Etymotic Research HF2 Earphones / Headset (iPhone Compatible) - Black

Other products by Etymotic Research

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 0.4 x 0.2 inches ; 4.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0012OP7HE
• Item model number: hf2
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (118 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Headphones > Earbud Headphones

• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 14, 2008

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

High-Fidelity + Hands-Free + Etymotic hf2 Headset + Earphones

The award-winning Etymotic hf2 headset delivers the most accurate fidelity of any earphones available today. We constantly test against the competition. The uncompromising performance standards and noise-excluding eartips provide a level of clarity that lets you hear parts of your music you may have never heard before.

The award winning, no-compromise headset for iPhone, Blackberry and other smartphones. The judges at MacWorld had this to say in awarding the hf2 the iPhone Accessory of the Year award: "The hf2 is a phenomenal set of iPhone-ready earphones that deliver the kind of sound reproduction you could pay a lot more for. Add custom fit, personalised earbuds these will truly be the best earphones you can own." Experience the best sound quality available for your iPhone or Blackberry smartphone Make clear, intelligible phone calls with the integrated high-sensitivity microphone Keep it in your pocket - Exercising? Commuting? The conveniently located microphone button also doubles as a remote control for pausing and navigating forward through music tracks in your playlist Get back to your music - your music resumes when the call ends Rediscover Your Music The uncompromising performance standards and noise exclusion of Etymotic earphones provide a level of clarity that lets you hear parts of your music you never heard before. Block Out the Noise Make and receive phone calls with confidence. The eartips seal the ears, allowing you to hear and be heard even in noisy surroundings. The Reviews Are In Etymotic’s hf2 was awarded the prestigious Best iPhone Accessory for 2009 by Macworld U.K., and consistently garners top reviews from around the world. "This is perfect for use on trains, airplanes, or other loud spots where you might want to make/receive calls or listen to music. As an added benefit, the passive noise-canceling tech lets you bypass the bulky, battery-eating characteristics of other ‘phones that accomplish the same thing via active noise-canceling circuitry." -- MacLife, Editor's Choice "The new model is fully iPhone- and iPod-compatible, looks great, and sells at a very reasonable price given the sound quality of the ER-4Ps, which were long considered our reference standard for iPod in-canal phones." -- iLounge, 2008 Best of Show Winner "A phenomenal set of earphones... we believe they deliver the kind of sound reproduction you could pay a lot more for. We also found them to be among the most comfortable in-ear headphones we’ve tested." -- MacWorld, Editor's Choice Music controls at your fingertips Keep your phone in your pocket. Use the in-line end/send button. * 1 click = music pauses (another click resumes music) * 2 clicks = skip to next track * 3 clicks = go back to previous track iPod Voice Memo Recording with hf2 * Pause/resume recording from in-line microphone * Voice memos can be saved to iTunes library by connecting to a computer Compatibility iPhone (2.5 and 3G versions) Blackberry Curve, Blackberry Storm and Blackberry Bold and other music smartphones with 3.5mm/4-contact phone + stereo plug Etymotic hf2 Headset Features Noise Cancelling vs. Noise Isolation: Popular, large, battery-powered active noise-canceling headphones use circuitry to cancel the acoustic signal. A low-level hiss in the earphones is noticeable when they are "on" but not reproducing an acoustic signal. All Etymotic earphones and headsets use passive noise isolation, which means that sound is reduced naturally (not electronically) when the noise-isolating eartips seal the ear canal. Sound reduction tests performed at qualified labs across the world indicate that Bose earphones reduce about 20-22 dB of noise while Etymotic earphones reduce 35-40 dB on average, (twice as much as active noise-canceling headphones) which results in about 98% noise isolation. Included in The Box hf2 headset + earphones with 4 foot cable, assorted eartips, filter tool with replacement filters, storage pouch. About Etymotic Research: Established in 1983, ER's mission is to design high-fidelity products to measure, improve and protect hearing. ER has developed and patented some of the most innovative hearing technology available today. ER's products are used worldwide by scientists, hearing practitioners, hearing-impaired consumers, professional and amateur musicians, and others who insist on superior sound quality.

Make clear, intelligible phone calls with the integrated high-sensitivity microphone The eartips seal the ears, allowing you to hear and be heard even in noisy surroundings. The conveniently located microphone button also doubles as a remote control for pausing and navigating forward through music tracks in your playlist. The hf2 offers more noise reduction than other passive noise isolation earphones. Included in the box are the hf2 headset and earphones with a lengthy, 4 foot cable, assorted eartips, filter tool with replacement filters, and a storage pouch.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Typical Etymotic sound quality, but a high price for a mic, July 24, 2008

By	Tom Johnson (Always here, sometimes there) - See all my reviews

You've seen those people with earphone-mic combos for those phones - you know, *those* people who walk around, holding the mic up to their mouth, who might as well pull out the earphone and just hold the phone up to their ear. Are they uncomfortable, thinking that the mic won't pick up their voice, or are they compensating for a lackluster microphone? If the latter, that will not be necessary with the Etymotic HF2 earphone headset, whose mic is every bit as strong as the one built into most phones, if not better.

I tested this set with an Iphone 3G, and those on the other end were not able to guess that I was on a headset microphone rather than the Iphone's admittedly high-quality mic - that's a great compliment right there. The mic, which hangs about three inches below the right earphone, seems to be able to filter out background noises, as well. As for controls, it's simple - there's one button on rectangular microphone unit. Press once to answer or hang up a call, twice to send a call to voicemail.

As for sound quality of the headphones, they're fantastic, and that's no surprise given the pedigree associated with the Etymotic name. I'm an Ety fan - I have a pair of Ety ER6i as well as their "big brother" the ER4P, and the sound quality of the HF2 ranks right around the ER6i, which should be excellent for most people. Those not familiar with the "Etymotic sound," it is extremely clean, and many may find it lacking in bass, but it is very true to the recorded sound, unlike many other cheaper (and sometimes similarly priced) earphones. What you hear with Etymotics is a very accurate, if sometimes stark, representation of the sound that the artists captured. They are not good headphones for those looking for huge bass response. Those who enjoy jazz and great detail in their music might just love the Etymotic sound - they truly are an audiophile company. And when it comes to calls, there's also a small thrill to be had that first time you talk to someone and hear them in stereo through these earphones if you've never experienced it before. The world is blocked out due to the earphones' superior sound-dampening abilities, and the caller on the other end is extremely clear.

A note about fit and sound quality: these in-ear 'phone are meant to seat deep in your ear, sealed with your ear canal. When seated properly, they will deliver incredible sound quality and beautiful, solid bass - but not the deep, head-rattling bass you may be accustomed to from other head-and ear-phones. If they aren't seated properly, wet the tip just slightly, insert, and then turn just a bit to get them "snug down." The fit shouldn't hurt, but may feel odd at first. I found it took some getting used to and, yes, you will likely notice some earwax - you are, afterall, closing up your ears, so they will get warm. Clean the triple-flange tips from time to time and make sure your ears are as clean as possible. It sounds like a ritual, but it really is worth it for the extrmely high sound quality these earphones are capable of creating.

Other small details: where the two wires for the earphones connect to join into one is a slider to sinch up the wires . . . I assume if you want them close to your neck? Included on the wire is a clip that I found more annoying and cumbersome than useful. Thoughtful, yes, but not easy to remove, and I feared damaging the wire sleeve in doing so, so it stayed put. It simply made winding the wires up to put into the handy zipped leather pouch a job a little more clumsy than necessary. Also included are foam tips and smaller triple-flange tips for the earphones, replacement filters, and a filter replacement tool.

For owners of the first generation Iphone, the headphone jack is sized to fit into the recessed jack - no need for an awkward adapter.

So why only four stars if I enjoy these so much? (It would really be 4.5 stars if Amazon would let me offer it.) I balk a little at paying almost the price of the 8gb Iphone for a mic/earphone headset, even as high-quality as this one is. Another thing, and this is true of any headset, and so I don't mark this one down for it, your speaking voice does not come through the earphones. Normally that's not such an issue, but when you are listening to the other party in stereo, and you can only hear yourself as if through plugged ears, it's a little disorienting, and I found myself fighting the urge to speak louder. It would be nice if there were some way for your voice to be able to feedback into the earphones.

Overall, however, these are fantastic - miles above most typical headsets, but the price reflects that, too. If you spend a significant amount of time both listening to music and talking on your phone, and you truly treasure sound quality, these may make perfect sense.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best in-ears I've used., September 1, 2008

By	herschel - See all my reviews

I've used in-ear headphones and monitors almost exclusively for just over two-years now, both for use on-stage music monitoring, and for day-to-day ipod listening. Obviously, comparing in-ear monitors to in-ear headphones isn't quite fair -- they don't do the same thing. But, judging each pair for how well they succeed at their given task, i would definitely say the ER HF2s are hands-down the best pair of headphones I own.

(I currently use a pair of EarPeace LiveWires for on-stage music monitoring, and have used Shure E2s and E3s... And, having just started using an iphone, I decided to upgrade a little from the Ultimate Ear super-fi 3s I was previously using for my ipod.)

The HF2s are clean and transparent -- I won't go too far into detail about that here, given the glut of other reviewers saying the same thing. I will say, though, that the HF2s are really very impressive across the volume board -- they seem to provide the same punch for low-volume listening as they do at higher volumes; unlike my UEs, there's no "sweet spot" that they need to be set at in order to reproduce well. And unlike any other pair of in-ears I've owned, I truly can forget that I'm listening through headphones with this pair; unlike so many others that constantly make you aware of exactly how much they're coloring the tone (for better or worse), the HF2s really just step back and let the pure tones come right through. Highly impressive.

(Of course, the casual headphone buyer is probably not willing to spend this much dough for headphones -- so I won't spend too much time pointing out that if you're used to having your home or car EQ goose your bass way up, or if you use a pair of phones that have super-jacked-up bass drivers, you'll be disappointed with these.)

Cable noise was a concern for me based on the other reviews, but I decided to take the plunge anyway -- and let me just say, the reviews are right. If the HF2s have any drawback whatsoever, that's it right there. The provided clip does very little to help -- and, as previously noted in another review, wearing the cables "over-the-ear" (which would greatly minimize the amount of noise generated by the cable rubbing against a collar or lapel) is almost impossible with the HF2s -- the microphone would be too far away from one's mouth if worn that way. And, despite the fact that the dB isolation is really incredible with the HF2s (up to 42dB!!), the rubber on the cables -- AND the rubber on the driver housing itself -- picks up TONS of sound, most noticeably wind noise. (Even my relatively-cheapo UE super-fi in-ears didn't do that!) So a lot of what gets blocked out winds up getting re-introduced via transduction, at least at low-volume listening levels. (I was quite shocked when I first heard the sound of the wind hitting the driver-housing being reproduced in my ears. Now I don't mind it -- I actually sort of like it; it makes it seem as though you're not QUITE so isolated from the world around you. But if you're used to other in-ears, this might take some getting used to.) Be warned -- if cable-noise is a deal-breaker for you, you might want to look elsewhere.

That said, I wouldn't trade these in for anything. I'm even planning on getting a pair of fitted Sensaphonics sleeves to replace the drivers -- an expense on TOP of already expensive in-ears. But that's how great I think they are. As for the cable noise -- I'm planning on using a little piece of tape, to affix the cables to the top of my shirt, instead of the clip -- that should cut the noise to almost nothing, making these PERFECT. I highly, highly recommend them to any iphone user -- it will change your mp3 player from a toy to a audiophile-worthy piece of gear.

(P.S. -- I'd take these down to 4 1/2 stars if I could, because of the cable noise, but since I can't give it a "half" star, I'd place it closer to a "5" than a "4".)

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Flat out incredible sound, August 27, 2008

By	A. Simmons (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Etymotic Research HF5 Portable In-Ear Earphones (Cobalt) (Electronics)

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.