Etymotic Research MC5 Noise Isolating In-Ear Earphones (Black)

Product Description

Color: Black

From the Manufacturer

Etymotic Research has created the world's most accurate sounding, noise-isolating earphone series for under $100. For music lovers who care about hearing their music the way it is meant to be heard. The mc5 earphone delivers the best sound accuracy in its class, so you'll hear tight, accurate bass with crystal clear high-frequency detail at all listening levels. The mc5 delivers the best noise isolation in its class, the best fit and comfort in its class and the best-in class style, with high-gloss polished aluminum finish in a variety of chromatic color options. And the mc5 offers the best durability and warranty in its class, incorporating a Kevlar-reinforced cable, and user-replaceable filters that protect the moving coil driver - and it comes with a 2-year replacement warranty.

The MC5 features 3 band equalized audio performance for the world’s most accurate noise-isolating earphone. Click here to learn more.

MC Series “Best in Class” Performance Benefits

Best sound accuracy in its class

• 85% + accuracy score


• Tight, accurate bass with crystal clear high-frequency detail at all listening levels

Best noise isolation in its class

• 32 dB - 42 dB of noise isolation

Best fit and comfort in class

• 4 eartip options included - Note: For best performance and the most solid bass response, the eartips must be inserted deeply in the ear canals. See our video for proper application.

Available in 4 different colorsThe mc5 Noise Isolating In-Ear earphones are available in black, red, blue, and green.

MC5 accessories include mc5 earphones, zipper storage pouch, shirt clip, an assortment of eartips, filter removal tool and extra filters.

Best-in-class style

• High-gloss polished aluminum finish in


• 4 chromatic color options

Best durability and warranty in its class

• 2-year replacement warranty


• Kevlar®-reinforced cable for durability


• User-replaceable filters that protect the moving coil driver from ear wax contamination

The technology that created the world’s most accurate noise-isolating earphone under $100

A patent-pending, highly advanced ACCU-Acoustic Control Chamber™ (ACC)The ACC acts as a 3-band equalizer to enhance response accuracy and to refine mid-range and high-frequency sound quality. The ACC consists of Acoustic side branch, Resonant control gate and 2 acoustic dampers.

Custom-designed 8 mm, neodymium moving coil driver with 3-dB higher output than anything in its class.Increases overall sensitivity to 100 dB at 1kHz 0.1mV with maximum output at 120 dB SPL. Allows use of a smaller driver for a more compact size, which provides a better fit in all ears without sacrificing sound levels

Etymotic Research has created the world's most accurate sounding, noise-isolating earphone series for under $100. For music lovers who care about hearing their music the way it is meant to be heard. The mc5 earphone delivers the best sound accuracy in its class, so you'll hear tight, accurate bass with crystal clear high-frequency detail at all listening levels. The mc5 delivers the best noise isolation in its class, the best fit and comfort in its class and the best-in class style, with high-gloss polished aluminum finish in a variety of chromatic color options. And the mc5 offers the best durability and warranty in its class, incorporating a Kevlar-reinforced cable, and user-replaceable filters that protect the moving coil driver - and it comes with a 2-year replacement warranty. Purchase includes mc5 earphones, zipper storage pouch, shirt clip, an assortment of eartips, filter removal tool and extra filters.

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.8 x 2 x 6.5 inches ; 4.5 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003S3RFIQ
• Item model number: ER7-MC5-BLACK
  

Price : $58.88
You Save : $20.12 (25%)

List Price : $79.00

Technical Details

• Enhanced response accuracy, refined mid-range and high-frequency sound quality
• Compact size provides a better fit in all ears
• Polished aluminum finish
• Full assortment of ultra-comfortable Etymotic eartips provide highest noise isolation, 32 dB - 42 dB, best in class
• Provides 32 dB - 42 dB of noise isolation, best in class

Customer Reviews

I bought these very recently, but it doesn't take long to formulate a thorough review. Overall I would give these a 4.5/5 if I could, but you must also take into consideration I'm a bit of an Etymotic fan. I can't claim to be an audiophile, but I like my music to sound good. I'll try to do a normal review, and then compare them to the Etymotic ER-6i headphones because a lot of people have those or might be considering them seeing the similar price.

What you get:

Etymotic MC5 headphones with 4ft cord and removable shirt clip

1 carrying case

2 large tri-flange ear tips

2 small tri-flange ear tips (already on the phones)

2 foam ear tips

2 easy glide ear tips

1 filter changing tool

2 filters

Review:

If all you're used to is the ipod headphones or something cheap you will absolutely be blown away by your music. Putting these in adds sounds you didn't know existed. This depends on the quality of your music though. If you have music files at low bit rates it's still going to sound bad. Personally most of my music is 192, but varies between 128 and 320 kbps, and while there is a difference, it's not too bad. Just know that if all your songs already sound muffled and off they probably will continue to do so, but if it's CD quality or itunes quality it should sound just fine.

If you're new to in ear monitors these things go inside you ear rather than just sitting on top of the ear. I mean way inside. For some people this is painful and awkward, and it definitely takes some getting used to. When I first tried it with my old Etymotics it hurt and I couldn't figure out why people liked them. Once you experiment with the different ear tips and find what works best for you, you'll start to get used to the feel and eventually you won't notice it's there.

Sitting so far in the ear is what gives these buds their isolation. You cannot hear a thing with them in. I use the large tri-flange tips but the foam ones are supposed to give better isolation. I often use my ipod at the lowest or second lowest setting and can hear just fine. Sometimes this is problematic when you want to go back and forth from listening to music to doing something like having a conversation. It can also be dangerous if you try to use them while driving or something like biking near roads.

One thing that is definitely different from other headphones is that the sound feels like it's coming from inside your head. It's kind of hard to describe, but you probably won't feel like you're surrounded by sound like you would with the large over the ear sets.

Bass is something everyone mentions with Etymotics. This set was supposed to be their response to everyone's constant criticism that their products don't have enough bass. While they have ramped it up a bit, if you're a bass addict like most people you will find these unsatisfying. As someone explained, we are addicted to bass. It's common to turn up the bass in the car or on the speakers. These phones play the sound as it was recorded, not necessarily how you're used to hearing it. One of the first songs I listened to with these was Satellite by Guster, and I noticed that the bass seemed to just fit right in with the music and blend rather than stand out. This might not be what some people are used to. One of the next songs that came up on my shuffle was by In Flames which has heavy bass driving the beat and it managed to come through alright. Not the level you might expect, but definitely acceptable. After listening through the shuffle a while I came across some Ben Folds songs and they sounded absolutely amazing. Styles of music that don't rely on heavy bass should all sound this way.

Overall this is a great item for the price point. The isolation is wonderful when you need it, though sometimes annoying when you don't. Once you listen to ears with sound quality like this you'll wonder how you ever went without them.

Comparison:

I used my ER-6i's for about 18 months before the cord cut out to one ear. The cord is very thin and fragile and it ended up being the downfall. I loved the ears, they sounded great; but with just one side working it was time to get new ones. Apparently it's common for this kind of fault to happen with the ER-6 series which is why they only get a 1 year warranty instead of 2. The MC5 has a much stronger cord and is firmly fastened at the headphone. Definitely something I was glad to see. The cord on the 6i's also made a whole lot of noise. Any small movement was amplified to the ear and would overcome the sound of the music (I believe it's called microphonics). The cord on the MC5's must be made out of something different because it's much less noticeable (though still present).

Another thing is comfort. I found the 6i to be much more comfortable than the MC5, probably because the MC5 is much larger and protrudes out of the ear while the 6i fits pretty well in the ear. This isn't to say the MC5 is uncomfortable, just less so.

Smaller differences include the carrying case for the MC5 feeling much cheaper than the 6i. The 6i had an L and R very visible on the side while the MC5 has it small and on the bottom. The MC5 has better bass response than the 6i. The MC5 uses much smaller filters that I feel like I'm going to lose. The MC5 ear tips sit more snugly on the phones and don't feel like they're going to fall off as easily. I think the 6i has a 5ft cord instead of 4ft. The MC5 plug is a 45 degree angle, and the 6i is 90 degrees.

I like both pairs of phones. I think the MC5s have a little better sound and it's nice to get a choice of color. I think the 6is are a little more comfortable though they have a tendency to break more easily. I really loved my pair of 6is but with how easily they broke I'd have to favor the MC5 over them. Hope this helps someone out.

I should start off by saying I'm a musician in a professional orchestra. Having studied and performed the repertoire for much of my life, I have a good idea of what an orchestra/chamber group sounds like in a good acoustical space. Because performing orchestral repertoire is my job, I often listen to popular music on earbuds, so I need an IEM that can both accurately reproduce an orchestral/acoustic sound and also deliver the punch and excitement of dance/rock music. I ultimately returned these, but they are not without merit.

Acoustic sound reproduction is fantastic. Listening to the recap of Mahler 3 1st mvt, I can accurately hear the warmth, body and burn of 9 Horns at fortissimo and then the woody buzz of the winds as the music fades. The ultimate test I normally put buds through is the opening and conclusion to Mahler's 8th (Symphony of 1000) to hear if it can deliver a sense of spatial awareness and reproduce all frequencies at maximum volume (organ, large orchestra, large choir), and these sound phenomenal. The timbres are accurate, the lows are warm and present, the highs are clear. Listening to Donizetti's Dirti Addio for horn, voice and piano, I can actually hear the performers moving and breathing as they prepare to sing and play. In short, these reproduce recorded sound extremely well, especially for the price.

Popular Music performance: quite flaccid, especially in the bass. I wasn't expecting these to sound like Beats by Dr. Dre, but they make my favorite popular music (Bodyrock remixes, RHCP, Radiohead, Cake, Midlake, Kayne, etc) sound really lackluster. Clarity, yes. Excitement, definitely not, which kind of sucks because that's a large part of what I enjoy about popular music.

For me another problem with these is the eartips. You shouldn't have to stick a rather stiff triple flange halfway to your brain to get good sound isolation from an earbud. Neither of the foam tips or the small triple flange sealed well for me, but the large triple flange definitely did. When you get the right seal, you can hear almost nothing. 35 db of isolation is a lot. After wearing these for a few minutes, I had an indent inside my ear's tragus (the triangular cartilage up from your earlobe) from the flange. Really uncomfortable. I now have a pair of Monster Turbines, which achieve great sound isolation with a simple round rubber tip. If the Etymotics had Monster's tips and slightly better popular music performance, I would have been thrilled with them. Also, I had to have the volume on my iPod turned nearly all the way up, which I definitely shouldn't, given the level of sound isolation.

In the end, amazing acoustic sound reproduction is not worth extremely uncomfortable eartips and lackluster popular music performance for me.