[zachderieu]

Before, i had an outdated pair of klipsch image s4 ear monitors, to me, (not being completely aware of the sound quality), sounded really nice compared to any other headphones i've gotten in store (im limited to in store ear monitors) and recently, my image s4's broke, this was due to the old s4's having a straight jack. The updated stock has an L jack, and i was planning on buying those, then i spotted the etymotic research hf5's, according to hear, they are pretty great sounding for the price of $120, now heres my question, how much of an improvement are the hf5's compared to the image s4s? are they worth the extra $40? How is the bass on the hf5's compared to the s4s? on the s4's, the bass wasn't overpowering like some known brand ear monitors, it was nice, detailed, and you could still feel it enough for it to sound amazing in contrast to the rest of the music, is the hf5 ear monitors similar to this?
 
Thanks for your opinions!
 
One thing i liked about the S4's, they were so light weight, i would forget they were in my ear, the cord was rather thin on them, but i plan on putting some type of material around the cord to make them more durable, so this would not be a problem in the future

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

Before, i had an outdated pair of klipsch image s4 ear monitors, to me, (not being completely aware of the sound quality), sounded really nice compared to any other headphones i've gotten in store (im limited to in store ear monitors) and recently, my image s4's broke, this was due to the old s4's having a straight jack. The updated stock has an L jack, and i was planning on buying those, then i spotted the etymotic research hf5's, according to hear, they are pretty great sounding for the price of $120, now heres my question, how much of an improvement are the hf5's compared to the image s4s? are they worth the extra $40? How is the bass on the hf5's compared to the s4s? on the s4's, the bass wasn't overpowering like some known brand ear monitors, it was nice, detailed, and you could still feel it enough for it to sound amazing in contrast to the rest of the music, is the hf5 ear monitors similar to this?
 
Thanks for your opinions!
 
One thing i liked about the S4's, they were so light weight, i would forget they were in my ear, the cord was rather thin on them, but i plan on putting some type of material around the cord to make them more durable, so this would not be a problem in the future

A couple notes, the HF2 is only 100 dollars on Amazon   So you get a remote with it too. 
 
I have not heard the S4s yet, so this is based off of what others have said...  The HFs and S4s have completely different sound signatures.  The HFs are more analytical and detailed for an emphasis.  The S4s have a warmer more bass driven emphasis.  Is it an upgrade, it depends.  The HFs are going to sound anemic in the bass compared to the S4s, you can get used to them though.  A lot of people are turned off by Etymotics due to the sound signature (IDK if you will).  Also of note is that the Etymotics will get some getting used to comfort wise...  They insert very deep into your ear.  I've been using mine for about 2 and a half days, and it still irritates a bit to insert (it's getting better though).  So keep that in mind, these go deep into your ear...  VERY deep.  The HFs are also very durable, the build quality seems top notch.  People who are complaining about build more likely than not have the first batch that came out.
 
If you want to know specifics, post and someone will tell you...

 

[zachderieu]

I dont mind the high-insertion kind, i had monster tour beats, and those went fairly far in my ear with the honeycomb styled tips, but i returned those the next day due to the apple stock audio quality they came with, im confused on what you mean that people dislike the signature of the sound, can you attempt to explain what that means? And how is the bass, can you feel it at all, even the slightest bit? And is it detailed, as in when your listening to r&b, rap, hiphop, and even rock and alternative with good bassline, is it a solid bass, and not flat, thanks again!

 

[tinyman392]

Quote:

I dont mind the high-insertion kind, i had monster tour beats, and those went fairly far in my ear with the honeycomb styled tips, but i returned those the next day due to the apple stock audio quality they came with, im confused on what you mean that people dislike the signature of the sound, can you attempt to explain what that means? And how is the bass, can you feel it at all, even the slightest bit? And is it detailed, as in when your listening to r&b, rap, hiphop, and even rock and alternative with good bassline, is it a solid bass, and not flat, thanks again!

Some people prefer a signature to another.  Some don't like the some of the highs that are more forward, some say it can hurt ears.  As for insertion depth...  If you get them, you'll know what I mean.  I'm used to deep insertion, I used Apple IEMs for a while (those insert deeply too).  This brought deep to another dimension.  You can feel the bass (slightly in some areas, strongly in others), but it comes after burning in.  Detail means you can hear every instrument and every micro-detailed note (ones that you may not have noticed before).  It really open up your music.  Bass is flatter with a tiny hint of warmness to them.  I enjoy the bass, but they will sound anemic compared to the S4s.
 

 

[zachderieu]

Quote:

Some people prefer a signature to another.  Some don't like the some of the highs that are more forward, some say it can hurt ears.  As for insertion depth...  If you get them, you'll know what I mean.  I'm used to deep insertion, I used Apple IEMs for a while (those insert deeply too).  This brought deep to another dimension.  You can feel the bass (slightly in some areas, strongly in others), but it comes after burning in.  Detail means you can hear every instrument and every micro-detailed note (ones that you may not have noticed before).  It really open up your music.  Bass is flatter with a tiny hint of warmness to them.  I enjoy the bass, but they will sound anemic compared to the S4s.
 

With that said, do you or anyone here know of headphones similar to the s4, with the balanced sound they have, but with greater quality? I read the multi iem review posted by a user, and they gave the s4 about a 6.3/10, and i cant seem to find a higher quality rating with the review stating they were balanced in sound
 

 

[yliu]

Going from the S4 to the hf5 is a pretty big change in sound signature. The hf5 has a much lighter bass, some people find the bass lacking, but the highs and mids are going to be much better than the S4.
 
If you like the sound of the S4, then you might want to look at the Monster Turbines, in my opinion they sound much better than the S4. You might want to consider the Image X10 as well if you don't mind the fragile build, the X10 in my opinion sound very balanced with a warm sound.

 

[ZARIM]

I will highely recommend the HF5 because it has very good bass response. To me if IEMs sit deep in the ear with tighter seal then bass spouse not to heavy (it will gives headche) like on semi IEMs Sennheiser IE8, FX700. The HF5 sound much more detailed than Image S4 with clear vocals and offers fairly wide soundstage and detailed punchy bass.