Etymotic HF3 compared to ER-4P?

Hi, Welcome to Head-Fi =D 

This thread would help you what you want to do. Also HF2 is made for iPhone and the rest is the same as HF5, I believe. 

http://www.head-fi.org/t/598267/review-etymotic-hf5-or-the-er-4s

A brief comparison quote from the thread. 

I have the Etymotic MC5 which also has the mic and 3-button controller.  The controller works though small size buttons maybe not quite as handy as the earpod controller.  When I try to use the microphone with my blackberry, people say that my voice sounds really far away... now matter how I may hold up the mic.   And not surprisingly, trying to hold the mic produces extra noise from handling the cord.

So when I'm talking on my phone, I always use my apple earpods.  When I'm listening to music I use the etymotic 'phones.

So in switching, you do get the controller.  Why the mic is not as good, I'm not sure.  Possible it is the match-up with my phone?  

Quote:

Originally Posted by starlan 

Thanks for the replies. There is a wealth of information on this site , almost overwhelmingly so! The general consensus seems to be is that the HF series is approx. 90-95% of the sound of the ER4’s but more day to day usable.
Interesting info on the mic I would have thought they would sound great since they are Ety's, I also noticed that the buttons seem quite small on the device and may be hard press with gloves on. This would take away some of the advantage of the HF for me.
Listening to my ER-4P's again yesterday I just can't help but be in awe of how awesome they sound. In fact I think they've gotten better with the iPhone 5 (had the 3GS before). I think I will keep them for now and just use the apple earpods for when I need the mic. That's the beauty of IEM's, they are so convenient that I can have both with me at all times.

Hey, I'm the Reviewer of the link listed above. 90-95% of the sound of the ER-4 is a simple way of putting it, but if you listen close enough, there are enough differences between the two to convince you to have one or the other. For me, I barely use the HF5 because the ER-4S matches me more and the treble doesn't affect me as much as other users I guess?

Quote:

Originally Posted by starlan 

Had some more thought and decided to give the HF3's a shot as they have a 30 day return period from where I got them and if the sound quality difference is material I will likely return but if they are very close (as everyone else says they are) then I may keep these. I'm also hoping the microphone works well the iPhone 5.

 

I will likely list the ER-4P's on eBay but what is a fair price for a 2nd hand sale? I am a little worried that there won't be much interest since I didn't see many 2hd hand ones listed. Any other alternatives besides Craigslist?

That is a good idea! You will never know unless you tried the two yourself. Considering you have the ER-4PT and I have the ER-4S, the sound is a little difference. Don't be selling the ER-4PT yet unless you had a good session between both the HF and ER-4 and are completely satisfied with the HF3. I've seen a lot of members sell off their ER-4 and later regret it as they miss the sound 

Yes, a lot of etymotics have a way of getting personal with the owners haha. It's very smart to A/B them and since you're given the opportunity, I think no more advice is needed  only trust your ears

If only I had seen this a couple days ago, we could probably have worked something out...

I'm actually considering buying the 4p as a replacement for the hf3's I have.  The reason is pretty simple: I want to try something new.  I have custom molds for my hf3's which kept me looking at Ety and the 4p's seem like a great option since they don't necessarily require an outboard amp like the 4s *might* and the FR is more tolerated.  The marketing on the 4p led me to believe it has a flatter FR but the comparison below indicates that's not really the case.  So, I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the comparison.  Personally, I don't need the controls and have found I don't use them much at all.  But I don't see anything from the data that says there's a strong reason for switching.

- Erin

Edit:  Compared to the 4s (whcih is level matched for reference in headphones.com's graphs, I can only assume), the 4p and hf3 are indeed different.  The marketing on ety's site doesn't show this difference.  Their site says the difference is about +10dB for "high end" and +13dB for "low end" for the 4p vs the 4s.  But the graph below doesn't show this as really being the case; at least not so on the high end, even if you factor a 10dB margin.

Ety's site:

I've used both the HF3 and the ER-4B (slightly different, boosted treble) and I actually liked the HF3 better. The bass impact was greater and the sound was more musical and not as dry. I also tend to be a bit treble sensitive, so the ER-4B got a bit fatiguing. I also found that the HF3 fit was perfect. The ER-4B does have quite a bit more detail, but most of the music that I listen to isn't recorded terribly well (pop/rock) so the effect was minimal. Soundstaging wise, they're pretty much the same: both very constricted. I'd say if you like the ER-4 sound, the HF3 shouldn't be a huge step down.

But in the end, I kept the HF3 for on-the-go use with my other IEMs used for music. The HF3 is really quite perfect in that aspect.

The Fiio E02i AMPs mic, remote control can work with ER4PS on iPhone 5 and HF3 wont match the same soundquality as ER4P.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeroicPenguin 

I've used both the HF3 and the ER-4B (slightly different, boosted treble) and I actually liked the HF3 better. The bass impact was greater and the sound was more musical and not as dry. I also tend to be a bit treble sensitive, so the ER-4B got a bit fatiguing. I also found that the HF3 fit was perfect. The ER-4B does have quite a bit more detail, but most of the music that I listen to isn't recorded terribly well (pop/rock) so the effect was minimal. Soundstaging wise, they're pretty much the same: both very constricted. I'd say if you like the ER-4 sound, the HF3 shouldn't be a huge step down.

 

But in the end, I kept the HF3 for on-the-go use with my other IEMs used for music. The HF3 is really quite perfect in that aspect.

I think you should really consider the ER-4S or the ER-4PT. From experience, the ER-4PT is sort of a middle ground in between the HF and ER-4S. The PT is definitely a little more forgiving than the ER-4S and the bass is mildly more prominent. I've heard the B can be fatiguing in the high-end, just like you experienced. That's why they stopped production of the B lol.

I have and use both HF3 and ER4PT (with 75ohm adapter - PT basically being a P). My personal experience is that if you compare HF3 and ER4PT that it's mainly the detail level in difference and HF3 perhaps being a bit more monitor like in the sound.

Making the ER4 an S is quite something else here you get another sound especially in the treble of the cost of some bass quantity. I didn't find the HF3 to scale as well as the ER4P(T) with the ohm adapter.

Personally I use the HF3 directly out of my iPhone when I need to but usually find myself changing to amped ER4S whenever I can as the difference is noticeable enough to be worth the extra hazzle imo.

Just my subjective 2 cents