The Etymotic HF5 suffers from a marked lack of bass. It might not be immediately apparent to many listeners, as the majority of pop songs produced in the last 5-10 years reproduce the “sound” of bass in the midrange so that listeners will “hear” bass through virtually any speakers. A good example of this type of “bass” is Lil Jon’s “Turn Down for What.” (don’t worry, that song has plenty of “real” bass, too) However, after listening to “Turn Down for What” on the HF5, then listening to a song where the baseline doesn’t bleed into the midrange, such...