So I've been busy and haven't checked the site in a long time. Last time that happened the Westone3 was announced and I see they're still not out yet.

I guess thats ok, I found another hobby (photography) to sink massive amounts of cash into.

Guess I'll check back in another 3 months and see what happens. Maybe they'll be ready just in time for Christmas.

I guess I just don’t understand the praise for the E500's. I'd take the E4C over them any day of the week! Yes the E500's mids are terribly veiled, as I've said over and over, the vocalist sounds as if they are very distant. This is totally out of balance with the rest of the presentation and from what I've heard Shure is getting the same complaints on the SE420. The bass on the E500 also loses impact, clarity and definition when the music gets too busy. I spent plenty of time comparing the E500 to the UM2 and the only thing I found enjoyable about the E500 was the top end sparkle and the soundstage, unfortunately neither were enough to outweigh the terrible flaws IMO.

The E4C and UM2 are the best bang for buck IEM's out right now but the Westone 3 will wipe the floor with both of them if they sound as good as they did at the meet.

^ I gotta agree - the Shure E500s which I have had for a week now are a disappointment considering all of the praise. They sound veiled. The highs are seriously lacking. They sound dark and boring like the Senn HD650 IMHO

For people going nuts waiting for the 3's -get a pair of PK1's for the wait and chill K1smile:

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Very strange, indeed. It's almost as if we all have different preferences in sound... hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

(might be interesting to explore why...)

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That's exactly how I felt about them, and the reason I sold them

You don't understand the praise of the E500? I don't understand the praise of the UM2. How can you praise an earphone that has different sound signatures based on how loud the music is?? It just blows my mind. I mean, I listen to it, and all I hear is bloated lows, forced mids, and sibilant highs.

I can understand how the E500 can sound veiled if you're wearing the wrong tips. I've tried all of them, and have found Shure's new foam tips to work the best for me. They really open the E500 up, even compared to the stock tips. Many may disagree, but again, that's my opinion. But to me, nothing, including an EQ or different tips, can justify purchasing the UM2.

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Forced mids, bloated lows and sibilant highs? Sound change based on volume? We must have very different ears my friend. I've owned and heard enough good gear to know that despite the minor flaws of the UM2 they have one of the more speaker like presentations of any IEM. Even if you prefer the Shure sound the E4C, despite its lean bass, has a far more balanced sound than the E500 but we all have different ears so

Yes, we all have different ears, and we all have different brains. I wonder how much the brain has to do with different perceptions of sound. For instance, brain scans show that people who love classical music are utilizing a more logic-oriented part of the brain than people listening to, say, rock. Studies also show that musical tastes are developed by repetition, almost as if listening to the same genre develops neural pathways that are better prepared to accept, analyze and appreciate the "art" of that type of music. This is pure speculation, but I wonder if sound itself (ie. coming from an IEM) might sound different to each of us based on what our brain has been taught to focus on. This would be in addition to the shape of the ear canal, hearing loss, wax, etc.

Sometime it's depend on your sound card settings when you sync your music. But when i use SRS WOW SANDBOX and i noticed E500 bass increase and goes so deep it's almost hurt my throat .

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You seem shocked about what I said regarding the UM2. Trust me, I'm not the first to feel that the UM2 has those traits. With the UM2... I don't know, I just found it to bloat and muffle the bass too much, especially at low volumes. If I had the volume too loud, the mids were way too aggressive and forward. And even if I found just the right volume (which was always too loud for my taste), the highs would become shrill, which can be mistaken for "detailed" and "clear." It really wasn't worth it after awhile.

As far as the E4 being more balanced, I'd just like to ask, in what frequencies? Because I find the E500 to be balanced such that none of the frequencies stand out or overpower any of the other ones. They just seem to come to life when they need to. Honestly, if I didn't have the tight, clear, detailed bass that the E500 has, I probably wouldn't be happy. From what I've heard, even from a Shure representative, while the E4 is a fantastic earphone, it is more analytical and accurate, if not less pleasing to the ear for some, compared to the E500. But if that's the kind of signature I'm going for, I'll just go pick up an Etymotic ER-4S (which I may end up getting eventually) that has a 92% response accuracy. In my eyes, I see the E500 as being extremely enjoyable, the ER-4S being extremely accurate, and the E4 just walks that middle ground.

Yeah, everyone hears things different, but I just don't see where the UM2 shines over the E500 anywhere beyond the cabling. I wish I would've loved the UM2. I really, honestly do. I wish I had been blown away by its sound and that would've been it, but it didn't. It just left me searching for something more, and then I found the E500, and I couldn't be happier with my choice to go with it.

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Like wakeride said. We all have different ears...I love the sound of the UM2 (use black olive Shures) and really enjoy the singers voice just next to me. I dont hear any harshness, sibilance or bloated lows.....You say you cant understand how that can be....didn't you read what wakeride said? we are all different in our perceptions. And dont tell me more people like the 500 than the UM2. I am not most people....no offense intended....I am glad you like your earphones...I sure love mine too....

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hmmm, so i wonder how the scans would look on us folks who like prog rock that combines the compositional logic of classical music with the power of rock music.
with all this sure/westone love/hate talk going on, have any of you compared the e500s or um2s to the futuresonic atrios? not being balanced armature iems seems to give them an interesting sound signature, based on folks descriptions.

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...Okay, well, I haven't, and I never will, because there's a good chance it's not true....

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I've compared the Atrio M5 with the E500. The M5 has a lot of bass and not much else. The E500 has a balanced sound with just enough bass, slightly forward mids, and somewhat shrill highs. I much prefer the E500 to the M5 but they don't compare to my full-sized headphones (as you might expect). Haven't heard any Westones but IEMs in general haven't impressed me much so maybe I'm not the authoritative opinion you wanted to hear.