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A top 4 favorite of mine
Posted by Happyman from San Lorenzo, CA on 2011-08-23Posted on Etymotic HF5
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Light, great sound, good warranty
Cons: None for me
First comfort. I find the tri-flanges comfortable, you probably won't. I had a set of ovals available from Klipsch. That's the ultimate comfort with wonderful seal necessary for bass. I also tried the Shure Olive sleeves, they're very nice but not nearly as nice as the Klipsch ovals. Comply foams are also a thought.
Second sound. Very nice, accurate, true to Etymotic. I have an amp with 6db of bass boost which though not necessary really completes the sound I like.. You can play around with your equalizer and find something you will like. The build is nice, they have the least microphonics of anything I own and the isolation is as good as it gets short of custom plugs which are available for nearly the price of the buds. Historically Etymotics have a reputation for good longevity. I don't own any other IEM that I'd replace if it died but I'd replace these in a heart beat.
20 out of 23 people found this review helpful. Did you?
It were a very nice choice
Posted by Truzen from Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil) on 2011-07-10Posted on Etymotic HF5
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: The sound is perfect (for me); it's discreet, appearing to be not worthy, avoiding thiefs assaults;
Cons: I found it dificult to get the fit that give the perfect sound.
Ignore the 5 stars I've put on the "Durability" criterion because I have these headphones only for 3 months yet (and yet they're in perfect conditions). Then I don't know if they last long.
Pros (continuation): It shows a lot of details of the musics.
1- The perfect sound (for me):
I were searching for a portable headphone to hear musics of games and animation series. Some of these musics don't have a good quality (some of them are from games of 16 bit console, but others have a good quality I guess. I don't know exactly because I don't search quality on musics. Then I don't hear them because of how they're good. I hear them because they remember me the good things I could see in the animation and games. Then I don't know if these headphones are a good choice to hear good quality musics. But for me, who was searching for a headphone that offers a true sound in either mid, low and high frequences of the musics I hear, It's perfect.
2- The fit problem (for me):
In the begining, I thought I've made a bad choice because I wasn't getting the true sound I wanted. But that was because I were not getting the perfect fit. Only after more or less 3 days experimenting diferent ear tips and trying to find the perfect fit, I got it. But when I remove the headphones, it's difficult to get the perfect fit when I put them again. Generaly it takes me 10 minutes to get it, and seldom it takes me an hour of patience. But it's worthwhile.
3- Conclusion:
Then these headphones are a very nice solution. With their perfect sound, the fit issue is almost insignificant. There is some sounds in the musics that I hear that I've never heard before with any of the Full Size headphones I owned before.
12 out of 16 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Best in Price range
Posted by LEOOO from Vancouver, BC on 2011-01-14Posted on Etymotic HF5
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Excellent Highs, Very good mids, Fit is fantastic
Cons: Slight Microphonics, Fit is negotiable, Design is simple (opinion)
First Impressions: Simple, contemporary design but i dont really LOVE the design. Nice rubbery feel on the housing and cord feels sturdy and flexable.
Source: Cowon O2 with 75 Ohm adapter and Fiio E5 Portable Amp.
Lows: OMG THESE CAN SHAKE MY HOUSE!! Obviously im joking, but the Bass isn't "bad" at all. Bass is weak but its still there. It doesn't shake my head but its still making sound and doing its job. Very little Air movement going on in this earphone. If you LOVE bass, go look somewhere else.
Mids: Very good mids. Very clear and precise however, i find the mids a bit... cold.. Im not saying its a bad thing, but you dont really feel the soul in some vocalists like Whitney Houston. But this is Etymotic however. They are known for Cold Precision.
Highs: AMAZING.. Because of the reduction on bass, that leaves room for Mids and Highs. With that, Etymotic made the HF5s very High and Mid oriented. Im going to be honest, im not really a "high" guy, but the HF5s are probally one of the best out there in Highs. The HF5s like being Amped though. Less tiring on the ears then.
Soundstage: Feels like you are in a Small Recording room with your fav band, singer, orchestra, ect.
Fit: DEEEEEEEP. I think the ER stands for Ear Rape XD. Ok im being over expressive, but the fit can get some getting used to. I like them with the Shure Olive foam tips the best.
Build Quality: Come on. Its Etymotic. 2 Years warrenty says it all.
Isolation: I belive the best in class with Etys Tri-Flange tips.
Value: amazing price for this much sound precision.
Conclusion: Best Single Driver earphones ive ever owned?? Amazing with Classical music. Tested with various music types for assurance. Great buy. No Regrets
45 out of 49 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Takes some getting used to, but well worth it.
Posted by Roy from New England on 2010-12-31Posted on Etymotic HF5
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: strong build quality, isolation, clarity, detail, nice looking
Cons: may not satisfy bassheads, can be uncomfortable at first, microphonics
From the start, I absolutely LOVED the sound quality of these IEMs. I was used to very bass-heavy phones, and these are like a breath of fresh air. However, the tightness of the bass may not satisfy some bassheads and people who listen exclusively to hip-hop. Despite loving the sound, I almost ended up returning these gems because for the first few days both sizes of triflange tips would hurt my left ear canal (and ONLY my left, oddly enough) as soon as I put them in, and even after I took them out.
Luckily though, after 3 or 4 days, either my ear canal adapted to the IEMs or the silicon triflanges began to soften up a bit with use, because for the last week I have been able to listen to music with them comfortably for hours at a time.
While some people (especially those who bought these for excercise) may be disappointed by the cable microphonics, I find that it is more than compensated for by the sturdy build quality. The cable (while pretty microphonic) is resilient, and the spots near the drivers, plug, and split are very nicely reinforced. I feel like these are likely to outlive their 2 year warranty easily, even with the unusually high level of abuse I tend to accidentally put IEMs through.
All in all, I would definitely recommend these to any serious music listener, audiophile or not. If you like the sound, but find them uncomfortable at first, I would suggest excercising them for the full 30 day period before you send them back because you might find, like I did, that either they adapt to you, or you adapt to them.
11 out of 13 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Beyond belief
Posted by Mattack from CA on 2010-12-26Posted on Etymotic HF5
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great sound
Cons: Fit can take some getting used to
Many users complain about the lack of bass. I agree that the presence of the bass is not heavily felt but it doesn't need to be. It maintains the overall balance of the sound. Another commonly sited con is that users complain about microphonics (cable thump). This can be easily fixed by wrapping the cable around the ear like most atheletic headphones. This cut down 90% of the cable thump leaving the rest insignificant. I was definitely skeptical about their claim "you will hear things in your music that you haven't heard before" but Etymotic proved me wrong. These are great for the plane because, contrary to common belief, most in-ear headphone cancel much more noise than any noise cancellation circuitry in on- or over-ear headphones. Overall these are my top pick for headphones and you should not pass them up lightly.
8 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Did you?
One caveat
Posted by PACoug from York, PA on 2010-06-30Posted on Etymotic HF5
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great accuracy and isolation, sound per $
Cons: Cord microphonics
I must echo another reviewer who finds the cord on this headset quite stiff, making it transmit every little vibration to your head quite loudly.
Ety ships these with a shirt clip, and I suggest you use it. It minimizes the very real cord microphonics problem of the HF5.
I have a rare Altec Lansing InMotion pair of in-ear monitors that really sound good, but they have a cord dielectric that appears to be made out of the same stiff stuff this cord is made of.
If you wind those Altecs' cord on the winding post of their case, the next time you take them out to use them, you have a big spring hanging from your chin.
I understand the advantages of a Teflon dielectric, but out here in the REAL WORLD, headphone users experience more troubles from the stiff stuff's discomfort and cord microphonics than can ever be gained in superior electrical properties.
Ety, if you're listening, please ditch the stiff dielectric on these phones. It sucks.
Phones sound great, though. I have a couple other hi-fi canal phones and a great pair of HD650's. All the others really need a headphone amp to sound right.
These are really quite good plugged right into an ipod shuffle or your laptop.
Ety's new 'mushroom' tips are the shizznits. Perfect seal for a wide variety of ear canals with great comfort, at least for me. These are now my go-to mobile music listening phones.
I still use my $13 JVC "air cushion" earphones with their smooth foam tips for podcast listening and lawn mowing. The air cushion design really cuts down cord microphonics and although they're not "hi-fi," neither do they suck, and they're damn near perfect for talk radio. I have a couple extras in a drawer somewhere so if the one's I'm using get broken I have more on hand. At $13 a pop, why not? I might even say the JVCs are my favorite headphones--since more often than not it's the JVCs I have in my ears. Really good for yard work and exercise.
But when I want good sound, the HF5s come out. I usually keep the JVCs on my shuffle, which I use for podcasts, while the nano gets the HF5s left plugged into it.
Good sound, with a bit of lightness in the bass that's not unforgivable. If it bugs me I go into the EQ profiles and bump the bass up a bit. But I usually listen to them flat and they sound very right.
5 out of 9 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Great for the price
Posted by VinnieVidi from NYC on 2010-01-24Posted on Etymotic HF5
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Sound, fit, isolation, durability
Cons: Microphonics
The HF5 (to my ears) are indistinguishable from the ER4P. The sound signature is similar to the fantastic ER6i but slightly less grainy in the highs and a bit tighter in the lows.
My only complaint with the HF5 is the cable. The cable is very stiff in comparison with that of the ER4P and produces a thumping which hurts my ears. I find that this is drastically diminished if I wrap the cable around my ears—thus making the HF5 more wearable.
I would recommend the HF5 more than the ER6i, but due to the aforementioned cable noise (if you have the extra couple bucks) the ER4P are a better model.
7 out of 8 people found this review helpful. Did you?
Great sounding headphones
Posted by xbkrx from Columbus, OH on 2010-01-16Posted on Etymotic HF5
Recommend Product: Yes
Pros: Great sound
Cons: Deep fit in ear canal
These headphones sound great!! The one down side for me is that you have to get a good seal in the ear canal for them to sound their best and this can be a bit tricky for me. They supply several different types of ear plug thingys and I've found if I use the foam ones they work great, but they are a bit more time consuming to insert that the more traditional soft rubber. I tried all the sizes of the soft rubber type but couldn't get a good seal that was comfortable. It's probably just something funky with my ear canal. The foam ones work well for me but, as I said, are a bit more labor intensive. It's nothing major and to me it's worth it for the sound quality.
3 out of 6 people found this review helpful. Did you?
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