Etymotic ResearchER4P-T MicroPro In-Ear Monitors, Black

This is my third Etymotic product, following the 6i (now sadly discontinued) and ER4-PT models. I was using the 6i's for my Walkman and the ER4's - with a gizmo to convert them to ER4-S - for home listening. After the 6i's eventually lost a channel after 7 years' continuous use, I decided to pass on the ER4-PT's (without the gizmo) to the Walkman, and invest in ER4-S. Very pleased to find immediate purity of sound, without all the usual run-in procedure - if they get any better after run-in, that will be Nirvana! The music is so beautifully reproduced I can only endorse the makers' claim, "The next best thing to live sound." The ER4-S have an accuracy claim of 92%, so far undisputed: no other earphones make any such assertion. Such accuracy is not to everybody's taste, however, and often meets with luke-warm tributes such as "neutral", "clinical" and "analytical" - or more damningly, no bass! There are some who require more enhancement to their listening, but for sure accuracy of sound, you won't find any better than this. (As for the bass, if the ear-pieces are securely fitted into the ear-canal, you will hear genuine unbeefed-up bass, nothing artificial). I am very surprised that this product hasn't been given a review since 2011, and that there has been only one so far. This product is admittedly an old design, but it is first rate and has yet to be improved upon. Getting near £200 may seem a high price to pay for such a titchy looking object, but believe me, it is value for money, and you would have to pay a helluva lot more for anything better. Final note - as the previous reviewer notes - they need a lot of driving and are unsuitable for small devices such as iPhones, iPod and Walkman. For those, choose the ER4-PTS. Less accurate, but more output.

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!!!

This is now my 3rd pair of these earphones. The design has not changed for many years. I purchased my first set back in 2006. They died in 2010, on to the 2nd set, then, my 3rd were bought at the end of 2014. 4 years may not seem like a long time, but I use these for 2 hours a day, 5 days a week sometimes more on the tube. That is a lot of winding and unwinding the cable.Couple of tips:1. Ware the shirt clip, it ensures less noise when the wires rub against your collar etc. This isn't a design fault of the product, twires are just unfortunately good conductors of sound.2. Use the little pouch case that comes with them to store, they fold down very small.3. Ensure you hav the correct ear plug. There are lots of different options in the box, but if none of them work you might consider getting custom made ear molds which I had for a few years since i use them so much. Should go without saying that the best ear plug is one that blocks as much outside noise as possible.A great buy, very useful if you're in a noisey place and want good quality sound.

Like many, I have owned a wide range of IEMs over the years ranging from £20 to £200+. Without question, the best pair for pure sound quality were my Etymotic HF3's thought I bought about 3 years ago. Sadly, after regular usage the 3.5mm connector died on me and I felt I would find an alternative high end pair by other reputable companies including Sennheiser ie8's, Final Audio Heaven IV's and RHA's 750's. All of these are excellent in ears offering stella quality audio. Sadly, they all suffered from the same minor flaw - noise isolation.Nothing quite gets to eliminating ambient noise quite like the Ety's - unless you go custom. So I finally gave in and decided to go for the ER4-PT's and now I wish I'd done it as soon as my HF3's died. Isolation is incredible (be aware that you need to get the right choice of buds fitted, and most importantly, don't mind an IEM that goes so deep in your ear canal that it almost touches your brain!). But once you get past these to speed bumps, then Wow! the sound is amazing, and yes, the bass is very much there.Like many before, the sound is very accurate, detailed and neutral. The sound stage is very impressive too. Pretty wide, and certainly improved by the clarity of individual instruments. Audio quality of your music will be laid bare, so try to keep your files at a decent quality level - these things will reveal flaws. In terms of cable noise, I found using the supplied clip made the microphonics very low if not non-existent.All in, the ER4's are not cheap, not particularly pretty, and for some, take time to get comfortable. But, if you're after some of the best noise isolating and sound quality in-ears, then these should be on your wish list. I can see why they haven't needed to be changed much in 20 years.

THis is a replacement for my original set that unfortunately dropped into a cup of coffee, this is only second pair in 10 years and if it wasn't for the unfortunate incident with the coffee then I would have still had the first set I love them. Hopefully this one will last as long as the other one. The do not carry major bass but I am not a huge fan of bass. And the sound is excellent they needed a while to settle in but overall very pleased with them.Since I discovered Etymotic I haven't looked back all my Mobile headsets and the headphone set I have is Etymotic I work in a noisy environment and suffer from tinnitus and I appreciate the noise Isolation I get from them.