Review: Etymotic ER-4P

ETYMOTIC ER4P

This is a review of one of the most loved high end IEMs in the market. The Etymotic ER4 are also one of the oldest IEMs, and haven't needed to change over time.

Presentation
The Etymotic ER4P come in a metal box, and are provided with tri-flange eartips and black foamies.
They feature a silver cable and are very well built, even if they retain a sort of "geeky look". Some people consider them to be "built like a tank", but there have been cases in the past when nozzles broke. This is an extremely common problem with IEMs, so caution is advised when changing eartips.
The left and right wires on the ER4P are very microphonical, so, if one is walking and they are free to tangle, the noise will propagate to the ears disturbing the listening experience, expecially in the bass department. For this reason, many people choose to loop the wires around the ear, managing to get rid of all the microphonics.

Eartips
I initially tried the ER4P with the provided triflanges and black foam tips. Both are extremely isolating, but I found the triflanges can be painful to take out of the ear, especially the first times, I found the foams provide a much more natural sound. While the triflanges enhance the treble peaks, they don't help the Etys to represent bass, resulting in a shrill and plasticky sound. Unlike triflanges, the black foamies give the ER4P a noticeable bass impact, more natural midrange and high frequencies. They still retain sibilance (which is also present with the triflanged tips).
Each pair of Etymotic's black foamies last about 2 weeks, but will sound the best only for the first week.
Having the relatively new Shure black foam tips, I found that they help to further enhance the sound. While bass impact and isolation are almost on par with etymotic's foamies, a good seal is much easier to obtain, the Etys lose all their sibilance and gain in soundstage. Shure foam tips are washable, extremely comfortable and durable (lifetime is more than two months for each pair).
This review was carried out matching the ER4 with the Shure foamies, which release probably most of their potential.

Sound quality
The Etys have a sound signature well known among audiophiles. They are light in the bass department (even with foam tips), very deep, have a sweet midrange and more treble energy than almost any other IEM. They are also the most detailed universal IEM on the market, at the point where many others sound veiled in comparison. Their speed and transparency, as well as the lack of bass, make some people call the ER4 "analytical".
With flat sound settings on the mp3 player, the bass is deep and detailed, but has a low volume which makes difficult to "feel" the sound. Midrange is incredibly clear, and vocals are very well textured and natural. Treble, as stated, is well presented and offers lots of details.
The Etys present instruments like if they all have the same weight. This is also noticeable looking at the flat frequency response. Such a presentation improves the perception of clarity, but sometimes makes the sound uninvolving. The ER4 do their best with jazz and classical music, and with well recorded rock tracks. Old rock recordings are often light in bass, and the ER4 may sound harsh with them.

Soundstage is on par with most good IEMs, and depends strongly on the source. If the source provides a spacious sound, the Etys will bring it to the listener's ears. Imaging and instrument placement in/around the head resonates with surgical precision.

I found, due to their flat sound signature and transparency, the Etys grow immensely with sound coloration. They scale up with source and amplification, sounding awesome with warm, beefy tube amps. They are prone to equalization, but the equalizer must be effective (like on Kenwood mp3 players, which have a preset, called "Rock". This couples very well with the ER4Ps). Some mp3 players (like iPods) don't have a very well developed EQ.
The Etymotic ER4 were created in the early 1990's, when mp3 players didn't even exist, and they were thought for home amps. Their flat sound signature is like an empty box which can be changed with sound coloration/equalization. When well matched, they are an awesome IEM, and one of the few IEMs worthy of their price tag, even compared to full size headphones (which usually, at lower price points, can provide the sound quality of more expensive IEMs).

Etymotic ER4S (100 Ohm)
The ER4S are the original ER4, and have higher impedance in order to be better driven by desktop/portable amps (the ER4P, 25 Ohm, are a later tweak, thought for mp3 players). Technically, ER4S and ER4P differ only in impedance and sensitivity, and it's possible to switch from ER4P to ER4S using a 75 Ohm impedance adapter.
The ER4S are even more detailed than the ER4P, especially in upper midrange and treble regions, so that a musician who's touching an instrument, or a singer who's whispering or disclosing his lips can be easily heard. This focus on nuances becomes even more apparent than with the ER4P. The ER4S are lighter in bass than the ER4P. While a few people think the ER4S go deeper in bass than the ER4P, I found them to represent deep bass equally well.

Rating: B+

Tadaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa