a musician, and even got to use them as monitors for some recording that I did. Being able to hear exactly what's coming out of the instrument was a big plus.

There's a quantitative quality to everything you hear through the ER-4Ps. You can piece together a good recording in your head, instrument by instrument. For someone who is trying to hear everything (save the extreme low end, that's what full-size drivers are for), these headphones are a great choice. I've seen the word "analytical" used to describe them, and I wouldn't disagree. They are also addictive. I don't want to take them off.

<< Previous

Page 3 of 4

Next >>

Page 1: Introduction & First Impressions
Page 2: Specifications & Usability
Page 3: Sound Quality
Page 4: Conclusion

Subscribe to Headphones [more info]

View All

Headphones March 11, 2009

Sennheiser HD 595 Headphones

Headphones November 21, 2008

Monster Beats Headphones by Dr. Dre

Headphones October 13, 2008

Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 4 Sound Isolating Earphones

Headphones September 29, 2008

Add Comment

1 User Comment

1 - Posted by georgeryder9 on September 13, 2009 - 10:01 am

I find this earphone awesome and the quality of sound is great, it is comparable to the new nokia bluetooth headset, its great experience

Add Comment

To add a comment without being a member, you may omit the password field, but you must enter your name (or nickname) along with your comment. * Denotes required fields.