[Xinn3r]

Quote:

MC5 is certainly not as neutral as the ER4S, and ER4S sounds much lively than MC5. It is just that the MC5 has one of the driest and soulless presentation of any Etymotic.
 

ER4S is more neutral, but livelier? I'm sorry but I don't understand this, doesn't more neutral usually means more boring?

 

[JK1]

Quote:

you may not be impressed by the MC5, but i was. Very impressed by the precision and detail created by the MC5. The ironic thing is, i returned it for the HF5

Are you happy about returning the MC5 and getting the HF5? I have been considering buying one of these, however the reviews I read said the HF5 has even less bass than the MC5, and that people worry about the durability of the HF5, as it is all plastic, and has a thin plastic nozzle. The nozzle on the MC5 is metal.  I guess the HF5 has much more detail than the MC5. I am wondering how the HF5 compares with the Sony XBA-1 and the Meelectronics A151. Does the MC5 sound better than the Soundmagic E30 or Meelectronics Cx21 or CW31?
 
 

 

[ClieOS]

Quote:

ER4S is more neutral, but livelier? I'm sorry but I don't understand this, doesn't more neutral usually means more boring?

Neutral is a description of frequency response, liveliness is an assessment of the fluidity in music reproduction as a whole (attack, decay, resolution, PRaT, etc). They don't contradict each other. Plus, liveliness is about how close the reproduction is to live music while fun or boring has more to do with the emotional response that the presentation brings to the listener.

 

[Xinn3r]

Quote:

Neutral is a description of frequency response, liveliness is an assessment of the fluidity in music reproduction as a whole (attack, decay, resolution, PRaT, etc). They don't contradict each other. Plus, liveliness is about how close the reproduction is to live music while fun or boring has more to do with the emotional response that the presentation brings to the listener.

Ah, I see.... I still got alot to learn...
I understand what you're saying, but have yet to "feel" it, so I also can't say that I understand it fully yet...
Sound really is a complicated subject
 
Anyway, thank you for the educational reply 

 

[leonsphinx]

I read the previous posts on this thread and no one seemed to mention amping the MC5. There are IEMs that don't do well or even sound worse with an amp, such as the FA DBA-2 and FA eterna. I know the MC5 is meant to be portable and used straight out of an ipod considering that it has volume controls, but amping really brings out the best of it. At first, I regretted buying it when I first plugged it with my iPhone, but after using it with my Sansa + FiiO E11 amp, I'm now learning to love it. The ER4's are still my favorite IEMs but I use my MC5 more often now, with an amp of course

 

[ClieOS]

I did listen to MC5 with amps, as I do with all of my IEM.

 

[webvan]

I guess I'll join this thread as I just got some MC5's and I'm not impressed either...I was after IEMs that isolate well and hold well, so that part is fine, however the lack of bass is a concern...they sound very very "thin", a bit like my ATH-A900 cans but even more "clinical". I have a FiiO E5 hanging around so I could see if that helps but it's not going to be as convenient...I certainly wasn't expecting this from the monster IEM reviews here http://www.head-fi.org/t/478568/multi-iem-review-268-iems-compared-visang-vs-k1-added-01-03-13
 
Also the microphonics are pretty present when walking, I guess it's the simple "thumping" of the cables on the ear. I was wearing them "straight-down" and tightening the cable helped a bit, I'll try "over the ear" but I'm not sure how that works.