This is probably fine for listening to other bands, but in a rehearsal situation it would make certain keyboard sounds stand out more / less than others, and make balancing my levels harder. I had to rely on knowing roughly where my foot usually is on volume pedals rather than just judging what I could actually hear. This is OK for tracks that have been played loads of times before, but if I was working on a new song I’d need to take the plugs out for accuracy. For info, I play keyboards in a 70s Genesis tribute, so there are a lot of different sounds being reproduced.

I wore them with the flip switch in the 9dB ‘high’ mode, as that gave me a little more open high treble. It did, however, increase the low volume active boost, which led to some slightly disconcerting volume ‘pumping’ when the rest of the band shut up. This also meant that heard volumes were not so accurate.

For these reasons, I probably won’t wear them for the three shows we’re doing next weekend, but we generally try and keep the on-stage volumes sensible, and it’s only for 2 hours of music a night, so probably OK. I will absolutely wear them when going to see other bands, however!

Three stars, because at the price I would have liked a flatter EQ, especially at low frequencies.

I don’t doubt that I would have been happy with the SR also, given how crazy good the 4S was in many recordings that didn’t really include as much lower region. It is hard to properly compare mid and high on the XR with the 4S as I am so used to the 4S which has some songs shine on that model specifically. With the XR, I am appreciating most things and it does have a more similar sound profile to my mastering studio’s main speakers. It doesn’t quite have the same effortless deep end though, so the XR is a bit more muffled comparatively speaking. They are a tad higher than my studio in the low end, but not disturbingly so. I think the transition between lower mid and bass is where I would have primarily loved a db less or so, but that is just a guess ofc.

My 4S was always good to check some mid and top end on, so I suspect the SR would have served the same purpose. My IEMs aren’t really for that purpose though, as I use them more for travelling and when I am in noisy surroundings. I truly appreciate having an Ety that can give me that more overall similar impression of whatever I play.

In terms of comparisons with other IEM, nothing has ever sat as well in my ears and I simply cannot fly with anything else. As I like listening for a long time, the fit is absolutely key to how I feel about IEMs. If you like a deep fit, there is no competition to Etys. An absolute steal for the money also, no matter the price range I have compared with.