Absurd Singularity

So at the end of my last post about earphones for the iPhone, I wished that Etymotic would just get off their hineys and make an iPhone-specific pair of earphones already. Last week, thanks to a certain someone, I was clued in to the answer to my prayers: the Etymotic hf2, announced and released during the MacWorld Expo. Given that Apple's announcements during the Expo weren't awe-inspiring enough to make me throw my wallet at Steve Jobs' feet, I ordered one (right in time too since they're currently out of stock).

And it arrived today so this will just be a brief post on my impressions of the audio quality between the hf2 and the previously reviewed ER-4p and V-Moda Vibe Duo. Between the hf2 and Vibe Duo, the Vibe Duo's bass production is far meatier and sounds more expansive but it overpowers the mids and highs to a noticeable degree. As expected from an Etymotic set, the hf2 has sparkling clear highs and mids and because of its ER-4p and not ER-6i pedigree, the bass is more than good enough (for me at least) but you don't feel it like with the Vibe Duo.

The usual caveat to getting that "good" bass with the Etymotics still apply. The earbuds need to be sealed pretty well in your ear canal. Oddly, even though the hf2 comes with a triple-flange rubber tip by default like the ER-4p, the widest flange seems just a bit smaller so that you need to really cram the thing into your ears to get a good seal. Something that I'm already pretty used to but others might find it a pain in the ass.

Between the hf2 and ER-4p, I think the ER-4p still sounds just the tiniest bit better but it's very close. I'll also be looking further into this later.

I'll comment some more after I kick the hf2 around for a few days but right now, I'm lovin' it. =)