Etymotic ER2XR Extended Response Earphone, Multicolored

The headphones are just amazing. They work very good with many of my genres, in particular electronic music (psytrance) and pop. Extremely well defined sound, and although a bit intimate stage the definition and separation is just another level, especially for a single dynamic driver. The big breaking point is the fit, but i got used to it fairly quickly and the obvious advantage is superior noice cancellation that you wouldnt get without this type of fit. It does make the stage a bit intimate, but for electronic music this isnt something i care that much about anyways. It turns it as an advantage in that genre, atleast to my preference. Getting a good seal and deep fit is absolutely crucial for these iems to come alive and show what they are capable of and it may require some perseverance to get used to them. But if you manage, they are very hard to stop listen to. They are almost addicting.What isnt that good is basically all the rest. Some of the ear tips was literally broken(had holes and leaked sound/didnt isolate external sound) right out of the box. Even if the earphones are fairly priced, things like this shouldnt happen at this price point. Now i have to spend extra to be able to explore other potentially more optimal tip fits.The cable is also pretty lacking in many areas, and the clip is absolutely essential to avoid the pretty apparent microphonics the cable brings. It also feels cheap and it seems like the plug core is of some steel/iron alloy, and not copper(or atleast brass) since its magnetic. Not really ideal, but thanks to the stellar earphone itself it doesnt have that much of an impact on the general performance, although no fair comparison with an adequate cable has been done so far.If you dare to take a gamble on the fit, these are the absolutely best iems you will find in the ~100$ category. I have the hexas and olina se which are also heavy hitters in this category, and the er2xr beats those two fairly easy to me in most categories (excluding staging, but not to say er2xr staging is "bad". Its just intimate and special). I can however see how rock genres/electric guitar songs sound better on the hexas but for me that is not something of weight since i rarely listen to that type of music.

Entry level audiophile equipment is always exciting because there is often the promise of getting more for less. Many embark on the endless hunt for the best price to performance ratio, endlessly comparing one IEM to another. Most go for ChiFi, or Chinese HiFi devices, with their proclamations of triple drivers and balanced armatures. Unfortunately, even these high end technologies don’t necessarily promise excellent sound. That’s what makes the ER2XR, with its single dynamic driver, an incredible feat.At around $100, these headphones prioritise sound among everything else. The accessories are thoughtful, though perhaps a bit spartan. There’s a selection of foam and 3 flange ear tips, replacement filters, a small bag, a clip, and the IEMs themselves. A word on those ear tips: the three-flange variety go deep into your ear canal and take some getting used to. For that reason, I opted for some aftermarket Shure foam tips, which I personally prefer. However, none of this matters nearly as much as the sound. Here’s the thing: they sound great, and arguably better than HiFi community darlings like the TinAudio T2. The sound is very inviting, with a slight lift in the bass, hence the XR or ‘Extended Range’ designation. There is a pleasant warmth in mids, but nothing compromising. Highs are clean with little sparkle. The separation is good, even out of a Lightning dongle. Finally, soundstage is about what you’d expect for an IEM of this class, with its impossibly small chassis, which is to say rather narrow. All this to say that the ER2XR’s serve as a great introduction to controlled, accurate sound, while still being quite enjoyable out of the box.However, these IEMs, like all impossibly good things, come with compromises. Firstly, though they get plenty loud and are easy to drive with any 3.5mm jack, they really do need a good DAC for optimum sound quality. Paired with a Fiio BTR-5 or a Qudelix-5K, these IEM’s would make the perfect sub $200 introduction to “real” HiFi. I’d also upgrade the cable to a balanced 2.5mm 4 pole variant, which leads to me to perhaps the most irksome quality of the ER2XR — a proprietary MMCX connection. First party cables from Etymotic are pricy, at around $50 or half the cost of the whole IEM package. Naturally, AliExpress can solve any problem you have for around $25, but it’s still a nuisance.To summarise:+ The gold standard between “fun” and accuracy+ Incredible sound for the money+ Excellent (+36db) noise cancellation- Proprietary MMCX connection- Fit might not be for everyone- Cable isn’t terribly durable

When these were first made, they might have been value kings. Now, they show their age. While the graphs may show a solid response across the board, the severe limitations of single driver tech is readily apparent when listening to any music more complicated than three instruments. Dynamic range is very narrow, resulting in a crunched down sound image that used to be the norm before extensive research was done on psychoacoustics.While imaging may be rather weak, the set plays back the signal precisely with little noticable distortion, making them good for non-music applications with the exception of gaming.The competition in the $80~$100 bracket is way too stiff for these to make the cut soundwise. What they excel at now IMO is the form factor, as they are the best sleep 'phones I have ever used. They turn the rest of the world off and let me play binaural tones or a podcast or whatever so I can sleep easier. It has the best NRR and lowest physical profile of any of my IEMs, firmly cementing them in my rotation as non-active listening utility phones.