[Beyerfan70]

Quote:

So if you have the ER4S already, the MC5 would be the ones to get as the HF2/5  are pretty similar to the ER4? 

Roughly speaking yes, The Hf2/5 isn't matched in the ety labs like the Er4p/s but having said that it isn't a million miles away from them.
The Mc5 is the more "Musical" of all of them and certainly the most dynamic (If you pardon the pun) ety out there.

 

[a_recording]

Whoah. I didn't realise that UPS shipping meant the courier company as opposed to US Postal Service. My MC5's just arrived, which is pretty much my quickest experience with International US-Aus shipping ever (4 days.) Can't wait to tear this box apart!

 

[SkiesOfAzel]

Quote:

Whoah. I didn't realise that UPS shipping meant the courier company as opposed to US Postal Service. My MC5's just arrived, which is pretty much my quickest experience with International US-Aus shipping ever (4 days.) Can't wait to tear this box apart!

Cheers for your new phones mate!  Any impressions?

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

Cheers for your new phones mate!  Any impressions?

Haha thanks! I don't want to give too many first impressions, considering that everyone seems to be saying that they need about 50 hours of burn in. Right now I would say they sound very similar to the RE0's, though with more sub-bass quantity, and less smooth in the mids/highs. 
 
I'm finding it hard to get a good grip on them because I keep trying the different tips. I like the sound from the triflanges the most, but I'm finding it difficult to get a seal with them in my ears - particularly my left ear. If burn in really improves these, then I really will take up the $100 impressions voucher offer that etymotic provides.
 
Has anyone tried that route for the ACS customs?

 

[supersleuth]

The instructions on the Ety site are very useful for getting a good seal with the triflanges. I find that both moistening the tips and pulling upward on the ear during insertion are important. Now that I have some practice at it I find getting a good seal is quick and easy, but it did take some time to get there so give it a chance. (Of course, the custom molds are probably a great idea).

 

[a_recording]

Quote:

The instructions on the Ety site are very useful for getting a good seal with the triflanges. I find that both moistening the tips and pulling upward on the ear during insertion are important. Now that I have some practice at it I find getting a good seal is quick and easy, but it did take some time to get there so give it a chance. (Of course, the custom molds are probably a great idea).

I've tried that, and it works half the time. (Namely, it works in my right ear but not my left.) They keep a seal for a while, and then I lose it. I'm just using the glider tips now, which are a bit warmer and easier to insert anyway.
 
The customs seem like a reasonable price. Apparently if you upgrade to different etymotic models, they can just send you new custom tips because they have your impressions on record. (Since they go around the barrel, the tips are a different size for the MC5's vs the HF5's etc)
 
One awesome thing about the HF3 though: controlling iPod playback through voice controls! There is something about issuing commands like, "Play music by Boards of Canada" and having it obey. I'm not doing it in public though.

 

[Bennyboy71]

I have the HF5 and fit is perfect - just put them in my ears and away I go.  They maintain a perfect fit even when walking and moving around and comfort is superb.
 
Best fit of any iems I've ever tried.

 

[Lazerboy2000]

I got the MC5's the other day and am loving them so far. Currently listening to some Sinatra now which really makes these sing! I agree they aren't super-efficient as I have to put my 2Gen iTouch at about 80% volume. They also do a superb job of canceling out sound. I was in a 3000 person class yesterday and they were playing music over the PA system before class started, but even still i could barely hear it and my music sounded great!
 
Thanks for the recommendations. I also got a Pelican 1010 case to carry them in which is perfect for me since I keep them in my backpack

 

[Caudovittatus]

Just picked up a pair of MC5's - Love them so far (only a few hours listening).  After much fiddling I got the best fit/isolation with the larger of the supplied tri-flange tips.  Have any of you bought spare tips so far and if so where did you get them?  Only place I could see any was on the Etymotic site itself (MC3/5 seem to have the same part number, but it's not the same as for any of the other Etymotic sets).

 

[David58117]

Quote:

Just picked up a pair of MC5's - Love them so far (only a few hours listening).  After much fiddling I got the best fit/isolation with the larger of the supplied tri-flange tips.  Have any of you bought spare tips so far and if so where did you get them?  Only place I could see any was on the Etymotic site itself (MC3/5 seem to have the same part number, but it's not the same as for any of the other Etymotic sets).

Do they have the small nozzle like the ER4?  Here are the spare triple flanges I bought for the ER4..
 
http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ER6i-18-Replacement-Earphones/dp/B0015WJQ8O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1283900806&sr=8-1

 

[a_recording]

I just wrote up a review of the MC3's (headset version of the MC5) if anyone is curious!
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/511542/my-first-review-etymotic-mc3-going-in-deep-56k-warning

 

[Caudovittatus]

Quote:

Do they have the small nozzle like the ER4?  Here are the spare triple flanges I bought for the ER4..
 
http://www.amazon.com/Etymotic-Research-ER6i-18-Replacement-Earphones/dp/B0015WJQ8O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1283900806&sr=8-1

I'm not sure - I think Etymotic list Er6i and ER4 as having the same tip types, whereas only MC5 are only listed as having the same tips as MC3 so I'd assume that the MC3/5 have a slightly different size/shape

 

[Antony6555]

These look awesome, like they fixed everything with er-4 and made these (or everything I disliked about er-4). The lack of bass, lack of texture in the mids, and overly emphasized highs (my er-4 gave me headaches). Should I sell my ck100 and buy these? I think the only place I'd really be missing out with these compared to the ck100 is in terms of sondstage size/imaging.

 

[jant71]

I bought Shaddix' MC5's and have had them for a couple of days.

 
I like em'! Very light and they do look nicer in real life. Have to say I like them better than the RE0's. Lighter, better looking, and nicer build quality. You can see in the pic I have the big bi-flanges on them with adapters made from Shure tri-flange stems.
 
These phones are interesting. Very tunable just with tips. I think they have more bass than the RE0 with the biflanges(from memory) but the detail is smoothed over a bit. With my Kanen KM948 tips they have a bit smaller stage, less bass, but true Ety level detail. The differences are more pronounced than with the RE0. Bass and detail levels don't change as much as with the MC5. I agree with those that say they have an aggressive sound. Even with less bass I prefer the Ety's bass to the RE0 since it has a bit more bite and the mids have a bit more emotion. Even with an amp and bass boost the RE0 didn't develop the emotion which, after a while, made the RE0 fall out of favor with some of us.
 
I can't do what I want with them just yet. I will continue to burn them in for one. Joker has some M11+ tips I would like to try on them and also my Ety S-adapter. I would say the big bi's don't give enough detail but I do plan to remove the filters which should brighten them up and bring more(according to Anaxilus). The right tips, if the filter mod does bring more clarity and detail, and if the S-adapter does what it does with their big brother, these will be borderline top-tiers. I feel they are already one of my best purchases. Outside of the cheaper version of the normal Ety zip case I have zero to complain about with them.
 
Tunable, EQ-able(if wanted), solid build, good isolation, good price, color options. Even a bit more soundstage than the other Ety's. Totally recommended for those who want the particular signature(ala Ety, CK10, DBA-02, RE0, etc)!

 

[rawrster]

So I picked up a pair today (totally unintentional) at the store today. I don't like the case one bit. Even the ER6i has a better case. Although neither are a hard case or even semi hard this one is just bad and will not protect any investment. I haven't had much time but the nozzle at first looked pretty intimidating. It's much longer than the ER6i. That just means Etymotic level isolation is achieved without much of the housing in your ear like the ER6i did. It did seem like I wasn't pushing them far in enough but I realized the longer nozzle does that.
 
How much burn in do those who have it do? I'm not really one that leans too heavily on it but it gives me a good indication of how much time to put on them before I start judging an earphone. All I can say is that these are going to need to change a lot for me to keep them at this point.
 
 
I've had probably an hour or a bit more. If my ER6i which I owned a while ago is any indication this is a typical Etymotic sound. The focus is upper mids/treble. I can't say these will give the last detail yet since I have yet to do any testing or anything other than casual listening but these do have lots of detail. The midrange seems to have a "sweet spot" with female vocals. Bass is a bit of a problem but I'll do some listening at home. I did come straight from the FA Eterna so just about anything compared to that will seem like it has no bass. Extension is decent so far but nothing great. Bass light sounds about right and might even have less than the RE-Zero which aren't bass monster but this is pretty much out of the box impressions.
 
edit #2: i can tell that these respond nicely to my J3 EQ. I'm not sure if I would use these without the EQ right now. I feel like the bass is barely noticeable and you have to go way out of your way to find it. It's like being at a restaurant with a waiter who decided to take a lunch break while waiting at your table. These are very underwhelming so far without EQ but with EQ it's actually not too bad. Not sound wise but build is a bit better than I expected. My ER6i had crappy thin cables from the Y split and up and these are not the case. The only thing I don't like is the way the housing is shaped. It's very similar to my M9 and what an S2 looks like so over the ear does stick out a bit. I like something more flush like my Eterna or a regular housing like my RE-Zero.