Review: Etymotic hf5 High-Fidelity Earphones

Reviews

Company: Etymotic Research

Website: www.etymotic.com

Model: hf5

Price: $149

Compatible: All iPods, iPhones

Etymotic hf5 High-Fidelity Earphones

By Jeremy Horwitz

Editor-in-Chief, iLounge
Published: Saturday, November 1, 2008
Category: Headphones & Earphones

Sold in black, blue, and red versions, Etymotic's hf5 ($149) is a microphoneless version of the highly-rated hf2, sold exclusively through Amazon.com. The hf5 continues to offer similar noise isolation and audio fidelity to the company's ER-4P earphones, but with more modern styling and subtly diminished accuracy. A carrying case, replacement filters, and three types of eartips are included in the package. The fourth, fifth, and sixth pictures below show a set of alternate eartips that Etymotic will apparently offer separately for its earphones, using newly shaped foam and newly softer rubber, respectively; they are not included with the hf5.

We briefly reviewed hf5 in our 2009 Buyers’ Guide, largely making reference to the text above and noting that this is a “great, comfortable earpiece to reveal secrets in songs,” offering slightly more punch than the ER-4P, with tight, non-aggressive bass.

Our full review of the hf2 goes into considerable additional detail on the earpieces, which are identical to the hf5’s; the only differences are that you shave $30 off the price, lose the microphone, and gain a blue color option that is not available for hf2. We continue to feel that the hf5 represents a superb value for critical listeners, and falls short of the ideal only in its controlled bass performance, which may not suit the needs of those who love deep, booming low-end.

A Note From the Editors of iLounge: Though all products and services reviewed by iLounge are "final," many companies now make changes to their offerings after publication of our reviews, which may or may not be reflected above. This iLounge article provides more information on this practice, known as revving.

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