[miko]

Few years ago, I bough the Shure 115SE. It was quite good at sound isolation but sometimes I felt pain wearing it for a long time. Also, I could hear people talking loudly. After checking many review, I read that the Etymotic is the best for sound isolation. Some people mentioned that while wearing it, they could not hear anything from the outside world. So, I bought the HF-5 yesterday. Although the triple-fringe eartip fit my right ear, the left doesn't. It falls often. After some twisting and pushing, I managed to get both in. However, I felt pain sometimes. Moreover, sound isolation was similar to that of Shure 115SE. I then bought the Comply P-series eartips today. I tried it for 10 minutes. It seems to be better (more comfortable and better sound isolation) than those that came with the Etymotic. I wonder if I wasted money on the HF-5 because I could put the P-series earipts to my old Shure 115SE. Any thought on that?
 
Also, sales told me that the Shure 215 and the Westone W40 are better at sound isolation than the Etymotic earphones. Is this true?

 

[ClieOS]

I assume your SE115 comes with black foam tips which you used? Yep, those gives about the same isolation as Etymotic tri-flanges.You really won't get more isolation than any Shure with foam tips, Westone with foam tips or Etymotic with either foam or tri-flanges. They are all rated around -30dB or a little higher, which is about as high as it can be for any IEM. The only way to get a little more isolation is to use custom earplug (maybe just a few dB more). Remember even some of the most heavy duty earmuff are about the same in isolation as these IEM, so you really can't expect another IEM to be much better than these on noise isolation. Just a comparison, most custom IEM are rated around -26dB or so, many universal are below -20dB. You can't get more isolation because at some point the sound wave that pass through your body (skin -> blood -> bone -> organ -> eardrum) will be more dominate than what the IEM or earmuff can block out on free air.

 

[bubsdaddy]

Tips alone are only part of the equation. The size, shape, material, and venting also make a big difference. I find that most metal IEMs isolate beter than plastic.

 

[Mooses9]

  Few years ago, I bough the Shure 115SE. It was quite good at sound isolation but sometimes I felt pain wearing it for a long time. Also, I could hear people talking loudly. After checking many review, I read that the Etymotic is the best for sound isolation. Some people mentioned that while wearing it, they could not hear anything from the outside world. So, I bought the HF-5 yesterday. Although the triple-fringe eartip fit my right ear, the left doesn't. It falls often. After some twisting and pushing, I managed to get both in. However, I felt pain sometimes. Moreover, sound isolation was similar to that of Shure 115SE. I then bought the Comply P-series eartips today. I tried it for 10 minutes. It seems to be better (more comfortable and better sound isolation) than those that came with the Etymotic. I wonder if I wasted money on the HF-5 because I could put the P-series earipts to my old Shure 115SE. Any thought on that?
 
Also, sales told me that the Shure 215 and the Westone W40 are better at sound isolation than the Etymotic earphones. Is this true?

i do not think so, i mean i have w4r, and they are somewhat like the w40, and my er4p/s/pt isolation is the best i have ever expierenced. etymotic has the highest ammount of isolation, from the mc3 to the hf2, to the hf5 and er4 series, i have and tried them all , and they all have exceptional isolation, you cant hear ANYTHING at all, add music and you hear no outside sounds whatsoever, this allows for better volume control, you dont have to put the volume so loud as the isolation allows for you to listen at lower volume levels.
 
but like others have said, the design of the shell,the length of the nozzle, the eartip, the eartip material,over ear/non over ear...there are alot of things to take into consideration

 

[ClieOS]

Oh, just one more thing - some time Etymotic has its baby tri-flange installed on their IEM as default, which can be a bit too small for regular ears and therefore falls off easily and doesn't offer a good seal. Make sure you swap it out for the regular tri-flanges if that's the case.

 

[Mooses9]

  Oh, just one more thing - some time Etymotic has its baby tri-flange installed on their IEM as default, which can be a bit too small for regular ears and therefore falls off easily and doesn't offer a good seal. Make sure you swap it out for the regular tri-flanges if that's the case.

very true, the grey triple flange is the best imo

 

[miko]

The pair of tri-flange in the bag is of larger size than the pair pre-installed on the HF-5.
 
I am not sure if my expectation is too high. When people say that they don't hear outside noise, do they also not hear public announcements in the subway?

 

[Mooses9]

  The pair of tri-flange in the bag is of larger size than the pair pre-installed on the HF-5.
 
I am not sure if my expectation is too high. When people say that they don't hear outside noise, do they also not hear public announcements in the subway?

LOL i cant heat anything, with no music, with music on i mean i just see ppls mouth moving.. i live right by a train track and when the train passes i cannot hear the horn or the train in general, i can feel it, but cannot hear it. they really do block out 98% of sound in my expierence