Component Reviews
Etymotic ER-4 MicroPro & Shure E3 Earphones
These in-ear phones have advantages of blocking out noisy environments, possibly better bass response and compactness for travel
Published on August 07, 2005
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1) ER-4s in case
2) ER-4s close up
3) E3s
Etymotic ER-4
MicroPro
Earphones
www.eytmotic.com
847-228-0006
SRP: $250
Specifications:
Response Accuracy:
ER-4S MicroPro Earphones: 92%
ER-4P MicroPro Earphones: 86%
Noise Isolation: 35-42 dB
Frequency response: 50-10 kHz ± 2 dB; 20-16 kHz ±4 dB
Acoustic polarity: + electrical = + acoustic
Transducer type: balanced armature
1 kHz sensitivity (ER-4B/ER-4S): 108 dB SPL for a 0.79 V input
(90 dB @ 0.1 V; 100 dB @ 1mW)
1 kHz sensitivity (ER-4P): 108 dB SPL for a 0.2 V input
(102 dB @ 0.1 V; 106 dB @ 1mW)
Impedance (ER-4B/ER-4S): 100 Ohms nominal
Impedance (ER-4P): 27 Ohms nominal
Maximum output: 122 dB SPL
Maximum continuous input (ER-4B/ER-4S): 3.0 Vrms
Maximum continuous input (ER-4P): .75 Vrms
Weight: less than 1 oz.
Shure E3
Earphones
www.shure.com
1(800) 25-SHURE
SRP: $199.00
Specifications:
Transducer Type: single low mass/high energy
Sensitivity (at 1 kHz): 115 dB SPL/mW
Impedance (at 1 kHz) 26 ohms
Output Connector: Gold-plated stereo, 3.5 mm (1/8-inch) phone plug
Cable Length: 1.57 m (62 in.)
Testing equipment:
SanDisk Sansa MP3 Player
Apple 20 GB iPod M9282LL/A
Dell DHP with SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio
MicroPro
Earphones
www.eytmotic.com
847-228-0006
SRP: $250
Specifications:
Response Accuracy:
ER-4S MicroPro Earphones: 92%
ER-4P MicroPro Earphones: 86%
Noise Isolation: 35-42 dB
Frequency response: 50-10 kHz ± 2 dB; 20-16 kHz ±4 dB
Acoustic polarity: + electrical = + acoustic
Transducer type: balanced armature
1 kHz sensitivity (ER-4B/ER-4S): 108 dB SPL for a 0.79 V input
(90 dB @ 0.1 V; 100 dB @ 1mW)
1 kHz sensitivity (ER-4P): 108 dB SPL for a 0.2 V input
(102 dB @ 0.1 V; 106 dB @ 1mW)
Impedance (ER-4B/ER-4S): 100 Ohms nominal
Impedance (ER-4P): 27 Ohms nominal
Maximum output: 122 dB SPL
Maximum continuous input (ER-4B/ER-4S): 3.0 Vrms
Maximum continuous input (ER-4P): .75 Vrms
Weight: less than 1 oz.
Shure E3
Earphones
www.shure.com
1(800) 25-SHURE
SRP: $199.00
Specifications:
Transducer Type: single low mass/high energy
Sensitivity (at 1 kHz): 115 dB SPL/mW
Impedance (at 1 kHz) 26 ohms
Output Connector: Gold-plated stereo, 3.5 mm (1/8-inch) phone plug
Cable Length: 1.57 m (62 in.)
Testing equipment:
SanDisk Sansa MP3 Player
Apple 20 GB iPod M9282LL/A
Dell DHP with SoundMAX Integrated Digital Audio
Last
week my peace of mind was saved by audio technology. I was sitting in a
barber chair and a three-year old got into the one next to me. From the
way this little bugger screamed, you would have thought he was getting
a tooth pulled without Novocain. Two people left the shop in disgust. I
didn’t. I donned my Etymotic Research ER-4 MicroPro earphones, jamming
them so far into my ears the triple-flange eartips tickled, and played
Frank Zappa’s Roxy And Elsewhere on my SanDisk Sansa MP3 player. I
smiled as I sat in the chair next to this pint-sized caterwauler. I
could hear nothing but “Penguin in Bondage.” “We cannot bid the ear be
still,” says Wordsworth, but now we can certainly choose what goes in.
We can sound-isolate.
Two earphone sets are leaders in this field and both surpass the default earphones that come with the Sensa and the iPod. First, the ER-4s. They are a good choice for the relatively new field of sound isolation. Etymotic’s marketing literature talks a lot about “transparency” and “reference quality” when it describes them. The mid and high tones are excellent. Gershwin’s Piano Concerto came through with such pristine tones I could hear the percussion more vividly than through my large Grado SR 225 headphones connected to my home theater. Alas, the bass response leaves something to be desired. [When I reviewed the Etymotics some years ago I found they had much greater bass response than the Grados or any standard headphones - if inserted tightly into the ears. However, I had a clicking in one ear for several days after a plane flight with them...Ed. ]
Their external noise exclusion -- 35 dB with triple-flange eartips, 42 dB with foam eartips – is quite impressive. Some may find the triple-flange eartips hard to get used to. I did, so I switched to the ones that came with the Shure E3s, not included of course in the original package but readily available on the Internet. I find them more ear-canal-friendly. The cables leading from the ER-4 phones are somewhat too thin, so they transmit noise more easily than most. I use them more as sitting-still computer headsets than as walking-around MP3 player earphones. If you do, note that the green splitter is heavy, so use them with the provided clothing clip. Unlike other earphones, you can’t loop them easily around your ears to reduce weight drag. Use the clip.
The set comes with an impressive case containing spare foam and triple-flange eartips. It even has a cleaning tool and filter changer, two items you may not need much if you keep your ear canals clean. (Don’t use Q-tips--purchase an over-the-counter liquid or mix 50/50 solution of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol.) The Shure E3 earphones were a pleasant surprise. At about $50 cheaper than the ER-4s you’d expect them to be deficient in some way? Not so. They come in two colors, the E3c (white) and the E3 (gray), which I tested. The box is quite a struggle to open, so get some strong scissors and find a good storage case for the accouterments, because you will destroy the case. The earphones weigh less than an ounce and come with a sturdy, reinforced carrying case, but no clothing clip. Normally inferior headphones give me a headache after forty minutes, but these, like the ER-4s, didn’t. They also are packaged with more comfortable sleeves. The soft edges of the gray ones seem to accommodate my tender ear canals better than the triple flanges that come with the ER4s.
Note that these sleeves are easy to change. For example, I removed the ER-4's triple flanges and replaced them with the transparent semi-hard enclosures that also came with the E3s. They aren’t as sound-isolating as the triple flanges, which in turn aren’t as isolating as the foam sleeves. The earphone is also bent forward at an angle, so it not only stays securely in the ear canal, it also allows you to wrap the wire around your ear. Some have reported success with this configuration, but I found the wire kept unwrapping unless I held it in place with my wire rimmed glasses.
The sound is superb. They seem to have more punch both at the low end and in the midtones than the ER-4's. This makes them excellent choices for those ultra-compact MP3 players that compromise some sound for miniaturization, like the diminutive SanDisk Sansa. On the Apple 20 GB iPod M9282LL/A the sound was more transparent and clear. For classical music like the new Universal recording of Benjamin Britten’s Cello Sonata (Opus 65), the instruments came through as if I was listening with my Grado SR-225’s (actually at bit better). I kept finding new details, particular in the piano accompaniment. I got similar results listening through my Dell computer. Don’t expect sizzling highs and booming bass, though. You’ll need over-the-ear models for that. With both of these earphone, note that it takes about seven days of wearing them to get the best seal. You will get better results with the foam sleeves, but they stiffen with age and must be replaced more often than you’d like. These earphones go in deeply, so keep your ears clean of wax, or you’ll end up having to dismantle and clean them often. [The popular stipulation against using cotton swabs is a bit extreme to my thinking; just use them to carefully clean the sides of the ear canal and don’t push them in...Ed.]
- Peter Bates
Two earphone sets are leaders in this field and both surpass the default earphones that come with the Sensa and the iPod. First, the ER-4s. They are a good choice for the relatively new field of sound isolation. Etymotic’s marketing literature talks a lot about “transparency” and “reference quality” when it describes them. The mid and high tones are excellent. Gershwin’s Piano Concerto came through with such pristine tones I could hear the percussion more vividly than through my large Grado SR 225 headphones connected to my home theater. Alas, the bass response leaves something to be desired. [When I reviewed the Etymotics some years ago I found they had much greater bass response than the Grados or any standard headphones - if inserted tightly into the ears. However, I had a clicking in one ear for several days after a plane flight with them...Ed. ]
Their external noise exclusion -- 35 dB with triple-flange eartips, 42 dB with foam eartips – is quite impressive. Some may find the triple-flange eartips hard to get used to. I did, so I switched to the ones that came with the Shure E3s, not included of course in the original package but readily available on the Internet. I find them more ear-canal-friendly. The cables leading from the ER-4 phones are somewhat too thin, so they transmit noise more easily than most. I use them more as sitting-still computer headsets than as walking-around MP3 player earphones. If you do, note that the green splitter is heavy, so use them with the provided clothing clip. Unlike other earphones, you can’t loop them easily around your ears to reduce weight drag. Use the clip.
The set comes with an impressive case containing spare foam and triple-flange eartips. It even has a cleaning tool and filter changer, two items you may not need much if you keep your ear canals clean. (Don’t use Q-tips--purchase an over-the-counter liquid or mix 50/50 solution of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol.) The Shure E3 earphones were a pleasant surprise. At about $50 cheaper than the ER-4s you’d expect them to be deficient in some way? Not so. They come in two colors, the E3c (white) and the E3 (gray), which I tested. The box is quite a struggle to open, so get some strong scissors and find a good storage case for the accouterments, because you will destroy the case. The earphones weigh less than an ounce and come with a sturdy, reinforced carrying case, but no clothing clip. Normally inferior headphones give me a headache after forty minutes, but these, like the ER-4s, didn’t. They also are packaged with more comfortable sleeves. The soft edges of the gray ones seem to accommodate my tender ear canals better than the triple flanges that come with the ER4s.
Note that these sleeves are easy to change. For example, I removed the ER-4's triple flanges and replaced them with the transparent semi-hard enclosures that also came with the E3s. They aren’t as sound-isolating as the triple flanges, which in turn aren’t as isolating as the foam sleeves. The earphone is also bent forward at an angle, so it not only stays securely in the ear canal, it also allows you to wrap the wire around your ear. Some have reported success with this configuration, but I found the wire kept unwrapping unless I held it in place with my wire rimmed glasses.
The sound is superb. They seem to have more punch both at the low end and in the midtones than the ER-4's. This makes them excellent choices for those ultra-compact MP3 players that compromise some sound for miniaturization, like the diminutive SanDisk Sansa. On the Apple 20 GB iPod M9282LL/A the sound was more transparent and clear. For classical music like the new Universal recording of Benjamin Britten’s Cello Sonata (Opus 65), the instruments came through as if I was listening with my Grado SR-225’s (actually at bit better). I kept finding new details, particular in the piano accompaniment. I got similar results listening through my Dell computer. Don’t expect sizzling highs and booming bass, though. You’ll need over-the-ear models for that. With both of these earphone, note that it takes about seven days of wearing them to get the best seal. You will get better results with the foam sleeves, but they stiffen with age and must be replaced more often than you’d like. These earphones go in deeply, so keep your ears clean of wax, or you’ll end up having to dismantle and clean them often. [The popular stipulation against using cotton swabs is a bit extreme to my thinking; just use them to carefully clean the sides of the ear canal and don’t push them in...Ed.]
- Peter Bates
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