Etymotic XR Shoot-Out
Etymotic has made high value in-ear phones that push good
resolution and a highly controlled and highly isolating sound to people for
many, many years now. Over the past few years, they’ve slightly deterred away
from their traditional diffuse-field-like take on sound target, and added a
more consumer friendly bass bump that adds more bass extension and slightly
elevated bass response in a line called the Extended Range series, or also known
as the XR series.
The XR line is available on all their current generation
premium models, such as their flagship ER4XR, as well as the lower cost ER3XR
and the dynamic driver ER2XR. In this quick shoot-out, I’ll provide my analysis
and impressions of all three and let you know which I ended up choosing in the
end. The results may surprise you.
ER2XR
The ER2XR has been discussed in a previous review where I
discussed the ER2SE and the ER2XR. This is Etymotic’s dynamic driver-based
in-ear which comes in at about $129 normally on Amazon, though it’s MSRP is really
higher than that. The ER2XR’s bass in comparison to the others is significantly
more lifted, and it’s quite noticeable as it does transition further into the
mid-range making it the warmest sounding of the bunch. Since it also has a
dynamic driver, I feel like it’s sound does come out as more natural sounding
with slower decay and resonance than the other two, which are balanced armature
drivers and have quicker speed.
The main knock down I have on the ER2XR is that it’s a step
down in resolution from the ER3 and ER4, though not but a lot, and its more
lifted bass shelf, gives it a more smeared sound, with less definition in the
lower mid-range, although some may prefer this for a more thick and engaging
sound that makes it differ a lot from every other Etymotic I’ve ever tried.
ER3XR
The ER3 series is a lower cost version of the ER4 coming in
between $149 and $179 USD, with some small tweaks. At least that’s how I’ve read
anyway. Whether if it’s all true or not is another story. The main differences
that have been confirmed are that it’s built in China and it has lower
tolerances for channel matching than the ER4, which is also made in the USA.
The ER3 also measures slightly warmer and laid-back, though if one were to use
a 23 ohm in-line adapter, the ER3 measures nearly identical to the ER4, which
leads many to believe that the main difference is an additional resistor in the
ER4. There could be different BA drivers employed too however.
Anyway, the ER3XR is the most laid-back tuning of the 3 XRs.
It has the least amount of shout and lowest rise at 3-4KHz, and also downslopes
steeper into the treble region, making it also the darkest of the 3. That’s not
to say it’s dark sounding. It’s not. It does lack some energy that the other
two have however if you crave that.
The ER3XR also has a slightly higher bass boost over the
ER4XR but still well below the bass shelf over the ER2XR. It’s still a BA
driving the low end, which gives this a nice balance of bass rise and speed and
that helps give this a little more definition than the ER2XR, and a little more
emphasis than the ER4XR.
ER4XR
The ER4XR was the first of this series and also commands the
biggest price, at around $299 to $349 USD. It has the highest channel matching tolerance, which extends matching throughout the frequency response and not just up to 1KHz. It's also made in the USA, unlike the other two. The other major difference is that it comes with more accessories, including a second set of each tip choice, and a larger zippered protection case as well as the small zippered pouch that comes with the other two. This larger case has internal zippered pockets that can store accessories and other goodies and is even large enough to carry my Digital Audio Player along with the earphones and more.
In my opinion, the ER4XR is the leanest
sounding of the bunch, although, some may prefer that it has more energy up at
3KHz and a little more treble overall than the ER3XR. This keeps it from
sounding a touch dark like the ER3XR does. I find that the ER4XR can be a bit shouty
and the 3-5KHz range peaks a little more than I like, given that the bass
response isn’t as elevated as the other two. In general, while I find it is the
clearest and cleanest of the units, I actually find it too be the most
difficult to listen to.
So, which did I end up liking the most?
After going through all the pros and cons of each, I picked
the ugly duckling here: the ER3XR, which probably gets the least consideration
of the two. The ER2XR is liked because it has a dynamic driver, and the ER4XR
is the flagship product, however I find the ER3XR is the best balance of the
two, with a slightly elevated bass response and the least amount of 3K rise
that gives it a more comfortable listen. Yes, it’s a tad darker than the other
two, but I’ll take that over the sharper rise as it doesn’t create a fatiguing
listen for me.
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