e5c - where's the headshaking bass i've heard about?
Mar 18, 2006 at 7:14 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 18

onikiller

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For starters, i'm not really a basshead. I love the sound of my hd595s which and my akg 271's. I read a lot of reviews on the e5c's and, based on my findings from reading the reviews on the e4c ("has balanced bass" where I found almost none at all) I expected that e5c's "headshaking" bass would in actuality be (what I consider) balanced. Once again, as with the e4c's I'm feeling a little bit let down. There seems to be some action in the lower frequency regions, however it seems not to be particularly deep or powerful. I've got those triflanges jammed down my ears, and I've tried the foams (which seem to give better sound isolation than the triflange because I can't hear a damn thing with them on). Neither ones seems to fill in the lower end and I can't figure out for the life of me why I get accurate reviews on the full sized cans but I can't get any sort of reading on these in ear monitors.

Can anyone else who has the e5c's and one of my other cans, the 595's or the 271's tell me how much bass they get from each set when the perceived treble volume is approximately the same? Am I expecting too much? If I am, then where are these comments about the earthrattling bass of the e5c coming from?

Thanks a ton team.
 
Mar 18, 2006 at 7:39 PM Post #2 of 18
lol Maybe you confused it w/ the Shure E500 or UE super.fi 5 Pros?
tongue.gif


I have heard from a few that the Shure E5c is kinda neutral in its sound...maybe enough to call it kinda 'dead.' idk...
 
Mar 18, 2006 at 7:42 PM Post #3 of 18
What kind of music do you listen to?

The Shure E4 and E5 sound quite different, with the E5 having a great rolling bass which can also be really tight, but I personally find it does depend on the genre...
 
Mar 18, 2006 at 7:50 PM Post #4 of 18
Hmm I certainly wonder about those comments too, as I see my E5s as a fairly balanced IEM, that admittably is a on the dark side of neutral, but certainly far less so than one get the impression of on this board. They got a little bit to much bass punch to be neutral (which on the other hand is excusable as it works in their favor when you use them on the go and are subject to low frequency noise) and the treble is a little recessed. Still, to my ears they are way more neutral than the etys can ever hope to be, and this is based on comparations with my DT880s. To me it's completely mindboggling to suggest etys to someone that wants a sound akin to the DT880. A word of caution though, it does seem as if people have very wildly differing opinions on IEMs. Of some reason, the opinions vary a lot more than with full sized cans.

I don't have one of the cans you listed, but it does seem very odd that the E5 would ever give an impression of not having bass unless you do not get a proper fit, either because you have not tried enough, or your ears are simply shaped very strangely. That the triflange would not have any bass seems very strange as a lot of people, including me, thinks that it has the most recessed treble/darkest sound. Have you tried the flex sleeves (clear and soft) too?
 
Mar 18, 2006 at 7:57 PM Post #5 of 18
hmm interesting. I agree with the assessment that they are balanced. I listen to all sorts of music. however, i find that with the heavier synthetic basses (as with hip hop) there's really not much kick. whereas my akg's and sennheisers seem to be able to handle everything without problems. oh well. maybe in a few months i'll just have to fork out for the e500's...!! (grinning)
 
Mar 18, 2006 at 8:01 PM Post #6 of 18
I wonder if power is being confused with depth here...

As good as the Shures are, they won't shake your head like the full sized headphones 'can', those tiny little drivers just don't have it in them...

That doesn't mean that they aren't bassy, just that the definition is different.
 
Mar 18, 2006 at 11:29 PM Post #7 of 18
If you want headshaking bass in an IEM, you should be looking at UE super.fi EB.
 
Mar 19, 2006 at 12:34 AM Post #8 of 18
(laughing) sorry guys, its not that I wanted the headshaking bass, but i've heard accounts that i would get it. what i'm after is an in ear monitor that has somewhere around the quantity and relative quality of the hd 595's when at an equal perceived volume. that is to say, when it sounds like the treble and of both cans are at same level, the bass will sound like its at the same level as well.
 
Mar 19, 2006 at 12:55 AM Post #9 of 18
I have the Westone UM2, and they have a good amount of bass. I find the E4c more neutral, but always use them with the bass boost "on" on my Macro (im using an ipod as source). The UM2 with bass boost will definately knock your ears dead-allot of bass amount. I think you are missing some of the extremely low freq. that rap ("crunk" type), Bass mixes, and bass driven trance/techno has. These freq. are meant to be REALLY low and amplified with a subwoofer so that the neighbor can feel it. I'm no expert, but I think that it is because the balanced armature type components cannot reproduce freq lower than 50hz or something without excessive rolloff. Dynamic drivers, however, fair much better. I am not sure if this is accurate info, but just my two pennies. I think you mean that there is bass prescence, but the low, low, low freq. are not being reproduced with the authority that may be associated with full sized cans or subwoofers. I feel the same way about my IEMs. Thats why there is no substitue for speaker if you want to 'feel' the music
basshead.gif
 
Mar 19, 2006 at 1:08 AM Post #10 of 18
One of the reasosn why I went with the super.fi 5 Pros instead of the E5 or E4 was of the bass. It's powerful, strong, yet not muddy like most subwoofers or overwhelming. The 5 EB bass on the other hand...
rolleyes.gif
 
Mar 19, 2006 at 6:57 AM Post #11 of 18
Quote:

Originally Posted by AtheisticFreedom
One of the reasosn why I went with the super.fi 5 Pros instead of the E5 or E4 was of the bass. It's powerful, strong, yet not muddy like most subwoofers or overwhelming. The 5 EB bass on the other hand...
rolleyes.gif



Compared with the E5, I find the SF5P to be muddy in the bass, but YMMV - no denying that the SF5P are a good pair of IEMs
biggrin.gif


...I wonder if it could be the rolling bass that the OP is missing, listening to my D211 discman with Beyer DT880s and Evanescences live album, the bass is much deeper [lower] than the E5 can manage, but then we're comparing a 40mm+ driver to one that is 3mm where there just isn't the air to move around...

That being said, the bass of the E5 is still great imo, just doesn't have the rolling one-noteness that the bigger cans can have.
 
Mar 19, 2006 at 8:03 AM Post #12 of 18
I used to own E5c's too...and sold them because they didn't have the bass impact I was seeking.

I pushed these things as deep as I could into my ears, yet they still had no bass, and came loose when I walked (I dunno how people wear these, while jogging
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). I found them uncomfortable, as I was unable to find an eartip combo that worked for me. I hated how the little-bitty cables rubbed against my shirt or jacket collar, and I heard it everytime. It detracted from the music.

I paid almost $475 US for them, and IMO they sounded no-better than my $40 Sony MDR-35 (which had better bass). I sold them as fast as I could, and bought Grado SR 125 full size cans.

For me, they are more comfortable, have WAY-BETTER(!) bass, smoother mids, and clearer highs. They have never fallen off my head while walking (like the Shure's fell out-of my ears, doing same), I don't hear the cable rubbing against myself, or my clothing...and best of all; they were $340 cheaper! Yes, my 5g Zen Micro MP3 player drove them great; since all Grado's are rated at a 32-ohm load (but the extra juice for bass impact and smoothness of detail; that is provided by amping; is still of great benefit).

IMO, the E5c's are highly-overated. I haven't heard anything from any other IEM manufacturer, so I can't comment if this is indicative of this type of headphone, or not. I just know that I have enjoyed 4-6 hour listening sessions with my Grado's; yet I struggled to make it an hour, with the Shure's.
 
Mar 19, 2006 at 8:46 AM Post #13 of 18
Quote:

Originally Posted by courierdriver
IMO, the E5c's are highly-overated. I haven't heard anything from any other IEM manufacturer, so I can't comment if this is indicative of this type of headphone, or not. I just know that I have enjoyed 4-6 hour listening sessions with my Grado's; yet I struggled to make it an hour, with the Shure's.


That is where it comes in to the typical YMMV scenario...

Personally, I couldn't bear 4-6 minutes with the SR125, let alone hours, I find their highs to be far too piercing, and there to be no substance in the mids (because of the treble)...

I think the biggest problem with the E5 is that if you have the wrong fit, they sound like junk... I can only use the medium clear silicon tips, any of the soft-flex / foamies / triple flange do really horrible things to the sound, which - as mentioned in your own post courierdriver, makes them sound no better than something you'd pay $10 for...
 
Mar 19, 2006 at 8:53 AM Post #14 of 18
Quote:

Originally Posted by courierdriver
I pushed these things as deep as I could into my ears, yet they still had no bass, and came loose when I walked (I dunno how people wear these, while jogging
confused.gif
).



Hmm, I find this puzzling, I've always found the Shure E5c to be very secure and plenty bassy.

I agree with Duncan. Heh, and I also used the medium clear silicone tips, though towards the end I largely used the small ones, so maybe that's a factor. Anyhow, sorry the E5c didn't work for you - guess it can be a YMMV thing.

I do remember the very first week I started using the E5c from the EX71, and thinking that the EX71 had more bass. But I guess over three weeks, getting used to the sound and finding a good fit, I grew to think of the E5c as being one of the bassiest IEM or headphones I've owned.

Best,

-Jason
 
Mar 19, 2006 at 9:32 AM Post #15 of 18
The E5s did have a reputation in the past of being the bassiest IEM because at the time the known competition existed pretty much of the Shure range (E2, E3, E5) and the Ety range (ER6 and ER4) and out of that choice, you wouldn't find many who would argue that the E5 is probably the bassiest of the lot.
Now, with the introduction of the UE range and the emergence of the Westones, it's probably more open to debate.

I'll stay out of that particular debate because I find it quite funny that two years ago everyone was calling the E5 coloured, and now that there are bassier cans out there it's regarded as 'neutral', so it's all down to perspective.

One thing I could ever understand, though, is why people think that shoving these things as far into your head as possible is proof that they've got a good seal? I can just as easily lean out the sound of my E5s by pushing them too far in as not pushing them in far enough. A pierced eardrum doesn't mean a good seal, and if they were falling out while you ran, then you didn't have a good seal and either (a) you were using the wrong tips or (b) those specific IEMs were never meant for you. But if they were falling out, I'd also be willing to bet that you never heard them at their best.
 

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