The Etymotic hf5 ranks #761 out of 865 total In-Ear Headphones for sound quality. See all Headphones rankings for every top pick.
Brand: Etymotic
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#761 Etymotic hf5 Discontinued eBay
Pros: Lower mids sit within about 0.5 dB of target, keeping voices and guitars natural. It uses 1 x balanced armature with an easy 16 ohm load.
Cons: Discontinued, so it is mainly found used. Presence sits about 4.7 dB low with a 10.8 dB dip near 6.9 kHz, so vocals and instruments lose some bite. Sub-bass is 9.5 dB short at 30 Hz, so deep bass lacks rumble. A Harman score of 52 places it in the lower part of the in-ear rankings.
| Released | Nov 2008 (17 years ago) |
|---|---|
| Connection | Wired |
| Deviation From Target | 3.88 dB standard deviation |
| Driver Type | Balanced armature |
| Drivers | 1 x balanced armature |
| Form Factor | In-ear |
| Frequency Response | 20Hz - 15kHz |
| Harman Preference Score | 52 (measured by oratory1990, via AutoEQ) |
| Impedance | 16 ohms |
| Sub-bass Extension | Falls 6 dB below target at 75 Hz (-9.5 dB at 30 Hz) |
| Tonal Tilt | +0.63 (negative is warmer, positive brighter) |
EQ preset to match the Harman target
Set a preamp of -6.3 dB, then add these filters in any parametric equalizer (Wavelet, Equalizer APO, Peace, or a player with parametric EQ). Calculated by AutoEQ from its measured frequency response.
| Filter | Frequency | Gain | Q |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low shelf | 105 Hz | +6.1 dB | 0.70 |
| Peak | 7,190 Hz | +7.7 dB | 0.81 |
| Peak | 2,324 Hz | -3.1 dB | 0.42 |
| Peak | 221 Hz | -1.7 dB | 0.68 |
| Peak | 57 Hz | +0.5 dB | 1.90 |
| High shelf | 10,000 Hz | +4.1 dB | 0.70 |
| Peak | 9,788 Hz | -1.3 dB | 4.49 |
| Peak | 1,257 Hz | -0.8 dB | 2.70 |
| Peak | 844 Hz | +0.7 dB | 2.24 |
| Peak | 7,755 Hz | -1.4 dB | 3.99 |
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