I don't usually bliss out on the bus to work, even when I'm packing music. Even if I could afford earphones that made my portable CD player sound as good as my home system, road noise would grind its way right through the music. But when I plugged a pair of Etymotic Research ER-4s into my ears, everything changed. The phones fit so snugly into my ear canals that any noise receded deep into the background, before I turned my music on. When I did, the sound was crystal clear and natural. And though their US$330 price is hardly cheap (even for ruggedly built little phones with plenty of useful accessories), it's only about a third of what standard headphones this good cost.
In part that's because the sound the ER-4s pipe directly into your ears is a remarkably good match for the sound that normally floats into them through the air. (The ER-4s' frequency response is deliberately not "flat," but is contoured to match the frequency deviations that ears normally add to sound reaching them from outside.)
The price and quality suggest professional use. But the ER-4s are efficient enough to get good, loud sound from most pocket tape or CD players - and effective noise sealing means you don't need to play them really loud to hear the music.
- Ivan Berger
Etymotic headphones, US$330, Etymotic Research, +1 (708) 228 0006.
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