Etymotic Research ER4P-T MicroPro In-Ear Monitors, Black

Got these a few months back, and now having time to adjust to them and experience them properly I present my review of them.The headphones are well packaged, they come in a sturdy plastic case, which houses the phones and the various accessories. This in turn is provided inside a cardboard outer box. Pretty standard, but well packaged.In the box are the earphones themselves, along with a cable clip, headphone adapter, assorted ear tips and filters and the tool to interchange them; manual, response accuracy chart and soft carry pouch. In other words, a lot of accessories for earphones!Out of the box, the ER4's come with the small flange ear-tips attatched. These are easily changed to whatever type you want by simply pulling them gently from the headphones and pushing a new pair on. I did a bunch of testing with all the types and I found the foam tips, and small flange tips to be the most comfortable.As for the looks, well, they look rather plain (which suits me, I like plain designs) but just a heads up, these are not a fashion accessory. However they were never intended to be one!At first listen to my ears the sound seemed a little bit dead, but given some time to "burn-in" the sound improved dramatically.The sound itself is pure brilliance, the sound quality is very natural, and clear. With excellent tonal balance between treble, mid and bass. The bass response is good without being overpowering, if this is what you are looking for you will be satisfied. However if you are a bass-head and want pounding bass, you should look elsewhere as you are not the kind of listener that needs accurate headphones like these. The dynamic response is excellent too. They are quite honestly the best earphones I have ever used, and would even go as far as to say they produce more accurate sound than my over-ear Sennheiser headphones (HD598).The only real downsides I can think of are the price, (but for a high end product it is hard to moan about price) and the microphony of the cable. If you use these on the move, and the cable is rubbing against your clothes, the vibrations travel through the cable to the headphones, causing a "rumbling" sound to be heard. I would not recommend these for use when undergoing physical activity other than walking.One thing to note however: Using these headphones with a low quality audio source (eg. compressed MP3/AAC) audio will not provide a very enjoyable listening experience). These earphones were intended to be used as monitors, in other words, for listening to high quality audio sources. I recommend you only listen to lossless audio sources (CD, FLAC/Apple Lossless, High definition studio quality audio) when using these headphones!!!If you store your CDs in a lossy format like MP3, it will be worth re-ripping them into either WAV, or better FLAC or Apple Lossless (ALAC). Some compressed audio sounds perfectly acceptable, but some does not, so it is worth making the distinction between them. I recommend Exact Audio Copy or dB Poweramp when ripping CDs.An example of what I do to separate high quality audio from low quality audio, is to make a Smart Playlist in your chosen media player, and specify in the settings to include high quality files only. This will leave you with a playlist with all your lossless audio. So you can easily browse through your lossless tracks, as any lossy tracks will not be included in the playlist.However, if you are here and considering to buy these it is likely that you are an experienced listener who listens to high quality audio sources already, or a studio engineer/musician looking for earphones for a monitoring application.Another thing to note, in the case of music which has been mastered poorly for the sake of volume maximisation may often sound bad on these headphones due to the loss in clarity, which will be made very obvious to an experienced listener by these earphones. An example: the most recent Evanescence album I find to be unlistenable with these earphones as the sound quality of the CD master is too poor.Overall:Pro:Excellent sound reproduction, across all genres of music.Solid Build quality.Well packaged, with plenty of accessories.Good warranty (2 years including repairs).Con:Microphony of cable, not suitable for sport use (though they were never intended for this).Price (though they are meant to be a high end product).Cable is a little on the short side, even at my computer I need to use a headphone extender.May be uncomfortable at first, until your ears get used to the ear-tips.Not really a "con" as such, but playback of lossy audio sources is not recommended.

As a musician,audiophile and absolute lover of music I feel it very important for anyone considering purchasing these headphones to have the prior guarantee that these are quite simply breathtaking!!!! I have in the past purchased so many iems from sennheiser, shure,ultimate ears triple 10s,klipsch all top end models costing a fortune,and sometimes got close to what I felt was that sonic nirvana, but these are by far in my opinion the best set I now own.Even out of the box first time you get that wow factor , these are a serious set of phones they sound absolutely superb. the first thing to say is that the sound of these is only as good as the source material im afraid, garbage in garbage out!!! but all this means is that if you are using an ipod make sure youve downloaded at high bit rates or apple lossless. I only use mine with an ipod and the sound that can be obtained is simply stunning, but I also suggest that you . use a headphone amplifier either the e11 or the new e12 (check out mine and others reviews) soundstage is spacious and the separation of each piece of instrumentation is amazing(these headphones are remarkably accurate in this respect).I can honestly say that this is the first time that ive really felt wow!! the realism that these create is superb.Bass is woderfully presented in a perfectly accurate way its punchy and crisp and if the recording produced thunderous bass then thats what youll get. Midrange is amazing ( particularly listen to a recording which includes cello and they will demonstrate this beautifully, and the clarity that the top end produces is so detailed, no wonder sound engineers use these I can hear why.these have made my whole listening experience so much more enjoyable.Oddly enough the phones had the small earpieces on I put them in and first time fit perfect and are comfortable over extended times. I have to say when you first get them out its apparent that they dont look very expensive, but to me im buying them for their sonic abilities, and other reviewers say that theyve owned them for years with no problem, most also report great customer service from Etymotic what more can you ask for? im so very happy with these they are brilliant and worth every penny of the 180 pounds that I paid for them. I promise that you can buy these with full confidence they are absolutely superb well done etymotic!!!!! and by the way I dont work for them!!! happy purchasing!!!

I was never particularly impressed with the sound. The bass was poor and I did not find them particularly comfortable. As previous reviewers mentioned they do not look over-engineered.After very litle use one channel stopped working completely anyway.Rather useless I am sorry to say.

Etymotic ER•4 Kopfhoerer und ihre Vorgaenger waren mit die ersten High-End In-Ear Kopfhoerer ueberhaupt, und kamen nicht so sehr aus der HiFi Ecke, sondern aus der Hoerhilfen- und Stage-Monitor Industrie. Inzwischen koennte man sagen, dass Etymotic auf Links ueberholt wurde; im Kopfhoererbereich hat sich in den letzten fuenf+ Jahren so viel getan, wie auf keinem anderen Sektor der HiFi Industrie. Kunden sind bereit ein vielfaches an Geld fuer gute (kleine) Kopfhoerer auszugeben, wie noch vor Jahren... (Man denke nur an Sennheiser ie8, 80, und 800!) Da sind die Etymotic mit $299,- (oder was man auch immer in Dtl. dafuer zahlt) gar nicht mehr so extravagant.Perfekt sind sie nicht, aber nachdem ich von meinen Etymotic ER•6i Kopfhoerern verwoehnt wurde, was Praezision, Klarheit, Detailtreue und Neutralitaet bedeuten, in "in-Ear-headphones", kommen fuer mich eigentlich keine anderen Kopfhoerer (die ich mir leisten kann) in Frage. Alles andere ist nach den ER•4s "Gaslicht", um Karajan's Metapher zu brechen bzw. misbrauchen: Bass-lastig, brummelnd, diffus... alles klingt unsauber und unbefriedigend. Ich hoere Musik aus beruflichen Gruenden, ich will jedes Detail hoeren, jede Nuance, und ich will nichts was den Klang veraendert, und waere es zum 'besseren'. ("Weicher" Klang, z.B., ist der gaengige Euphemismu.) Das koennen die ER•4 wie kein anderer portabler Kopfhoerer und deswegen wuerde ich mir immer wieder ER•4 zulegen -- was genug ist fuer 5 Sterne.Was koennen sie nicht/noch?ER•4 werden tief in den Ohrkanal eingefuehrt... tiefer als so manchem Benutzer lieb oder angenehm sein mag... insb. auf Dauer. Micht stoert es nicht, auch nicht nach Stunden... und vermutlich gewoehnt man sich daran, wenn man will, aber fuer jeden wird das nicht sein. Sie muessen auch so tief eingefuehrt werden, denn nur dann wird der Hoerkanal richtig versiegelt von den "Weihnachtsbaum" Stoepseln. Damit funktioniert dann die passive "Noise Cancellation". Die ist besser als jede aktive, weil Dauer- wie Spontan-Geraeusche gleichermaszen gut ausgeblendet werden. Sie funktionieren wie sehr gute Ohrstoepsel; manchmal hoere ich auch keine Musik und blende nur die oeffentlich Telephonate anderer (z.B. im Zug) aus, mit den Dinger. Warnung: Wer aber mit diesen Kopfhoerern Fahrrad faehrt (sowieso schon eine ***-bloede Idee), sollte seine Lebensversicherung abgeschlossen habe... ohne Hörsinn ist man im Verkehr nicht viel besser dran als wuerde man die Augen zumachen.Auch muss die Versiegelung gut sein, damit der Kopfhoerer den richtigen Druck aufbauen kann um seinen Bass ins Spiel zu bringen. Zwar sind diese Kopfhoerer nicht mit dem Klangqualitaets-horror eines "Bass-Boost" ausgestattet und klingen tatsaechlich feiner als man es gewohnt ist, bass-schwach sind sie aber keineswegs, wenn sie richtig sitzen. Da kann eine Mahler-Pauke oder eine Strauss-Tuba oder eine Van Halen bass-drum richtig das Trommelfell kitzeln.Wie ein anderer Kommentator bemerkte: Mit dem Kopf auf der Seite auf dem Kopfkissen schlafen und die Hoerer im Ohr zu haben ist nicht, bzw. nur bedingt moeglich, denn sie stehen recht weit heraus und druecken dann zu sehr ins Ohr. Auch sind die Kabel relativ steif und relativ Mikrophonisch: D.h. wenn man an die Kabel stoesst (Reissverschluss et al.), dann nimmt man das wahr. Das war ein richtiges Problem der frueheren Generationen, ER•6i inklusive, und ist schon viel besser geworden. Ich nehme es nicht mehr war, bin mir aber bewusst das es manchen Hoerer durchaus noch stoeren koennte.Noch auf der Plus-Seite: Die "Weihnachtsbaum" Stoepsel (es werden eine grosse Anzahl verschiedener Stoepselarten mitgeliefert) sind mir sehr lieb und halten bombenfest im Ohr. Die Filter schuetzen den Kopfhoerer vor Verschmutzung und sind austauschbar. Der Kopfhoerer kann repariert werden (i.e. bei Kabelbruch o.ae., was mir bei diesem Modell noch nicht vorgekommen ist), muss dazu aber eingeschickt werden. Wenn es dann nach Amerika geht, wird das gleich teuer... aber immerhin weniger teuer als ein neuer Kopfhoerer. Abnehmbare Kabel waeren bei dem Model eine runde Sache, sind aber auf dem Preisniveau keineswegs Standard.Eine Kaufempfehlung kann man bei so persoenlichen Geraeten wir Kopfhoerern nicht aussprechen... eine Probierempfehlung, falls ueberhaupt moeglich, aber auf jeden Fall. Wie schon beschrieben, ich wuerde auf das neutrale, detaillierte Klangbild absolut nicht verzichten wollen.

First, a little background: I've just came from SE535, CK10, GR07, EX600, IE7, Turbine Pro Copper, and Triple Fi10. These are a few of the IEMs I bought this year, excluding past stuff, and I'll leave the less worthy-of-mentioning IEMs that I've auditioned out.Most of these have either a higher price tag or is technically superior than the ER4-PT. (dual/triple-BA drivers)When I took a trip to China earlier this year I had the chance to visit a Jaben store, and audition quite a few higher-end IEMs, including the JH-16 Custom (close to one thousand dollars). Amongst them was the ER4P, which was the one pair of IEMs that impressed me. After the trip I just could not stop thinking about them, and when amazon's price dropped to $192, I pulled the trigger.I am happy to report that after getting the ER4-PTs, I've been slowly selling off my IEM collection. They are all gone now. I have no interest in my other IEMs any more and barely touched them after my ER4-PTs arrived.-------------------The ER4-PT (Or any of the ER4 series) is a must have in anyone's collection. It has unmatched clarity and accuracy in all universal IEMs, and most custom IEMs.If you are just starting out with IEMs, you will probably not appreciate what the ER4s have to offer. All the time I hear stories of newbies acquiring ER4s early on their journey, left unimpressed, but then a dozen other IEMs later, they suddenly regret letting them go. But anyone who's had his worthy share of high-end IEMs would be surprised at how pleasing a $200 single BA IEM can sound, even in comparison to SE535 which is double the price.-----------------------Let me get the cons out of the way:- These things have horrible microphonic. Worst of any IEMs I've owned, especially considering the price tag. I think the cheaper HF series do better with microphonic than these because of their rubber cable coating. The shirt-clip helps a lot and is essential when using the IEM. However, when the cable scrapes against the collar or my face, I can still hear terrible microphonic. Suffice to say, you don't want to be running with these on.- Long earpiece do not sit flush in ears. This poses a major problem when I'm on the bed or laying on the couch. I love these so much I listen to them before I go to bed. However, the tubes stick out quite a bit, making my ears hurt when I lay on my side.While these flaws aren't exactly minor, and if this was any other IEM I'd totally destroy the rating for that. But the ER4-PTs offer so much in pure audio bliss that the flaws can be easily overlooked and bore with.----------------------------Build Quality/Make/Durability:- They are still handmade in the USA. The build quality is typical of IEMs made in the USA: rough around the edges. You'll see unclean cuts, plastic stubs in one or two places. They don't affect the durability or sound in anyway, but a pair of $100 Japanese IEM from the likes of Audio-Technica or Sony will have perfect finish in every little detail.- These are plastic through and through, and it's just painted pitch black, no gloss finish or color, and looks understated. However the earpiece tubes feel solid enough, and cable appears to be robust. Should last for a few years.-----------------------------Comfort/Isolation:- To me, they are very comfortable. Many people, who haven't had much time sealing their ears with tiny speakers, dislike the long tubes and deep insertion. But I find the fit more secure and comfortable than even Shures and CK10. I use the smaller, transparent triple-flange tips. I can wear these for hours on without fatigue. I cannot say this for any of my other IEMs.- Included there are also the comply foam tips, a pair of bigger sized tri-flange, and a weird-looking, phallic shaped foam tip called the glider tips. The glider tips work very well. As the name implies, they just glide into your ears and create a good seal. But the insertion is not as deep as the small tri-flanges that I prefer.- Isolation is one of the best in passive noise isolation earphones, thanks to go deep insertion. You'll definitely be able to block out annoying parents, obnoxious roommates, etc. You'll still hear the rumbles of an airplane engine on an airplane, but it'll be muffled.-----------------------------Sound:This is the most complicated and unique thing about the ER4s. But for the subjectivity of sound perception and preference, I'll just touch lightly and encourage you trying them out yourselves.For me, I was 100% satisfied with the sound. I could ask for nothing more. Everything is as it should be. These IEMs are accurate, neutral, and accurate.- They are very revealing of the source material. You'll notice a huge difference between MP3 files ripped at 192Kbps and 320Kbps. Of course, if you go Apple lossless or FLAC or WMA Lossless, you'll notice even bigger changes.- Not a bass monster! BAs have always been weak on bass. No matter how many drivers there are, the kind of texture and feel of bass out of BA phones just can't compare with Dynamic drivers. So if you want oomph, look elsewhere. These have very clean, punchy bass. A little dry, not very fluid. Extension is very good, and the notes linger as long as they need to be. They also don't overwhelm or intrude the other frequencies.- Mids - plain, flat, accurate. There really is not much to say about mids. Vocals are as they should be. There is not special coloration to make female vocals sound sweeter than originally recorded, like with more Japanese earphones. Nor is the midrange recessed like with TF10 or Monster Turbine Pro Copper- Treble is limitless. Notes go as high as they need to be and beyond. It's just so crystal clear. But they are never shrill. My brains get scraped out every time I listen to my CK10s because there is a mid-treble bump in frequency response, which was done on purpose to flesh out little details in sound but makes it fatiguing to listen to. The ER4-PT never have this problem. It is awesome to listen to these when sleeping, because the crystal-clearness gives you peace so alluring you will be falling asleep in no time.- Soundstage - not huge. You have one tiny little speaker in a little plastic tube - the soundstage is not supposed to be huge. I cannot stand those IEMs that purposefully tune their sounds to sound grand and enormous. It's fake and make the music sound bloated. Not to say the ER4-PT has small soundstage. For example, if you have a recording done in a large concert hall and properly recorded, you will hear all the soundstage, the echoes and the acoustics of the chamber, as they have been recorded.----------------------------Anyway, they have been my go-to pair of IEMs since the day they arrived. Ety also hand-match the earpieces, and includes a frequency response graph with technician's signature. This is a very pro feature that not many companies offer.I think anyone who's looking for an awesome pair of IEM should get these, unless you specifically want bloated bass, warm vocals, etc. It's amazing that in a world of companies coming out with triple, quad driver universals, Etymotic still sticks to their original, 15-year-old design, and that design still beats some of the most expensive and technically advanced IEMs on several aspects.

Très bon produit, un son exceptionnel et une bonne qualité générale. Vaut plus que son prix. À acheter sans hésitation, pour les audiophiles. Et en plus Made in USA.

ER6iが断線してしまったので購入しました。ER6iのコストパフォーマンスと音質が満足していたのですが、ER6iが生産終了となっていたため、こちらを購入しました。今、他社からもいろいろな製品があります。アマゾンのレビューなどを参考にしました。凄く悩みましたが、自分の使用するシチュエーションを考えてipodの標準イヤホンで数日過ごした結果、何を自分が必要としていることがわかりました。使用は、通勤がメインです。遮音性が重要でした。オープン型だと音が逃げてしまい、貧弱になってしまう。それに伴い音量をあげると、音漏れがひどくなり周りに迷惑をかける。そうを考えると、結論は遮音性の高いカナル型でした。カナル型は、密閉度が高いので自分のとをイヤホンの空間がホール状態になります。つまり、高性能でなくてもいい音になるのです。ipodの標準イヤホンでも少し押し当てるといい音というより、細かい音まで聞こえます。おーゴツい！線が、1.5倍くらい太くなっている。ちょっと、おしゃれでない。数日、使いましたが、細かい音（高音）まで聴こえます。ハイハットやスネアのタイトさがわかります。それも地下鉄の中でも。こんな音が出ていたの？って思ったくらいですから。ER6iよりマイルドというか刺さる音がなくなったと感じました。低音が少ないと言われている方もいます。（自分もそう感じた）しかし、不十分ではないと思います。この音圧で低音を強調すると長時間の使用は辛くなると思います。だからあえて低音は出さないのでしょう。なんたって補聴器メーカーですからね。耳を大切にした結果でしょう。同社の製品で大切なのは、差し込み角度と密閉度です。これが少し外れると音が貧弱になります。数十分に一度は、確認しましよう。音がよみがえります。角度調整がしやすいような形になっています。ER6iより、進化しているので考えられているな〜って感心しました。カナル型は、耳に突っ込むのでやはり長時間の使用は、キツいかな？まぁ、耳休めという意味でよかったのかも。タッチノイズを書かれている方もいますが、どの製品もコードが触れればノイズは出ますよ。コードを止めるピンがあれば解消されます。同社製品を選んだもう一つ理由は、イヤホン内のフィルターとイヤーピースが交換できることです。定期的に交換すれば、断線や破損しない限り半永久的に使えます。これでER6iは、４〜５年は使いました。自分が聞く音楽だとHF５あたりでも問題ないと思いました。まぁ、高価ですけど結果的にベストバイになりうる製品だと思っています。この値段で悪い訳が無い！！（好みの問題ですよ）遮音性が高いので、自転車やランニングでの使用は、危険ですのでやめましょう！

今まで強い低音で消されてきた音が聞こえるようになりました。もう、低音で聞かせるイヤホンは受け付けなくなりました。しかし、当イヤフォンの低音は弱くはないです。人工的なあくの強い、くどい低音ではなく、自然の低音なので、本来聞こえるはずの音が邪魔されずに聞こえるにすぎないのです。私はこのイヤフォンでエイジングなる言葉を実感しました。購入当初は安っぽい音を聞かせられますが、落胆はしないでください。忘れた頃に「あれ？いつの間にきれいになったのであろう」と自然な音に不思議がることになるでしょう。また、当初は守備範囲を選ぶイヤフォンだと感じられますが、次第にオールマイティなものであると感じられるようになります。当面、このイヤフォンで満足するでしょう。余計な出費はしないで済むでしょう。金額だけの価値は十分に備えております。決して損はしないとお薦めできます。