Etymotic Research ER2-XR Extended Response - In Ear Noise Isolating IEM Earphones with Detachable Cable

Product Information

You can find opinions on both sides about which one is better. You should just try one (from a place with a return policy).

The Blon BL-03 remains a very strong offering at USD 35.-. Timbre is seductive and the slight V-shape is very enjoyable, also being the easiest to drive from the bunch. USD 35.- is the investment to get the drivers. Getting a decent cable and tips will add min. USD 15.- to the bill. I spent a lot more, namely USD 50.-, but I use them so much, that the USD 85.- has been more than amortized within the last months. Still, the BL-03 is beaten by the ER2XR and the E5000 in every register, sometimes not by much, especially in the midrange. The soundstage is almost on par with the E5000. Last but least, the fit. Follow the instructions in the manual (no, don't throw it right away, you animals ) and the fit should be perfect with a large majority of ears. The IEM is so small that a deep insertion should be possible for almost everyone. It might feel invasive at the beginning, but for me it was a matter of some hours. Then, the IEM disappears into your ears and you are isolated from the outside. Music is playing so naturally and so clear, without harshness.

Sound Quality​

Etymotic’s founders were audiologists who have a deep, abiding concern for hearing health and hearing preservation. This concern manifests itself in Etymotic’s commitment to building earphones offering extremely high (35dB – 42dB) levels of noise isolation. Etymotic explains that the ER2 models feature “a variety of ear tips to provide 35dB+ of noise reduction so you will hear all the detail buried in the mix without raising the volume to compensate for ambient noise” (italics are mine). Etymotics Research is a well-established company researching and developing products and tools for safer hearing and their ER4 series of in-ear canal phones have been around for a very long time with great popularity and success.

The weird sound issues were resulting from the fact that I wasn't fitting them deep enough. The proper way to fit them is to push them in until it starts feeling uncomfortable... And then push them in even deeper. Only the cable connector should protrude from your ear canal, the entire blue part should be in there. This frequency range in particular makes the ER2XR an optimal choice for musicians. No sharpness, no unnatural “crispness” with respect to percussion. This is a fatigue free listening experience, even for those who tend to listen at dangerously loud volumes. Careful kids! The highs don’t feel blunted or shamelessly rolled off. But let’s just say that Miles Davis is tolerable when listening through these buds. Soundstage The second change in the ER2-series is the fact that these do not use a balanced armature driver, but instead features a more traditional dynamic driver which measures just 6mm. This is certainly not the first time that Etymotic has used a dynamic driver in their earphones, but I think it might be the first time one is used in any model in the ER-series.Very coherent, but that’s not really a too big surprise given they are single-driver in-ears and since the ER4 and ER3 series in-ears as well as the ER2SE and my ER-4S sound very coherent, too. A few years ago, they released the latest ER4 series, the ER4SR (Studio Reference) and ER4XR (Extended Response), using their latest balanced armature driver. This was soon followed by ER3 series, which reduced the impedance and moved its production from the USA to China and reduced the price by half while providing similar sound profiles in both the SR and XR versions, named ER3SE (Studio Edition) and ER3XR (Extended Response). 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.

I just can't really recommend the ER2XR to anyone who can't handle its two biggest flaws - the fit and the soundstage. If you can manage the fit, and the music you listen to is usually quite simple and does not require a huge soundstage, you'll get a really nice, well tuned IEM with strong, punchy bass. As a result of all, the ER2XR sound highly natural, realistic and accurate, but also feature a really nicely implemented elevation of the lower bass on top. However, I think a much better option for this kind of tuning in a similar price range are the Galaxy Buds+ from Samsung. Though wireless, these bad boys fit way better, have a similarly punchy, but clean bass and a typical IEM soundstage, rather than ER2's cramped one. The midrange is a toss-up, with Buds+ offering a less shouty experience, at the expense of thinner vocals. The only win for the ER2 is its treble response, which can be a little metalic on the Buds, but I do not think the treble outweighs how much better the Samsung product is at other parts of music. I only give full stars. My ranking/scoring system does not necessarily follow the norm and is about as follows:Link to my review and measurement index thread where one can also find a full review overview, more information about myself as well as my general-ish audio and review manifesto: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/956208/