Etymotic Research HF5 Portable iPhone and iPod In-ear Earphones- Ruby

I purchased these in-ear-monitors (IEMs) about 6 months ago, but waited until now so I could review them based on more long-term impressions, since I feel that's always more useful when considering products that people may well be using every day. I'll start with everything not relating to how they sound, and then finish with my opinions of the audio quality - but bear in mind that's a very subjective topic.

I didn't used to be a fan of IEMs, but the HF5s have converted me. The isolation they provide when fitted correctly is superb, making them perfect for my noisy commutes (bus, train, occasionally coach). I'm also confident that they would be more than enough for use when travelling by plane. They are particularly good at blocking out the low frequencies, with higher frequencies being *slightly* more audible. This isn't necessarily a bad quality, though, as it means that voices can be heard when needed, though you'll have to remove them if you want to have a conversation. The isolation is so great that I would not recommend them for running/waling around town etc.

In spite of the deep insertion, I find them to be a very comfortable fit. The triple-flange design is made of quite soft silicon, and compresses nicely when inserted, but still provides plenty of resistance and friction to keep them in place. Several other tips are included: a smaller triple-flange set, some rather unusual-shaped `glider' tips (I don't really know how to describe these, but I found them both less comfortable than the flanges, and to decrease the sound quality), and a set of foam tips. The foam tips were the most comfortable, for me, but get dirty relatively quickly and only stand up to so much cleaning, as well as being rather pricey to replace when you consider that it's just a little bit of foam.

Microphonics (noise due to the cable/headphone casing catching and knocking against things) is moderate; I do not find microphonics to be particularly distracting, but if you are sensitive to it I would not recommend these `phones. When sat still, with the cable-clip attached to my top, the cable is more-or-less prevented from knocking and rubbing against closing, eliminating the problem.

Build-quality seems at least acceptable. At first they felt rather flimsy, but having stood up to six months of fairly regular use I have to say that they are sturdier than they appear. There are as-yet no signs of wear, though I have heard of people having the cables detach from the driver module; I suspect that this is due to the headphones being removed by the cable - don't do that, remove them by holding the driver casing instead.

And onto the sound quality:

Bass: bass is precise, and extension is good (they can hit the low notes) but they are a little lacking in impact. A good seal makes them far better, but still slightly anaemic (I'm not a bass-head, either). The bass is quick to respond and rarely does it feel that the HF5s are incapable of keeping up with rapid changes in the low notes.

Mids: the mids are probably the strongest point of these `phones, being well detailed although perhaps slightly forward relative to the bass and treble, but largely well-balanced. (Male) Vocals are definitely more prominent in the mids than in the bass. I find tonality to be fairly poor here, with unamplified instruments and vocals often sounding quite unnatural (more on that below).

Treble: again, the treble is well balanced and accurate. Detail is also very good here, and I am still noticing things in tracks that I never knew were there (though this is probably due in part to the excellent isolation). With female vocals I often find them to be uncomfortably shrill, despite the headphone sounding relatively neutral overall. As an example, I rarely listen to Florence and the Machine with these because I find it an almost painful experience, but then again, her voice is quite shrill naturally.

Overall, these are precise, balanced and neutral sounding. Unfortunately, this leads to a more analytical sound than a musical one, so it depends what you're after. Listening to music on these makes it sound a little dead, as if it's being played in a padded room. You can hear everything very clearly, but they are not going to make you want to dance. I also find the timbre to be quite unnatural, especially with classical music. I know how a violin is supposed to sound, and this is not it. There seem to be both low- and high-end harmonics/overtones missing, which is especially noticeable in string instruments. I'm sort of on the fence about sound quality, because while they don't appear to do very much wrong, the sound just isn't quite right. That said, I really enjoy listening to electronic music with these `phones, despite their slightly lean bass (they respond well to a low-frequency boost from a decent EQ.)

Sound stage is larger than I expected, but still quite small. They certainly don't sound as closed-in as I had expected, given their deep-insertion. Instrument separation is also minimal, but enough not to find everything lost to a muddy, unclear jumble of sounds.

From the last few paragraphs I may have painted quite a negative picture of these headphones, but I am just being overly-critical. You will get used to their tone after some mental burn-in, and I am yet to find anything else that offers such good isolation in a similar price bracket. When on the move they are probably my best-sounding set of `phones, because the awesome isolation means you lose so little to unwanted ambient noise.

So yes, for the price there are better sounding IEMs, over-ear headphones, etc, but none of them will sound this good when your sat at the back of a noisy bus. I bought them for commuting, and in that respect they perform excellently and are relatively good value. Oh, and well done if you made it this far.

I have owned Sennheiser PX100, CX300, Ultimate Ears Super Fi Pro, Denons IEMs 700something, Grados SR60. Now I own a pair of these and I am extremely happy. Unheard clarity and separation. It is so easy to follow the individual instruments, the heights sound just great. There is enough bass for me, even without equalizer tweaking. I listen to rock, metal, ska and classical music. Even the radio moderator's voices sound better with these...

The only problem is that moving the wires results in noise (microphonics), badly...the shirt clip helps a bit but is a bit annoying and does not solve the problem 100%. I guess that is the price you pay for such excellent sound isolation. I cannot hear when someone talks to me, and I do not blast my ear drums with ridiculous volume. They just have the best isolation I ever came across.

Because of the microphonics I deduct one star...but these are truly great, great headphones. Side note, they are very very light, which is nice too.

I am using the foam tips, the triple flange silicon one sound a bit better, but I have to insert them very deep and it starts to hurt after a while (I have got very large ear canals, so they go in very deep). The glider tips would be great, but they are bit too small for me. I ordered some Comply Tx100 foam tips to improve comfort, the Etymotic foam is quite rough and gets itchy.

Do yourself a favour and get a pair...you will not regret it.

Headphones, & in particular, earphones are a tricky purchase. It is difficult to try before you buy & you are never quite sure what you are going to end up with, over priced tosh or a decent value product. The Etymotic HF5 fall into neither of these, coming up just short of the hurdle of being a good valued piece of kit.

First off these type of phones are slightly intrusive, if you struggle to use foam ear plugs then look at a different style headphone, if not & you want a good level of sound isolation then read on.

Build quality is good & the supplied bits include: case, two sizes of flanged ear tips, one set of foam ear tips, a filter removal tool, filters & clip to hold the cable to clothing.

The headphones provide a very detailed insight into the music, picking up things in the recordings that you may not have noticed before, mid range in particular comes through with outstanding clarity & this with the very balanced top end really gives a sense of quality sound. However I found the bass a little lacking with any of the supplied fittings. These style phones need to fit really well in order to reproduce the correct bass but even with the supplied foam plugs the only bass that really comes through is a very tight mid bass, not that I want something that is thumping, but a little more warmth & a touch more low end grunt would really push these on sonically.

So, I've tried them with the Shure Foam Tips (PA910 fit perfectly), these really do bring an added depth to the bass, an altogether rounder & warmer tone. However there is a trade-off for this improvement in sound & that is cable feedback, it was driving me mad, solution - put the phones in upside down & trail the cable around your ears.

Overall I'm pleased with my choice, although it has taken a couple of weeks to get them right, plus the additional outlay for the new foam tips. So a recommendation, but a hesitant one.

A 3½ star product as standard, a 4 Star product with the Shure foam tips.