rangerid
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2010
- Posts
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**the ranking scale are not an "absolute scale." They are more of a "relative scale" to compare the two in which if the TF10s are say, a 3.5, then the HF5s would be a 4, and vice versa.
INTRO
A short while back, I gave up on the TF10s because as much as I loved them, I found something missing in them but couldn’t quite pin point the problem. I was always very interested in the IE8s and went ahead and got them. They are excellent with my tip-extenders, which basically improved everything on IE8s and basically eliminated the midbass hump for me. But their isolation is next to none and I found myself wanting a bit more sparkles in the trebles.
I didn’t want to go back to the TF10s and wanted something with a LOT of isolation since I travel a lot. So what’s a better choice than the ETY HF5s? My worry was that the HF5s are pretty “bass-light” but it is easily fixed with my Rockbox EQ by boosting the bass by a mere +5db. There is absolutely no distortion and the bass is perfect, in both quantity and quality, but more on this later.
BUILD QUALITY
TF10: Earbuds 3/5 Cable 3/5
Build on these were a bit of a joke really. The earbuds are huge and looks flimsy. The cables are very hard and the memory wire makes it a pain to wear for a long time. Thank god they were replaceable and I ended up going for the Lune Cables. Microphonics were not that bad on these, but there is definitely some.
HF5: Earbuds 4.5/5 Cable 3.5/5
Earbuds are tiny and fit very deeply. They have a nice feel to them and are very well built. Although the cable isn’t replaceable and very microphonic, they feel much better than the TF10s.
FIT
TF10: Comfort 3.5/5 Isolation 4/5
I have pretty big ear canals and after a few weeks, my ear adapted and they were quite comfortable to wear for me. But the first few weeks were dreadful, my ears would hurt after an hour. I used Shure Olives on these and they isolated very well.
HF5: Comfort 4.5/5 Isolation 5/5
Very comfortable with the stock foams for me. I can never get seals with any type of silicon tips. Isolation is second to none and is pretty much the undisputed king of isolation.
TREBLE
TF10: Quality 4/5 Quantity 3.5/5
Very well extended treble and very detailed, however, they are very forward and in your face, can be sibilant on certain treble heavy tracks. Very good sparkles here. After a while however, I find the quantity to be too much.
HF5: Quality 5/5 Quantity 4/5
Ton of details here. I don’t find them to be very edgy or too sharp. They sound very crisp, clean, and have awesome sparkle/extensions. Not at all sibilant. Mixes well in with the mids/bass and slightly less emphasis than the TF10s.
VOCALS/MIDS
TF10: Quality 2.5/5 Quantity 2.5/5
When I first put these on, I didn’t find them to be that bad, but after a while, especially compared to other IEMs, I realized how much of a joke they are. I found the mids on even the Monster Turbines to be better. The vocals have a cloudy/foggy feeling about them and the position of them appears to be behind the instrument. The result of it for me was I found music to be a bit hollow or thin. Aftermarket cables improve them, but not by much.
HF5: Quality 4.5/5 Quantity 5/5
The mids on the HF5s are soooo much better than the TF10s. They are not recessed or too forward. They are blended very nicely and extremely clear and detailed. The only tiny complaint I have is they can sound a bit emotionless, but that’s nitpicking for me. They are excellent in my view.
BASS
TF10: Quality 4.5/5 Quantity 5/5
Lows on the TF10s are amazing in my opinion, very well extended, textured and not too overpowering. I listen to a lot of hip-hop/rap so they were excellent.
HF5: Quality 4.5/5 Quantity 3/5
Okay, this is clearly a weakness for the HF5s in terms of quantity wise. In terms of quality, they are as good as any I have heard. HOWEVER, the quantity can be easily fixed with a tiny tweak of EQ. On my rockbox, I simply add 5db to it and it is PERFECT! Bass can then be “felt” as opposed to “heard” on the HF5s.
With the tiny tweak in EQ, the bass quantity is easily a 4.5/5 for me.
SOUNDSTAGE
TF10: 8.5/10
Wide and airy, but one of the reason is because of the recessed mids which gives the impression of a larger soundstage.
HF5: 7.5/10
Average, not small by any means. It is a very intimate sounding phone.
It is notable that both phones lack forward projection which I have only found on the IE8s, but a problem though, a good change from the IE8s.
SEPARATION
TF10: 8/10
Good separation, not much to say here for me.
HF5: 8.5/10
Slightly better than TF10s for me because it is so detailed.
IMAGING/PLACEMENT
TF10: 7.5/10
The recessed of the mids really shows up here. The sound just doesn’t sound very realistic since the singer/performer appears to be behind the instrument. The instrument placement of drums and violins appears to be in front of the singer.
HF5: 8.5/10
Very well done on these, everything is balanced and obviously neutral. Pinpoint placement of instrument is very good. Everything is mixed in nicely and doesn’t have the same problem and TF10s.
DETAILS
TF10: 8/10
These were my first pair of “top-tier” headphones and I was pretty blown away by the details in the highs and lows, not at all with the mids though. Everything except the mids were very detailed, extended, and the overall presentation is very airy.
HF5: 10/10
Not much really to say here, HF5s are the most detailed phones I have heard. They reveal basically everything for me, heard things I haven’t heard before with my other phones.
SPEED
TF10: 8/10
HF5: 9/10
Both have very good speed, but the HF5s I feel are a step faster.
CONCLUSION
TF10s: 75.5/100
HF5s: 87/100
These are all my personal views and I don’t expect you guys to agree with me. But for me, I have found the HF5s to be much better than the TF10s. I would happily paid full retail for HF5s, but would not even consider doing so for TF10s.
I am not an audiophile and I might not have described everything as well as an audiophile, but I did my best to express my personal views.
INTRO
A short while back, I gave up on the TF10s because as much as I loved them, I found something missing in them but couldn’t quite pin point the problem. I was always very interested in the IE8s and went ahead and got them. They are excellent with my tip-extenders, which basically improved everything on IE8s and basically eliminated the midbass hump for me. But their isolation is next to none and I found myself wanting a bit more sparkles in the trebles.
I didn’t want to go back to the TF10s and wanted something with a LOT of isolation since I travel a lot. So what’s a better choice than the ETY HF5s? My worry was that the HF5s are pretty “bass-light” but it is easily fixed with my Rockbox EQ by boosting the bass by a mere +5db. There is absolutely no distortion and the bass is perfect, in both quantity and quality, but more on this later.
BUILD QUALITY
TF10: Earbuds 3/5 Cable 3/5
Build on these were a bit of a joke really. The earbuds are huge and looks flimsy. The cables are very hard and the memory wire makes it a pain to wear for a long time. Thank god they were replaceable and I ended up going for the Lune Cables. Microphonics were not that bad on these, but there is definitely some.
HF5: Earbuds 4.5/5 Cable 3.5/5
Earbuds are tiny and fit very deeply. They have a nice feel to them and are very well built. Although the cable isn’t replaceable and very microphonic, they feel much better than the TF10s.
FIT
TF10: Comfort 3.5/5 Isolation 4/5
I have pretty big ear canals and after a few weeks, my ear adapted and they were quite comfortable to wear for me. But the first few weeks were dreadful, my ears would hurt after an hour. I used Shure Olives on these and they isolated very well.
HF5: Comfort 4.5/5 Isolation 5/5
Very comfortable with the stock foams for me. I can never get seals with any type of silicon tips. Isolation is second to none and is pretty much the undisputed king of isolation.
TREBLE
TF10: Quality 4/5 Quantity 3.5/5
Very well extended treble and very detailed, however, they are very forward and in your face, can be sibilant on certain treble heavy tracks. Very good sparkles here. After a while however, I find the quantity to be too much.
HF5: Quality 5/5 Quantity 4/5
Ton of details here. I don’t find them to be very edgy or too sharp. They sound very crisp, clean, and have awesome sparkle/extensions. Not at all sibilant. Mixes well in with the mids/bass and slightly less emphasis than the TF10s.
VOCALS/MIDS
TF10: Quality 2.5/5 Quantity 2.5/5
When I first put these on, I didn’t find them to be that bad, but after a while, especially compared to other IEMs, I realized how much of a joke they are. I found the mids on even the Monster Turbines to be better. The vocals have a cloudy/foggy feeling about them and the position of them appears to be behind the instrument. The result of it for me was I found music to be a bit hollow or thin. Aftermarket cables improve them, but not by much.
HF5: Quality 4.5/5 Quantity 5/5
The mids on the HF5s are soooo much better than the TF10s. They are not recessed or too forward. They are blended very nicely and extremely clear and detailed. The only tiny complaint I have is they can sound a bit emotionless, but that’s nitpicking for me. They are excellent in my view.
BASS
TF10: Quality 4.5/5 Quantity 5/5
Lows on the TF10s are amazing in my opinion, very well extended, textured and not too overpowering. I listen to a lot of hip-hop/rap so they were excellent.
HF5: Quality 4.5/5 Quantity 3/5
Okay, this is clearly a weakness for the HF5s in terms of quantity wise. In terms of quality, they are as good as any I have heard. HOWEVER, the quantity can be easily fixed with a tiny tweak of EQ. On my rockbox, I simply add 5db to it and it is PERFECT! Bass can then be “felt” as opposed to “heard” on the HF5s.
With the tiny tweak in EQ, the bass quantity is easily a 4.5/5 for me.
SOUNDSTAGE
TF10: 8.5/10
Wide and airy, but one of the reason is because of the recessed mids which gives the impression of a larger soundstage.
HF5: 7.5/10
Average, not small by any means. It is a very intimate sounding phone.
It is notable that both phones lack forward projection which I have only found on the IE8s, but a problem though, a good change from the IE8s.
SEPARATION
TF10: 8/10
Good separation, not much to say here for me.
HF5: 8.5/10
Slightly better than TF10s for me because it is so detailed.
IMAGING/PLACEMENT
TF10: 7.5/10
The recessed of the mids really shows up here. The sound just doesn’t sound very realistic since the singer/performer appears to be behind the instrument. The instrument placement of drums and violins appears to be in front of the singer.
HF5: 8.5/10
Very well done on these, everything is balanced and obviously neutral. Pinpoint placement of instrument is very good. Everything is mixed in nicely and doesn’t have the same problem and TF10s.
DETAILS
TF10: 8/10
These were my first pair of “top-tier” headphones and I was pretty blown away by the details in the highs and lows, not at all with the mids though. Everything except the mids were very detailed, extended, and the overall presentation is very airy.
HF5: 10/10
Not much really to say here, HF5s are the most detailed phones I have heard. They reveal basically everything for me, heard things I haven’t heard before with my other phones.
SPEED
TF10: 8/10
HF5: 9/10
Both have very good speed, but the HF5s I feel are a step faster.
CONCLUSION
TF10s: 75.5/100
HF5s: 87/100
These are all my personal views and I don’t expect you guys to agree with me. But for me, I have found the HF5s to be much better than the TF10s. I would happily paid full retail for HF5s, but would not even consider doing so for TF10s.
I am not an audiophile and I might not have described everything as well as an audiophile, but I did my best to express my personal views.
