Etymotic fit - am I missing out?

There is deep enough and then there is too deep.  That depth will vary from person to person however I would expect it to go deeper than the IE8 (if my memory serves correctly on the IE8).  I had a pair of HF-3 last week (bought them when Best Buy had them on clearance) and later returned them as I wanted to use them with my Galaxy Vibrant and just received my HF-5 today from Amazon.  I haven't tried the HF-5 yet however with the HF-3 if I push them in too far I get the same result as you are.  You should have great isolation with the HF-3 and should not be able to hear much of anything with them in, if that isn't the case you may want to push them in slightly more but not enough to cause the muffling issue.

Play around with the other Ety tips. Despite what others reported, I didn't find the tri-flanges to isolate any better than the gliders. After trying the small tri-flanges (too small) and large tri-flanges (too paintful), I settled on the grey gliders. For my ears, they worked great. But because they seem completely flimsy and poorly constructed, I investigated other options. On the advice of many, I picked up a 5-pair pack of Shure "olives" (http://www.earphonesolutions.com/shpasmblfosl.html). As the grey gliders fit great, I was told to get the small size, and they are a good replacement for the gliders. Easier to insert, more durable, cheaper per pair, and isolate just as well.

Definitely give other options a try before giving up on the hf3. Good luck.

Try pulling the rear of your ear just above the lobe backwards while inserting the IEM's.  I was inserting them incorrectly at first too, until I happened to see one of ety's instructional videos which was surprisingly helpful.

Otherwise, I guess give foam tips a try.  If you're not inserting them deep enough then you are missing out on a lot of sound.

The Ety should go definitely deeper than the IE8. When I get a proper seal with my hf5 when it feels like the seal is air tight.

I insert them with a twisting motion. Try different tips. Another way to see if you have a good seal is to listen to the lows.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sari0n 

Try pulling the rear of your ear just above the lobe backwards while inserting the IEM's.  I was inserting them incorrectly at first too, until I happened to see one of ety's instructional videos which was surprisingly helpful.

Otherwise, I guess give foam tips a try.  If you're not inserting them deep enough then you are missing out on a lot of sound.

Pulling up on the rear of the ear helped thanks.  I definitely get a great seal and hopefully my ears get used to having them in that deep, it is certainly air tight.

I had a lot of trouble finding good comfortable tips with good isolations. I tried the klipsch oval but the isolation was lacking. The regular grey tips were very good at isolation but the began to hurt after extended use (> 2 hours). The Shure olives worked for me a little (again, lacking in isolation compared to the grey tips) but there was the annoying problem of changing tips. Sound wise, the softer glider tips seemed to distort when pushed too far in but when pushed in just enough for the seal, that's about the expected sound from HF3s. The Greys, just bring it a little closer than that. 

Also, I found my personal favorite when it comes to tips for etymotics. I had an extra set of black Jbuds flanged tips, (they are much softer than ety's), unfortunately, their isolation is really poor. 

SOLUTION = > decore set of used complies, or just any foam earplugs. Place them underneath the largest flange, and replace them on the ety. They provide the comfort of the soft rubber Jbud tips (softer than silicone), yet the isolation on with the triple flanges. Compressing allows very deep insertion, but its not required, you can get a really good seal just like the gliders if you just lightly push in. plus you can do this with either their triple or double flanged depending on comfort.

Cheap and amazing :)