People say that imitation is a form of flattery, so if you notice any similarities in the style of my review to Lindrones, it's probably because he's seen some of my early work and liked it
Default UE10s vs Default UE5cs
a massacre with a $350 price tag
About the Phones
The headphones I will be comparing in this review are two models from Ultimate Ears. The UE5c is the model they recommend to consumers for use with portable devices, and the UE10 is what they recommend to professionals that work in fields that require extremely accurate sound. They are both custom in-ear monitors (IEMs) that require a visit to an audiologist (typical cost is from $10-$50) to get plastic moulds of both your ear canals. This allows the engineers at UE to create a canalphone that will give the user the best in audio reproduction and comfort, and you get several options on canalphone/cable colors. The UE5c model costs $550 and the UE10 costs $900. In addition to this, 3-day shipping via Fedex costs $20 while overnight shipping costs $30. All in all, you should be looking at a minimum of $585 for the UE5c and $935 for the UE10s which includes the audiologist appointment, shipping the moulds to UE, and the cost of getting the canalphones shipped back to you.
UE Customer Service
In my personal experience, dealing with Ultimate Ears was fantastic. It took approximately 10 days for them to get my UE5cs done, and when I was dissatisfied with them, another 5 days to get my UE10s. During this time, I had a chance to talk to their main engineer and to several of their customer service specialists. They were easy to work with and they spent time answering my questions in a way few companies do.
Headphone Preferences
My background with headphones may be important to consider. I had a noisy roommate in college, and headphones became a necessity to maintain my sanity. Music can profoundly affect my moods, and I prefer it through headphones because I feel like the band is playing just for me. My first experience with awesome headphones was with the KSC35s during my latter years of college, and after discovering this website, I went through dozens of headphones before settling for the Etys. I enjoyed the forward Grado sound, but not the comfort. I loved the CD3000 for its bass and soundstage, but I felt traces of sibilence that hurt my ears. The HD600 with Corda Red felt a little too dark to me.
When I was in the Peace Corps after college, my Etymotics ER4Ps were the only thing that allowed me any privacy and protection from the sounds of pigs, students, roosters (they crow all day, forget the BS about them only crowing in the mornings), church bells, and howling pack dogs at night. While I stuck to my KSC 35s for exercise and daily use because I am a bass head at heart, the Etys had been my audio paradise. I loved their attention to detail and their amazing sound separation.
After I returned from the Peace Corps, I decided I wanted to treat myself to another step up in sound. Thus I procured the UE5cs and then the UE10s.
Build and Construction
The UE10 is significantly larger than the UE5cs. I would say it is close to 33% bigger. While some people may have issues with this, I have to say that this makes it much easier to remove and insert as there is more to grip without touching the cable insertion point (which UE warns against). In fact, I noticed that within 4 days of owning the UE5c that the insertion point was cutting into my ears as I was twisting them in and out of my ear canal with difficulty. While scabbing would probably make the area a little tougher over time, I much prefer having the additional size to be able to grip and twist the canalphones out of my ears more carefully.
As I owned solid black hard acryllic versions of both the UE10 and the UE5c, I can't really tell if there's much of a difference inside the phones. They used the same mould to build both canalphones, but the additional size of the UE10 just pushes past the opening of the ear canal and is more exposed to attention. It is impossible to "misplace" these canalphones in the ear, but it's evident that insertion/removal will take some time to master. For the UE5c, it took about 3 secs to put it in and 15 secs to remove due to its small size. The UE10 takes 3 secs to put in and 5 secs to remove. The hard acryllic seems very durable, but they are definately not made of titanium and could be affected by extremes in temperature and pressure. While I doubt that anyone would just throw these headphones around, I feel like Etymotics are less likely to be damaged by a fall then the more solid UE phones due to their lightness.
The cable is nice and the braided look gives it an aura of quality. I'm glad that they are interchangeable, as it will give me the option of using a longer 64" cable someday instead of the 46" cable I have now. Overall, the cable/canalphone combo feels more substancial than etymotic headphones. For two to three times the price, they should be!
The aluminum hard case that comes with either headphone is a thing of beauty as they engrave your name on it. It's dimensions are 4" by 6.5" by 2" and you can comfortably fit an iPod mini or small audio player in it along with the canalphones. I don't think it's spacious enough to accomodate an amp as well, but perhaps the superduel may be able to squeeze in as well. The small leather carrying case that comes with the phones is spacious enough for the UE5cs but is a really tight fit for the UE10s.
Sound Quality
Considerations in Reading this Review
Before I begin my evaluation, I would like to note that my reference for discussion is the Etymotic ER4P. While the ER4S is superior, I did not have an amp with me during my Peace Corps stint. I think the sacrifice of sound quality between the ER4P and 4S is fairly small, and I actually enjoyed the ER4Ps greater perceived bass. If headphones could be classified as significant others, I would say the two years of Peace Corps chaos brought me intimacy with the ER4Ps that allows me to pick up on details with them that others could not perceive with a casual listen. Like any spouse, it trained me to obsess over its finest qualities: stellar instrumental separation, and an incredible attention to detail.
Before I left for my Peace Corps assignment, the ER4s were hailed as bass deficient but incredibly neutral headphones. Since I have returned, I feel that this view has changed. While my mastery of audio lingo is limited, I believe that enough people are familiar with the ER4s to understand my references to them.
For this review, the UE5cs were burned in for 3 days, and the UE10s were burned in for 3 days as well. I did not notice a great change in sound from burn-in, but my ears adjusted to the sound after 3-6 hours of listening. Also take into account that I did not have both headphones at the same time. I first owned the UE5cs and made notes about their problems five days before I got my UE10s. The Etys were sold two weeks before I got the UE5cs, therefore my impressions could stem from my pleasant memories and passionate nights with them.
Source and Music
My source for this evaluation was an iPod mini using the headphone out, then again using the line out via a Sik cable to an XP-7 headphone amp. The music is in Apple Lossless format. The amp level for both phones was the same, despite the UE10s seeming slightly easier to drive than the UE5cs. I've included music from various genres because of strengths/weaknesses they can expose to me for my tastes. Here are the tunes: Flood by the Ransom Notes, Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, Don't Take Your Guns to Town by Johnny Cash, GhettoMusick by Outkast, Sanctified by Nine Inch Nails, A Love Supreme by John Coltrane, I've Got to See You Again by Norah Jones, Eyes Like Yours by Shakira, Breaking the Habit by Linkin Park, I Am by Static-X, Rondo by Cirque du Soleil, I Believe I Can Fly by R Kelly, Adam's Song by Blink 182, To Zuccabar by Hans Zimmer, and Machines-R-Us by Faithless.
UE5c
The first thing you notice when you put on these headphones is the overwhelming bass. It isn't the adrenaline pumping thud of the KSC35s, but more of a constant stimulation. It's like an erotic inner ear massage coming from the Etys. While this should turn me on, it unfortunately reminds me my brief tryst with the Sony EX70s which used boomy bass to mask glaring deficiencies in the mid-high end and in overall definition. Over time, I noticed this simply wasn't true with the UE5cs, and once I could separate the bass from the rest of the sound spectrum, I discovered a fairly remarkable mid-range. Female vocalists such as Norah Jones sounded incredible with the right amount of raspiness and gusto, and I could sense subtle changes in volume and pity in Cash's voice as he tells us "not to take the guns to town". John Coltrane's sax had so much texture and his music never sounded so bold. There was a slight improvement in detail from the Ety's, but it was not dramatic. One difference that did seem to make a huge difference was the lack of a sterile, analytical feel to my listening. It was definately more engaging, but it was definately not as neutral.
The soundstage in the UE5c seemed slightly different from the Ety's as well. I do feel like Ety's push vocals a little farther than most headphones do, but there seems to be consistency to the madness. The UE5c would respond in strange ways to music. The acapella Flood by the Ransom Notes had the same degree of vocal separation but the singers seemed placed in inaccurately different areas versus the accurate cluster from the Ety's. At some points this presentation would be a good point, but a few times, I missed my old mistress and her honesty.
Another issue was muddiness that seemed to affect all frequencies depending on the complexity of a passage of music. One of my favorite tunes is Shakira's Eyes Like Yours which has a number of instruments going at it at once. It is great for testing instrument separation and sounds pretty exotic. The instruments stayed separated, but felt slower... the easiest way to explain this would be to think of all sounds going through a narrow pipe and being separated at their final destination. Unfortunately, like poor CG that fails to convince the eye, the separation seems a little too slow for the ears and the resulting mess feels congested. This was not rare, and it was not demonstrated on any other headphone I own. It was definately the biggest thing ameliorated by my amped setup, but not cured completely.
In the end, I hated the UE5c. Why? The answer lies in the not so subtle combination of the high end and the bass. There was simply no edge to the music and this was inexcusable. While the exaggerated low-mid bass burried some of the details of the mid-range, I could eventually dig past this and find the treasures they contained. However, what was done to the impact instruments and drums was inexcusable. While the bass accompanying their hits could be found fairly easily, the hits themselves were gone! For all the music with a beat (I Am, Rondo, Adam's Song, Machines-R-Us, Sanctified, Ghettomusick, Smells Like Teen Spirit, I Believe I can Fly), I could barely listen to the UE5cs without feeling like something was incredibly wrong. Cirque Du Soleil's Rondo has the most exaggerated drum beat I've ever heard, yet with the UE5c I could not get the visceral impact at all, just double the splash damage. Everything else was just unlistenable, as without the beats they turned into an incoherant slushy mush.
I only became frustrated when I picked up my Grado Sr-225 and KSC35 and realized that my beats through the UE5cs were being censored! Anything that would cause my ears to wince in the pain of a satisfying slam was being dulled to the point of being unrecognizable. To say I was angry would be an understatement - I felt like I had flushed $550 down the toilet. I ended up giving UE a call and talking to the main engineer. He was great to talk to, and said that there was something he could change within the phones to bring back the edge and he would do it if I sent him back the headphones. I instead decided to take the opportunity to upgrade to the UE10s for another $350 because I did not feel certain that the "tuned" UE5cs would be that much better. In addition, the differences in between my unhappy experiences of the UE5c vs the overwhelmingly positive reviews about the UE10 had made me feel that the UE10s were a far better canalphone.
UE10
I was right. The second I received the UE10s, I knew that even without any form of burn-in, they were superior to their UE5c brethren in every way. The bass was far more controlled, and had texture that changed with actual impact. It was like the flowering explosions of atomic bombs vs the constant bursts of energy from the UE5c. The mid-range of the UE10 was identical to the UE5, and it's attention to detail was easier to notice without the boomy bass. I love the bass as it's similar to that of the CD3000 which I feel has the best bass response of any headphone I have ever had.
The soundstage was identical to the UE5 as well, with the same strange patterns of vocal placement. I don't know why this didn't affect the placement of instruments in the soundscape as that would have freaked me out. The congestion I had talked about earlier in complex and detailed passages was greatly reduced, but could be noticed without an amp. Most importantly, the highs were back and the visceral impact and drums had returned in full force. I could listen to rock, rap, and techno again!
One issue that I did see with the UE10s is a small degree of sibilence that pierces my ears if I'm not ready for it. I'm not certain if this existed on the UE5c, but I'm guessing it was "dulled" just like any other sharp sound seemed to be. I don't recall sibilence to this degree on the Etys, but it is certainly not huge detraction.
The overall sound is definately the best that I have ever heard, and the UE10 has become my headphone of choice for all music!
Lindrone described these headphones as punchy, and I have to agree with him. That's exactly the type of sound that I love.
Comfort, Isolation, and Microphonics
As far as comfort goes, I had no complaints about either headphone. As long as you get good impressions, you should have perfect canalphones. I think I could wear these for days and not feel a thing (or hear a thing!). The isolation is not all that different from my Etys (which I used the tri-flange tips with... I feel I may have had more isolation with the Etys than the UEs), but the difference in comfort is tremendous. Despite the fact that microphonics are a lot better with the UEs, I still think using these phones while you move is not a good idea because there is still slight cord noise (especially when you move your head!).
Conclusion - the $350 to $700 Question
In conclusion, I would like to say that the UE5c in its default configuration is totally trashed by the UE10. I wussed out on the issue of seeing whether a "tuned" UE5c would fix the issues, but we should hear more about that from other members of this forum in the future. If you are deciding between the UE5c and the UE10s, go for the UE10s. They are better headphones by far.
The real question should be whether you should pay $950 for the UE10 vs $200 for the Etys (I haven't tried the Shures). While UE10s are the best headphones for every type of music that I've heard, and while the Etys were not my phone of choice for bass heavy music, I still feel like this is a difficult choice. The resale value of Ety's is close to $160, while the UE10s have no resale value at all. That's a frightening prospect for me, and I think it should be for any potential owner. I've had the same money circulating between so many headphone purchases over the past few years (buy headphone for a cost, sell headphone to recover cost, buy new headphone etc.) but there is no going back from a UE purchase which is a sunk expense. Perhaps if you buy the UE5c, you could upgrade to the UE10s like I did but I don't think that is company policy.
While I love the UE10s, I would not consider them a tremendous step up from the Etys even if you take into account the law of decreasing benefits/increasing cost. If you are on a tight budget, you would get far more from an Ety and a good amp than any of the UEs. If costs mean nothing to you, by all means purchase the UE10s. I give them my highest possible recommendation!
Pictures!
This is the gorgeous aluminum box the UEs are sent in
The UE5cs in the aluminum box.
UE5cs next to pouch. A decent fit.
The other side of the UE5cs next to their cleaning tool.
UE10 next to pouch. A very tight fit due to the larger size!
Other side of UE10 next to their cleaning tool.
UE10 in ear (side profile) is little larger and more noticeable than the UE5c.
UE10 in ear (frontal profile) is still not that noticeable!
REVIEW: UE5c vs. UE10
