The new ER2SE from Etymotic is the best performing IEM in the sub-USD$150 price range.
- Incredible detail resolution
- Neutral and clear tonality
- Best-in-entire-field noise isolation
- Lack of pretension
- Bass-light
- Sound may come off as clinical
- Not enough eartips
- Microphonic cable
Can anyone deny that weβre in a flavor-of-the-month driven market? Every year, at least a dozen IEMβs go through the same cycle; theyβre released, pick up traction, get positive reviews, sell like hotcakes, and then finally vanish from the public eye in a barely visible puff of smoke. Sure, this phenomenon has always existed. But in 2020, in the oversaturated IEM market, it seems to be especially prevalent.
And then, of course, there are a few products that have stood the test of time. Thereβs the HD600 from Sennheiser, which is still considered one of the best headphones on the market even as its 20th birthday recedes further and further into the rearview mirror.
Also in the IEM market, thereβs the Etymotic ER4. Etymotic Research is a company that produces all kinds of things that go in your ear. From the start, theyβve made earplugs and hearing aids, so at a certain point, it just made sense for them to bring their expertise to the IEM market. And in the 90s – back when an IEM was a thing barely familiar to the average person – they did.
The ER4 is still the flagship of the Etymotic lineup, and itβs quite a cheap flagship, at under USD$400. But with the ER2, theyβve introduced an all-new budget option.
Within Etymoticβs lineup, the ER2 twins represent something both genuinely new and quite familiar. The new: for the first time in quite a while, Etymotic has abandoned its tradition of using balanced-armature (BA) drivers and switched to a single dynamic driver. The familiar: the ER2 retains Etymoticβs admirably neutral sound, no-nonsense looks, deep-insertion fit, and phenomenal price-to-performance ratio.
The result? The ER2 is a fantastic value proposition – providing sound that, for an earphone costing just a smidge over USD$100, blows the competition way, way out of the water in many respects.
Technical Specification
- Driver: 1 x dynamic driver
- Isolation: 35 – 42dB
- Impedance: 15 Ohms
- Sensitivity: 96 dB/mW
- Connector: MMCX
In the Box
The ER2SE comes with the following accessories:
- The earphones themselves
- Medium and large triple-flange ear tips
- Medium foam ear tips
- Filter replacement tool and two replacement filters
- Small, well-built carrying baggy
The ER2SEβs presentation is good. The box is bland and unstylish in a very good way – no pretentious design here.
Iβm a big fan of the included replacement filters – many IEM manufacturers donβt include the tools needed for you to service your own earphones.
I do wish the ER2s came with a wider selection of tips, though. I have abnormally small ears, so even the smaller of the two included triple-flange tips is a bit large. Yes, they fit, but I can imagine getting a better and more consistent seal with slightly smaller tips.
The included cables have something of a reputation for being rather microphonic. What that means is that noise from the cable rubbing against your shirt or other parts of your body are transmitted into the IEMs, resulting in a constant sound while walking. This can be mostly mitigated by looping the cables over your ears.
Comfort
This is one of the first hangups Etymotic always runs into attracting new customers. Many people find the very idea of Etymoticβs so-called βdeep insertionβ daunting. And thatβs quite reasonable: Etymotics go really far into your ear. 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.
I, too, had fit issues with the ER2SE when I first got it in the mail. Itβs not that they wouldnβt stay in my ear – they certainly did – but I was bothered by them, and I felt uncomfortable. They were even painful, occasionally. But, remarkably enough, those fit issues have mostly vanished at this point.
I suspect this is because the wax that was originally stuck deep in my ear has been pushed aside or dragged out; or perhaps itβs simply because Iβve gotten used to it. What I do know is that many people have experienced the same reduction in discomfort over time. So even if you find them uncomfortable at first, Iβd recommend sticking with it for at least a few days.
Build and Looks
Most of the new IEMs being released these days make an effort to deliver a visual statement, with smoothed, futuristic ear capsules, beautiful colors, or premium materials. Meanwhile, Etymotic have kept the aesthetic design of their products more or less consistent since the 90s. Basically, the ER2s look dated – and thatβs putting it gently.
Fortunately, that really appeals to me. Etymoticβs real strength when it comes to visuals is lack of pretension. So while these earphones may not ooze fashion and style, they look clean, and they have a real sense of confidence and competence to them. Itβs as if theyβre saying – βwhy would I need to act as a fashion statement when I sound this good?β
Sound
And fortunately for the Etymotics, they do sound this good. At USD$100+ range, there simply isnβt anything Iβve heard that even comes close to touching the ER2 in terms of tone balance and resolution.
Itβs not as if everybody is going to be into what the ER2 offers. The ER2SE especially has a tone that could be called analytical, or even clinical, if youβre the type who demands an engaging sound. It doesnβt offer the kind of βmagicβ that something like the Andromeda offers, but at a tenth of the price, Iβm not inclined to blame it.
Bass
Letβs get this out of the way: the ER2SE is not a bassy IEM by any measure. Looking at the numbers, we see a slight rolloff – nothing too severe. But listen to any genre of music and you wonβt get a huge amount of bass impact.
What is there is good, though. Maybe even exceptionally good. Itβs subtle, but the bass carries real impact – at least when it comes to music that doesnβt demand outright slam. By this, I mean that, for a bass-light headphone, the bass has actual dynamics.
Of course, for those who want more bass impact, the ER2XR is out there, and Iβd expect most people would find that option the more enjoyable route. Neither is going to satisfy bassheads, but the XR model is at least going to provide the impact to handle most genres with some grace. The ER2SE is just a bit too clinical to handle the most bass-heavy genres – hip-hop, dubstep, etc.
So this is a big part of the ER2βs weakness overall (especially with the ER2SE) – a lack of fun factor. But, for me, Iβm inclined to give it a pass for that.
Mids
The mids on these earphones are fantastic – given that they suit your taste. Essentially, the ER2 aims for perfect neutrality in the mids, nothing less. But since there are multiple competing standards of neutrality in the IEM world, I think we should talk a little bit about targets.
Essentially, the ER2SE aims for Etymoticβs house version of the diffuse-field target. For a while, this target was the gold standard for neutrality – but these days, many people prefer the Harman target, which is a little bit warmer and plays into listener preferences a bit more.
Iβm not a Harman-target guy – I prefer headphones tuned to the diffuse-field target, because I find it a bit more revealing and honest to the recording. Thatβs because Iβm not always listening to headphones for enjoyment. When I am, Iβm usually looking for something a little crazy like the awful-on-paper, magical-in-practice colorations of some Audio-Technica headphones.
And whatβs more, thereβs absolutely no shout. When I directly compared the ER3SE and the ER2SE, I could hear a bit of unpleasantness to the ER3SEβs tone, especially at high volumes, but there was none of that here. Etymoticβs dynamic driver is incredibly clean and free of any source of fatigue.
There are probably some who would like a thicker, meatier, or more intimate sound, but if all youβre looking for is ruler-flat balance and clarity, perhaps at the expense of intensity, the ER2SE is where itβs at.
That said, midrange resolution takes a slight hit when compared to the ER2SEβs balanced-armature cousins, the ER3s, but nothing too major. That lack of resolution really only showed up on my most demanding tracks, and the ER2βs mids are still the best you can find for the price.
Treble
Hereβs another one of the ER2SEβs strong suits – perhaps its strongest. At USD$100+ range, the resolution in the treble is absolutely insane, easily facing off against headphones many times its price.
But I should be clear: when I say that the ER2SE βfaces offβ against these headphones, Iβm talking about raw technical ability. Some people might want a little bit more sparkle, or a little bit more of an exciting βX factorβ-type sound.
But when it comes to raw ability to extract the finest details of a recording, the ER2SEβs got it. It handily outresolves even many $500+ IEMs that Iβve heard, and it stomps the resolving power of similarly priced over-ear headphones. What the ER2SE manages with a single dynamic driver is flat-out impressive.
But are there downsides? Wellβ¦ none that I can hear! Iβm relatively sensitive to sibilance, but I detected none of it here, no glare, no peakiness. Any grain that exists sort of reinforces the βsolidityβ of the sound in contrast to the BA-driven Etymotics, and without that point of comparison, trust me: youβll barely notice, if at all.
Soundstage
This is the weak point, by far, of the entire Etymotic line. The deep insertion means that the drivers really are right next to your eardrums And given that constraint, the ER2SE actually does somewhat well when it comes to stage width.
But depth is still a sticking point: these have no front image at all, not even if I really force it. I do sometimes use these earphones for audio mixing when I have to, because of their incredible resolution, but I always end up having to switch to something else when figuring out the stage, because itβs just a bit too claustrophobic.
But, even though I normally dig headphones with a nice soundstage, I find it hard to find fault with the ER2s. Theyβre just too good in most other categories to blame them for this shortcoming.
Conclusion
The Etymotic ER2SE is a kind of unique product – simultaneously new and old, unstylish and aesthetically appealing, potentially uncomfortable yet ergonomically convenient.
But what its detractors (if it even has any) can never deny is that it boasts great raw performance. It can deliver a much more high-fidelity performance than any active noise-canceling headphone Iβve ever heard, while still boasting sufficient isolation to block out the drone of an airplane or train.
You can check them out on Amazon.
I’ve been using the ER2XRs with Sensaphonics sleeves as my main IEMs on stage for the last couple of years over Future Sonics, Westone, UE, and others. They just sound really good and it’s so much easier to make eq adjustments on my bass and know that they will translate and be meaningful. Highly recommended.
Edwin, thank you for your insights ????
I have been a faithful follower of etymotic for years, I had some ER4pt, then some HF3, and currently some ER3SE.
Would you recommend the change from an ER3SE to this new ER2SE?
Late to the party but I preferred the er2 over er3
Hi,
I currently use the tin hifi t2(i really like this signature) and wanted to ask if these are good upgrade or is the er2xr better? or are there better options out there in similar price bracket? Thanks.
I’ve has these for about a week and while stage isn’t super out there I can’t relate to it being inside my head.
Imaging is incredible, tonal balance for me is a bit too much at around 2k but that said, things sound like they’re in front of my head anywhere from very close to arms length or further.