[darkdoorway]

Had the chance to compare at canjam London at the hifiheadphones stall.

Only compared with the XR. Pretty night and day difference if you like fuller, but still accurate sound

Has anyone had a chance to listen to the new ety flagships and compare them with the hf5?

 

[YellowJelly]

Hello! I'm new to this forum and just got my new Etymotic HF5, so I have a few questions for you guys regarding them
 
First of all, what is your favorite tip for the HF5?
http://www.strawpoll.me/11697910
 
Second, how do you equalize them? If you use Poweramp, could you please take a screenshot of your EQ (and please mention if it's using the +-7 dB cap!)
Would it be a good idea to equalize them according to this graph from Golden Ears?
http://en.goldenears.net/en/files/attach/images/108/512/001/dc21c2e51fc68ceba92f4e6d9251b38c.png
 
And last, how do you deal with the supposed lack of bass? Do you boost it a little bit? And if yes, how much for each frequency range?
 
Thanks a lot!

 

[headdict]

  Hello! I'm new to this forum and just got my new Etymotic HF5, so I have a few questions for you guys regarding them
 
First of all, what is your favorite tip for the HF5?
http://www.strawpoll.me/11697910
 
Second, how do you equalize them? If you use Poweramp, could you please take a screenshot of your EQ (and please mention if it's using the +-7 dB cap!)
Would it be a good idea to equalize them according to this graph from Golden Ears?
http://en.goldenears.net/en/files/attach/images/108/512/001/dc21c2e51fc68ceba92f4e6d9251b38c.png
 
And last, how do you deal with the supposed lack of bass? Do you boost it a little bit? And if yes, how much for each frequency range?
 
Thanks a lot!

My favorite tip is small Shure black olives.
 
As for equalization, I'd start somewhere around 2.5 kHz and de-boost it by a few dB. Alternatively you may replace the stock green filters with red ones. This is what I ended up with, so it is the starting point for the following. If you're like me, you will find its sound a little dark with red filters and subtract a dB or two from the lower mids and add a few to the treble. I also bring up the sub bass by 6 dB, but really only the subs. It doesn't make a difference 99% of the time for the music genres I prefer. So if you ask me, the supposed lack of bass does not exist, until sub bass comes into play.
 
If you don't change the filters, it makes sense to start from the goldenears graph. In any case you need to find out what works for you. Watch out for your ear canal resonance. With the right insertion depth it shouldn't have any annoying effect, so if you detect something, double check your insertion depth first.
 
The best tool for all that is a parametric equalizer, which allows you to set the center frequency, bandwidth and gain of each correction.

 

[jl514]

tri-flanges were my favorite, but now I only use my custom molds

 

[Tadeas]

  First of all, what is your favorite tip for the HF5?
 
Second, how do you equalize them?
 
And last, how do you deal with the supposed lack of bass? Do you boost it a little bit? And if yes, how much for each frequency range?

Hi, congrats to your new phones!
 
Regarding the tips: Brace yourself for a never ending fight with tips, at least that's how is it for me (have the HF5 for a year and half now). I can always get only two from these three: good sound - isolation - comfort. A couple of days ago I got the spinfits and it looks like it's the best I can get: good sound, good comfort and so-so (-25 dB maybe?) isolation. Everybody has different ears so you'll need to do quite some experiments yourself.
 
No equalization for me, also because I don't have a decent equalizer. My Fiio E10 has a bass boost option, but it muddies the mid-bass and is not worth it IMHO. Basically, with well recorded music I don't feel the need for equalization, and with not that well recorded music, well, equalization is not going to save it anyway. Like all Etys, the HF5 is pretty unforgiving and although 320kbps MP3 is transparent for me, recording quality plays a huge role.

 

[headdict]

  ... I can always get only two from these three: good sound - isolation - comfort. A couple of days ago I got the spinfits and it looks like it's the best I can get: good sound, good comfort and so-so (-25 dB maybe?) isolation. ...

This is interesting! Can you insert them deeply? Which size do you use?

 

[Tadeas]

  This is interesting! Can you insert them deeply? Which size do you use?

I use M. I've also purchased L, but can't get a seal with them. I can insert them as deep as possible while waring the cable down, which is actually not that deep, which is why it's reasonably comfortable. I can insert Comply P series (M) or T series (M) much much deeper while wearing the cable over the ear, but it starts to hurt quite a lot in about half an hour. The isolation is superb though, maybe up to -50dB, it is really incredible. Shame it's so uncomfortable.
 
But don't take this too seriously! Your ears are different from the mine and it will work differently for you.

 

[episiarch]

The set of non-custom tips that work for me are the long-stem version of the standard (which is to say small) size tri-flanges.  These are worth trying if the stock tri-flange feels like it's about the right size but doesn't get in quite deep enough to give a proper seal.
 
And if you (like me) are an ER-4 user who uses standard(/small) tri-flanges with the ER-4 but can't get a seal with them on the HF5(/3/2), then these are the tips that solve that problem. 

 

[headdict]

  I use M. I've also purchased L, but can't get a seal with them. I can insert them as deep as possible while waring the cable down, which is actually not that deep, which is why it's reasonably comfortable. I can insert Comply P series (M) or T series (M) much much deeper while wearing the cable over the ear, but it starts to hurt quite a lot in about half an hour. The isolation is superb though, maybe up to -50dB, it is really incredible. Shame it's so uncomfortable.
 
But don't take this too seriously! Your ears are different from the mine and it will work differently for you.

I see. So I'm the lucky guy that gets great sound, a deep fit (super isolation) and great comfort all at the same time. Small Shure black olives work just perfectly for me in combination with HF5. I'm struggling with ER4S, though.
 
If you're OK with the isolation (still better than average, I guess) and the treble (influenced by both the shallower fit and the resulting lower ear canal resonance frequency), then your solution is as good as mine.

 

[learningfi]

Just going to chime in with my experiences and tips:
 
1) Grey triple flange work the best for me in terms of isolation and especially comfort.
 
2) Make sure to change the filter often, wow does it make a world of difference!
 
Cons: can't buy filters in larger bulk packs and I live in Canada so it's a huge pain.
 
Would love to try the ER4 some day but HF5 are great for the price, especially if you love your mids and highs and hate too much bass.

 

[HAMS]

You can protect the filters with foam inserted in the nozzle. Too much foam obviously can change the sound so use very small cut. I do this to my other IEM too.

 

[CJG888]

I found my HF5s yesterday (in a packing case which had lain unopened for about a year since our return from China), and was looking forward to listening to them again. When I removed them from their pouch, I found that they were covered in a sticky goo (which was previously the rubberized "soft touch" coating). They are approximately four years old. Has anyone else experienced this issue?

 

[Tadeas]

... Has anyone else experienced this issue?

No, though I only have them for a bit over a year and half. I can't help but wonder to what temperature or chemicals you exposed them to.

 

[CJG888]

No chemicals (other than those usually found in Shanghai air), temperatures up to ca. 40 Celsius (but with high humidity). They were fine for years, though...

 

[AnyDave]

Unfortunately, we do see this from time to time if they've been stored in a high humidity environment.
 
It's somewhat the nature of the beast with the soft touch coating.  I recently threw out some old Logitech computer mice with because the soft touch turned sticky on me.  It's definitely not something I wanted to continue using in that state.
 
Have you reached out to Customer Service with your issue?  I'm not sure how they deal with it out of warranty, but they are generally helpful folks that might have some suggestions.