ETYMOTIC RESEARCH ER-4P MicroPro Earphones
- 10dB greater sensitivity at higher frequencies, and 13 dB greater sensitivity at lower frequencies then the ER-4S
- Requires NO batteries, and can be plugged into any audio source
- System Includes - ER-4P MicroPro earphones, 5 foot cord with 3.5 mm stereo phone plug and 1/4 stereo phone adapter plug, Six 3-flange eartips, 10 foam eartips, Filter changing tool, 4 replacement filters, Shirt clip, Zippered pouch, Storage box
- Frequency response - 20 Hz to 16,000Hz
- Designed to match the acoustic response of the open ear
ETYMOTIC RESEARCH ER-4P MicroPro Earphones
- Electronics: 0 pages
- Publisher: ETYMOTIC RESEARCH
- Label: ETYMOTIC RESEARCH
- Studio: ETYMOTIC RESEARCH
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 3 reviews
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Compared to Shure SE530 2007-06-13
Comment: I use both this and the Shure SE530. I also use the Apple 60 & 80 GB 5th generation players, and the Simpl A1 and HeadRoom Total Bithead earphone amps. The Etymotic is harder to drive; the Shure plays louder. The Etymotic is more forward, the Shure more recessed, more relaxed. The Etymotic has better midrange and high frequency response, more detail, but less dynamic range. The Shure has better overall tonal balance, better dynamic range, much much better bass and lower midrange, and is smoother, warmer, and less fatiguing. Overall, the Shure is more musical, better preserves what scant harmonics and spatial information are left in WAV and AAC formats. Still, the Etymotic is indispensable, especially if you don't want to spend the extra $200+ for the SE530.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: State of the art dynamics - great phones if you use them properly. 2006-10-29
Comment: I'm on record with a total rave of Etymotic's ER-6 headphones - but the ER-4P is vastly more satisfying. The difference is bass (the most immediately obvious difference). The ER-4p has phenominal bass for headphones - probably state of the art in this reguard. But what makes the ER-4p really special is its amazing dynamics. The soundstage is huge, and sonic textures leap out of velvet silence. It's hard to characterize superb dynamics. Music sounds "bigger". Quiet passages have more presence - and louder passages have more inner detail. Another strength of the ER-4p is that the extra bass energy allows the vibrant treble detail to sound balanced - not strident or analytical (as the ER-6 can sometimes sound). Between the dynamics and the bass, the ER-4p ends up sounding more musical and alive than the ER-6 (and thus virtually every other earphone). There is a touch of mid-bass ripeness - sometimes deep voices like Mark Knopfler sound a little chesty. There's also a downside the huge dynamics - sometimes a touch of congestion can creep in during crescendo peaks. The flip side of this is that quiet passages can have enormous presence and emotional power. Small scale accoustic stuff and female vocalists shine and have amazing presence. Nora Jones, for example, has never sounded better. Big rock doesn't suffer either. The fantastic treble detail and huge deep bass makes both classical and rock really slam. These really are amazing phones.
There are the usual caveats of an in-ear-canal headphone: Ear-canal type headphones like these must be inserted ALL the way down into the ear canal to get good bass. The better the seal the better the bass. One of my ear canals isn't straight and I sometimes have trouble getting that ear's earphone properly positioned. Once I do - the bass on these phones is amazing. This issue causes problems for some. Some people just can't tolerate something in their ears. My wife uses foam earplugs all the time but she's too squeamish to insert these earphones properly. I know plenty of people with this issue. Be honest with yourself about this before you make the plunge. If ear canal type earphones are not inserted all the way to make a good seal they sound tinny and lightweight with no bass.
Then there's the usual caveat for any high-end audio transducer: it's only worth the money if you've made sure the signal you're feeding it can do it justice. If your source material is great you'll thrill to hear all of it. You'll hear things you never heard before, guaranteed. If your source isn't good - you'll hear that too. I suspect this is the source of many of the complaints. There are a lot of people listening to low grade portable players - or to audio files with too much compression. Check out any peer to peer sharing sites and you'll find lots of audio tracks that sound like they were ripped off a poorly tuned AM radio station. If this is your music collection you should probably stick to cheap earbuds that soften and roll off the music. Etymotics will sound glorious if you are using lossless compression or high-bit rate encoding off good source material.
I'm an audiophile. At home I tweak room accoustics, cable types, speaker placement and the like. My lifestyle dictates I end up doing much of my listening on commuter busses, subways, and long walks across the city. The Etymotics and my iPod - filled with losslessly compressed tunes gives me an audiophile experience on the road. I frequently hear things on this rig that I don't hear even on my high-resolution home system. This kind of musical satisfaction at this price is astounding - a total bargain.
I've used ER-6s for last 3 1/2 years or so and was deeply in love. I'm probably a good candidate for Sensas - or other expensive exotic phones - but decided to upgrade to the ER-4ps on reputation when the ER-6s began to lose some sonic integrity after years of hard use and rough treatment. (I use the ER-6s at the gym now - where they sound great and stay put during vigorous exercise). At first the ER-4p's bass was over-ripe. They need some burn-in time. After 5 hours or so the bass came into line with the rest of the frequencies. It is still extremely strong - sometimes almost overpowering. I find this a rare and desireable trait for headphones. Most phones - even really great phones like Electrostatics or dynamic phones like Grados or Sennheisers have deficient bass. The bass and dynamic prowess of the ER-4p puts them in a different league than the ER-6 - which can sound a bit hard and analytical at times. The ER-4p sounds almost euphonic by comparison. I don't think it actually is euphonic. I've used them for about 75 hours so far and they reveal the source material. They just do so in a beautiful way. If you care about audio quality, can tolerate ear canal type phones, and can feed them high resolution source material, you'll probably fall as deeply in love with the ER-4p as I have.
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing! I never would have thought..... 2005-08-26
Comment: I hate headphones and earphones. The music never sounded good or they bothered my ears, or they made my ears too hot, etc. I had to get something to keep things a little more quiet around the house, especially at night. After researching like a mad man, I decided to give these a chance. I bought them to connect to my computer.....I never thought I would be an Ipod person (more on that in a second). I like to listen to music while I am online, and did not want to wake up my wife or kids. These are just the thing. They really should be called ear speakers, because they sound amazing. The sound quality that you get is really good. I was amazed. I bought from a different source, only because of personal issues with J&R, they worked out to about the same price.....about $200. A steal! I like them so much that I am now researching what kind of mp3 player to buy......BECAUSE of these earspeakers! You do not have to have them very loud, and they block outside noise very well. My wife can talk to me from 2 feet away, and volume is not that high, andI need to remove one ear piece to hear what she is saying. After 5 minutes of first wearing them, I forgot I had them on. The carry pouch is a nice touch, as are the extra pieces. It is hard for me to judge the quality of materials, but everything seems good, and I am not afraid of breaking anything. Buy them and enjoy the music as I am. I am very happy with my purchase.
Peace,
Morley
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ETYMOTIC RESEARCH ER-4P MicroPro Earphones
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