Canalphones Roundup

Etymotic Research ER-4 MicroPro

The ER-4s are Etymotic’s top-of-the-line earphones and are geared more towards musicians and those in a studio environment. Etymotic uses lots of words like “accurate” and “transparent” and “reference quality” to describe them. So it may be a little unfair to hook them up to consumer grade kit like the iPod and listen to lossy-compressed Mp3s with them, but that’s what we’re going to do.

Style and Design

The ER-4 comes in a nice little briefcase of sorts, with all kinds of neat extras like a headphone adapter, nozzle cleaners, and LOTS of extra foam earpieces. It’s good packaging but not as good as the Shure E5c.

It’s unfair to talk about style with these, since they are clearly not designed for people who need style, they’re all business (like my Grados). So let’s just sum it up this way: these earphones are ugly! Now let’s just move past it.

One thing I can’t figure out is where the sound comes from. Look at the drivers – they’re just little tubes! How does the speaker fit in there?

I also want to mention that there is a green splitter in the middle of the cord that combines the two cords at the top into one cord with a plug (like all headphones). But it is quite heavy, and tends to pull the cords out of your ears unless you use the provided clip to attach it to your clothing, which is a must.

Comfort and Fit

Oh Etymotic, why do you use such thin cords? The bottom section of the cord with the actual plug doesn’t transmit any sound (finally), but the cords that connect the splitter to the earphones transmit noise very easily. You really have to be still when listening to these.

The ER-4 is tricky to put in because the sound tube is so long.

Sound and Listening Tests

In the movie Garden State, there is a scene where Natalie Portman meets Zack Braff, and insists that he put on her headphones and listen to New Slang, by The Shins (which is the same song I’m using in my review). She tells him the song will change his life.

Well that’s the feeling I got when I heard New Slang on the Etymotic ER-4. It was like hearing the song for the first time. I heard little details and instruments I hadn’t even heard before but unfortunately there was no bass.

The treble and midrange on the ER-4 is just perfect. It sounds detailed and sharp and bright, but not too bright like the ER-6. The sound is very “real”. However, the bass is unfortunately pretty weak.