As some of you may know, i already have the MX880's. Personally i think they were great, but some aspects could be made to improve on. Thats why i bought these MX980s, or more specifically the new improved version the MX985.
packaging: superb, everydetail is thought out, opens the way a beats by dre box would open up. fortunately they dont sound ANYTHING like the beats.
accesories: They come w/ 2 sets of earpads, airplane adaptor, shirt clip and a case. the case looks quite nice but due the possibility of the cables glitching i didnt bother with it. ohwell
build: the build is FANTASTIC i tell you, stems are made of metal and looks frigging sexy. the housings are probably plastic but has a smoky, graphite look to them. new improved volume control is great, integrate with the y-splitter. the plug is also really nice, unlike the old mx980s were it was too bulky and long.
comfort/fit: i was worried that i wouldnt find a good fit to them, as many people on here also say that. surprising, they actually fit me really well, no discomfort and they wdoulnt fall out. they are angled so they sit flush to your ear.
isolation: terrible, same as all the other earbuds there is.
microphonics: none, like all other earbuds
now on to the make or break aspectof and earphone: the sound
Highs: sparkling, detailed, and not rolled off inthe very least. i like to listen to a7x and the guitars sound heavenly on these.
mids: BEAUTIFUL vocals so natural and clear. inteligiblity is awesome and the voices have no nasaility to them. VERY cohesive sounding.
bass: amazing bass for earbuds, but never sounds bloated or muddy. the bass is transparent and clear and is well weighted, extension well don't expect too much its a pair of earbuds afterall.
soundstage: massively wide and tall, sometimes im feeling like im wearing fullsize headphones but NO it's an earbud.
presentation/separation: amazing sepeartion qualities. this earphone reminds me alot of the Radius DDM in that its sound is very blended and refined, but still the details can all be heard. again, very cohesive sound. the presentation is typical sennheiser, reminds me a bit of hd650 or ie8, very very airy and spacious, if a bit distant sounding, again as with a lot of sennheiser.
clarity: obviously it doesn't have the microdetail of BA 'phones, but the clarity of these buds impress me every time. details is mindboggling for an earbud
 
value; given the build and the sound and the looks and the pacaging, at 125 its a steal. even at 250 i would pay for these. amazing value.
 
Conclusion: simply the best earbuds ever. the yuin pk1 has great sound but looks generic and boring. b&o a8 has great design and build, but to my ears sounds merely average. and more. combine the sound, looks and everything else that the mx980 has and a new king is born.
 

Speechless.

[size=10pt]Intro:[/size]
[size=10pt]After searching for reviews on these headphones, and reading on swbf2cheater's MX vs PK comparison, I decided to jump the gun. When I unboxed the packaging, I got 2 pairs of foams, a shirt clip, and the headphones themselves. Nothing too special there. I felt that the design could have been more cohesive, but that it would also appeal to a fair amount of consumers. The earbuds themselves, though largely made of plastic, were very sturdy and well-built, and would stand up to a good amount of abuse. They were comfortable too, and didn't weigh my ears down. As with most other earbuds, microphonics were nonexistent. [/size]
[size=10pt]Sound: [/size]
[size=10pt]I had high expectations with these, as swbf2cheater's comparison assured me they would be better than the PK1's (which I heard for a short period at a friend's place). Thankfully, they blew my mind when played right out of the box on my sixth generation iPod nano. The bass extended very well, had great control and impact, and was delivered without any bloat or bloom. It didn’t bleed at all into the mids, either. I was extremely impressed with the vocals on the MX880, as it sounded so much more engaging than my HF5, but they still retained great intelligibility. The mids were very clear and accurate, but didn’t dominate the entire spectrum. The highs are yet another asset of the MX880. They were not recessed, but neither were they strident or harsh. I didn’t notice any grain in the upper mids/treble. The MX880 had stellar clarity and imaging, but fortunately, weren’t sibilant with some of my lower-bitrate rips. The presentation is another strong point, as it has the airy and spacious feel that compliments Sennheiser’s higher-end headphones.[/size]
[size=10pt]Conclusion: A brilliant headphone throughout. I prefer this type of sound and presentation to the HF5 by a long way, it just sounds so much more lively. While it is a smidge less clear or accurate, the Sennheiser’s are a great headphone in its own right, and I really believe more people ought to try out this earbud. [/size]
[size=10pt]Comparison to SE425: [/size]
[size=10pt]Bass: MX880 > SE425: The bass on the Shures extend quite well, but the Sennheisers simply have better texture and clarity.[/size]
[size=10pt]Mids: MX880 = SE425: Both headphones have prominent mids which shine in certain genres of music.[/size]
[size=10pt]Highs: MX880 > SE425: The Senns simply have more sparkle and are more engaging to listen to, while the Shures sound cold and a bit unrefined in the highs.[/size]
[size=10pt]Soundstage/Balance: MX880 > SE425: I simply prefer the MX880’s more even approach to the Shure’s bass and mids dominance.[/size]
[size=10pt]Overall: Sennheiser wins this by a mile. It is three times cheaper, yet it manages to do a lot of things better than the dual-driver Shure.[/size]

As I am still a bit of a noob, don't expect everything I say to be absolutely, 100% correct. I ordered the HF5's on Amazon for 99 a while back, and they arrived just last week.
 
Design:
 
Wonderfully classy and subtle design. Too many headphones out there are either boring and ugly, or garish and vulgar. The Hf's are fortunately neither of those. Looks great, but you won't see much of it anyway when they're in your ears.
 
Fit and Finish:
 
Top notch, as one would expect from Etymotic. They've spray painted the body with a matte-type finish, and it feels really, really nice. Cable is kevlar reinforced (or so I've heard) and feels really durable. For extra peace of mind, Etymotic does have a two year warranty with these, so no worries there.
 
Comfort:
 
Because of the deep form-factor, these do take some getting used to. I started using the small triple-flanges, and they hurt, so I moved to the larger ones. They were ok, but started causing itches 30 minutes in. I looked past both foamies, as multiple reviews told me they wouldn't last for long. So i went back to the small tri-flanges, used them for a while, and gradually, they started to fit better. I can now wear them for a few hours at a time without any discomfort.
 
Isolation:
 
Etymotic rates them as 35-42db, and I have no doubt about this. Annoying parents, flight attendants, engine noises, subways, everything was cancelled out. Amazing isolation. A quick word of warning: Don't use these when in busy traffic; if a bus is coming through, and you're wearing these, chances are, you WILL get run over.
 
 
Accessories:
 
They came with 4 different types of tips (2 sizes of tri-flange, Glider, and large foamies), instructions and stuff, a nice, pleather pouch, and some extra replacement filters and the tool that is used to replace them. I was fairly pleased with the accessories that came with these.
 
Microphonics:
 
With the shirt clip on, I didn't feel anything. Without the shirt clip, the microphonics were noticable, but nothing too annoying.
 
Sound:
 
The most important factor of a great headphone, and fortunately, these surpassed my expectations, by a LOT. (Side note: if the fit isn't airtight, sound quality is ruined. It becomes all highs, and nothing else.)
 
   Bass:
Since I was coming from Dre's POS, I was in for a shock. Used to muddy and bloated low-ends, imagine my feelings when I was greeted with a tight, precise, and extremely cohesive bass with relatively good extension and impact. Though it is true that the quantity of bass in this earphone doesn't match some dynamic driver-IEM, I can say that the Hf5's bass response is very well articulated and detailed. Extremely accurate or neutral is what I would describe the bass as. Bass bleed was nonexistent.
 
   Mids:
Vocals came through with ultimate intelligibility, and were super clean and crisp. Singers did tend to sound a bit "soulless", with an inclination to sound technically perfect, but with a hint of coldness. The detail retrieval and utter transparency of these earphones simply stagger me. Again with the bass, the mids on the Hf5's blew me away with it's absolute accuracy and control.
 
   Highs:
As many others have said, the highs on these depends on the bit rate or source. Throw in some 128kpbs mp3's and the highs will sound sibiliant and harsh. Any compression flaws or unnecessary artifacts will be heard loud and clear. However, with well-mastered, high-bit rate songs, the highs on the Hf5's start to come good. Every cymbal crash, hi-hat and guitar solo came through with an utter sense of neutrality and cohesion. If you're used to a more warm and laid-back treble, the Etymotics will re-educate you.
 
   Soundstage/imaging/instrument seperation:
Soundstage is wide, but has only average depth. The good thing is that this presentation suits their natural and extremely cohesive sound signature. A large, Shure-like soundstage would be of no benefit to the Hf's. As such, the Hf's don't have quite a sonically three dimensional sound, the sort you would get from a high-end Westone or Shure. Instrument seperation, on the other hand, is second-to-none. Every single instrument and beat, could be clearly picked out, as well as differences between fore/background instruments. Fantastic stuff. What I like about this earphone is that it combines the "fun" and more musical sound of something like a Monster Turbine, and the exquisite detail and analytical sound that you would normally get from a BA IEM. Like most others, I would call the sound signature of the Hf5 cold, and occasionally bright (though that depends on the source).
 
Value:
 
For 99, it's an absolute steal. For 199, it would still be tremendously good value, given it's utterly brilliant sound and isolation. Even if they were 299, I would probably still fork out the money for these.
 
Conclusion:
 
This IEM has everything I would expect a brilliant IEM to possess: Clear, detailed sound; remarkable isolation; great build and finish; good accessories, and ultimate value. Etymotic has clearly put a lot of work into this headphone, and it shows.
 
(I'll try to post pics when I can)
 

So i got these just for kicks, $23 USD. i wasn't expecting much, but when i opened the box it came with the case! the headphones, weirdly, looked legit. Comfort was a bit short, because of the length, but when i got a good fit, the isolation was good. the flat cable and "dope" stylin' were pluses too. Even more, the ControlTalk feature worked perfectly. Ok, so i thought, the sound must be crap. i was wrong. when i listened to the LEGIT beats tour, they produced really heavy bass, really recessed mids, and half a ton of sibilance. Amazingly, these got rid of the sibilance issues, and also reduced the bass. Yes, the mids were still recessed, and clarity could be better, but for the price, these are a stone-cold steal. soundstage was fairly average. besides comfort, the other issue i had is future durability problems. i heard many people's broke, let's see if these hold up. i can't wait to see the comments on this review, most of which are gonna say "TROLL" and stuff like that  
 
Conclusion: for a pair of fakes, these are great. obviously, they don't hold a candle to my other earphones, such as Shure SE215 and Sony XBA-1, but ohwells. i'll try to post pics when i have time.

so i got these expecting a muddy, murky mess. boy was i wrong! the bass extends well has HUGE impact, but weirdly, it doesnt overwhelm the mids and highs, unlike so many budget headphones. mids are recessed, no suprise about that. the highs were clear, detailed, and to my suprise they were slightly unforgiving of poor recordings (compressed mp3s etc), making them sound sibilant and bright. Dang! really wasn't expected a $50 headphone to do that lol The soundstage was decent, decent width and depth. comfort is pretty good, takes some getting used to. the isolation was great aswell, when i used the sony hyprid tips. however, the design is a bit of an oddity to me (mostly because the things are shaped to keep it in your ear) still at least theres no complaints about the durabilty xD
Conclusion: for the price, these are effing awesome, despite some sonically and design related issues. 9/10.

These broke on me within half a year. ohwell at least i enjoyed them while they lasted. they looked cool, were relatively comfortable, and surprisingly, unlike my other Monster headphone (Beats by dre) didn't slop my ears with bass- and nothing else. they actually sounded pretty decent. the bass was tight and slightly overemphasized (expect from Monster), though not really what you call warm. the mids were a bit recessed, but clear, as were the highs. however, the treble just didn't seem to really mesh with the mids/bass. for half a year's worth, these also cost a pretty penny. moreover, the remote control stopped working two months in, whether it was plugged to my iPhone 4S, or my iPod touch.
conclusion: if you're willing to get replacements every once in a while, sure. but be aware that better options are available at this price point.

When i got these, i was chuffed. i read from reviews saying they were good, so i had high hopes. fortunately, these cans definitely delivered  They look nice, and are really small and light. Comfort is a bit lacking at first, but when you get used to it, it gets better. Also, they are relatively affordable. Build quality is great, expected from Sennheiser. isolation is average, but what else do you expect from a small, sealed, pair of cans? Overall, the sound is good. The highs are slightly rolled off, but are smooth and never fatiguing. The mids are slightly boxy, but satisfactory nevertheless. the bass was a weak point of the first px200's, but because they now have a better seal, they're tight and weighty. Overall sound signature is balanced and natural, and soundstage is better than you expect from a headphone like this.
conclusion: Great value, and a brilliant all rounder. if you need a everyday headphone, definitely consider this as an option.

No, no, no.