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

Damn, I love these IEMs. They isolate amazingly well; airplane noise, screaming children, and other distractions disappear, even if you aren't playing anything through them. As for sound quality, they are fantastic; flat, but punchy. They are dynamic drivers, not balanced armatures like the ER3 and ER4, but they still have great technicality. I imagine comfort might be hit-or-miss for people though, since they have a deep fit which some people's ears might not appreciate. Also the included eartips are horrible, I've heard some people prefer them, I am not one of those people. Get the Comply P-series eartips; they might color the sound, but they are so much more comfortable; I often forget I'm wearing them. Cable noise can be an issue if you wear them down, since they conduct vibrations from your clothes, beard, etc straight into your ears, so I normally wear them up, hooking the wires over my ears, which kills any vibrations.

During lockdown I have learned that my neighbours are very fond of two-stroke garden machinery, which is extremely noisy and has been making it difficult to concentrate whilst working and studying from home. The Sennheiser open back earphones which I usually listen through are lovely, but by design just aren't effective at blocking out external noise... enter the Etymotic ER2s! The passive noise isolation that the triple- flanged eartips provide, coupled with excellent sound quality provides new found and much needed bliss! The soundstage obviously isn't what you get from open backed earphones, but is still very good and to me the signature is rich and balanced with a noticeable hint of bass. I assume this is the 'XR' component. The blue anodised IEMs look and feel like a premium product although in common with other reviews I'd agree that the cable is ok but nothing special (at least it is replaceable though). The deep insertion of the earbuds takes a little getting used to, but I personally don't find these uncomfortable and this seems a fair trade-off for the superb level of noise isolation. In the longer term, I think these are going to make rail journeys and flights much more tolerable as well... money well spent!

Ah the Etymotics, infamously known for their sound and value. However, be warned that you must be happy to plant these deep in your earholes. Renowned for their uncomfortable and intrusive fit, some will survive, but personally I could not manage and had to return. I thought I would have loved these, at the time I was using triple flange silicon tips on other IEMs so thought I was already used to an Etymotic style fit, but boy howdy was I wrong. Maybe it's my small ear canals, but I don't think I ever managed to plant these deep enough. However I certainly got close as they sounded amazing, quite bassy for a neutral IEM, but in a good way. Amazing clarity and tuning, slightly bassier than my Moondrop Starfields, and just really smooth and clean. Probably the best IEM I've used so far, just amazing presentation. However I couldn't live with them in the end and have since settled on Moondrop Arias. Worth trying for sure, but be prepared to return if you can't suffer the fit.

I've been loving these ER2XR as they block out a lot of noise, even that of neighbours. Help me while I get tired for bed. They block out more sound than any other earphone I have ever had. They have decent sound, a nice carry case and a nice set of tips. The fit is pretty good, just find the best ones for your comfort.

Light weight and sliding into the excellent pouch make these so easy to slip into a pocket to take with you. And my iPod Nano (or my iPod Shuffle) fits in the pouch at the same time. The sound quality and isolation are brilliant. Not cheap, but they are very good!

i like the fact it has replaced my previous ones but am disappointed it doesn't have a microphone or volume controls. they're bigger than what they replaced, so if i fall asleep listening to music, they poke out and get caught on the pillow. therefore i can them give a 3*

My pair arrived with one ear not making any noise. Really poor considering the price of these things.

The product replacement is hear and I’ve sent the product that isn’t working right back today at round about 9:41. With it work right it’s a great product that performs very well with ear defenders for extra focus on the music. I’m using m3 protector defenders and it really makes it like everything around me dose not make sounds at all. Dog barks and cars driving doesn’t barley exist.

Ottima cuffia; l’ideale per chi ha il canale auricolare piccolo. Le uso con i gommini più piccoli memory della Comply (100). Isolano perfettamente.

It's good for sound accuracy, but lacking on the volume. it feels like you're always 2 volume up, the original tips feel really uncomfortable on your ears it's better to get replacement tips for me I went with (Comply foam) which was game changer Also the bass is non existent on these

Triple flange let's gooo

Is good sounds super delicious,but is necessary to buy amplifier to drive to good lever.

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.