[slaters70]

Yes, and I am not saying that's not the case. Inks is right, after listening to the SM3s and DBAs most of the time, I just felt I needed a little added impact re EQing the bass. Today, if I get time, I plan on doing some A/B listening with the DBAs. No real reason to compare them with the SM3s. Also, want to compare them to the HD RE-Zeros I have here, using an A/B situation.
 
I don't believe they are strictly dynamics, however.

 

[Inks]

I have a feeling these would fare well against the dbas. Also, you should probably burn them in more now that you know they are dynamics.

 

[slaters70]

Just listened to two tracks, Alley Cat by Holly Cole and Gone by Melody Gardot, and while the MC5s held their own, they didn't have as "full" a sound as the DBAs. Both sounded excellent, but the DBAs are just a tad more liquid, smoother and,as noted, have a fuller sound. Again, it's the law of diminishing returns. If you have $80 to spend, you can't do much better than the MC5 in my view. But if you have $170, the DBAs are a better IEM (at least based on those two tracks, which are both very clear vocal tracks).
 
Now, I used custom sleeves on the Etys and Ety tri-flanges on the DBAs, my preferred tip. I also listened via the Touch HP out, bass boost on via EQ. Two excellent IEMs for the price. But I am going to let the MC5s burn in a little today, maybe 24 hours, and see if the bass does change. 
 
Here's the company's 411 on the driver technology (hype alert!, but they are very good):
 
https://www.etymotic.com/aer/press/ER_PRESS_RELEASE__mcSeries.pdf
 
 
 
Etymotic’s patent-pending response-shaping ACCU•Chamber process corrects known limitations of lower-cost moving coil (dynamic) drivers, which have dominated the market for replacement earphones. Prior to the release of the MC Series, listening to music with these traditional low-cost products usually meant suffering through sloppy bass and overly bright or very dull mid- and high-frequency detail. The result was a great deal of listening fatigue and a disappointing musical experience.
Etymotic’s breakthrough technology uses an Acoustic Control Chamber (ACC) placed within the moving-coil structure that acts like a three-band equalizer. This process of acoustic sound shaping achieves the highest sound accuracy in its class. The ACC consists of a resonant control gate, an acoustic side branch and two acoustic dampers that smooth the undesirable response peaks and compensate for the weak high-frequency response of standard dynamic drivers.
Dr. Killion and his Etymotic Research engineers have combined the ACCU•Chamber driver housing with a specially designed high-output 8 mm neodymium moving coil driver that achieves a 3 dB increase in sensitivity over the normal 8 mm drivers on the market. This approach allows use of a smaller driver for a more compact size, which better fits ears of all sizes and shapes – without sacrificing sound output. As a result, MC-Series users listen in comfort with less ear fatigue than users of ear buds and other types of earphones.

 

[koonhua90]

^ Do you have the HF5 to compare with?
 
In the pdf, it says that at $300 mark, they have the ER series with the new ACCU technology. I assume the ER refers to the ER4P/S series? But since this ACCU is a new technology, it won't be on the old ER series, would it? So does that mean they might have new top of the line earphone coming out soon?

 

[slaters70]

No, but I have owned the ER4P and er6i. The MC5s are definitely preferred over the er6i, which I just sold, but owned the 4P way too long ago to compare.
 
I see that in the PDF about the ER series, but I don't see any such phones on the Ety website, just the usual ER suspects (er6, er6i, er4p) and the HF series. Might mean they are finally updating the revered ER4P, as you note, but have not released it yet.

 

[stevenswall]

Very interesting... sounds like a mc5 vs hf5 comparison would clear it up a little as to which is more detailed, and which has more bass. I plan on buying the hf5 as soon as possible due to its excellent noise isolation, but with the mc5 I am reconsidering, as I haven't much cared for the sterility balanced armatures seem to have. Hopefully the mc5 will change this, get detail of the hf5, but with better bass!

 

[ethan961]

Hmm, does the MC5 have any visible external venting of sorts for the driver? Perhaps omitting that or at least limiting it could have been part of Ety's plan to offer an Ety sound.

 

[slaters70]

Nope, no holes or other openings on the MC5s, as you suspected.

 

[stevenswall]

Yesterday I purchased both the mc5 and the hf5, standard shipping predicts their arrival in about 5-9 days. I will do a side by side comparison, using the headphone output from a Cowon S9, detail the differences in each model, select my preference, and return the other... "If you want something done, do it yourself!" this will satisfy my own interests, and hopefully enlighten others looking for a comparison of these Etymotics; any suggestions or requests welcome... By The Way, is there a standard collection of music or sound samples one should use to compare earphones?

 

[koonhua90]

^ Request? Nothing much, but could you write a full page review? 

 

[jaieger]

^Full page? Even more! if the MC5 is this good, I think when I upgrade from my current IEM, I might go for it instead of the RE0. Cause thus far, it sounds like approximately the same thing + Ety isolation and durability. Kevlar cables ftw? And as for test tracks, I think ClieOS/Joker have default CDs that they use for reviews...or just use your own music, but pick the extremes. The stuff with the most treble, most bass, most mids, and most balanced songs, so you can see if there's sibilance/harshness/which is forward/muddiness (lolonanety, yeah right.), etc. And then tracks with 50,000 things going on, for seperation, maybe soundstage too. But I just like to play FPSes to test soundstage...field testing!  

 

[rawrster]

In terms of music you really should just choose tracks that you are familiar with and if possible multiple genres. There really isn't any standard when doing reviews. It is your review so you pick and choose what you want.

 

[slaters70]

Be sure to listen with the BBE/EQ the same for both. I think that the MC5 or HF5 flat on the S9 (I owned one, but now the J3) won't sound very good. But with a little help, the MC5 and the J3 are a very good match. I will be very interested to read your comparison, having never heard the hf5.
 
Quote:

Yesterday I purchased both the mc5 and the hf5, standard shipping predicts their arrival in about 5-9 days. I will do a side by side comparison, using the headphone output from a Cowon S9, detail the differences in each model, select my preference, and return the other... "If you want something done, do it yourself!" this will satisfy my own interests, and hopefully enlighten others looking for a comparison of these Etymotics; any suggestions or requests welcome... By The Way, is there a standard collection of music or sound samples one should use to compare earphones?

 

[bcpk]

I believe the HF5 sound very similar to the ER-4P, slaters70.

 

[slaters70]

So they say. I did buy a pair of ER4P relatively recently, but sent them back because it was an impulse buy (second time I owned them). Same with the MC5s, but at $79, the impulse is much easier to live with. Looking forward to comparison of hf5 and MC5.
 
I did some comparison listening with the MC5 and new Head-Direct RE-Zero (the balanced IEMs from HD) yesterday, and with the Rockboxed Clip (plus a slight bass push via EQ), the RE-Zeros were a little smoother on the treble front. Very close, and at first I favored the MC5s. But with some extended listening, the RE-Zeros actually sounded cleaner and a little more defined. Neither's bass is going to please any bassheads. But both sound very detailed, refined. I would not say either are "warm" IEMs.