Etymotic ER4S Review: Ranked #823 of 865

Last updated: October 13, 2026

The Etymotic ER4S ranks #823 out of 865 total In-Ear Headphones for sound quality. See all Headphones rankings for every top pick.

Brand: Etymotic

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Etymotic ER4S - ranked #823 of 865 In-Ear Headphones · Editor's rating 1.7/5

#823 Etymotic ER4S Discontinued eBay

Pros: Upper treble lifts about 4.9 dB for extra air and sparkle. Lower mids sit within about 0.5 dB of target, keeping voices and guitars natural. It uses 1 x balanced armature.

Cons: Discontinued, so it is mainly found used. Sub-bass is 10.7 dB short at 30 Hz, so deep bass lacks rumble. A Harman score of 45 places it in the lower part of the in-ear rankings.

ConnectionWired
Deviation From Target4.23 dB standard deviation
Driver TypeBalanced armature
Drivers1 x balanced armature
Form FactorIn-ear
Frequency Response20Hz - 16kHz
Harman Preference Score45 (measured by crinacle, via AutoEQ)
Impedance100 ohms
Sensitivity110 dB/Vrms
Sub-bass ExtensionFalls 6 dB below target at 80 Hz (-10.7 dB at 30 Hz)
Tonal Tilt+1.41 (negative is warmer, positive brighter)
EQ preset to match the Harman target

Set a preamp of -6.0 dB, then add these filters in any parametric equalizer (Wavelet, Equalizer APO, Peace, or a player with parametric EQ). Calculated by AutoEQ from its measured frequency response.

FilterFrequencyGainQ
Low shelf105 Hz+6.0 dB0.70
Peak2,554 Hz-4.2 dB1.32
Peak6,538 Hz+5.2 dB1.03
Peak1,523 Hz-2.5 dB2.59
Peak77 Hz+1.3 dB2.26
High shelf10,000 Hz-0.1 dB0.70
Peak266 Hz-0.7 dB1.03
Peak872 Hz+0.9 dB1.91
Peak1,247 Hz-0.7 dB4.31
Peak112 Hz+0.3 dB2.62

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