Etymotic ER3XR Extended Response Earphone,Black

I have only had these about 30 minutes so far and will be amending my review as I break these in. But since no other reviews seem to be out there, I thought I'd put a bit of my first impressions out there. Though it is still early and these thoughts may shift some as I become more familiar with these. I'll also preface by saying I have not heard the ER4 range of headphones by Etymotic. But have owned the HF5 along with a collection of Sennhesier open back headphones and PSB closed back headphones.I upgraded to the ER3XR from the HF5. The HF5 has been my daily go to headphone to throw in my pocket and take on the go and to the office. I started looking into etymotic for passive noise isolation after listing to the "best" active noise canceling headphones out there and realizing ANC is garbage at best.If you are familiar with the HF5, the ER3 is a step up in the detail and separation in the sound. Maybe not a huge improvement for some, but it is very noticable to me on first listening. This is especially true in the treble detail. The biggest improvement however is in the bass region. The ER3XR clearly have a much needed bass boost in the low bass/sub bass frequency response compared to the HF5. It is very clean, separated and detailed bass and not overly bass heavy. Just gives a nice bit of increased support in the low end which was the main limiting factor with the HF5.The build quality is also significantly improved. The HF models have a plastic body and durable but thin cable. These are aluminum bodies with detachable cables which can be replaced. The cables are still quite thin but feel a bit more premium overall. This is nice as the cable seems to usually be the place where the HF models fail.In short, the HF5 are a durable but ultimately a "disposable" ....albeit costly, consumer product by build quality standards. These are approaching more of the professional build quality with replaceable parts so they should last longer. That should be enough of a reason to buy them over slightly cheaper monitors.If you are on a tight budget, go with the HF5 while they are on sale. If you can justify the additional $50-80 it is definitely worth it to go with the ER3.Based on the general impression so far, it recommend strongly that most people will really enjoy the ER3xr for listening to music. The flatter response of the ER3sr may be better suited for studio monitors or musicians monitoring live performances. Again, the slightly emphasized bass boost on the XR is far from what I'd call bass heavy. Definitely still very balanced sounding in my opinion but definitely not a flat response.One general comment/observation I've had on etymotic earphones is that they seem a little treble heavy at first and bass light with a very "digital" sound in general. They really open/warm up significantly after several hours of playback. I usually run them overnight with white, pink or brown noise playing through them to break the drivers in a bit.UPDATE #1: I've been using these for a few days now and absolutely love them. Based on the feedback I'm seeing online, these really are deserving of the SR series iem name. They are much more similar to the ER4 iems than they are different. It seems the biggest difference in these compared to the ER4 is that they are assembled in China instead of the US and the drivers are not matched to the same tight standards between balancing the left and right channels. However some of the Frequency Response graphs still show very good/great match between the drivers.The ER3 also appears to maybe have a bit more roll off in the high frequency response. this likely translates into slightly less upper high details. Comparing the bass of the ER4 and ER3 seem to rank from least bass to most bass ER4SR, ER3SE, ER4XR and ER3XR. In general the etymotic sound has historically been called cold as it emphasises treble detail and bass detail is light. The XR headphones have a raised bass response which caters towards a more mainstream audience response. The sound of the ER3XR may be a little too bass heavy for the purest/most balanced listeners. But I think most people will really enjoy the warmer sound signature of the clean and accurate bass. However, the ER3SE supposedly still has very good bass and should meet the needs of listeners really focusing on acoustic, jazz, classical or lightly scored vocals. The ER3XR is better suited for pop, rock, R&B and techno which would benefit from the stronger bass.Update: I did end up having a minor issue with these. Not long after receiving these I noticed a crackling/ popping sound coming through each driver when I was moving around.... with pretty much any source. So, it definitely seemed to be something related to the unit. I received a replacement pair and noticed the same exact thing. So, I contacted ETYMOTIC who was beyond accommodating in working to diagnose this. It was baffling to them also. In the end they could not diagnose what the issue was as both the original unit and replacement unit seemed to be within spec. At the end of this, they offered to send back my original unit with an upgraded cable (the ER4 cable) since the issue may have been associated with the cable. But this was never able to confirm since they couldn't reproduce the issue I was having.When I got the unit back, it seems the issue has been resolved. now I just have great sounding music and absolutely love these earphones. I'll clarify that I've used the unit in the same way as I did when noticing the crackling with both the original ER3 cable and the upgraded ER4 cable, but have not heard the crackling since.Long story short, Etymotics went above and beyond to try to help me out on this which speaks highly of their customer service and support. Sure you can buy cheaper brands, but you will not get this quality or support when you begin to have issues. Further these come with a 2 year warranty when industry standard is 6 months to 1 year for most earbuds if they have a warranty at all.

Very detailed listening experience. You can hear every instrument. Soundstage is not very wide but is present. Not for bass heads. These are not designed to rattle your head but rather provide an enjoyable listening experience. Etymotic has definitely made a valiant effort at creating an affordable entry level audiophile grade IEM. Do not expect $500 or $1000+ quality though. It's just not possible at this price point. If you are used to run-of-the-mill headphones by makes like Sony, JBL, Phillips, or any of the Chinese brands, you may not like these. I would say these are more of a fit for someone with a very discerning ear. Someone who is looking for a more "detailed" listening experience. Those who pair these IEM's with high definition audio files and a decent DAC will be rewarded with much enjoyment out of their listening sessions.These go DEEP into your ear canal, nothing like standard earbuds or most other IEM's. It will take some getting used to if you are new to the way these are inserted into your ears. Once you find the right tips and become acquainted to the feel of them though you will see the benefits to this design. The biggest plus being excellent noise isolation. Once the music starts to play every other sound just disappears. A blessing if quality music was your goal, a curse if you need to hear what's going on around you. I can't stress enough how important a proper fit is for these. Incorrect fit will result in mediocre sound reproduction. If you listen to these for a while and they sound terrible still you most likely do not have them fit properly. For me, the memory foam provided the best seal in my ear. I actually purchased the Comply tips that are made for deep insertion buds like these.These are wired earbuds, so keep that in mind before you buy them. If you are used to wireless buds and prefer the convenience of them these are probably not for you. If you are going to be moving around a lot or working out these are probably not for you. The wires simply rubbing against your shirt will be heard through the earbuds.Also, these will need some burn-in time. After about 5 hours they started to sound better. The longer you burn them in the better they get. After about 15 to 20 hours they were excellent. I have put well over 100 hours on my set and the sound is phenomenal now.