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Should I look at Etymotic hf5's, or something else?
Jul 30, 2012 at 9:50 AM Post #46 of 63
Well, I've placed an amazon order for the Etymotic hf5's (new) for a grand total of 135 shipped priority to Australia. I like the idea of having a 2 year warranty, and it seems that they may just be what I'm looking for. If I'm not too happy with the bass, there is EQ for a reason. I'm confident that they'll be nice  for the majority of my listening though, which is mostly Metal, Progressive Metal, rock, punk, alternative, ska, jazz and the like. Who knows, they might even be decent for psy-trance! I'll only know when I try em.
 
 
Jul 30, 2012 at 11:45 AM Post #47 of 63
Congrats man.  They are definitely worth every penny to my ears as they offer supreme isolation and great clarity and detail at that price range.  Not to mention they are very durable for me since I absolutely abuse my headphones (note this includes sporadic yanking and occasionally stepping on them) and they are still working after 1+ year.
 
Jul 31, 2012 at 12:49 AM Post #49 of 63
Ah well that sounds promising, I'm glad to hear! I'm kind of hoping they will be reminiscent of the Energy ESM bookshelf speakers I have comparing them to the Bose sound dock the family uses in the kitchen. Both have clarity and I'll admit sound good in their own right; but Energy's have far less bloated bass when not EQ'ed. Not to say they don't have it; just... it's different.
 
It's also good to hear they are somewhat durable. They will be used daily, so they may get some unintentional abuse at some point in their lives. Needless to say I will try my utmost to baby them though.
 
Aug 2, 2012 at 12:03 AM Post #50 of 63
So the hf5's arrived today, and my first impressions were pretty varied.
 
First thing I did was attempt to get a good seal with the triflanges that came already fitted; bad idea. Whilst I did get a decent seal for a while, it was terrible comfort wise in my opinion. They even went as far as to get minorly painful. Next I tried the Glider tips which are quite nice when sitting still but when moving, they kept getting pulled out of my ears. It may be that I didn't inster them deep enough; but the best seal I did manage with them was from a kind of pushing and twisting motion. Finally I tried the foam tips which looked comically massive, but I find that they are the best tips for me out of the lot of them. They isolate insanely well; reduce noise from cable movement a little and they stay in a little better than the glider tips. As for the configuration at which you place them in your ear, I don't particularly like that you don't have an over ear option. Nevertheless, it is still very comfortable straight down.

As for the sound; My initial test is unamped with an Ipod nano 8gb (5th gen) I initially didn't think much of them. They sounded a little tinny with the highs, and lacked bass. However; upon turning the EQ off and pushing them a little deeper into my ears, the experience changed like night and day. They seemed more balanced and enjoyable to listen to, with a better bass response and a more natural feel. The hf5's seem far less congested than other IEM's I've listened to, and seem to have good separation between different sounds which I have noticed the UE200's (the IEM's I'm upgrading from) struggle with. From this, I must agree with the general consensus that they are very analytical.
 
One thing I have noticed though is that they make low bitrate mp3's sound like utter crap. I now need to re-rip all of my CD's
etysmile.gif
. I can see why people that are into R&B and the like may not enjoy these due to the non-bloated bass response, but currently listening through some of the various genres of my choice; I feel that they suit all round perfectly. All I need to get used to now is being able to hear my tinnitus more clearly; and the stiffness of the articulation in my neck when I look up. Ahah. Comply tips are definitely on the "to buy" list.
 
Final notes:
 
Pros:
*Amazing balanced sound
*45 degree jack is a plus
*The foam tips included are very comfortable.
*Great isolation and build quality
*Very easy to drive by the looks of it (only needs half the volume the UE200's do)
*Worth every cent (in my opinion)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Cons:
*Cable is a little loud when not using the clip
*No over ear option
*Triflanges evidently not for everyone.
 
Aug 2, 2012 at 12:30 AM Post #53 of 63
Quote:
zilla7777 said:
I can definitely see myself getting a good few years out of these, hoping they survive. It's amazing not even being able to hear myself type with no music playing.
Click to expand...

 
Yeah, they're my go-to travel phones every time.  Etymotics isolate like no others; I get best results with comply foam.
 
I have some UE200s too, they're currently in my gym bag and have suffered the ongoing cruelty of my sweaty ears.  The filters in them died months ago but they soldier on.  For the $16 they cost I don't think you can do better.  Bonus points for the cord which doesn't tangle as badly as most. 
 
Aug 2, 2012 at 12:42 AM Post #54 of 63
With the large gray tri-flanges, try cutting off the smallest flange. They hurt my ear canal, too, until I lopped it off with an exacto knife. Now they don't poke my inner ear and they give a really good seal.
 
You could also try the Klipsch silicone ear gels. I have the medium singles but it seems you might need the large size. I went with the single and not the bi-flange because I wanted something easy to insert and remove from my ear, similar to the gliders. They give the HF5 a slightly warmer sound and a touch more bass.
 
Aug 2, 2012 at 12:57 AM Post #55 of 63
cephan said:
With the large gray tri-flanges, try cutting off the smallest flange. They hurt my ear canal, too, until I lopped it off with an exacto knife. Now they don't poke my inner ear and they give a really good seal.

You could also try the Klipsch silicone ear gels. I have the medium singles but it seems you might need the large size. I went with the single and not the bi-flange because I wanted something easy to insert and remove from my ear, similar to the gliders. They give the HF5 a slightly warmer sound and a touch more bass.
Click to expand...


This is some good advice that I often overlook. Because I have already tried these things and moved onto Comply Foam tips.

Thanks for sharing, Jim
 
Aug 2, 2012 at 1:01 AM Post #56 of 63
Quote:
cephan said:
With the large gray tri-flanges, try cutting off the smallest flange. They hurt my ear canal, too, until I lopped it off with an exacto knife. Now they don't poke my inner ear and they give a really good seal.
 
You could also try the Klipsch silicone ear gels. I have the medium singles but it seems you might need the large size. I went with the single and not the bi-flange because I wanted something easy to insert and remove from my ear, similar to the gliders. They give the HF5 a slightly warmer sound and a touch more bass.
Click to expand...

 
Hmm, I might give the cutting a try if I get the time to, but if not I might just hand them over to someone who could benefit from them. I was looking at the ear gels, but it seems that once you go to foams, it's difficult to go back. I just love foam tips too much, ahah. As for the bass response, I'm entirely content with it. I just tried a little bit of Pendulum (Drum and Bass) and some psy-trance and I quite like it. I think the best option is to not have any EQ though, because I've tried all the different EQ settings on my ipod nano, and nothing seems to be as good as no EQ.
 
Quote:
deviltooth said:
 
Yeah, they're my go-to travel phones every time.  Etymotics isolate like no others; I get best results with comply foam.
 
I have some UE200s too, they're currently in my gym bag and have suffered the ongoing cruelty of my sweaty ears.  The filters in them died months ago but they soldier on.  For the $16 they cost I don't think you can do better.  Bonus points for the cord which doesn't tangle as badly as most. 
Click to expand...


Ahah, Must agree with the cable on the UE 200's. It's the most durable cable I've ever had on an IEM too. Have been listening to the hf5's for a few hours now, and these are definitely keepers! Do the filters really make much of a difference with the larger diameter filtered IEM's? I can see the filter changes being beneficial to the ety's but anything that can fit a Comply T-400 seems a little bit useless really other than cleanliness.
 
Aug 2, 2012 at 1:10 AM Post #58 of 63
zilla7777 said:
Do you find you prefer the comply tips over the Silicones? With my UE 200's I found I had a far more comfortable and sustainable fit with comply's.
Click to expand...


Yes, I must use foam tips.

I found the silicone created a vacuum on removal that would mess me up for a day or two.

No such problem with foam.

Jim
 
Aug 2, 2012 at 1:18 AM Post #59 of 63
Quote:
astroturf said:
Yes, I must use foam tips.
I found the silicone created a vacuum on removal that would mess me up for a day or two.
No such problem with foam.
Jim
Click to expand...

 
Ah, I had a similar issue, but wow, a day or two is a long time to mess your ears up simply from removing tips! I could imagine the pain you'd encounter with triflanges. I must admit they did a better job at removing ear wax than they did provide a comfortable listening experience. Makes me think I should go and get my ears flushed or something.
 
Ordering a set of Comply's now. Thanks for help with the product numbers too, I appreciate it!
 
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