Etymotic Research ER2SE Studio Edition High Performance In-Ear Earphones (Detachable Dynamic Drivers, Noise Isolating, High Accuracy, Studio Grade Accuracy)

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Remarkably, those earphones offered between 35dB – 42dB of passive noise isolation, making them the world’s first true noise-isolating earphones—ones that even today offer unmatched levels of noise reduction. The Dirac driver’s lower mids are slightly pulled back which sucks out some of that important warmth from the midrage. Rest assured that whether we are talking about the ER2SE or XR-version earphones, Etymotic simply doesn’t do grotesque sonic colourations; it’s not in their corporate DNA. This version is the most neutral/reference tuned and then there’s the XR or Extended Response version which has a little more bass impact.

I might even compare it to my some hybrids like Legacy 5 or some offerings from BQEYZ, but the cohesiveness of a DD can't be undermined. I would have preferred if they kept the bass completely linear as opposed to downward slope of the SE and the upward tilt in the XR series. To my ears, Etymotic’s sound is defined first and foremost by notably neutral tonal balance in the SE (Studio Edition) models or by mostly neutral balance with audible but not overblown levels of added bass lift in the XR (Extended Range) models. The housing was way too large, and would create a complete seal in my ear from being pushed in and would create a weird suction in my ear. As long as you have a fairly powerful source, the Etymotic will sound good and may even replace your kilobuck IEMs.

but I'm still primarily a headphone user because the chasses on most IEMs irritate my ears too much. Unforgiving and will slap you with the reality that a soundstage in an iem is all made up inside your head. With the advancements in cable manufacturing, you now get a variety of replacement cables with various termination options, lengths and quality. It's dry, as mentioned above, with adequate but generally unremarkable impact paired with surprisingly nice delineation on fast bass solos; it's remarkably easy to follow basslines during busier passages in a song. Rocket is still a league ahead of 2XR in terms of comfort, but the 2XR does have a bit more extension in the sub region and more colorful timbre with a less microphonic cable.

I really hope they put out another iteration with dynamic drivers trying to further increase the speed, etc. You might be able to get away with having waxy ears with most IEMs, but with Etymotics, your wax will come back to haunt you. What’s more, if volume output isn’t as loud as it should be—and you know it’s not a hearing loss issue—it’s probably time to swap out filters.

Due to their accurate sound reproduction, flat sound signature headphones are preferred by Music professionals, Sound Engineers and used in professional studios for mixing and mastering music tracks and are also loved by audiophiles for immersive listening sessions. These make for lovely late night non-critical listening as you drift off to sleep, as I did with my XD-05+ listening to The Zombies' masterpiece Odessey and Oracle. From the lower midrange on up, the two models sound more or less identical, so that bass output is the real differentiator between the two.

earfonia has made a number of very significant contributions, which I can't properly do justice to in one post. This proves problematic after one or two hours because it creates constant pressure against the circumference of the ear canal.The ER2’s carry forward Etymotic’s traditional deep-insertion ear tip and earpiece design motif (more on this later), but they introduce slightly revised (and nominally more comfortable) versions of the firm’s signature triple-flange ear tips. These earphones/IEMs allow you to listen to your favourite track or block out the world for a focused podcast listening experience. might be my small ear canals) - I do love my FDX1s and agree with the others they are a fair bit better on technicalities, but MDPlus-like tonality with DD timbre is just too good to pass up. The FIIOs take the win for sheer slam and rumble as it likewise wins in headstage size, but that's probably unfair since they use a relatively large 13mm driver.