Real owners lean toward the Blessing 3: 58% of 33 owners recommend it, vs 48% of 77 for the Etymotic ER2XR.
Verdicts aggregated from Reddit, enthusiast forums, and YouTube owner comments — affiliate reviews excluded. Sample sizes differ; judge accordingly. How we score
Owners overwhelmingly praise the ER2XR's isolation, calling it competitive with or better than ANC headphones for flights, commutes, and blocking out households, paired with an accurate, detailed, reference-grade tuning that many use as their benchmark for other IEMs and standout value for the price. A meaningful minority pushes back on the deep-insertion fit, describing it as uncomfortable or painful, and there's a recurring, more alarming complaint that the stock silicone flange tips can pop off and lodge in the ear canal, driving many owners to switch to foam tips instead. Others flag that the earpieces protrude too much to sleep in comfortably and that regular deep-seal wear can contribute to impacted earwax. A smaller group also finds the neutral tuning too nasal, thin, or bass-light for their taste, preferring warmer alternatives.
Owners overwhelmingly praise the Blessing 3 for its resolution, clarity, and technical performance, with many calling it an endgame IEM that outclasses its price and even beats out pricier rivals. It's also seen as a genuine technical step up from the Blessing 2/Dusk, and owners who EQ in some extra bass often end up loving it even more. The clear sticking point is tuning: a persistent mid-bass dip and lean, thin vocal presentation show up again and again as the set's signature flaw, paired with a bright treble that some find fatiguing or piercing. A meaningful minority ultimately prefers the fuller-sounding Blessing 2/Dusk, and a handful flag nozzle design and build/QC issues as additional annoyances.
“Every penny, just first thing to do is to swap the oem cable with a balanced one and you'll be blown by the amount of bass and clarity.”— lnt976 on Reddit
“I consider them to have a balanced neutral response. It has been my gold standard where I compare every other IEM to. Well worth the cost in 2026.”— Gransmithy on Reddit
“Man I got scammed like you when I bought these iems some years ago haha these things only work well if the recording of the songs is absolutely perfect”— morkfjellet on Reddit
“Love the Blessing 3...can't wait to check out the Dusk version”— @OfficialGamesky on YouTube
“not me cranking +6db of bass on my blessing 3s as a joke and being pleasantly surprised.”— @ChizuMystic on YouTube
“I'll probably have reservations with how thin the presentation might be”— @vianhoho19 on YouTube
Real owners lean toward the Blessing 3: 58% of 33 owners recommend it, vs 48% of 77 for the Etymotic ER2XR.
Owners point the Etymotic ER2XR at frequent flyers and commuters who want passive isolation rivaling ANC headphones, and studio/analytical listeners who want a flat, accurate reference-tuning IEM.
Owners point the Blessing 3 at detail-focused listeners who want a technical, analytical, resolving sound signature, and buyers willing to EQ for extra bass rather than expecting it stock.
The most-cited downside of the Etymotic ER2XR is deep-insertion fit is uncomfortable for many, with complaints about painful, tugging, or fiddly insertion and removal. For the Blessing 3, it's recurring mid-bass dip leaves the low end feeling thin, muted, or nearly absent especially compared to rivals like the Aqua.