New and Improved Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 v2.0 - Huge Sound in a Tiny Package.

[Edwood]

Originally Posted by elnero

If the bi-flanges aren't that comfortable you should try something else like the Shure black olives, those are what I use and comfort is unparalleled.

Just put some Shure Black olives on my SA6's. Oh boy, it really feels like it's a one way trip for these tips, it's a very tight fit.

Yeah, comfort level 1000% better. Sound quality not really all that big an improvement, actually it's the other way around. Bass suffers a bit because I'm just not getting quite an airtight seal as I do with rubber ear tips. I suppose I could step up in size for the Black Olives, but that would hurt my ears for extended listening.

I will say one thing, I forgot how well foamies help with reducing microphonics. Much less microphonics than with rubber ear tips.

The Shure Black Olives will probably make the SA6's my go to wireless earphones soon.
-Ed

[jant71]

Originally Posted by Edwood

It's really unlikely that changing different ear tips is going to give the SA6's more Detail than the new SF5, though.


-Ed

What I meant was that the new tips may add soundstage and if you like the fit and comfort of them on the SF5 they should add that also to the SA6. Probably won't add detail. I am a Comply man myself. Tried the Olives once but no go. The black olives I prefer were the ones that originally had the name, the E2c black silicones.

[Edwood]

Originally Posted by jant71

What I meant was that the new tips may add soundstage and if you like the fit and comfort of them on the SF5 they should add that also to the SA6. Probably won't add detail. I am a Comply man myself. Tried the Olives once but no go. The black olives I prefer were the ones that originally had the name, the E2c black silicones.

Oh man, I can't stand the original Shure Black Silicones. Those things were thick and hard. They were raping my ears.

Been listening for a bit comparing again. Even with Bass + Port, the SA6's bass does not perform well compared to the new SF5 and TF10. While the SA6 has a decent amount of Bass, the detail and texture is quite lacking in comparison.

But man, are they comfortable with the Black Olive Foamies. And I still like the Sleek SA6's cables the best. Well, except for the plug, which has unnecessary bling. It's also not very Apple product friendly. Which really isn't a negative for me since I don't use Apple products really. So far, the SA6 has THE best removeable cable IMO. Also the cable itself is very flexible, soft, and resistant to microphonics. It doesn't feel flimsy or too stiff. Time will tell how well it holds up, but of course, I worry less since they are replaceable, unlike with the new Super.Fi 5's.

-Ed

[tstarn06]

Not sure if you saw this Edwood (on the Sleek thread), but for future reference, the trick to getting the olive foamies off the SA6 treble tubes is to remove the entire thing, and push the tubes outbackwards through the ear holes. I use the plug point, but you can use anything small enough. Funniest thing is I store the treble tubes (= + and ++) with olives already attached. I do like the comfort, and really don't feel the sound is affected negatively in any way by the olives. I also find the Shure yellow foamies a good match with the SA6s, but they are ugly.

Very interesting about your AB with the new Super.Foi 5s. But me, I really want that wireless feature on the SA6s. If it works as well as it sounds on prelim reports, so much for cables.

[VanQuish]

Anywhere I can order these from Sweden? The Ultimate Ears website only ships to U.S. customers...

[2162]

Try www.soundearphones.com you can also use the head fi coupon code 10offsound to get $10 off on purchases over $180 (30+169.99>180)

You can also try earphonesolutions, free shipping on orders over $180 so you can buy some extra tips and get free shipping

[jant71]

I found these two graphs.

[tstarn06]

Can you interpret? My graph reading skills stink.

[jant71]

The 5 would be in between the ER4P and UE11 in bass amount. A nice balance, not bassy like the 11(red is above green till about 250Hz) but not more neutral like the ETY( green above red straight through to the mids).

You can see the mids are more forward than both. A bit less versus the Ety. But this translates to more even versus the UE11 which has more bass emphasis and the ER4P which is actually more mid-forward due to less bass. Also you can see the slight treble roll-off versus the other two. the ER4P's higher treble peaks show that the ETY will be the brighter phone.

So, the freq. balance of the UE11 is bass heavy followed by balanced mids and highs.
The Ety has lighter bass with more forward mids and treble.
The 5 as it looks is more balanced and even than either.

I did have the ER4p and the graph does represent what I heard. The SF 5 is more even and smoother. It is smoother both being less peaky and because of the slight roll-off of the 5.

The ER4P and the FiiO would bring the sound balance of the two phones closer together. As we know the Ety is mostly recommended with a warm amp.

The SF 5 with the FiiO adding some bass and the S-adapter adding a bit of extension and refinement would sound much like the UE11. A poor man's version of it if you will.

Of course FR graphs are more about sound balance and extension, not sound signature. Things like tone, texture, detail, soundstage, speed can't be interpreted from a FR graph.



.

[tstarn06]

Thanks. Appreciate it. Sounds like owning the SF5 and the SA6 might be a smart move. Can one get the P to S cable (adapter) less expensively than the Ety version? I may have to pick one up if I buy the SF5s.

[jant71]

The Dowin one at Head-direct is $25 and maybe a bit more manageable (5" shorter).

Head-Direct.com

I've read a few reports of it improving the SA6 even if you don't buy the 5. A bit more tightness, impact, and texture to the low end if I recall correctly.

[tstarn06]

Thanks. Just made the buy.

[rpnfan]

Do the black (olive) shure foamies fit to the SF5 (new non-Pro version)? I have some super.fi 4 where comfort is "o.k." for me, but not good. I wonder if the black foamies will fit on SF5/SF4 and if that would be more comfortable. I have not tried the Comply tips, because I have not found a source to get a test pair -- and I find them pretty expensive -- especially considering the very limited lifetime...

[ClieOS]

Originally Posted by rpnfan

Do the black (olive) shure foamies fit to the SF5 (new non-Pro version)? I have some super.fi 4 where comfort is "o.k." for me, but not good. I wonder if the black foamies will fit on SF5/SF4 and if that would be more comfortable. I have not tried the Comply tips, because I have not found a source to get a test pair -- and I find them pretty expensive -- especially considering the very limited lifetime...

You will need to mod the Shure olive for it to fit on any UE, something like the awesome mod.

[rpnfan]

Thanks ClieOS, but I'm not sure if the mod for _all_ super.fi models is needed, because SF4 and SF5 have a different size of the earcanal then the other UE in-ears. SF4 and SF5 have the same size like the Metro line AFAIK. So I'm still not sure if it's possible to use the stock black foamies or if the mod is still needed?

I measured the SF4 (should be similar to the SF5) size:

Ultimate super.fi 4 measurements
Diameter tube: 4.65 mm
Length of tube: 4.6 mm (this might be different from SF5?)
Diameter barb on tube: 5.55 mm

Tips for UE SF4
Dual-Flange:
Length: 12 mm
inner diameter: 4.5 mm
max. outer diameter: 11.5 mm
very soft and thin material


small/middle/large tips
Length: 9 mm
Inner diameter: 4.5 mm
max. outer diameter: 10.5 / 11.5 / 14 mm
still soft, but thicker material then dual-flange tips

[EDIT] I just have seen your great two postings about in-ears and tips :-) Thanks for the valuable info. From the diameter of 3 (expandable to 4 or even 5) mm of the black foamies I think I could give this a try. That should work. Just need to find a store here offering a pair of olives :-)