[Funk-O-Meter]

I know its a hard thing to quantify, but for those of you who've heard the UM-2 or the E-5 and have also heard a nice custom milded IEM (or more than one).....How much better are they? Is it exponential? Would you say its night and day?

Perhaps I should be more specific...... Is the difference as great as say a set of say Shure E-2's vs. a nice set of Grados or Sennies? Or more like the difference between E-2's and some E-5's or UM-2's?

 

[solvexyz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funk-O-Meter I know its a hard thing to quantify, but for those of you who've heard the UM-2 or the E-5 and have also heard a nice custom milded IEM (or more than one).....How much better are they? Is it exponential? Would you say its night and day? Perhaps I should be more specific...... Is the difference as great as say a set of say Shure E-2's vs. a nice set of Grados or Sennies? Or more like the difference between E-2's and some E-5's or UM-2's?

It is NOT a night and day difference. I will say the difference is like Sony SA3000 to SA5000 kinda difference if you compare Shure e4c to a UE10 Pro.

However, there are still differences, and once you get used to that, you can never go back. When I first got my UE10 Pro, I was seriously not very impressed. However, after few days of using it, and go back to a Shure e4c or a Westone UM2, I just feel something not right, and I had to go back to UE10 Pro. The thing is if you heard a set of Westone UM2, and upgraded to a custom IEM, the difference is still huge, but not the kinda difference will make you WOW.

However, the comfort is just amazing, so that will make you wow for sure, but IMO, I do not feel the improvement in sound would make me say Wow.

 

[Funk-O-Meter]

So, you might say the difference in sounde is maybe 20%? And the difference in comfort is like100%?

Thanks

 

[JMcMasterJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by solvexyz It is NOT a night and day difference. I will say the difference is like Sony SA3000 to SA5000 kinda difference if you compare Shure e4c to a UE10 Pro. However, there are still differences, and once you get used to that, you can never go back. When I first got my UE10 Pro, I was seriously not very impressed. However, after few days of using it, and go back to a Shure e4c or a Westone UM2, I just feel something not right, and I had to go back to UE10 Pro. The thing is if you heard a set of Westone UM2, and upgraded to a custom IEM, the difference is still huge, but not the kinda difference will make you WOW. However, the comfort is just amazing, so that will make you wow for sure, but IMO, I do not feel the improvement in sound would make me say Wow.

I agree, the difference is not huge, but that doesn't mean it is not worth it. For me, going from nothing to the ER-4P made me Wow, but then later going from HD650 w/ upgraded cable to UE-10 pro did not make me go Wow. The impressive thing about the UE-10 pro is how neutral and accurate it is, but that takes time to appreciate and now I love it. I guess since they don't really emphasize anything like other Full sized headphones or IEM's it takes longer to appreaciate, but that is the beauty of them.

 

[solvexyz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funk-O-Meter So, you might say the difference in sounde is maybe 20%? And the difference in comfort is like100%? Thanks

I will say 30% if you go for an UE10 Pro (I can not comment on other because I do not own them), and the comfort is 100%. Like JMcMasterJ said it is worth it. It is hard to find a very neutral sounding headphone, but UE10 Pro is one. It definitely requires you time to appreciate the difference.

 

[jjcha]

I can only speak to the IEM I've owned - I think the difference between the Sensaphonics and Shure E5c is pretty significant. I loved th Shures, but got tired of their one note bass. The Sensas aren't as warm or thick as the Shures, but hey exhibit a transparency and resolution that the Shure E5c's can't match.

If I had to quantify it - sure, I think it's about a 20% difference. But in my book, a 20% difference is huge.

But this is coming from someone who thinks his SA3000 suck (sigh, I'd feel bad selling these) and that the SA5000 is leagues better.

Best regards,

-Jason

 

[catscratch]

UM2 to ES2 is a night-and-day difference. I can't speak for the UE 10 Pro, but the ES2 basically fixes pretty much everything that's wrong with the UM2, and adds significant amounts of detail.

The ES2 is the first IEM that I've seen that is tonally balanced. From what I've read, I expect this is true of other high-end customs here as well. Every universal-fit IEM that I've tried has tonal deficiencies - recessed trebles for the dual-driver models, lack of deep bass and a harsh lower treble for the single-driver models. I expect that the Shure E500 will be the most balanced universal-fit IEM on the market, based on what I've read anyway, but until it comes out, there is no universal-fit IEM, at least in my experience, that manages to get tonal balance right. On top of that, the ES2 is more resolving than the Ety ER-4S, since it's resolution is uniform across the frequency spectrum, while the Ety has a very resolving treble and midbass but not very resolving everything else.

I would say that the jump to customs is worth it if you cannot wait for the E500. I would hesitate to recommend the E500 unconditionally without having heard one, but I would also hesitate to recommend customs unconditionally, since they have absolutely no resale value. If the E500 can offer comparable sound quality, it will seriously undercut custom-IEM sales here on head-fi. I doubt, though, that we at head-fi contribute in any significant manner to overall custom-IEM sales.