Etymotic MK5

Some post on the forums hyped the Etymotic MK5 as a 2000-yuan IEM killer. It costs about 370.

You buying that? I’m not.

So I had to listen to it before I could decide.

The build looks pretty cheap, and the packaging is exactly what you’d expect at 370 yuan. The triple-flange tips are noticeably flimsier than the ER4P’s.

Then I put them in and was honestly surprised…

Don’t get the wrong idea, I don’t mean the sound is amazing. I mean the tuning is so damn similar to the ER4P.

It’s decisively top-heavy, floaty, distant, and the soundstage feels huge. Coming from someone who’s been living with the 3, that was a rough adjustment. Once I settled in, I started wondering:

How much of the ER4P is in this thing?

After comparing, maybe 70-something percent. Not quite 80.

Same tuning direction, but the MK5 falls short of the ER4P on density. The ER4P is a balanced armature and this is a dynamic driver, and honestly, getting a dynamic driver to sound like this is no small feat.

Still, no small feat or not, this thing is at best a degraded ER4P. If you want the ER4P sound and don’t have the money, this is a solid buy.

If you already own an ER4P, or can afford one, skip this. You wouldn’t respect the price bracket anyway, right?

And as for beating 2000-yuan IEMs?

That joke isn’t funny…