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I agree with the majority here and totally recommend the HF5. Meets all the standards you're looking for, and I actually have fallen asleep with them once. I wouldn't recommend doing it all the time, but I didn't notice until that morning...and they were still in place
This one I got straight from Amazon....... doesn't sound appealing.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Etymotic HF-5 In-Ear Monitors - Not for every ear canal, August 11, 2010
By
SWD Pitviper -
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This review is from: Etymotic Research HF5 Portable In-Ear Earphones (Cobalt) (Electronics)
The purchase of the Etymotic HF5's taught my band a valuable lesson on buying this kind of device online ... TEST FIT BEFORE PURCHASE. My band was looking for in-ear buds to go with Shure's PSM200 Wireless In-Ear Monitoring system for live vocal monitoring. We bought them online based on reviews and visuals ... bad idea. Thank you, Amazon, for allowing us to return them.
So, The HF5's sounded great for the money IF you could get them in and get them to stay in. That's the end of the "good" part of this review. They had *major* design flaws in my opinion that negatively impacted comfort, usability, and ultimately, the sound quality that you're able to achieve in real-world use.
First, the nozzel is a much larger diameter than my Shure earbuds and inserts into the silicon triple-flange tips all the way to the very end
Second, the nozzel comes straight out from the drivers and is not bent to accomodate seating the driver in the ear
Third, the nozzel is much longer than my Shure earbuds, suspending the driver and cord further away from the ear
The large nozzel led to the triple-flange silicone tips being unable to compress below the diameter of the nozzel. The combination of tip and nozzel was larger by FAR than the Shures I use when the silicone tip is fully compressed around the nozzel. You essentially have a large unyeilding tube that you have to force into your ear canal.
The length of the nozzel led to the drivers sticking much further out of the ear, whihc made the earbuds extremely uncomfortable (there was a rather large unyielding element in your ear when fully inserted) and almost impossible to fit into smaller ear canals even with the smaller tips. My keyboardist is petite and her ears are small, and she felt almost violated by the fit.
In actual practice, once when you DID get them in, the rigidity of the nozzel/tip, coupled with the leverage created by the drivers and cords being so far away from the tips caused them to fall completely or partially out of the ear canal with almost any head movements. Even a partial break of the seal compromises the bass response, isolation, and apparent volume.
Finally, the trick I use with my Shures to prevent them from coming out (wrapping the cords around my ears and cinching them up at the back of my hairline) is not effective with the HF-5's. The distance they stick out from your ears and the lack of support for the drivers because the nozzels are not bent to allow the driver to rest inside the ear do not alow easy routing of the cords behind the ears.
Shure has been doing this for years and has really gotten the sound, comfort, and utility down to a science ... haven't tried Ultimate Ears yet, but I have to say that the few extra bucks you pay for the Shures will pay off in comfort, sound, and reliability over these cool looking, but ultimately unusable earbuds.
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Comment Comment
My last headphones lasted me 2 years, but what killed them is when I fell asleep with them on. A sturdy cord is much preferred.
