Customer Reviews

Etymotic Research HF5 Portable In-Ear Earphones (Cobalt)

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I can unequivocally recommend these earphones. I have used a broad variety of earphones, including the Shure se530's Ultimate Ears triple-fi 10's and several Sennheisers. For this price, I've never heard sound so balanced, and with such clarity, coming out of an iPod. I feel like I'm in a sealed sound chamber when I listen with these, even when I'm on the bus. It's almost too isolating - sometimes I really lose touch with what's going on around me. I am a musician, and when I've done studio recordings, we listen for nuances in the instrumentation and music that you typically do not hear when playing back an MP3 file or CD. With the Etymotic hf5's, I'm getting the kind of clarity I get in the studio. And for just $150! There's no over-exaggerated bass, and I can hear every instrument and every voice. There's nothing like listening to an a capella group like Take 6 with the hf5. Or to an unplugged session where all kinds of things can happen in the tracks - if you can hear them. Oh, and the blue and red ones are cool-looking. Pretty much everyone replaces the earphones that come with your MP3 player, and you can spend a lot more on earphones than this, but I recommend $150 spent on these earphones as the biggest bang for your buck.

I was looking for headphones that were in the $180 to $250 range. The top offerings were Shure SE420 and SE530, q-jays, Ultimate Ear superfi 5 pro and Etymontic Research ER-4P. As you maybe aware, only Amazon sales the HF5. When they offered them at one third off and after reading a review at [...], I decided to give them a try . The sound is good for me and the isolation is amazing. With the triple flanges eartips, I did not hear the fire alarm that went off in my building. With earphones in and the music off, I cannot hear people talking to me that are within 4 feet of me. The foam eartips are rated at -45db and the triple flanges are -35db. I called Etymotic Research to inquire about their glide eartips and they are sending a free set for me to try. Now that is good customer service. My purchases from Amazon have always been as advertized and I can recommend them to you.

I received the glide eartips and recommend them. The glide eartip is foam eartip that is configure like a single flange eartip. The glide eartips are more comfortable then the triple flange and feel more secure then the foam eartips. The noise isolation, to my hears, is the same as the triple flange.

I purchased these to replace the ER-4P earphones that I lost. Since I was quite happy with the ER-4Ps, I returned to Etymotic and tried the next generation.

I was not disappointed.

I've been using them on the train for half a year now and they are holding up well. They block out most of the noise of the vending machines and trains outside and the passenger noise inside. The music blocks out the rest <grin>.

The packaging is excellent. The carrying case is nicely done and small enough to fit comfortably in your pocket. I can't remember if spare tips are provided, but I never used the spares for the ER-4Ps, so a) I understand Etymotic's decision not to include so many, and b) it's not a problem for me anyway since I have all the spares from the ER-4Ps which appear to be interchangeable.

It seems that cheap and expensive earphones alike all suffer from the transfer of sound from their cords rubbing against your body while you walk. These are no exception. However, the rubber cords on these do a better job of insulating the noise then the ER-4Ps, but they aren't perfect. There is now a little cinch strap (located where the cords separate) that you can move up to pull the cord tight under your chin. This reduces the transferred noise to near zero when you walk.

These earphones also don't stick out as much as the ER-4Ps, and have a really cool color.

So, I'll bump my review to 5 stars for these earphones. But I'd like to see Etymotic keep working on reducing the noise transferred through the cord so that I don't have to choke myself with the cord to eliminate it :-).

I was a little skeptical when purchasing high-fidelity earphones because nothing could compare to my over ear headphones (Sony mdr-d333), or so I thought. After putting on the earphones (properly) for the first time I can only compare the sound to the first sip of your favorite beer. The notes (both high and low) are smooth. The sound is dynamic and rich like the perfect balance of malt and hops. There is no artificial bass added to these phones so the sound you hear is what the artist intended. If this is your first pair of expensive earphones I would suggest paying attention to the bite rate (60, 90,120,168,190 ext.) of your songs you will hear a difference with the songs playing back at a higher rate. The sound isolation is INCREDIABLE, like that first sip, when the flavor of the beer makes you forget that you are destined for another night of drinking alone at the bar, the sound isolation will make you forget that you are using no.2 pencils as drum sticks on your office desk. The best part of the hf5 ear phone is the available custom sleeves for only $100(USD). Custom Sleeves means that a mold will be taken of your ear and a custom earpiece will be made that will connect to your hf5s. Custom sleeves provide the most comfortable experience when wearing the earphones for an extended period of time. Here are some of the pros and cons I have found while using these earphones:

Pros:
1. Incredible sound
2. Sound isolation
3. Custom molds are available
4. Size: extremely small and light.
5. 2 year warranty


Cons:
1. Cord is just long enough
2. Time spent getting a proper seal between the ear canal and earphones
3. Not all users may find the earphones comfortable for extended periods of time.
(Both 2 and 3 are fixable by custom molds)
4.



A reviewer rated this item poorly due to claim that noise is transferred from movement through the wire to the headphone. This is true only if the clip and the cord adjuster are not used properly.

These earphones are my favorites. The sound quality is very good-not as good as Ultimate Ears sound quality (which is the best in my opinion) but with UE my ears were horribly sore after a very short time. UE earphones were just too large for my smaller ears no matter which eartips I used. The fit of the Etymotics earphones was an immediate delight and I find myself wearing these for hours with no ill effects. The number one requirement in earphones for me is sound quality which is excellent with the Etymotics, if not quite as good as the Ultimate Ears. The winning factor was the comfort of my ear canals-it's hard to listen to good music when your ears are screaming in pain, which is what happened to me with the UE earphones.

The sound from the Etymotics is crisp and clear if a little light on the bass. The fit is so good that I forget I'm wearing earphones. Complete comfort. I recommend these to anyone who has had trouble fitting the larger earphone brands with their ears. Give Etymotics a try-you won't be sorry!Etymotic Research HF5 Portable In-Ear Earphones (Cobalt)

To put things in prospective, my main in-house headphones are Beyerdynamic HD880.
HD880 are well balanced studio headphones. Not noise insulating and very bulky, but EXCEPTIONALLY well sounding and having a true
flat response in low, mid and high ranges.


I bought HF5 looking for mobility and noise insulation on an airplane. I was somewhat skeptical about the passive noise canceling
technology (vs active in other headphones) possible discomfort due to in-ear design and sound quality. Especially after reading some
opinions about lacking bass in HF5. All the worries proved unwarranted. My summary for those that care after a week of active use:


CONS
none (my first review with no cons)

PROS
Stay perfectly comfortable for many hours. From day one.
Sound insulation is very good, a must-have in airplane.
Lightweight and very VERY compact.
High frequencies are very good.
Bass is great. People complaining about lack of bass have no idea that they simply got used to cheap unbalanced bass-heavy headphones.
If they tried BeyerDynamic HD880 they would also complain about lack of bass. Enough said.


Yes, DT880 sound better. And cost several times more than HF5.
But HF5 is what you will be traveling with and be happy.


If you never had Etymotic, don't be afraid, your money will be well spent.

Christmas gift, I picked. my old 60gb iPod, Cocoon case, and ER6i headphones were stolen last spring in the SEA-TAC airport. Needed new iPod (another gift) and headphones. wanted something the next step up.

First Week Review

1. Box same size as my iPod 120gb classic with somewhat environmental friendly packing (small amount). items included-- HF5 earphones, black pouch, tri-flange tips, blue tri-flange tips, gray foam tips (like earplug types), Filter changing tool.

2. Cobalt blue ear pieces-nice color, Black Cord is different then my other two pairs of ER6i cords, seems stickier to the feel but hasn't proven to be an issue (silicon in it?). Shirt clip hasn't changed. A straight plug vs the "L" plug.

3. Fit just as nicely as the ER6's (med size ear canals), so far they feel better in my ears then the ER6i's. I had to push the ER6s in my ears on airplanes to cut out a bit more noise and to avoid hearing seat mates who push their tunes too high w/ ear buds or cheap headphones.

4. Sound - Wow much better overall then my ER6i (wife's) headphones and we really liked those. My music runs the gambit (country, rock (old and new), classical, easy listening), all sounded much clearer and with depth. These are closer to hearing sounds as great as i get from my receiver and Axiom speakers. We could pick out the fingers sliding on strings, more of the higher ends and bass was decent.


5. Value- Locked in at the $149 price based on one seller deal. 4 stars.
Sound- 5 stars
Included items- Not as good as ER6i deal, pouch is OK 4 stars

ER HF5 Earphones are worth purchasing based on sound and ability to use different tips (foam and silicon). if price is an issue -- ER6i for about half the price proved valuable workhorses. I took them around the world and my wife works out with hers. Time will tell on reliability and air travel use. So far so good.

1 - Sound is pretty good for mid range but absolutely no bass
2 - flimsy cable, poor material quality and very cheap pouch
3 - very good noise reduction
4 - three flange isolation not comfortable for long period listening
5 - never listen over 70% volume since treble sounds cause headache
6 - when insert in ears too much, feel pain since tip of headphone a little thicker
7 - never use them when you are in motion

The way these IEMs are constructed is a disaster waiting to happen. The cord enters at a seam where the plastic housing is just glued together; and if you catch the wire on anything, this is the sole point of stress. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't take a whole lot of force to have the monitor literally come apart.

After supergluing mine back together, since Etymotic's warranty amounts to an offer to buy a new pair at a reduced price (unless you buy the ER4 expect no real customer service.), they came apart fully a second time tearing the wires out of the driver.

Sound and isolation are great, shame they just can't stand up to actually being used.

After spending several months researching headphones, I finally settled on the Etymotic HF5 Earphones. I already owned a pair of Sennheiser 595's, which are some of the best headphones money can buy (in that price range, anyway :), but those headphones utilize an open design, which does provide a wonderful room-like listening experiences and superior sound quality, but also allow a tremendous amount of outside noise to bleed through (which can be good and bad), likewise, bleed a substantial amount of noise to anyone close by; also, while they are extremely comfortable, they are big and bulky--not easily portable, or suitable for many day-to-day activities. As such, I was interested in finding the best quality in-ear headphones that would be comfortable, provide excellent sound reproduction, and also sound isolation through noise reduction--a tall order. I'm happy to say that the Etymotic HF5's have met my needs.

They are not perfect, and, for instance, I would say that the overall sound quality and comfort (in a quiet environment) is still better with my Sennheiser 595's, but they are definitely the best in-ear headphones I have tried, by a landslide. Some care is required for proper insertion into your ears. They have a helpful video on their website showing how to properly insert the various included tips into your ears to ensure a proper seal--which, if you don't have a proper seal, you will be disappointed because the noise isolation will be severely diminished and the bass response drops considerably. Fortunately, after a little bit of practice (learning to pull my upper ear back at the right angle, rather than out away from my head, for instance) I was able to get the default flanged tips to fit fairly comfortably and also provide an exceptional amount of noise isolation. Again, it did take a little practice to insert the tips properly and make a good seal, but, once I had that figured out, I was extremely happy with the quality. Obviously everyone's ears will be different, but I would wager that with a combination of practice putting the tips in, and also making sure to use the best tips for your ears (they provide several options included with the headphones) anyone should be able to wear the headphones reasonably comfortably, and enjoy both a good bass response as well as superior outside noise reduction.

I have experimented with listening to several genres of music, from Jazz, to Rock, to Metal, Classical, and even that stuff Enya does :), and the headphones have performed excellently (for those who care, I've only used a 4th Gen. iPod Touch and my laptop computer so far, but both provide an adequate driver, in my opinion). Highs are crisp and clear, and the midtones and bass are well represented; I would prefer a little more articulation in the bass, but at the same time, I don't find that it detracts too much from the listening experience.

I would highly recommend this product to anyone looking for in-ear headphones in this price range. They offer exceptional (though not perfect) sound quality, reasonable comfort, and incredible noise reduction.

I should also note that the cord-noise that is almost inescapable on in-ear headphones is actually not so bad on these; yes, you do hear it occasionally, but by adjusting the cinch on the cord and using the attached clip, the noise is virtually eliminated--even during the times when I do hear it, I don't find it as distracting as it is on most other in-ear headphones.

For what it's worth, I consider myself an audiophile. I've done sound reinforcement for about 6 years and I also play the piano, drums, and guitar, so my opinion is at least educated and based on substantial experience.