Etymotic hf2 Earphones + Headset: iPhone Accessory Review

Posted by Bill on May 12th, 2009 at 08:36pm Comments

Etymotic hf2 headset+earphones Review
Reviewed by: Bill Henderson
Etymotic Research, Inc. - hf2™ Earphones
Price: $179

I have a confession to make. I have my favorite earphones (I won’t say what they are). And I have tried more and less expensive ones than my faves. But I have never tried earphones with a headset for hands-free talking on my iPhone. So when I received the Etymotic hf2 model for testing, that’s what I was mainly interested in. I wanted to use them for talking while I was driving or doing other things.

So that’s what I concentrated on. I asked whoever I was talking to how I sounded, whether I was in my car or just puttering about. Without exception, I was told that I sounded fine. No one had a problem hearing me the and surrounding noises were not a distraction. I didn’t expect any of the problems that can plague Bluetooth headsets, and I wasn’t disappointed. So far, so good.

What I DIDN’T expect, was just how good these earphones sound just listening to music. I’m no audiophile (snob), but I know what I like and I like these. A lot. At first, they sounded OK and my initial reaction was… eh. My right ear began to hurt so I stopped. I figured I would only be able to use them while I was on the phone, which was OK by me.

Then I decided to try the smaller silicone tips figuring, what the heck. I twisted them on and pushed the earphones in my ears as far as they would go. Wow! I had always thought I was using earphones properly before, but now, I’m not so sure. The music was in my head. The sound went right past my ears and into my brain. At 30-40 dB rated noise reduction, it was almost total isolation. I was thumbing through my play list wanting to know what this and that song now sounded like. I was thrilled.

It’s important to note that when driving or around traffic, you don’t want to be that isolated. It can be dangerous. In the car when I’m talking on the phone hands-free, I only use one earphone – the one with the microphone -– and leave the other one dangling for safety reasons. But at home relaxing or doing chores, I’m in another world.

About the only complaint I have it that the case is a little too small for these earphones. You have to really cram them in to get the case zipped up. A larger one would be nice.

With the Etymotic hf2 earphones, you won’t be compromising musical enjoyment for the sake of being compatible with an iPhone. This time, you can actually have your cake and eat it too.

Score:
10/10

Related posts:

1. Hi-Fidelity Hands-free Headset Earphones by Etymotic
2. ZAGG Z.Buds earphones/headset: iPhone Accessory Review
3. Etymotic hf2 iPhone headphones now available worldwide
4. Klipsch S4 earphones: iPhone accessory review
5. Atrio M8 earphones: iPhone / iPod accessory review

Care to rate this iPhone World article? Current news rating:

Filed Under: iPhone Reviews

comments