The Search for Audio Perfection

Forget about the cheap white buds that come with your iPhone, everyone knows that if you really want to hear your music, you’re gonna need to invest in a better set of earphones. But the market is as wide as it is diverse; in-ears, over-ears, noise-canceling, wireless…the choice is seemingly endless. And with even some high-end, expensive brands sacrificing substance for style – with a price tag to match – it’s hard to know exactly where to turn to maximise your personal listening enjoyment.

For many, Etymotic have long been a gold standard of sorts, producing high fidelity earphones of unparalleled excellence for over 30 years. The company actually invented the first in-ear model, and have been at the cutting edge of audio technology and advancement ever since. Their ER-4, considered a classic among committed audiophiles and billed as “the world’s most accurate high-fidelity, noise-isolating earphone”, has recently been updated; the first change to the model in 25 years.

Aimed at studio users and those using some serious audio gear – one fan I spoke to actually carried around a mini DAC, which he ran his iPod through – they have the specs and the price tag to match; these are not aimed at the casual jogger or Youtube fan. That being said, even poor quality MP3’s sound good through the ER4SR, while high-quality recordings sound absolutely glorious. DiS sat down with Patty Johnson, AuD, Director of Audiology at Etymotic, to talk about the technology behind the update, people’s listening habits, and whether audio perfection will ever be achieved.