[wankski]

Hi guys,

tryin' to do my due diligence researching these two options...

reviews on amazon and a few other places say the bass is weak on both, but some will contradict and say bass is good on the shures?

They both look good to me as the body looks thin (a plus for me as I have weird ears that mean I physically can’t use earbud phones) canal phones work for me, but a bulbous body has the same issue earbud (ibud) types have for me, they don’t sit correctly and are easily ejected, so a canal phone supported entirely by the tip would work best…

i’m after easy to drive, great isolation, slimline body, range of tips, I do like soundstage as far as possible with these types of phones, and I don’t mind bass (which has scared me off the Head direct re0s, perhaps prematurely?).

looking for some decent user opinions on these..

cheers

joe

 

[goodvibes]

HF5 is closer to a se530 than a se210. Get the etymotic. More bass and treble extention with flatter resonse.

 

[semisight]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wankski /img/forum/go_quote.gif i’m after easy to drive, great isolation, slimline body, range of tips, I do like soundstage as far as possible with these types of phones, and I don’t mind bass (which has scared me off the Head direct re0s, perhaps prematurely?).

The RE0 don't have all that much more/less bass than the HF5. Neither are bass heavy. It will have better soundstage than the HF5 too with the bi flange tips because the drivers are further from your ears. The HF5 will beat them handily in isolation though.

And by the way, the RE0 have considerably more bass than the SE210.

 

[timmyGCSE]

forget the SE210, just forget it. Worst piece of tripe I've ever listened to

 

[newzild]

I owned the ER-6i, which is the lowest of the Etys, and have auditioned all of the Shures.

The only Shure which clearly beat the Etys was the SE530, in my view. The SE530 really creamed the Etys. The SE410 was perhaps a little better than the Ety ER-6i, but the other Shures didn't impress me much at all. The SE210 was junk, and I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[silentmeloud]

Go for ety! Better then Shures, but has some troubles with soundstage - not so big as on dynamic headphones. Though er4p are my personal favourite!

 

[Bina]

Also my vote goes for Etymotic. Only shure, which is woth money is Se530 and maybe for some people 420. But just forgot others, you can found much better phones for their price.

 

[Anaxilus]

This is a late April Fool's thread right? =P

 

[Banko]

I have previously owned the SE210, and must say I am not impressed.
Biggest error I made was it took me 1 year before I splashed the dollars on SE530 instead.

Stay clear of SE210!

I investigated a bit before buying my SE530, and found that RE0 is a very good (cost saving) alternative. I personally enjoy my SE530 daily and wouldnt trade them for the RE0, but if you are on a budget I would say go for the RE0.

Etymotic have a reputation to be sort of "clinical" in the sound, now I might be corrected by other head fiers, but I do believe I have found such comments previously on head fi.

Happy listening to you!

 

[hpaddict]

Definitely HF5 over the SE210. Sound and Vision Mag did a comparison a while back that sums it up perfectly:

The In-Ear Headphone Face-Off | Sound and Vision Magazine

The SE210's just sound lifeless and dull in comparison to the HF5's. They sound veiled/muted. Although the Shure foam tips are more comfortable and better isolating than any of the tips included with the Ety's. The best of both worlds would be to buy Shure foam tips and put them on the Ety's.

In addition (although ultimately less important), the materials on the SE210's look cheap. The Etymotics have a real nice matte, almost soft touch finish on the plastics. Understated elegance (think Audi interior vs Acura interior), and I really like it. Again, not as important, but just wanted to bring it up.

 

[SolidVictory]

Anything under SE530 for Shure is not that good. Forget the SE210.

 

[wankski]

cheers for the advice! thanks to you guys, i just took delivery of the hf5s.

very pleased.....

I wont go into a huge review, but suffice to say i am very pleased with the clarity and do not find the bass deficient in ANY way whatsoever... they're perfect phones for my needs...

It was AMAZING tho how bass-less these were for me with the fitted transparent triple flange tips.... but the big foamies (a big reason why i wanted to try another type of ear phones) sealed perfectly and hello bass!!!

So for others who may read this thread doing research for their own purchase, i highly recommend them. Just remember, no seal = no bass with these....

as mentioned yep, quality is very good, best cable i have seen in an in ear phone anyway, smooth finish and light but substantial in quality - important for not getting snagged and weighing down the phones IMO... those rubbery ones cling on anything, including skin...

thanks again for the sound guidance

(sorry)...

 

[SactoMan101]

Very good choice in choosing the Etymotic hf5.

I'd recommend using the Comply T-100 or Tx-100 ear tips for the hf5, which provide a better seal for clearer bass and better noise isolation.

Mind you, I'm waiting for the mc3 or the new, improved hf2 with its better in-line controls because I like to have those controls for my 4G iPod nano.