Ok folks here we go. Sorry for the huge delay but damn Canada Customs held it up for 11 DAYS!!! Anyway, I got out virtually unscathed, with a $8.56 fee/duty charge. ALSO, I wound up ordering the X10's instead of the X5's.
Anyhow, here goes.
Let me start by saying that this comparison is based on the Etymotic HF5's WITH the Klipsch Ear Gels. I didn't like ANY of the fittings which came with the Etymotic HF5's I found the large triple flange very uncomfortable (too big probably), and the small triple flange too small, and the foam, well, I just didn't like those. I used the LARGE KLIPSCH EAR GELS. I actually just signed up online said I bought them at Hi-Fi Headphones in the UK and they shipped me 2 pairs of gels. I would have bought them but they're not for sale yet.
Also, good to note. I actually found the HF5's more comfortable than the X10's. And with the Klipsch gels actually easier to insert into your ear...the way they're designed you can push them in easier... The X10's kinda felt fragile and I was afraid of breaking them, but they seem more resiliant than I first thought. Both are well built.
Anyway, on to the review. I have a COWON S9 with EQ'ing capabilities. However, I opted to do all this at first using a flat/normal EQ setting with no attenuation on any of the frequencies.
"The Darkness - One Way Ticket to Hell...":
I listened from everything from "The Darkness - One Way Ticket to Hell...", surprisingly a very good sample. There's a flute/pan flute in this song, and oddly enough someone writting on a chalk board, with obviously some very well recorded electric guitar. So the HF5's give you a very realistic sounding image of the recording, all the instruments have definite position in the soundfiled and are well placed.
- The flute sound amazing, and you can almost feel and hear the air rushing through it. The chalk
- Chalk board sequence...it actually feels like they are chalk boarding on your skull. It's really good, and really well defined.
- The guitar and vocals well, the rest of the song sound very well balanced, with crisp, driving high end and a balanced low end.
- The bass is a different sound than I've had before, you actually HEAR the bass, not feel it. It's very well defined and TIGHT. Smack of a bass drum is not sloppy at all and very well defined, again, you can feel it on your skull, but not in the typical boomy bass some are used too...I think this has a lot to do with how clearly the treble comes through and contributes to the overall shape of the sound.
X10:
The X10's sounded good as well, with a more mellow tone to them, almost like a smoothed out sound. They didn't really have the crisp, clean highs, or the aparent transparent sound of the HF5's. They felt rather restrictive in the sound department, like some element of the recording was missing.
Ryan Adams - Many different tracks:
I listened to a variety here (mostly off the album Demolition ...track called "Desire" is what I'll draw from). Mostly acoustic guitar and well recorded, up front vocals.
- Practically any acoustic instrument excelled with the HF5's, Ryan Adams was no exception. This sounded very clear and upfront and was crisp, with what I say had enough bass to keep me happy. All in all, very nice, crisp, clean, natural sound.
X10:
Like before, they sounded good, relaxing sound, no out of this world sound. Just mellow. Nice driving rock sound, but I think they lack in the high end.
"Blue Rodeo - Live Disc":
I chose a live disc to see how they feel in a live recording environment. I've seen these guys live many times, so I have a very good idea how it should sound.
- I played various songs throughout the disc. Some harmonica, some acoustic guitar, some electric guitar, organs, steel guitar, drum, piano, bass guitar, etc, etc...I hate to sound like a broken record, but the HF5's excelled again. They just are so clear, there isn't a bass curtain overshadowing the whole experience. They are just well balanced, concise and clear. The harmonica shot out of the image with crisp, accurate representation. The low, low bass was there and you could hear it, but is was as loud and apparent as in the X10's.
- All it all, very good. Sounded like I was there. They were singing in my kitchen.
X10's:
Not bad, but again, had that bass curtain over them and the sound just felt kind of restrictive.
INXS - Various tracks:
The HF5's just seem tighter, more defined and overall sounded better with INXS. The X10's had a very full sounding soundstage, bass, mids, but the treble was slightly lacking. Not like it wasn't there, it was semi crisp, but when compared to the HF5's it again, felt like something was missing with the X10's.
Equalization with the COWON S9:
All with Mach3Bass of 4 and BBE+ of 1.
HF5
Now, all this can be fixed with EQ. Well, almost. I can start by saying the the HF5's were easier to get the sound I wanted, probably because they have such a flat frequency curve. I could boost up the bass enough that I didn't like it anymore (good thing) and I could reduce the highs (which I didn't do because they're quite good the way they are), or increase the highs without any harsh results.
X10
I found that leaving the bass up until about 1K was good and creating a gentle slope all the way up to 12K (all with normal to wide Q levels) did quite a good job. All the music sound crisper and clearer.
That said, I still say the HF5's won here too. Just when I thought, "finally I made the Klipsch sound better than the Etymotic!!!" ...I'd plug the Ety's in and get a sound I like better than the X10's. You just seem to be able to shape the HF5's. That said. If you want that boomy (I don't want you to think this is really slopy bass, it isn't. Just not as tight as the HF5's), 'surrounding' bass feel of a home theatre sub-woofer, you ARE NOT GOING TO GET IT with the HF5's. The HF5's are quite good for music bass. I played a few movies on the COWON and they sounded great with both headphones, the HF5's were nice and had the same properties as with the music. The Klipsch had that movie sound, simply because of the bass response. But again, I fell to the HF5's.
CONCLUSION:
Hmm...I think you can guess. Considering I paid $142 CAD for the HF5's (off eBay) and $293 CAD for the X10's I still say the HF5's won. Nothing to do with price either, total sound decission here. I like the Klipsch name, so I wanted them to win, never had Etymotic so I'm not some Ety fan-boy (lol, I don't mean this negatively because I'm a fan-boy now...hehe).
I can't think of anything else, this has been pretty exhaustive. All I can say if you want BALANCED, NATURAL sound, the way I think the artist wanted the music to be, get the HF5's and EQ the way you want. You wont get the full bass sound of your typcical 'rock' style headphones, and I don't know how these would be with Hip-hop (I don't listen to that kind of music) but INXS has a decent amount of bass and I listen to some Imogen Heap (spelling?) and it sounded terrific as well (a lot of bass and electronic synth in this) ...I just like the sound of the bass in these, it's not overpowering but very accurate.
If you want a headphone that you can just passively listen to a nice mellow sounding creamy tone, get the Klipsch. They created a easy listening feel which you could go to sleep too where as if you get the HF5's you'll find you are actually listening to the music more than usual, they grab your attention.
I have to say, I would not buy the X10's (YES, they ARE for sale
). I just like the HF5's better. It of course is personal preference, everyone hears differently, but I have to say, the HF5's won hands down. I noticed it within the first 30 seconds of listening...but extended my comparison to almost 2hrs, just to be sure.
Also, BOTH of these had a break-in period of approx 72hrs. Constant music at a medium to low volume.
That's it peeps. Buy the HF5's. I think they're better. Easier to put in, easier to take out, better sound (I think). But I can't stress it enough, if you want that FULL, RICH, BASS sound, you WILL NOT get it with the HF5's go for the Klipsch. However, the HF5's will give you the most accurate sound, and you can shape them to almost sound like the Klipsch, so that's a definite bonus.
That it, if I can think of anything else, I'll post it (I can't see that possible), willing to field any questions you have.
AS I SAID, if you want to buy the X10's PM me or post in hear...They're for sale, you know how much I paid. I have brand new gels to include with them, so they are NEW, trust me, brand spanking new, like they were never used. They will go on eBay soon/craigslist/kijiji if no one contacts me.
Rob
