The price difference is around $50. Justifies the difference? I am not a bass junkie but wont mind it on songs that uses them more. I read reviews that the MC3(or 5) is way bland and not exciting, so I wont be headbanging on it playing rock music? Will I do on the HF3 or is the bass stil low compared to say, s4i or Turbines?
Frequency Response
It does look like the HF3 rides on average +3dB above the HC3, but this could be fit and seal related.
http://www.headphone.com/headphones/etymotic-mc3.php
They dont sound that similar, the MC is more conservative in response due to the lack of treble air. It's also much slower and precise, sounding congested and bland. Been a while since i heard the two, but the HF series was clearly better and worth the price difference imo.
Not sure that the graphs the user NA Blur is using mean what he is concluding. I have owned both at the same time and there is a significant improvement in SQ from the MC5 to the HF5. They do NOT have the same drivers, as the MC series driver is a completely different type of driver that Etymotic created called a "moving coil" driver. (BTW, a number of other companies have similar cross-type drivers with similar names.)
The HF5 shares the same balanced armature driver as the renowned ER4, but the housing and the tuning are different for each. The MC5 is much less coherent than the HF5, and on busy music passages, the MC sounds congested and confused. The HF5 just sound beautiful compared to the MC5.
Save your money and get the HF5 -- it is worth it completely.
The HF5's are great all around for all types of music. IMO best earbuds in the $100 price range. Bass isn't huge compared to others but your music doesnt sound like it has a ton of bass anyway.
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