[Etymoantick]

Hey, these are both the same price in the UK but it seems to me (from reading reviews etc.) that the etymotic is a far better choice so I was wondering why are they the same price?
 
Having said that, are there any decent alternatives to the Etymotic HF5 for about the same price? (£70 max) Because although I'd love to have a pair of decent sound isolating earphones, they do look a bit silly and I also listen to a lot of R&B (bass heavy music).

 

[Katun]

If you feel good about getting the HF5, then you should get them. Isolation is absolutely incredible, and cannot be matched by other earphones.
 
Don't worry about prices, they don't mean a thing. It all depends on the company and how much they want to charge. Price means absolutely nothing when comparing.

 

[hpaddict]

I'd go for the Ety's.  I've tried both, and the Shure's sound muffled in comparison.  Bass is about the same.  Build quality is definitely better on the HF5.  The plastic has a nicely textured, almost soft-touch quality to it.  The plastic on the SE210 is pretty generic and cheap.  Overall, it seems like Shure's lower end line (210's, 115's, etc.) don't get very good reviews.  The SE210 left me very unimpressed, especially considering they cost ~$150 retail.

 

[kmhaynes]

Because people will pay big $$ for a name-brand, even if it doesn't sound that great?
 
I don't have the HF2, but do have the Ety MC5, and if you want a bass-heavy sound for your bass-heavy music, you might not be pleased with the very accurate and balanced sound of the Ety's.  That's not to say they have no bass response -- it's just not big or boomy.

 

[hpaddict]

If you want more bass than the HF5/MC5, I would highly recommend the Monster Turbines.  I tried them out once and I really really liked them.  The bass was strong and yet not distorted.  The detail was very comparable to the Ety's, and in the end I think it would just be a matter of preference.  You could probably get the Turbines online for about the same price (or even less) than the Ety's or Shure's.
 
If I hadn't already bought the HF2's, I would've gone with the Turbines, I liked them that much.  The Turbine Gold's are $160 on Amazon now, and I would think those are probably overall better than the HF5/MC5's... to my ear's at least I think.  Depends, the HF5/MC5's will still probably be more accurate/analytical, but I think the Turbines would be more "fun".  They'd probably work better for movies too because of the heavier bass...

 

[Etymoantick]

Hmm, people have been telling me about the MC5 as a bassy etymotic but they just don't sell them in the UK, I'm considering the monster turbines but they're effectively $50 more in the uk (about £30 more than the etymotics at the cheapest offer), so would you still think it worth paying $50 extra. The monster turbine pros (gold) are $200 more than the etymotic hf2's in the UK so that definitely isn't worth it (seeing as they sell for about half the price in America).

Thanks for the responses though

 

[yliu]

I'd go for the Etys. Shure's lower end earphones seems to get not so good reviews.

 

[hpaddict]

Guess it's up to you depending on what type of sound signature you like...
 
If I were in your position, I'd probably spend the extra $50 to get the Turbines.  The Ety's are nice, but it's just so much nicer to have really full/powerful bass.  I'm not sure how analytical your hearing is, but to me the mid's/high's of the two were comparable.  Let's just say that I didn't find anything I disliked about the mid/high detail, unlike how I felt about some other comparably priced earphones I tried like the Klipsch S4 or the Shure 210's.

 
Quote:

Hmm, people have been telling me about the MC5 as a bassy etymotic but they just don't sell them in the UK, I'm considering the monster turbines but they're effectively $50 more in the uk (about £30 more than the etymotics at the cheapest offer), so would you still think it worth paying $50 extra. The monster turbine pros (gold) are $200 more than the etymotic hf2's in the UK so that definitely isn't worth it (seeing as they sell for about half the price in America).

Thanks for the responses though

 

[mark2410]

bassy and high isolation, she9850 is the closest i can think of