Closer Examination

The cable that ships with the Etymotic EVO might as well merit an article on its own, but a couple of paragraphs will have to do here. This is an estron cable, which may not mean much to you if you are not familiar with the Danish company. Specifically, this is a Linum cable that is the thinnest IEM cables I have tested to date with an overall diameter of only 0.9 mm. A single strand is used for each channel, so the widest point is still under 2 mm with the double strand. The included cable uses a right-angled low-profile 3.5 mm TRS connector with the Etymotic logo on the plastic housing. No fancy metal here except for where it counts with the conductor made out of ESW™ Litz wires, 7x32 µm thick high purity copper (99.95%) wire composed of 84 strands, which in turn gets a fine silver plating. Insulation comes in the form of a polyurethane/polyamide double enamel jacket without any memory wire formation or sheathing.

The cable is all of 50" long and just ~5.6 g in mass, with estron rating this at 1.5 Ω impedance and my Fluke 110 DMM confirming as much. This cable in particular is the Linum gen 2 BaX, which is the intermediate option in the estron lineup meant for >10 Ω impedance earphones. The thin nature of the cable beguiles its strength, with the cable rated to accommodate a pull force of 60 N, which corresponds to ~13 lbs (6 Kg) mass placed on one end of the cable with the other end still supporting it. The Linum BaX is advertised as a reference cable, meaning accuracy and precision of the music are the priorities. I have had no reason yet to believe that the material composition of a cable affects the sound signature, but it does fit the goal of the Etymotic EVO, so I suppose that's something. On the other end are the estron T2 connector plugs, which are quick-disconnect connectors I really like. These plugs are rated for 10,000 insertions minimum and unlike MMCX are designed to be easily inserted and removed. You get IP67 dust and spill resistance too, and there is no worry about potentially bending pins about the 2-pin connector housing either. The housing is more substantial here and comes with color-coordinated rings to indicate the left (black) and right (red) channels.


Now that the cable has been removed, we can focus on the ear buds themselves. Etymotic calls all its products earphones as opposed to IEMs, but in this case, I do feel IEM is the better description. The EVO is a hybrid design of the Etymotic long-seal design and a more ergonomic shape to the acoustic chamber itself, which in itself is an evolution and befitting the name. From a few angles, it is impossible to tell this is an Etymotic product except of course for that logo on the face plate. Gone is the CNC-machined and anodized cylindrical acoustic tube in favor of a larger injection-molded shell using an unspecified metal mix that is likely still aluminium and resin to get the complex curves the Etymotic engineers were looking for to better fit the ear's concha.


The color of the ear buds has not changed from the lustrous blue the Etymotic earphones are known for, and we see the shorter logo still etched into the face plate for branding on what is otherwise a smooth shell exterior. The shape reminds me more of a mango than anything else, but it does resemble an ear concha far more than the more aggressively cut shells of your average Chi-Fi IEMs. In fact, smooth can be used to also describe the transition from the face plate to the middle housing and from there to the base housing, with clear lines separating them visually, but none your ears would ever feel. This massive departure in ID must be a combination of several factors, not the least of which would be market feedback on wanting a more traditional approach to earphones even if the other design is still arguably more comfortable once you get past the first couple of challenging days.

The biggest factor, at least in my opinion, is simply the need for space. The Etymotic EVO is the company's first ever multi-driver set of earphones, and with three balanced armature drivers that use a two-way crossover, the older acoustic chamber would have been quite a challenge indeed. We also see no vents because that would affect the seal. L and R markings are etched into the side to indicate the channels for each ear bud, should the design not make it obvious, and we then get to that nozzle. These are the longest nozzles I have ever seen on any earphones, so that's twice now that Etymotic has surprised me here. These work in conjunction with the multi-flanged ear tips we saw before and the larger foam tips in ensuring a good, deep seal. There is a slight lip that helps keep those ear tips in place.


The nozzle is also thinner than usual, with a diameter of barely more than 2 mm the filter insert then goes into. This insert is a bright green and has a thin mesh for the actual filtering. If it gets dirty or clogged, which will happen more readily than usual given the design here, use the provided tool to simply thread in, grab onto the insert, pull it out, and replace it with a spare filter provided by Etymotic. Simply push the insert in and press down on the upside-down nozzle to get it level with the nozzle opening. Etymotic is using the green filters rated for 1500 Ω resistance and an accurate response. There are five filter inserts the company makes, which you can purchase as a kit to modify the sound signature. I can't vouch for this in the absence of any others for testing.


Fitting the ear tips is not hard given the thinner nozzle, but you need to be careful about doing it correctly—they need to sit at the base of the nozzle all around. Doing so for the multi-flanged tips begins with peeling back the bottom flange and pushing the nozzle in all the way. Make sure the base is snug all around before pushing it back and moving on to the other tip. This is the same for both the double and triple-flanged tips, although it does get slightly trickier with the latter because of the overlap between the flanges. Fitting the foam tips in is far easier than taking them out. The bore of the tips may come off the foam body, but simply push it back in place and you are done.


Depending on which of the three types of tips you go with, the next step is to re-connect the cable by carefully pushing the T2 connectors back in place. The right-angled TRS connector then goes to your source. I know there are many who prefer to use IEMs throughout, but I like to use over-ear headphones when sitting down and IEMs/TWS earbuds on the go. As such, in the absence of other options at this time, I chose to use them primarily with my trusty FiiO E17.

This is where I talk about my love/hate relationship with the Linum BaX cable. As we saw before, it is quite thin. When you use it as intended with the cables going over the ear, around the back of your head, down the back of the body, and then to the source itself, microphonics affecting the cable and audio signature caused by mechanical body movements or clothing are minimal. It is a lot easier to do this with the Linum BaX, so much so that it is arguably needed, too. There is no memory wiring in place, so the cable minder on the back helps secure both strands to your head, keeping them in place. This is also the easiest cable I have used that I could see be handy for glasses wearers without negatively affecting the user experience much. The cable is rated to be quite easy to untangle as well, which is indeed the case, but it gets tangled up far easier than other to begin with. So you will have to learn to use the cable as intended rather than having it go down the front of your shirt as with most IEM cables. Once you do, the whole design of the Linum BaX makes complete sense and works beautifully. When storing it, cable management is absolutely recommended, which is why I mentioned using the stock plastic case and foam cutout. The other option is to use multiple zip-ties combined with the provided hook-and-loop strap, in which case you may as well use the soft bag.