| Portable Headphones, Earphones and In-Ear Monitors Discussion of portable headphones, earphones and in-ear monitors (IEMs). |
08-13-2008, 03:23 AM
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500+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: KL, Malaysia
Posts: 686
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alex1pdx
Unfortunately I can't return my pros. I got them in May. Maybe I'll keep both or sell the pro. That is if i like the 5s better.
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looking forward to your review of both 
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08-13-2008, 11:15 PM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ann Arbor, USA
Posts: 25
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tstarn06
Just got back from a walk using the Sleeks, and they never fail to impress. Again, I use the olives with them. FYI, there are some tricks in terms in getting the olives off the treble tubes (a very tight fit), so any time you want to PM me for some info, feel free. That is, if you move to the olives.
Enjoy.
I still like the SF5s too, but the Sleeks, to me, are just a better phone.
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WOOT....
I got my sleeks as soon as I got back from work today and the first thing i did was open them up and plug them into my H-120. The medium sized double flange works just fine for my ears and the sound isolation is excellent.
I tried on the neutrals first up and I was impressed right away by how much more expansive and balanced these sounded compared to my E2Cs (which were the best phones i've had until now). But I still felt like I could do with some more punch, so I switched to the treble + and bass + and tried it on again. I was shocked at how much of a difference just changing those two little things made, the sound was magnificent. I tried a song by Blind Guardian (metal, lot of percussion), a jazz song by Louis Armstrong, some techno by DJ Tiesto and finished off with some John Williams. And all I can say is WOW.
These things are amazing and the bass is just perfect for me. I'll take my time with the treble + and decide if I need to switch over to the ++ or not. But, so far, in the first hour of using these phones, I LOVE THEM. 
So thanks everyone for all the advice, I'm so glad I found these forums now  . And now, back to enjoying the sleeks, I'm gonna try them on my PSP with God of War (it has an awesome score and sound effects) and maybe will watch a movie later tonight with them as well. Thanks a lot again.
P.S. Some people were mentioning about how its hard to get the treble ports out. Sleek now includes a nifty little thing that makes removing them a cinch.
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08-14-2008, 01:12 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Philly
Posts: 7,879
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Glad to hear it. I am about to plug mine in too, while my wife watches Hopkins (that stuff makes me squeamish).
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08-14-2008, 03:26 PM
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1000+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Markham, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,278
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For those seeking the Dowin cable, won't the 'airline adapter' attenuator form UE suit the bill?
__________________
( (O)(O) - S K Y L I N E - (O)(O) )
I BLEED TOXIC GREEN
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08-14-2008, 04:44 PM
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Banned
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Philly
Posts: 7,879
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S adapter and attenuator are two different animals, from what I have read, so I doubt that the airline adaptor is a solution. Others may chime in and correct me if I am wrong.
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08-14-2008, 06:03 PM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Walnut Creek, CA
Posts: 232
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i just ordered both will let you know
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08-14-2008, 09:25 PM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 64
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These new version are sexy as hell. I want them so badly. They're just so hard to find in Canada though. 
(35 more posts to go)
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08-14-2008, 09:37 PM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 47
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Quote:
Originally Posted by adithya88
techno by DJ Tiesto
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Sorry for offtop but:
Techno - Jeff Mills, Derrick May, Monolake, Neil Landstrumm, Christian Vogel, Basic Channel
Tiesto - eurotrance
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08-14-2008, 11:32 PM
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1000+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,363
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tstarn06
S adapter and attenuator are two different animals, from what I have read, so I doubt that the airline adaptor is a solution. Others may chime in and correct me if I am wrong.
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In my experience, the attenuator degraded the sound a bit. Correct me, I think they are the same in theory, the UE attenuator is a 250ohm resistor, but is/or was not higher quality like an Oehlbach or Ety or Dowin which people are happy to pay the $$$ for.
Back to the SF 5. I am even happier with this phone now. Doing my own "tuning", I have found there is a bit more potential in this phone. The stock tips have sort of a split between the UE and Shure tone. I have tried generic tips, Comply's, Shure, and new and old UE tips.
Each tip does part some of it's own sound to the UE. The stock tips and Comply's will most likely go into the drawer. I quite prefer the sound of the old UE single flange and actually go one size larger. The result I'm hearing is a larger soundstage, the older tips have a wider opening(~2mm) resulting in a larger top to bottom image. The larger size increases the distance from the ear. The longer stock tips would seem to get more soundstage from being longer. Also, the older tips material seems to change the bass and treble making for more transparency top and bottom. I hear tighter bass and a bit more sparkle(less smoothing over) than the stock ones.
Another way to go is shortening tips. I am now using tips that I was sent by a Maximo products manager to test out for use on the IM-390's. They are very short only protruding about 1mm past the SF 5 barrel. This gives nice soundstage since the sound is not trapped in a smaller diameter hole for several mm more. It also helps curtail the changes on tone that the different materials give to the sound. I may give the extra pair of medium stock tips the chop to see the result.
I feel the SF 5 is quite transparent through the spectrum now. Quite delicate and textured. I am getting thicker/more weighty vocals and some lovely punch. Even lower octave vocals have impact that I can feel. I remember the GX200, E4, and modded SF 3 for all time earphone vocals. I am pretty certain that the 5 Pro and Triple.fi mids can't match these. I am not adding any bass through EQ and am only using the S-adapter which will give more bass unamped if the source player delivers more punch/impact at the higher volume. I have five current portables and all exhibit this through the headphone out.
I encourage others should try tip rolling and or modding for the new 5's. Ears and equipment are different but hopefully it works for more than not. You might have some old EX or CX tips to try on them. Or the UE tips from idealsound should still be $9 shipped. Though with a universal fit kit, the old bi-flange and foams won't stay on the new 5's. Definitely worth a try to get the best out of them or any other phone.
The SF 5 are now only $140 shipped at Amazon! That's only $175 shipped total with extra tips and a Dowin cable. Good SQ for the $$$!
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__________________
Earphones: Previous - CK5 -> FX55 -> FS1 -> FX77 -> SF3(v2) -> E4G -> SF 5 Pro -> Triple.fi 10 -> ER4P/S and PK2 -> GX200 -> SF3(v1)w/Westone ES cable+S adapter and FX300-> tip modded/S adapted SE420 and FX300 -> Westone UM2 -> Phonak PFE -> UE Super.fi 5 -> Altec UHP336 -> RE0 -> Meelec M6 -> Denon C710 -> AT CK10 -> ER4S -> Cyclone PR1 Pro
Current = Modded Custom-2, Modded UE SF 3, JVC HP-NX55, Kanen KM-948, AT ATH-CK5(metal grills removed), Sennheiser MX471.
Headphones: Previous - Grado(1), Senn(3), AT(3), AKG(3), Beyer(1), Sony(2), Numark(1), JVC(2) -> Current = RX700, Sennheiser PX200-II, Coby CV185(foam pads), and Denon P372.
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08-15-2008, 04:03 AM
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Banned
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Join Date: May 2006
Location: Philly
Posts: 7,879
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Well Jant, you got me digging through an entire bag of collected silicone single flange sleeves, and I found this weird white pair of semi-flat very soft tips, which I believe I got with the Head-Direct RE2s (my daugher is using them with her iPod), not sure. Anyway, I tried a bunch, but none seemed right, including the stock UE sleeves that came with the 5s (I was using the Comply foamies). Without a proper right seal, the sound, of course, was very thin (which is never a problem with the Complys).
Anyway, when I did a head to head comparison between the Complys and the mystery white sleeves, the latter really delivered a much crisper sound, almost seems the Complys, which are comfy, were muffling the 5s' mids/highs. I did tick up the bass a notch on the Sony and Clip, but just one notch. Everything else flat. Nice.
Goes to show, you never know until you try. I was convinced the Complys were the end of the line. I snapped the FiiO and Dowin cable back on (I did the comparison/testing using the HP out jack, no amp or cable), and the sound tightened up noticeably. Thanks for that tip, pardon the pun.
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08-16-2008, 02:56 AM
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100+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 493
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ixeo
looking forward to your review of both |
Hey IXEO...Is that you in your liitle picture?
You handsome devil...
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08-16-2008, 06:02 AM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 18
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Ohhh crap... I just ordered the EU super.fi 5 pro's about 9 hours ago... hmmm seeing how this is my first real IEM (owned the cx300s then went e2c's then crawled towards grado and back again with the eu's) and me wanting more punch to my bass, are the regular 5's better than the pro's?? I can't wait till someone else who's a basshead A/B tests the two.
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08-18-2008, 02:05 AM
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Junior Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 2
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Does anyone know if the plug on these will fit into the iPhone's jack? A picture of the end of the cable would be much appreciated as well if you're not sure.
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08-18-2008, 02:10 AM
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1000+ Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Markham, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,278
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IIRC, it does fit the iphone.
Brendan
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( (O)(O) - S K Y L I N E - (O)(O) )
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08-21-2008, 09:23 PM
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Head-Fi'er
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 54
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Well, my new 5s finally arrived two days ago and I've been listening to them a lot. One thing that was obvious from the very beginning is that the new 5s are MUCH more comfortable than the 5pro's. Everyone has been saying that, but I didn't realize that the difference is really that marked.
As far as the sound, they are amazing. Trying to describe the sound is like trying to write in a foreign language, as I am not used to describing sound. To my ears they sound much more open than the pros. The pros remind me of my HFI-780s, while the new 5s remind me of my HD650. Of course, neither UEs are as good as those two, but as far as sound signature, that is what I can compare them to. The pros have a more "in your face" kind of sound. The new 5s seem more open and airy. The bass seems a little weaker than the pros, but this might be because I am not getting a good seal. I found that it is more difficult to insert them correctly than the pros.
Sound wise the difference between the two seems so marked that I am actually thinking of keeping both. But then again, I am looking to get a tube amp so the pros might have to go.
Anyway, the gist of the matter is that I am really satisfied with the new 5s. I think UE did an awesome job with these.
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