Beyerfan70
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Mar 18, 2008
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I'd been waiting a long time for these iem's to become available in the uk as I had a real burning desire to hear just how a dynamic ety would sound. So, as you can imagine, when these appeared on the iheadphones store, I snapped a pair up straight away. Now, I have them and have been listening to them for a couple of days. Now I want to share my thoughts on them.
These come in a really nice white pack, similar in shape to the Hf5 box, with a nice flip up front so you can see the phones. When you open the box, they are also packed like the Hf5, with a new style case full of tips and filters (and of course the phones themselves) The packaging is very very nice indeed, and is easy to take everthing out without cutting yourself to bits, so top marks there.
As for the Mc5's themselves, they feel very sturdy indeed with a slightly thicker barrel than the usual ety, but feel really sturdy and nice to hold. The cable is fantastic, and certainly the best i've seen from etymotic. (Miles better than the 4p, and light years ahead of the awful hf5 one, which I found far far worse than the 4p. But, enough of that. Let's get to the fit and sound.)
Included is the usual range of tips, White triple flange (Which looks more like the shure style instead of the grey), a pair of foam tips, the small baby blues, and finally, the gliders. Me, I use the triple flange.
So first off: the isolation is killer. Really excellent! You can hardly hear a thing with them in, which for me is perfect because I don't see the point of having IEM's that are poor at isolating, because it defeats the purpose of them. You may as well have a full size pair on, but there you go. So, they perform great in that department, and with the thicker barrel, they also feel extremely comfortable and flush with the ear. Obviously, this won't be the same for everyone, but for me they are lovely. The cable is a touch microphonic, but it really is not that bad without the clip. With the clip, it pretty much stops it.
Ok Sound!
The first thing I noticed about these when I first hit play (Using mostly flac and V0 mp3s) was the bass. Very strong indeed, with a nice punch, and much more than any other etymotic phone. While these will still not satisfy a basshead, they really do (dare I say) excel in this department. I think that's because of the dynamic driver, but either way, the bass certainly surprises.
Mids are neither too recessed or forward, and lay about the same as you would expect from ety, once again. The driver also gives them a more sturdy foundation than a b/a drive,r and this makes them sound very clear, but with a nice kick.
Ok... Onto another much talked about part of the freq when it comes to ety's -- the treble.
Now, I don't much care for rolled off highs. I never have, and I'm glad to say these do not let me down. But, something is different. And once again, this is all to do with the dynamic driver. Highs are what I can only describe as 'Crunchy', with really powerful cymbal crashes and hi hats that seriously fizz into your head. But at the same time, they sound very natural indeed. While the detail is ALL there, the Mc5 presents it in a very timbral way, which once again is real nice. I'm tempted (REALLY tempted) to say these sound a tad warm, but I'll stay on the fence with that one at the moment. LOL.
Speaking of a timbral presentation, I feel that word sums up the Mc5 very well indeed, because the decay amongst other touches is quite beautiful, and very pleasing to the ear.
Now, here is the killer blow: At this price point (£59.99 here in the uk) either Etymotic have completely lost their marbles, or they have found a cheaper way to make these, because these scream quality in both in build and sound. If they were to cost £200, they would still be fantastic value. Obviously, these are in pretty much direct competition with the Re0, but they are built better. They sound better. They are more efficient, and they isolate. While I love my Re0's, the Ety's really put them in the shade. IMHO, they also outshine the Hje900, and could be the best dynamic ever. They are not far off the best all round universal IEM either, which considering they are a one driver design, I think speaks for itself. While the detail isn't quite er4s (although it ain't far off), the fact you do not need an amp for them, and the fact they do have a very strong timbral feel to them... I just don't think you can really go wrong at all. If it all came down to price, these would wipe the floor with everything. As it stands, they are not going to be for everybody, but I feel they deserve to be at the very top. And that, in my opinion, is where they belong.
I wouldn't say the Mc5 was a BETTER phone than the Er4s, because it's a totally different driver, and it presents the music in a different way. But, they sure are very refined in their sound, and are the most musical and natural sounding Ety I have heard. They are truly exciting to listen to.
For me, they hit 10 out of 10, and I'm very proud to own them.I'd been waiting a long time for these iem's to become available in the uk as I had a real burning desire to hear just how a dynamic ety would sound. So, as you can imagine, when these appeared on the iheadphones store, I snapped a pair up straight away. Now, I have them and have been listening to them for a couple of days. Now I want to share my thoughts on them.
These come in a really nice white pack, similar in shape to the Hf5 box, with a nice flip up front so you can see the phones. When you open the box, they are also packed like the Hf5, with a new style case full of tips and filters (and of course the phones themselves) The packaging is very very nice indeed, and is easy to take everthing out without cutting yourself to bits, so top marks there.
As for the Mc5's themselves, they feel very sturdy indeed with a slightly thicker barrel than the usual ety, but feel really sturdy and nice to hold. The cable is fantastic, and certainly the best i've seen from etymotic. (Miles better than the 4p, and light years ahead of the awful hf5 one, which I found far far worse than the 4p. But, enough of that. Let's get to the fit and sound.)
Included is the usual range of tips, White triple flange (Which looks more like the shure style instead of the grey), a pair of foam tips, the small baby blues, and finally, the gliders. Me, I use the triple flange.
So first off: the isolation is killer. Really excellent! You can hardly hear a thing with them in, which for me is perfect because I don't see the point of having IEM's that are poor at isolating, because it defeats the purpose of them. You may as well have a full size pair on, but there you go. So, they perform great in that department, and with the thicker barrel, they also feel extremely comfortable and flush with the ear. Obviously, this won't be the same for everyone, but for me they are lovely. The cable is a touch microphonic, but it really is not that bad without the clip. With the clip, it pretty much stops it.
Ok Sound!
The first thing I noticed about these when I first hit play (Using mostly flac and V0 mp3s) was the bass. Very strong indeed, with a nice punch, and much more than any other etymotic phone. While these will still not satisfy a basshead, they really do (dare I say) excel in this department. I think that's because of the dynamic driver, but either way, the bass certainly surprises.
Mids are neither too recessed or forward, and lay about the same as you would expect from ety, once again. The driver also gives them a more sturdy foundation than a b/a drive,r and this makes them sound very clear, but with a nice kick.
Ok... Onto another much talked about part of the freq when it comes to ety's -- the treble.
Now, I don't much care for rolled off highs. I never have, and I'm glad to say these do not let me down. But, something is different. And once again, this is all to do with the dynamic driver. Highs are what I can only describe as 'Crunchy', with really powerful cymbal crashes and hi hats that seriously fizz into your head. But at the same time, they sound very natural indeed. While the detail is ALL there, the Mc5 presents it in a very timbral way, which once again is real nice. I'm tempted (REALLY tempted) to say these sound a tad warm, but I'll stay on the fence with that one at the moment. LOL.
Speaking of a timbral presentation, I feel that word sums up the Mc5 very well indeed, because the decay amongst other touches is quite beautiful, and very pleasing to the ear.
Now, here is the killer blow: At this price point (£59.99 here in the uk) either Etymotic have completely lost their marbles, or they have found a cheaper way to make these, because these scream quality in both in build and sound. If they were to cost £200, they would still be fantastic value. Obviously, these are in pretty much direct competition with the Re0, but they are built better. They sound better. They are more efficient, and they isolate. While I love my Re0's, the Ety's really put them in the shade. IMHO, they also outshine the Hje900, and could be the best dynamic ever. They are not far off the best all round universal IEM either, which considering they are a one driver design, I think speaks for itself. While the detail isn't quite er4s (although it ain't far off), the fact you do not need an amp for them, and the fact they do have a very strong timbral feel to them... I just don't think you can really go wrong at all. If it all came down to price, these would wipe the floor with everything. As it stands, they are not going to be for everybody, but I feel they deserve to be at the very top. And that, in my opinion, is where they belong.
I wouldn't say the Mc5 was a BETTER phone than the Er4s, because it's a totally different driver, and it presents the music in a different way. But, they sure are very refined in their sound, and are the most musical and natural sounding Ety I have heard. They are truly exciting to listen to.
For me, they hit 10 out of 10, and I'm very proud to own them.
