Etymotic Research MC5 Noise-Isolating In-Ear Earphones

I will first write about the differences between the mc5 and the hf3, then write about why Etymotic is good in general. (TLDR: They sound great and eliminate environmental noise perfectly.) I previously had the hf3. I switched to this (mc5) because the hf3’s microphone was very bad and people had a very hard time hearing me when I was in a noisy café. The mc5 has no microphone, so, problem solved. 🤓 I wish there was a product that had Etymotic’s superior audio quality and superior passive noise reduction, and had a perfect microphone as well, but there isn’t. The other advantage of the mc5 over the hf3 that I have noticed is that, at least for me, taking them out of the ears is much easier. With the hf3, I had a much harder time twisting the earphones to eliminate the vacuum suction so that I could take them out. And, not seldomly, the silicone tip would get stuck in my ear and I would have to get it out using tweezers. There is no way you can take it out without tweezers if it gets stuck in your ear. I had to carry a pair of tweezers for that purpose alone. Imagine that! 😀 Now, I just twist the earphones slightly, the vacuum is thus broken, and I can easily take them off. In all other respects, this mc5 is identical to the hf3, so after this point, everything I am writing goes for both this model (the mc5) as well as for the hf3: 1) Superior audio quality. First of all, there is no distortion at all. I have a couple of music tracks that I use to test distortion and they tend to get distorted on many other earphones that I have tested or used before (including top of the line Denon and Sennheiser in-ear models), but they don’t get distorted on these earphones. Furthermore, all instruments and the human voice sound natural and balanced. The basses are not exaggerated, but, in my opinion, very satisfactory. I mean, these are not pure monitor earphones, so the basses have been turned up a little for the consumer, so they give a very satisfactory sound range for listening to music. If you love any Beats earphones (or headphones, doesn’t matter), you will hate these. But, if, like me, you hate how muffled and inexact products like Beats sound, and would like to hear details in the cymbals of a drum set or the higher frequencies of a jazz bass, or would like to hear all frequiences in a solo piano recording, and don’t want to hear the piano through a fog of bass frequencies, this product is for you. And, I repeat, the basses are quite full and satisfactory as well, since this is not one of Etymotic’s pure monitor earphones. (Actually, I think Etymotic only has one pure monitor model, and this is not it. I can’t remember what the pure monitor model was called right now. Look at their website. It’s the one with the two variants. One is the regular variant, the orher has “Pro” added to its name. That’s the pure monitor one.) 2) The passive noise reduction is amazing. Go into a crowded café, which would make hearing any detail in the music impossible, and put these on, and the noise almost completely goes away. This is possible because all Etymotic earphones use three-tiered silicone tips like the ones used in ear protection products. If you are going to listen to music on the bus, on the street or in an otherwise noisy environment, you have to have tips like this. Otherwise you can’t hear the details in the music. What’s more, without tips like this, you would have to turn up the volume, which is really bad for your ears. None of the conventional in-ear earphones reduced environmental noise as well as these for me. Noise reduction was never enough and I could never listen to music the way I wanted to, hearing all the details. So, in summation, these would be the earphones I would choose if I was allowed to have only one pair of earphones. At home, I prefer my Denon Music Maniac headphones, of course, but they become useless the minute I step out of the door. Because the best sound quality doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t hear the details it provides, due to environmental noise. And it doesn’t matter if the noise we are talking about is just a far away hum. The details are lost even then.

I am a 10 year audio engineer veteran who owns the far more pricier version of these - the ER4P's. Those headphones are spectacular for studio use - monitoring performances, critical listening. However, the cord is pretty fragile and not very durable for every day uses. I bought these for around the town listening (walking, running, gym, etc). They are great - the sound quality for the price is very surprising. The isolation these things provide (just like the ER4Ps) is excellent - far, FAR better than active noise cancelling headphones. The cord on the new design (the Kevlar-reinforced ones) seems much better than the old design. I'll update if any cord failure happens. As some note, the bass isn't pumping - which I prefer. The bass is completely audible and smooth, however. If you want the bass to 'pop' more, adjust the EQ in your playback device. These headphones are very receptive to EQing! To stop the sounds generated by the cable hitting your shirt, loop the cord behind your ears and clip the headphones to your collar with the provided clip.

I was skeptical when I first started reading the reviews for these headphones. The feedback about the lack of bass really almost prevented me from buying these headphones. For some reason, when I think about music without a lot of bass, I think flat (which is true in the cheaper pairs.) But as you can tell, I decided to take the chance. I thought bass level really just makes or breaks a pair of headphones. Then again, these are the nicest headphones I have let myself experience. I am used to the cheap 7 to 20 $ pairs. Let me tell you, what these headphones lack in bass, this pair makes up for with everything else. everything is equally amplified and clear. There is bass, but it is not overpowering- not the most amplified aspect of your music. music is NOT FLAT. Sound is full and very high quality. although, if you are using these with I phone/I pod, I found the flat EQ sounds best with these. REALLY not disappointing with these. A major reason I bought these is because of the sound isolation. I listen to a lot of music, and depending on where I am, I have to have it up loud to even hear the music. I was concerned about my hearing. with these, I only feel the need to turn it up just under half way, a big improvement from almost completely. I can not really comment on the durability since I just got them today, but the cord seems like it can hold its own. we will see, I tend to be a little rough with headphones. they stay in my ears, which is nice. I was afraid the cord would weigh them down and cause them to fall out, but the cord is light! and not much noise disturbance with the cord rubbing against my shirt which is something I was scared of. I would definitely recommend these gems =)

2024 update. After 8 years, a small piece separated and fell inside my ear, had to get it removed by an ENT surgeon (but procedure was fairly quick and not a surgery, a walk-in clinic could not remove it after 4 hours, so had to see a surgeon -- costs was 100s of dollars). Be careful with these, may be they should come with a life-long supply of ear tips -- not sure. Or may be the ear tip should be designed better. Either way, great headphones for sound isolation -- but I will not be wearing this anymore. --- 2016. Finally something that fits well my ears. If you have small ear canal, these are for you. I would even prefer slightly narrower fit. Sound reproduction detail is simply excellent. The noise isolation is superb. In fact I would *not* recommend to wear these if you are looking after small babies or doing something that requires your periodic alertness to outside sounds. They isolate really really well (it has to do, I think with fit and the design to be trully in-ear). I find that these headphones will not compensate for poor quality music record or for poor quality music reproduction equipment. I have used them to listen from 4 different sources [1] mp3 player: iBasso DX50 (uses WOLFSON WM8740 192kHz/24-bit DAC Chip. ) [2] mp3 player: Kenwood MediaKeg MG-G608 [3] Dell XPS13 laptop [4] generic gigabit (circa 2008) desktop audio iBasso with 256 kpbs bit rate and above recordings -- sound the best. For example, listening to Pink Floyd 'Time' piece -- the first couple of seconds, where they have different types of clocks ticking, you really fell with the Etymotic, like you are sitting inside the clock. It really sounds this good. Any kind of music with strong human voice component (especially acoustic recordings) -- sound very good. Listening to Sara Brightman or Alexandro Safina, lets you appreciate the nuances of their voices, that are hard to pick otherwise. These Etymotic headphones really isolate well different components of the musical composition. So for strong vocal performance, or strong instrumental performances -- these are just exceptional. The detail is so good, that you can easily separate the different tembr of voice of background singers vs the main singer. Also some artists take noticeable deep beadth between passages, and you can hear that well in these. Basically you are going to hear the sound as if you are 20 meters from the performers, if the recording is good and your player/amplifier stack delivers. Etymotic's ability to deliver this level of clarity and details do not come for free a) you need to have good quality recording b) my listening equipment [1], [2], [3] -- sounded very good. But eqipment [4] does not. So you you are not going to enjoy the sound if your computer/motherboard audio chip is average, especially if your recordings lack base. Basically these headphones do not improve the perceptive quality of otherwise bad recordings or equipment. They are not horrible in those situations, but you need to play with software-based equalizers and have to have different settings for different types of bad recordings. Because these ear pieces will not compensate for bad quality (therefore, need to use equalizers). I prefer detail, clarity, noise isolation and comfort of these headphones over anything else I had ever tried sofar in in-ear headphones department. And they perform better than a number of my over-the-ear headphones, in my view, as long as the recording and player/amp electronics is good. I did realize that some of my other headphones (the ones attached to my desktop [4] ) tended to compensate that much for below average sound processing equipment there, so I do not use Etymotics there.

I own a pair of UE Super Fi 3's and these are my regular IEM's that I wear at work, and outside of home. Since this Ety is at the same price point, this should be a fair comparison. Driver and Power: For one thing, the drivers in these are moving coil, so they require a fairly higher volume level output from the player to produce the same sound as the balanced armature UE's. This translates into shorter life between charges (I would estimate probably about 10% less.) Fit: The foamies and the comply foam tips provide a more comfortable fit than the 3 flange Ety tips. Of these, the comply foam provides better isolation. However the problem with these is that they stick far out from your ears, you can't even consider leaning into your seat, or resting the side of your head on your table if you want to take a nap with these on. The 3 flange ety's on the other hand insert the plugs deep into the canal, but if you wear them for an extended time, they get uncomfortable. Besides, I'm not sure if I like to stick these IEM's deep into my ear for them to provide a good fit. Construction: The casing is polished plastic, and it does appear that the cable might easily break off of the phones. These won't take the same level of rough handling as the UE 3's. However in their defense, these are smaller than the UE 3's. Sound: I don't want to rubbish Ety's, they are definitely a good manufacturer. But on this count they have a bad design at hand. Bass: This is one area where several reviewers are absolutely spot on. There is utterly, completely, and absolutely no bass response. It doesn't matter what tip you use to get a good seal around the canal, you will just not hear it. There is no punch to the percussion drums. I prefer to listen to Floyd, Dire Straits as the mastering quality is great in the CD's. The intro drum solo in Money for Nothing had absolutely no punch to the drums, zip, nada. I tried a base line from Dr. Alban's It's my life, that was flat as well. I tried to cut it some slack to see if I could hear the thwack of the pads from some modern pop songs, none there wither. Mids: This is one area where this headphone really does well. The vocal and instrumental separation is simply great. You just don't hear any of the scratchy vocals due to instrumental overlap, especially from the guitars and pianos. This is true even at very high sound levels. Female vocals are good for this test, try Bitch by Meredith Brooks or So What by Pink to understand what I'm referring to here. Highs: There is a good response but the overtones do cut out sharply after 12kHz. This means that the decay on a high note is much sharper. Sometimes this makes the highs sound artificial. However, this is not pervasive. I think this had a very neutral response to the highs. Overall: I returned these. The fit wouldn't have troubled me as much as the lack of bass. I think I can manage with my UE's and wait a year for the UE Triple Fi's to be sold at 99 bucks as they did this year. Hope this helps in making your purchase decision.

Well...........where to start. I did quite a bit of research before buying these IEM's and I really felt(at the time of pushing the "buy now" button) that I had made a wise purchase. Wrong. I kept reading the same thing from reviewers that these headphones replicated audio fantastically and they were an audiophiles dream........doesn't take much to become an audiophile I gather. I love music and if I'm not listening to it in the car then I'm playing it on my iPod and if I'm not playing it then I'm playing my Taylor guitar or my PRS guitar. I love "good" sound and so good sound is what I was looking for. The MC5's are all treble and nothing else. Everybody said that these produce the most accurate bass of many IEM's. If these are accurate then studio producers need to start adding bass to their mix. I don't care if it's hip hop, rock, classical......whatever it is most instruments produce bass unless you're playing a tin whistle. These things are worthless when it comes to bass. I though that maybe I just needed to do the proper burn-in period and so I put about 40 hours of play time on them and still........no bass. Now understand that I love rock music! I'm not the guy with the 3,000 watt subs in his car that you can hear a mile away, but I do like to hear lows, mids and highs. I will say that if you have only listened to the stock ear buds that come with your iPod then you might be satisfied but if you have had head headphones that produce some bass then PLEASE don't look to buy these. As far as sound isolation goes I was also disappointed. I don't think I ever got used to shoving these things down my ear canals and even when they were down there I still didn't feel like they were blocking the sound that they should. I would always get a headache after having these things stuffed in my ear for more than 30 minutes. I sent these headphones back and decided that I needed to spend a bit more and bought the Shure SE215's and I will never buy another pair. They are comfortable, durable, great sound quality and fantastic noise isolation without pain! KEEP ON LOOKING!!

If you're not familiar with them already most people know of Etymotic for the following pair of earphones - Etymotic Research ER6i Isolator In-Ear Earphones (Black) I had a pair for 3 years and I admit I absolutely LOVED THEM! I can't emphasize that enough. I could go on all day for why I recommend them. With that said I'll be honest, now that I own the MC5s I'll never go back. Not only do these phones sound just as good (after burning in for about 50 hours they sound better) to me than the ER 6i but most importantly (this was a big issue and why I upgraded) the cord on the ER 6i is incredibly weak and after being snagged one time too many the left channel eventually went out. Now granted they lasted for some time for me, however I was always a little cautious with the cord because of apparent frailty of it. I can only imagine some people who are a little more careless could snag them too hard on day 1 and that would be it... With that said. The MC5s have a MUCH better cord, I've snagged them several times and not once was I concerned about it. If you've owned the ER 6is you'll notice this immediately just the massive improvement in build quality by comparison. If you're concerned as well they isolate IDENTICALLY to the ER 6is. So no worries there. All things considered I'm surprised to see these actually cheaper here on amazon than the 6is when they just seem to be better in every way. I've tried out the popular Klipch S4s as well after reading so many good things about them - Klipsch IMAGE S4 In-Ear Enhanced Bass Noise-Isolating Headphones " However the main reason I want an in ear phone is to ISOLATE, I found the Klipch just didn't cut it at all, if you want the best isolating ear phones I've learned my lesson it's Etymotic. I really don't have any complaints about the phones themselves. They drive perfectly fine from my SanDisk Sansa Clip+ 4 GB MP3 Player (Black) (Which is an EXCELLENT portable MP3 Player BTW! With my micro SD card I have 20gb, I can always increase it with a 32gb card) The only people who wouldn't like these are those who don't like In ear phones. However if you're like me and NEED ear phones that truly Isolate these are an INCREDIBLE VALUE I can't stress that enough, go out and get them now!!! You won't regret it!

UPDATE on June 10, 2017.... Maybe this is the ultimate endorsement: I lost mine, darn it, and without hesitation I'm buying a replacement pair. INITIAL REVIEW: I've had these earphones for only 3+ weeks, so I can't yet comment on their durability that some reviewers have found lacking. But I can unequivocally call these a great purchase and good value for money if they last longer that at least iPhone earbuds would—which can be as little as 4–6 months sometimes. For only $60 I've changed my subway commuting forever by using the MC2 with my iPhone. While noise-cancelling headphones, whether over-the-ear or in-ear, use an electrical technology to cancel out loud, droning noises, these are noise-isolating instead, which is to say they simply strive to block out as much external noise as possible largely just through the manner of the various model of eartips provided. Along with that methodology, Etymotic combines a real care for sound quality itself. This results—ideally—in above-average quality of sound heard while the outside world's noisiness is lessened (not completely blocked out but lessened). Sometimes here in NYC, you'll see commuters who wear earplugs. The MC5 is sort of like taking those earplugs and finding a way to pipe music through them that's not badly distorted. It's true, as other reviewers have noted, that the bass will seem meager to listeners who really like bass. Overall, however, I'd call the bass OK enough for most listeners and perhaps especially for listeners of classical music—or for that matter podcasts or audio books—when bass isn't always quite so vital. Usually on the subway, with run--of-the-mill earbuds like standard iPhone ones, so much external noise breaks through that quiet passages of classical music are literally inaudible...even when at the same time you can still hear the invariably annoying conversation of some fellow commuter nearby. But with these, I can hear nearly any quiet passage of classical music. Even listening to classical music with the MC5 while not on the subway, I've discovered for the first some new texture and instrumental moments in recordings I've listened to 100s of times before, but because the sound quality in and of itself is pretty solid--not mind-blowing or at a quality an audiophile with very high standards would deem sufficient, but darn good, especially considering the sound isolation that comes with it and the fair price. Hopefully, they will last. I can't stress enough a couple of things: 1) watch the videos you can find online about the proper way to insert these into your ear (including tips like opening your mouth while you insert them). THIS PRODUCT IS ONLY AS GOOD AS THE SEAL THE EARTIPS CAN MAKE IN YOUR EARS, so 2) try all the different eartips that come with the product. I was disappointed at first because I tried the small flange eartips. I've had an audiologist and a regular doctor both at different times say I had narrow and curvy ear canals (with a lot of wax build-up sometimes), so I just assumed that the small flanges were the ones I should try. I was disappointed that their inability to keep a seal in my ear for more than about four or five seconds. So, I tried the large flange eartips and, lo and behold, they works much, much better. (Quite often the seal will break if I yawn, but that's not a big deal.) By the way, I wear them during my commute now even if I'm not listening to anything! :) I just enjoy a quieter commute! Also, when my roommate watches TV in the same room that I write it (typical small Manhattan apartment), if he just turns down the TV a bit more that usual (not enough to be a problem) and I wear the MC5s, I can block out about 80% of the noise altogether and concentrate enough to write, which is pretty great considering the TV is only about 10' away from my desk at that point.

Great headphones. The sound quality is very good. The buds themselves are very small, no wasted space, they do go quite deep into the ear though. I still find them comfortable despite how deep they seem to go. The cable seems to be high quality and not flimsy. They come with a soft yet durable zippered pouch, which has an extra slot on the side for extra tips or whatever you may have (I put my little ipod shuffle in there). I like the rubber triple flanged tips, I used the slightly larger ones and they fit well and isolate you from background noise very well. My friend has a similar pair and prefers the foam tips, but these come with 4 different types for you to experiment with. You also get a filter remover tool and replacement filters. You change the filter every few months if they have a wax build up. They prevent any foreign matter getting into the actual speaker. I've taken a few flights since buying them and use them at work, nothing disturbs me with these in. The only problem is they work so well I can't hear people calling me. I used to have to BLAST my music using my older earbuds, but these ones you can play your music on low volume and still hear it perfectly while also blocking out external noise. The 2 year warranty is nice, as I mentioned my friend has a similar pair and he replaced them twice so far, no questions asked. I think he is a bit rougher with them because mine don't seem to be showing any signs of wear yet. I don't think I'll buy earbuds from any other company, I'm totally sold on these Etymotic Research ones, top quality and not a horrible price either.

Not eveyones taste I'm sure the deep in ear fit is an odd sensation but I love the way they sound and block out background noise. if you are walking or cyclcing you can get noise if the cables are loose and flopping round ur neck. Tuck them in and enjoy the sound. I think these have a really nice natural balanced sound. If you want a deep heavy bass sound I would try something else.

エティモはhf5を持っていて気に入ってはいたが、エティモのダイナミック型というのが気になり、安かったから試しに買ってみた。三段キノコの小さいやつhf5についてた物をそのまま使っています。慣れているので装着感は問題なし。 最初は、のっぺりとした音でうーんどうかなーといった印象だったが、ダイナミック型ということもありエージングが効いたんでしょうか、だんだんと音が出来るようになってきて今では大のお気に入りになっています。帯域は狭いのかもしれませんが、hf5をもう少し元気にしたような印象があります。これでこの値段。USアマゾンなんかではもっと評価が高いんですけどね。エティモに慣れているなら是非1本！オススメです。

Ich muss schon sagen: Diese In-Ears haben es mir angetan. Ich habe nun in den letzten Jahren so einige Produkte austesten können, von billigen In-Ears, bis hin zu teuren High-End Produkten. Hier spielen wir in der gehobenen Mittelklasse, aber zu einem sehr fairen Preis. Eine kleine Geschichte: Meine guten High-End Kopfhörer haben mich leider auf einer Geschäftsreise verlassen, wahrscheinlich wollten Sie nicht mit mir zusammen den Flieger verlassen. So tingelte ich die letzten Monaten mit billigen In-Ears von Creative durch die Gegend. Ausgehend von meiner Lage verbannte ich auch bestimmte Stücke weiter nach hinten in mein Archiv. Die Filmmusik zu Herr der Ringe, Black Hawk Down oder Gladiator spielte ich kaum noch ab. Denn die Kopfhörer machten mir solche Musik einfach madig, es fehlte an Tiefe, es fehlte an Präzision, kurzum es machte keinen Spaß. In einer freien Minute nutzte ich also die Zeit und recherchierte ein wenig, so kam ich dann auch zu drei Produkten. Ich möchte hier keine Vergleiche auflisten, daher bleibe ich nur bei dem Etymotic. Der Preis war attraktiv, ich erwartete nicht allzu viel und bestellte dann trotzdem. Ein paar Tage später kam er dann bei mir an. Als erstes beginnt der Kampf mit den richtigen Aufsätzen, ich kam am Ende bei den größten an. Denn nur diese dichten optimal ab. Ein erster Eindruck: Recht dicke, aber geschmeidige Kabel - das wirkt wertig! Sehr lange Ohrstöpsel - das schreckte ein wenig ab und es braucht wirklich einiges an Übung bis die Dinger korrekt sitzen und optimal abdichten. Und zu guter letzt sind die Ohrstöpsel verdammt lang! Und das sieht man auch, bei optimaler Trageweise verschwinden die Stöpsel nicht "plan" im Ohr sondern hängen ein wenig raus. Wen der Style nicht so juckt kann darüber aber ruhig hinwegsehen. Mir machte es nichts aus! Das Einführen ist ein wenig kompliziert und bedarf einiger Übung. Nach ein paar Malen hat man es dann aber drauf. Die Kabelgeräusche sind recht laut, was man merkt wenn man nur die Stöpsel trägt aber keine Musik hört. Das kann man aber durch den mitgelieferten Kabelclip und einer geeigneten Anbringung gut reduzieren --> Ausprobieren! Dann steckte ich das erste mal meinen MP3-Player an, sowohl iPod-Touch 3G als auch HTC Desire HD und später HP Pavilion DV7 kamen hier zum Einsatz. Und ich war gefangen! Die akustische Version von May It Be, gespielt vom City of Prague Orchestra aus der Herr der Ringe Triologie... ein Traum. Präzise Höhen, sanfte Bässe und ein zeitweilen recht klinischer Sound der doch zulässt sich im gesamten Ensemble zu verlieren oder wenn man mag sich auf jeden einzelnen Ton zu konzentrieren. Ich gebe sie nicht mehr her! Natürlich, mit High-End Produkten welche an die Ohrmuschel angepasst werden und gut und gerne mal ein paar hundert Euro kosten können diese In-Ears nicht mithalten, auch Aussteuern würde ich damit nicht. Aber für den vollen Musikgenuss unterwegs im Zug oder Flugzeug mit guter Schalldämmung und einem Klangbild in welchem man sich bei guter Musik verlieren kann sind die durchaus gut geeignet! Das einzige was mir auffällt, nach einiger Zeit der Tragens bekomme ich leichte Ohrenschmerzen, dies ist bedingt durch den extrem tiefen Sitz der Plugs. Ich denke das eine andere Position und ein wenig mehr Übung hier aber Abhilfe schaffen werden. Ich gebe eine klare Kaufempfehlung. Für Leute die zwischendurch und auf Reisen einen gehobenen Musikgenuss erleben möchten, dabei aber nicht auf absolut 100% professionellen Sound aus sind und trotzdem ein rundes Klangbild genießen möchten sind diese In-Ears das Produkt der Wahl.

Gerade frisch ausgepackt - Verpackung wirkte teils, als wollten sie ein möglichst luxuriöses Gefühl stimulieren, naja. Alles noch im Rahmen, nicht zu schwer zu öffnen. Habe mir die Teile in erster Linie für meinen PC gekauft, Nachbarn und andere Geräuschquellen stören einfach teils zu sehr für normale Kopfhörer, und Geräuschunterdrückende wie Bose Quiet Comfort 15 sind meiner Erfahrung nach Müll, da kommt kaum noch vernünftiger Klang am Ohr an. In Sachen Geräuschunterdrückung bin ich wirklich sehr zufrieden soweit, mit etwas geduldigem Ohrhochziehen und langsam Nachschieben hatte ich schließlich eine ziemlich perfekte Abschirmung mit den Standartaufsätzen erreicht. Ich würde sogar soweit gehen zu sagen, dass sie nochmehr Geräusche unterdrücken, als normale Lärmstop Ohrstöpsel von Hansaplast, die ich oft zum Schlafen verwende (aber wo ich teils trotzdem noch was durchhöre). Komfort ist natürlich nicht Top, sind ja auch keine speziell auf die Person angefertigten. Vor allem wenn man Gesicht etc. so verzieht, dass der Gehörgang unabhägig vom Kopf bewegt wird, kann ein leichter Schmerz entstehen. Stört mich soweit aber kaum. Soundqualität ist auch sehr zufriedenstellend. Alle Höhen und Tiefen scheinen soweit unverzerrt und klanggetreu anzukommen, nur der Bass könnte für mich noch einen Tick stärker sein (aber dass ist eventuell nur persönlicher Geschmack). Was mir allerdings auffällt: ich muss z.B. mit meinem MP3 Player die doppelte Lautstärke einstellen, um die selbe Klangstärke zu erhalten, verglichen mit herkömmlichen, billigeren Modellen von Philips. Eventuell braucht der eingebaute Verstärkereffekt, mit dem Etymotic um sich wirbt, mehr Power. Auch der Service kommt mir sehr gut vor. 2 Jahre Garantie, und im Umfang sind eine kleine Transporttasche inklusive drei verschiedener Extraaufsätze enthalten: die Standartversion, nur für größere Ohren. Eine Schaumstofflösung. Und ein "Glider", praktisch ein einzelner, runder großer Aufsatz. Ausserdem gibt es ein kleines Werkzeug zur Entfernung von Wachsfiltern, und zwei extra Filter. Diese Filter sind scheinbar vor den Geräuschtreibern installiert und schützen diese vor Ohrwachs. Wenn sie verstopfen, sollen sie ausgewechselt werden. Ausserdem noch eine kurze, aber präzise, leicht verständliche und übersichtliche Anleitung - wenn man Englisch beherrscht. Alternative Sprachen gibt es nicht. Selbst wenn nicht gibt es aber immerhin nicht viel zu übersetzen. Soweit also ein sehr guter Ersteindruck. Falls ich über die Zeit negative Mängel wie z.B. eine geringe Lebensdauer oder ähnliches feststelle, trage ich dies unter Umständen noch nach.