[penbat]

I think using the Ipod EQ is ruled out, the Treble Boost IPod EQ option, for example, over does the treble.

Some amps have bass boost. It would be nice if an amp had a subtle treble boost but i can't think of any. Any other ideas ?

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penbat I think using the Ipod EQ is ruled out, the Treble Boost IPod EQ option, for example, over does the treble. Some amps have bass boost. It would be nice if an amp had a subtle treble boost but i can't think of any. Any other ideas ?

Sell them and take that money and the money your were going to put toward an amp and get UE5C. It's designed for mastered recordings and several people have posted very positive reviews. This is the least expensive of the highend canalphone. Price is $550.

It looks like the highend canalphones have etys high end detail and even better low end than the shure.

I've been trying to get more out of my etys with the bass boost but after extended listening, I find it does distort some songs and changes the sound too much. I believe the UE5C will be my next purchase.

 

[penbat]

Yeah i will probably go UE5 or UE10 soon. Just trying to put it off. Are you sure UE5 is more suitable for you than UE-10 ?

My SD RC3s do give my Ipod/E5s quite a lot of general extra kick but the treble still isn't ideal. I'll probably buy the retail SDs when they are out (they are only around $150 and have circuit improvements over RC3).

 

[DJGeorgeT]

I do not own an iPod, so I am not familiar with the EQing options it has. One thing you can do with an EQ is to boost frequencies from 10kHz and up as much as you can. Adjust so that they are not overly bright. Then, use a volume control (http://www.radioshack.com/product.as...t%5Fid=42-2559) to reduce the background noise and hiss by adding some resistance. I know....this sounds stupid, but there is no other way. One would have thought that the two-driver/crossover system in the E5 would have taken care of the low end and high end by separating these bands, thus giving a strong bass and detailed highs. it did not work that way, did it? I concurr, if you want strong bass and great detail, the Ultimate Ears is the real ticket. Remember that if you have to use the EQ because your headphones are not performing to the level of your satisfaction, then you should look to other options. I use the EQ with my etys as little as possible and only for certain types of music. The distortion and artifacts are added because my mp3 is cheap and I can't expect the eq to be great while the headphones are indeed excellent. But it is not as bad as to eq an ety because it is bass...not treble.

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penbat Yeah i will probably go UE5 or UE10 soon. Just trying to put it off. Are you sure UE5 is more suitable for you than UE-10 ? My SD RC3s do give my Ipod/E5s quite a lot of general extra kick but the treble still isn't ideal. I'll probably buy the retail SDs when they are out (they are only around $150 and have circuit improvements over RC3).

I'd to ask ultimate ears about that but it seems for just ipod use the ue5c would work fine even using a xin amp. It looks like comfort is not an issue. I have a PPA amp which could take advantage of the ue10 but i use my hd650 for home use, so I cannot really justify spending twice the money. I think the ue10 would be perfect for someone who plans to use the headphone for both portable and home use.

I tried the shure e5 but returned it because the highs were completely missing to me. I was looking to replace my etys but I knew the e5 was not the answer. I also don't understand keeping both the etys and shure when you can get a better headphone that combines the best of both and cost about the same.

 

[PedigreeE]

The difference between the ue5 and the ue10 is that the 10's have less of a bass hump, as in they have less bass, but it is more accurate and warm. Also obviously the 5's are $550 and the 10's are $900. For the absolute best sound, the 10's are their Cadillac.

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PedigreeE The difference between the ue5 and the ue10 is that the 10's have less of a bass hump, as in they have less bass, but it is more accurate and warm. Also obviously the 5's are $550 and the 10's are $900. For the absolute best sound, the 10's are their Cadillac.

Which is probably the reason why I like the Sensaphonic ProPhonic 2X-S... I don't think the 2X-S is as "accurate" as the UE-10.. but certainly they are probably more entertaining... and still more "accurate" than the Shure E5's and Ety ER-4's.

Of course, accuracy is a very subjective issue...

 

[toaster]

if by improve the treble, you mean modify the sound reproduction capabilities of the high frequency response of the e5's, you're out of luck.

it seems like you want the detail of the etys with the excitement of the shure sound.

the ue5c is the most practical solution, followed by the sensaphonics 2-X's (my choice) and lastly the ue-10's. practical = price and sound reproduction capabilities. i do not believe there is any way in the world the ue-10 is significantly better than the 2-XS, likewise for the ue-5 and ue-7. if professional musicians who make and play music for a living each use the entire range of sensa and ue products with satisfactory results...any one of them is good enough for me...who do you think you are anyway?

my stance on this issue, is that solely buying a custom-molded canalphone to listen to an ipod or just to listen to music in general (maybe with the exception of the ue5c, since it's still a consumer-geared product) is simply, crazy. these products are mainly meant for musicians to master their recordings. i am a musician, and that taints my opinion here, but i still think it's wrong.

the e5's and the er-4's both sound obscenely good, even though i much prefer the e5's. but the er-4's do sound good, especially if you want your treble to sparkle.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toaster22 the ue5c is the most practical solution, followed by the sensaphonics 2-X's (my choice) and lastly the ue-10's. practical = price and sound reproduction capabilities. i do not believe there is any way in the world the ue-10 is significantly better than the 2-XS, likewise for the ue-5 and ue-7. if professional musicians who make and play music for a living each use the entire range of sensa and ue products with satisfactory results...any one of them is good enough for me...who do you think you are anyway?

Aside from sound quality, the reason why the UE-10 Pro costs so much in comparison to the UE-5 Pro is because it has dual drivers for handling the low frequencies. The headroom is quickly consumed by the low frequencies in lower end earphones such as the ER4 and E5. This is why UE recommends the use of the UE-10 Pro for monitoring/mixing of live audio which is often plagued with transients and abrupt volume level changes. The UE-10 Pro according to UE is the most accurate sounding IEM they have developed. I am told that the UE 10 Pro is not as bassy as the UE-5C, but rather flat. I know some people think that 'accuracy' of sound is subjective...that comment is a bunch of ignorant bologna. If your IEMs present the sound in a similar fashion as a set of wedges would at a given distance and position in the stage, then I would say that the IEMs are pretty darn accurate in sound.

The UE-5 pro is designed for vocalists to track their vocals. You can see a mid freq hump and the logic is that such hump allows the vocalist tune his/her pitch. For listening audio with the iPod, the UE-5C is more than enough. If you really like strong bass you can get the UE hip hop which is biased to boost the bass.

 

[ILikeMusic]

Or, instead of buying multiple sets of phones you could (at less cost even) just get one of the many players with an adjustable parametric equalizer, in which case you can easily fix anything you don't like about the ER-4 or E5 (or at least those issues that have to do with frequency response). It's unbelieveable that such an important feature was left off of the Ipod, especially when it has the capability to provide preset EQs (so apparantly the hardware is capable at least). Maybe they will deign to add this feature someday, and when they do a lot of these threads will go away.

 

[rabbitsfoot]

Being from Missouri, the show me state, I have a hard time believing anything until seeing it or "hearing it" myself.

Just because musicians use these phones doesn't immediately qualify them as bad or good. Your ears are just as good and maybe suffering less damage. After using the Shure E5's for awhile now, I can't see the need for any more headroom in the low end which is pretty astounding: I haven't found the limit to their dynamic range yet with my electronic drums, and I have gone to levels (very brief) where it really is scary and dangerous to your hearing health. These are LIVE levels of massive low frequency kik and snare. Maybe someone in the pro audio-live theater might need this for some reason but...They will definitely be damaging their hearing? I think the area where the UE10 may be improved is in the Highs: a separate driver and crossover would allow this range to be improved upon verses a two way. The problem here, I can speak for all of us, we need to be able to check these babies out and drive em around the block to see how they handle. With different people hearing different ways, and the price on these puppies, and the problem of trying to resell them if unhappy, well it just is a tough call. One of the great aspects of the Shure E5 is the great low frequency response and level but this works well to me because it doesn't intrude into the lower midrange where a lot of lesser phones start sounding too warm or slightly muffled on everything whether its warm or not. The Etys are the same way except the very low frequency level is not as elevated. I don't want to get great highs at the expense of great lows and vice-versa. I use the shure PSM 600 wired belt pack, which has a high frequency boost switch that adds a bit more balance to the E5's and I find this satisfactory but still not the same upper detail as the Etys. I think there is a relatively inexpensive equilizer that can be purchased and used inline with
headphones. Although this is a three band unit, the high frequency band may work for this purpose. Do a search for this item on google or? Boy what a ramble. Sure would like to hear those Sensaphonix and UE's though!

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

I can't see the need for any more headroom in the low end which is pretty astounding: I haven't found the limit to their dynamic range yet with my electronic drums, and I have gone to levels (very brief) where it really is scary and dangerous to your hearing health.

The two bass driver on the UE-10 Pro is really supposed to bring a more "audible" differenciation of very low bass tones.. I don't think in terms of "power" wise it would be anymore than the E5c. Truthfully speaking, if UE5c offers the same amount of bass as E5c, and UE10 offers a flatter response than that... it would definitely not be as bassy as the E5c. Although it probably produces deeper and more accurate tones.

There is a point where the E5c is definitely lacking in terms of tonal reproduction. Both the ProPhonic 2X-S and my CD3000 proves that to be very true... With that said, the 2X-S is close to the bassiness (in terms of response) of the E5c... and it is definitely bassier than my CD3000. The major difference is that 2X-S produces more power on the deep, rumbling bass, where E5c produces more power in its mid-bass, and doesn't extend into the deep bass that 2X-S is able to.

Of course, 2X-S's highs are much, much better than the E5c.


Quote:

These are LIVE levels of massive low frequency kik and snare. Maybe someone in the pro audio-live theater might need this for some reason but...They will definitely be damaging their hearing?

The president of Sensaphonics is very, very concerned about hearing loss... I heard he thought that even the E5c is a little too "hot". Which could explain why they haven't contemplated a triple driver model at the moment. My audiologist was very much against triple driver IEM's for the same reason.. hearing preservation.

Either way, even if you have triple driver IEM's.. just keep in mind... they are meant for hearing preservation, when they are used at the "appropriate" volume level.


Quote:

I think the area where the UE10 may be improved is in the Highs: a separate driver and crossover would allow this range to be improved upon verses a two way.

Actually, I think this is where you might be a little confused... the UE10 has two bass drivers that combined the sound into a single bore, and a single high-end driver on a separate bore. Although there are most definitely improved highs on the UE-10, it is not the result of placing a separate high-end driver on a crossover.. this is how E5c works as well.

In fact, ProPhonic 2X-S has the same high-end driver as the E5c, and a different bass driver. Yet the very first thing you'll notice is that 2X-S has a much improved high-end as compared to the E5c. There's something else going on here in the design, perhaps the mixing of sound in the sound bore, perhaps just the way that Shure wanted their IEM to sound like.


Quote:

I think there is a relatively inexpensive equilizer that can be purchased and used inline with headphones.

Definitely let us know if you're able to find such an item. It would be hugely helpful those people who wants to tweak their portable sound.

 

[penbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rabbitsfoot I think there is a relatively inexpensive equilizer that can be purchased and used inline with headphones. Although this is a three band unit, the high frequency band may work for this purpose. Do a search for this item on google or? Boy what a ramble. Sure would like to hear those Sensaphonix and UE's though!

Quote:

Originally Posted by lindrone Definitely let us know if you're able to find such an item. It would be hugely helpful those people who wants to tweak their portable sound.

A separate EQ unit would be an interesting idea but would make my current very portable rig a lot less portable.

Obviously the current IPod 3G EQ is rubbish but maybe the 4G Ipod will have better parametric EQ like the Karma has now.

Surely the current parametric EQ of the Karma would help improve the E5 sound ?

 

[vranswer]

Try using the Ety foamies on the E5s. With a good seal you get to keep most of the bass and highs are greatly improved. This is in contrast to the Shure foamies which for me are too small and provide no seal at all. Ety has the grey ones which come with the phones (which I've been using), and also those bigger yellow ones (which I may get for an even better seal). Just a suggestion for this topic.

 

[Big D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vranswer Try using the Ety foamies on the E5s. With a good seal you get to keep most of the bass and highs are greatly improved. This is in contrast to the Shure foamies which for me are too small and provide no seal at all. Ety has the grey ones which come with the phones (which I've been using), and also those bigger yellow ones (which I may get for an even better seal). Just a suggestion for this topic.

I agree this was the best seal I got with the E5s when I owned both phones. Seemed to accentuate the higher frequencies too for some reason.