These are Etymotics and they sound like it. However, the dynamic drivers have a rather strong character and differs quite a bit from the BA delivery of the ER4s. I will compare them to my ER4XR in depth in due time. The IE 40 Pro is saved partly because of their wider soundstage and lateral arrangement. If not for this we would have seen a lot more masking and bleed from bass to mids. The ER2SEs play in a (slightly) narrower stage, and yet have similar or even more breathing space between the details. Of course the ER2SE paid the price of bass-impact. And if your playlist reaches low frequently you will miss some juice with the ER2SE. Good day! After 5 days of casual and critical listening, here’s my written review for the Etymotic ER2SE. Speedy realist!​ That's pretty much all I had to say. My ideal blend would just be the ER2XR with the ER4XR's cable and accessories.

triflange tips provide a good fit and are actually not that uncomfortable (although it takes some getting used to and the final comfort is likely a very individual matter) I make this comparison to show that, within the realm of Etymotic’s own lineup, pretty much the only reason to “upgrade” would be for more technical performance. So, does the EVO have better resolution than the ER4? Better imaging? Wider soundstage? The target curve that Etymotic is using for tuning our IEMs differs slightly from the Harmon preference curve. It was developed in-house more than 20 years ago, leveraging on our human hearing expertise and acoustics research. As far as tuning goes, it’s your usual competent Etymotic Diffuse Field-ish tuning (competent being emphasised due to the existence of the ER4P and ER3 which have their treble responses compromised for the sake of drivability) so there’s nothing much to say in terms of tonality that I, or everyone else, had already said. Solid balance of frequencies, amazing even, and the one thing you can expect Etymotic to nail time and time again. Overall THD level of the Etymotic ER2XR is a bit higher than most IEMs that I’ve measured. Please take note that distortion measurement is not part of sound quality evaluation. It is only used to observe the engineering quality of the IEM.

I’m not a fan of the deep insertion silicone tips, but find the foam tips a perfectly acceptable alternative with no compromise in fidelity ( albeit somewhat less external noise isolation ). Etymotic’s gift to the sensible, value driven audiophile!

Eartips: Etymotic has given you sets of eartips to test and fit according to your comfort. The triple flange preinstalled eartips worked for me well, but may not on your ears. Unforgiving and will slap you with the reality that a soundstage in an iem is all made up inside your head. Assortment of eartips: 4 Dual Flange Silicone Pairs: S, M, L, XL. 2 Triple Flange Pairs: Standard and Large. and 2 Foam Pairs: Standard Very high passive noise isolation (35-42dB) from the deep insertion design. Essential as hearing protection for an on-stage performer. But on the other end of the spectrum, the budget lineup of Etymotic’s product range had historically been an afterthought in the eyes of the audiophile community. Perhaps the most popular of which would’ve been the HF5, but you’re probably not aware that Etymotic had no less than eight lower entry models, which includes the MC series (MC2, MC3 and MC5), the HF series (HF2, HF3 and HF5), the MK5 series and most out-of-place of all, the “Ety Kids” EK5 which is a volume-limited MK5 (if memory serves me correct).But the ER2… the ER2 is an anomaly. There is absolutely no point in benchmarking similarly-priced IEMs against it because of how unreasonably highit would set the bar. Now, this doesn’t mean that the ER2 becomes the automatic, default option in its price range because there are absolutely reasons why you would not like it. It is not the perfect, do-everything IEM and there may be others that suit your own personal tastes better than it ever could. IEMs generally have better isolation and sound in general because they are transmitting directly into your ear canal, rather than diffusing. This means that the bass response will be tighter with less sibilance. The soundstage can be better with some earbuds, but they also have worse imaging. Comfort is subjective, some people prefer IEMs, others prefer earbuds. Are Headphones better than IEMs? Etymotic ER2XR (Extended Response) is one of my favorite IEM from Etymotic that doesn't need any introduction. I bought this pair from a local shop around 2 years ago. It is a deep insertion micro dynamic driver design with almost ruler flat impedance across the audio band. And the most important feature is, it sounds pretty good.