Category: Portable Audio

A few months ago I was looking for some headphones to use when I was working on the computer or was in a location that I really didn’t need or want the noise blocking properties for my Etymotic Research hf5‘s. I did some digging on the web and found that there were a lot of opinions about which over the ear headphones where the best.  Now, we all know that being the best is very much about personal preference.  I have heard about the Grado SR60‘s before and the model kept popping up in my research so I decided that I wanted to get me hand on a pair of them.  Once I got them, I must say I was impressed with the sound the quality of the head phones.  They sounded awesome.  The fit could use some improvement as my ears hurt a bit after having them on for a number of hours.  Overall, for the price the sounds is fantastic.  Also, since they are an open diaphragm design it is easy to hear what is going on around you, which can be great at time and a downfall at others.

Last spring in anticipation of heading off to Hawaii for a week I decided to take a look for a new set of earphones.  I had been using a set of Etymotic Research ER6 for the last five years or so, they had served me well and were still working fine, but I wanted to see what my options were, especially since I knew that the ER6 had been replaced by the ER6i.  I started researching online one morning and found that Etymotic Research had released a new model that was similar to their ER-4P model that I had been lusting after for a long long time, but could never justify the price in my head.  The new model was known as the hf5 (black, cobalt, red) and was available from Amazon for just over a hundred dollars which is not too far off of the price of the ER6’s that I have used for the past several years.  Well, I ordered them that they preformed great.  Imagine my disappointment when I was on a trip for work and discovered that my left earphone had no audio at times after having used them for the past six months.  I was bummed to say the least.

After thinking about my options I decided to see what the warranty period was on the hf5‘s, after all I was hoping that it was at least a year, well I was very happy to learn that it was in fact twice that.  I decided to contact Etymotic to start the return process, I must say it could not have been easier.  I called the number posted on their site and was immediately answered and transferred to customer service.  Customer service issued me an RMA number and gave me instructions on the how to return the product.  All was looking right with the world, I just needed some earphones to get home.

Well, I was out of town and decided to find a store and pick up something for the trip home.  I opted for something inexpensive (about twenty dollars) and I must say they worked, but were nowhere near what I have grown accustom to with my hf5‘s.  I got home and the cheap replacement earphones were relegated to the desk draw and the ER6’s were used while the return was being processed.

I shipped out the earphones on Monday via UPS ground since it was only an estimated two day time frame to get them to Etymotic.  I was very happy when I received an email on Friday of the same with with tracking information the return trip.  Well, UPS just dropped off a package and in it was the replacement set of hf5‘s bran new and fully functional.  The hf5‘s are great, and really like having them.  I must say that this was one of the easiest and fastest product warranty returns that I have done.  Thank you to Etymotic Research for making great products and standing behind them with great customer service.