[lipidicman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lolos Did you put olive oil in your ears?! Have you asked your doctor first?!

Yep, they told me to do it. When you have your ears syringed they insist that you do it twice a day for at least a week to soften things for the appointment.

I said 'oil, what oil?' and the nurse said 'olive oil' is the best and is milder than ear-drops which have other stuff in to sort out infections which is unnecessary.

I wont be wearing my canal phones for a while though, as I can feel there is some oil inside (softening and doing its job)

 

[KrustyK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abuhannibal Jasper, I guess it's just a little hard for me to believe such little tiny drivers can sound so good!

Before I start, this is my first post

Long time head-Fi reader... just never posted.

I also own a pair of 650 (...amongst numerous other headphones). I've got about 20 hours on the e500, and without going into some drawn out comparison between how the two cans sound, I'll just say that the overall 'quality' of sound is pretty much on par (... I haven't done any A-B testing, but I dare say that the e500 might actually be better than the 650 in many respects... oh, I think I can hear the flames starting up). If you are a low-volume listener, then I believe you will love these headphones. By virtue of their sound isolation abilities, you will hear detail and resolution at far lower volumes than with the 650's. If you've never experienced an IEM before, and you start with the e500, I think you will be amazed at the resolution and clarity you'll get at low volumes.

Another thing that I don't think anyone has mentioned is that the e500 are a far easier load to drive than the 650. I get pretty good sound from my IRiver portable mp3 player. As you know the 650 NEEDs to be amped. The e500 do shine when amped, but are not nearly as picky about power as the 650. Begin mini-rant: I just can't stand it when people b*tch and complain about how over rated the 650 is... and then mention that they're driving them with a receiver headphone output

I just shake my head. Amped, with a well recorded track, the 650s can do magical things. You know what I'm talkin' about... end rant.

In terms of comfort you would have to get used to jamming these things into your ears. I own I pair of e3c's (...by the way, the e500 blows the e3c away... not even in the same league) so I was already used to this procedure, but for the first few times, this may be a little disconcerting for you. With several hundred hours on both my 650 and e3c, I personally prefer the comfort of the 650's ear cups over the e3c's ear-canal sleeves. As far as IEM's go though, the e500 are quite comfortable and sit nicely in my ear.

In terms of soundstaging, you're losing a little bit. The sound is a little more in your head (e500) as opposed to slightly outside you head (650). It's just a different presentation of equally excellent sound.

I've gotta to mention the PTH accessary... LOVE IT! I work in a pretty annoying office (...tons of innane chatter), but when people do come up to me I just flick the switch and I'm able to carry on a conversation. Having not used an IEM before, you haven't experienced the frustration of having to pull and reinsert your headphones when people want to talk to you. This isn't just another gadget to jack up the price, it's actually extremely useful.

If you decided to go with the e500, you won't be disappointed. Believe what you've read on this forum... they ARE that good. I'm $500 lighter in the wallet, but I couldn't be happier with the purchase.

So there you have it... my first post

 

[analog'd]

nice (1st) post!

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abuhannibal He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

He who dies with the most toys had the most fun getting there.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sethk I've heard that the E500s are more comfortable over long periods than many other IEMs (custom fits excluded) but I find fatigue to be a big factor counting against IEMs (E5c, ER4S/P) . There is one level of physical fatigue felt by pressure fitting 'phones in your ear canal - you have to get at least a decent seal for it to sound good, and then theres the fatigue caused by the in your head soundstage which starts to build up for me within half an hour even if the headphones are still not excessively pressuring my ears. Other people are affected by this to varying degrees, and I bet that with continued exposure to a good sounding IEM the fatigue could be held off for longer. It helps to listen at lower volumes, which is easier to do because of the isolation of IEMs, but nonetheless, I find physical and aural fatigue is a big issue.

Both of the IEMs you mentioned are far from the most comfortable. The E5 can be comfortable, but the memory wires and sharp edges on the body of the units can easily make them uncomfortable. The ER4 is just not comfortable.

Also, the Ety's have a real in your head sound that I find mostly absent among other IEMs.... Of course, YMMV.

 

[Abuhannibal]

KrustyK and others, many thanks! Inasmuch as I have the Gilmore V2-SE, which i'll be keeping in anye event, I have no problems driving the Senns well, but it is good to know that I can use the E500's with lesser amplification.

I am feeling strongly tempted to pull the trigger....

 

[KrustyK]

Quote:

Originally Posted by analog'd nice (1st) post!

Thanks for the compliment analog'd. I figure that with all information that I've gotten from this forum, I should give back a bit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abuhannibal KrustyK and others, many thanks! Inasmuch as I have the Gilmore V2-SE, which i'll be keeping in anye event, I have no problems driving the Senns well, but it is good to know that I can use the E500's with lesser amplification. I am feeling strongly tempted to pull the trigger....

Abuhannibal - my apologies, I did't mean to imply that YOU weren't feeding your 650's a healthy diet of quality mW's. I did read your initial post and pick up that you were running a V2-SE. I was just ranting generally about how I've read many comments in other threads about how disappointed people were with the 650's... using no dedicated amplication.

I was thinking about my initial post on the way home and there is one important thing that I forgot to mention... I have no intentions of getting rid of my 650's. I'm sure you've figured out from my initial post that I'm very enthusiastic about the e500s... and I still am. But if you were to ask me which headphones I would choose to listen to in the dead of night, sitting in my favorite leather chair, and a nice glass of port in my hand... without hesitation I would reach for the 650s. On the move, in the office, or most other situations, I would reach for the e500... there's much less dB's and work required to achieve fantastic sound compared to the 650s.

My recommendation would be to keep the 650 around until you get your e500. Spend a few (... many) hours evaluating the e500 and see how you feel about parting with the 650.

Good luck!

 

[puttingdog]

I wonder if any RS-1 owner can give comments on the E500..( if you own both )
I don't know how much will I lose if I switch from RS-1 to E500 ( or maybe I'll keep'em both...

)
I've been with Etymotics for a while until this May, I gave the ER4P to my dad
just want to look for something else IEM-wise...
from all the reviews I've read so far until now...E500 is really a sweet thing...
might pull the trigger soon...

 

[analog'd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by puttingdog I wonder if any RS-1 owner can give comments on the E500..( if you own both ) I don't know how much will I lose if I switch from RS-1 to E500 ( or maybe I'll keep'em both... ) I've been with Etymotics for a while until this May, I gave the ER4P to my dad just want to look for something else IEM-wise... from all the reviews I've read so far until now...E500 is really a sweet thing... might pull the trigger soon...

there is no substitute for your fave Grado, be it an rs1, gs1000, whatever.

the e500 is great. I love mine and gave my ety er4's to my stepson once I had em for a few days. BUT, if i HAD to give up a phone and it had to be either my grados or the shures, i'd survive without the shures unless isolation was the only consideration.

if you can have both do so.

 

[CuriousVoiger]

Just to add my 2c to the hype…

Received mine yesterday morning ( €55 of duty beside the $38 of shipping - ouch). Could only listen for less than half an hour - first impression not overly impressed but pretty pleased. Spent few more hours in the evening. The thing I’m most glad atm is that they’re the most un-fatiguing ‘phone I had ever tried. I cannot fall asleep while listening to headphone - I just can’t. I was listening to the E500 late in the evening and I fell into slumber for about 2hrs – pretty amazing. The other thing I’m sooo pretty pleased about is that the E500 have tamed the BIG/enhanced (piece of ----!) bass of the X5L; it’s toned down, more controlled, balanced, not overpowering.

The overall sound is pretty good, detailed, balanced; I particularly enjoy the way they control some of the passage in the music – new for me ( must be the triple drivers). The sound (Shure signature?) is still kind of strange, never heard anything like it. At first it seems laid back like Sennheiser, but it’s not - it’s what I call a non-aggressive sound (big difference). I’m afraid I agree with whoever commented about the voice being like on a third row - when compared to Grado’s or ATH’s for example (I wished ATH made IEM’s) – but it doesn’t mean it’s not good, is the way the sound signature is, I think.

Only first impressions, but I’m pretty please with them; today I didn’t have with me and was missing the sound (definitely a good sign).

Overall I think Shure released an excellent product which I will sure enjoy.


Apologies for my English and for being so very brief – ain’t got time

Cheers!