First impressions of the Super.fi pro 5

[RnB180]

Today, the USPS post man stopped by and delived the normal packages of supplies, so it was a normal day. I begin to open the packages and was pleasantly surprised to find my super.fi pro 5 in one of the boxes.

I quickly opened the package to find some impressive gear inside, a lot shiney things.. enough bling to make 50 cent jealous. A nice metal case, a nice leather case, a various cleaning and adapter acccesories.

The super.fi pro 5 has the the mid sized silicone buds as stock and I quickly plugged them in, pulled the top of my ear and inserted the buds. Being a newbie to the world of IEMs and the e2's with gigantic insertion poles lined with sand paper, being my only other IEMS. The silicon bud insertion was followed my an incredible suction vacuum plunger of death. I plugged the other end in and was ready to play some tunes. There was considerable pressure in my virgin ears. But people say that its something I have to get used to.

First thought.. I hate IEMs.

So I go back to the boards in search of ways to protect my precious eardrums from the suction effect. and found out I was supposed to squish the foamies -> insert -> release. This is the perfect time for "RTFM".
This worked perfectly and I got a perfect seal everytime, with the occassional memory wire causing more problems then it should.

Eureka, suction gone, isolation 95%. I couldnt hear anything in the outside world.

Plug them in the iPod Shuffle for my minimalist rig and off we go.
why the shuffle? because the headphone out of the shuffle is remarkably clean, and one of the best headphone outs Ive ever heard in a portable DAP, worthy of using as a line out for amplification imo.

So I popped in the some tracks and knew right away the super.fi's are nowhere close to the fidelity of full sized sennheisers. But do an admirable job at what they do. Isolation is excellent. I do not get any outside the noggin head stage. The sound stage extends exactly where the IEM tips are on end to the other. Depth wise, the sound stage extends just before the rear of my eye balls and I get a wierd sensation of floating dance beats and singers swishing around the center of my head.

Bass response is very very good. Its a bit slower then I'm used to, but should rock the hip hop and dance heads. Vocal presence has heavy weight to them, even the female vocals. Mids presence is definately there, and rockin'.

what the pro 5s seem to lack is articulation to micro details. The tiny twinkles, the precision and clarity seems to miss the target. They are definately still there but are off balanced in a way that you have specifically listen for them to notice. What I seek is clarity, not to be confused with Grado bowl pad brightness.

I purchased these IEMs because I was seeking a pair that would have a close sound to the Sennheisers in IEM form. Unfortunately my assumptions were incorrect.

In its own right, these are definately decent sounding IEMs. But I cant help but ask myself how do the shures and etys sound?

The sound of these IEMs seem to be more friendly to pop, hip hop and dance, but not acoustic music friendly because it seems to be a bit too slow to keep up with the reverberations, speed, and clarity that type of music requires.

The sound is very warm and bassy, but not too bassy, but incredibly warm. Details are replicated but ever so lightly and distant.

instrument location, vocal location is a bit fuzzy in the sound stage.

but for the $209 these cost me, its a pretty decent pacakge loaded with extras. Maybe I will grow to love the sound? who knows, but for those hip hop, dance, club heads! these IEMs are perfect for you!
It'll have your booty shakin in minutes. Even the house sound of these IEMs are kind of like a club room sound.

build quality is good, the ear bud portions are very sturdy, the wire is super thin so one has to be careful, the length is also perfect for me, its just enough to run from my ear to my pocket without the annoying extra slack that I have to fuss with. The cable is also D_E_T_A_C_H_A_B_L_E.. which is good

, break a cable, replace the cable, no muss no fuss.

aesthetically, these do not stick out as much as I thought they would, judging from some pics Ive seen online. These actually look alright, at least to me

Ill IEMs a bit more time to see if I can grow to appreciate them a bit more. These are just initial impressions however, so I may change my mind later on.

 

[mariowar]

RnB180, I'm in love with my Superfi5Pro, to me ears they sound AWESOME. Wonderful bass, excellent highs and refined highs. Many headfiers think that the are not as bright as they were expecting but I don't think is bad thing. They do provide excellent detail ( but it is not IN YOUR FACE) because it allows me to enjoy them for longer period of times PLUS I'm protecting my hearing.
I tried many earphones in the past, Etys, Shure, andeven though they provided great mids and highs (maybe in the too bright)failed in the bass department.

The tough goal was to balance the bass correctly in this miniature drivers, and UE made this dream come true.

 

[RnB180]

I wouldnt necessarily call the highs refined, there is a definate off balance between the highs the bass. The IEms are defiantely bass heavy in comparison.

I did some more listening before I went to sleep last night and noticed that the IEMs has a distant sound to them. Even though the sound stage does not extend outside the head, it makes recordings sound as if the singers and instruments were about 3' away from the mic rather then singing right into the mic.

So I would definately call these IEMs laidback, much more so then sennheisers, IMO.

 

[K2Grey]

It seems you've historically had problems with getting good seals, so it's worth keeping onto them for a while yet to see if it improves. For example, with the silicone sleeves, if you feel much pressure in your ears, it is good to pull on the ear to briefly break the seal and let air in/out. And there is also some practice in getting the tips to be pointed at the correct angle, as opposed to "merely" getting a seal. For example, triflanges should be inserted at an upwards angle, as opposed to horizontally in, and while the pictures of the super.fi 5pro I've seen all have the IEM perpendicular to the ear, it may still be worth trying diferent angles.

BTW, while you're wondering about the Shures and Etys, include the Westones in there too (since I've heard good stuff about UM2 w/ Shuffle). And also that Altec Lansing im716 deal.

 

[mariowar]

RNB180, It is understandable that In Ear Monitors should not have an "In Your Face" sound, keep in mind they are inserted so they would sound congested.
Therefore, the manufacturers' goal if they now what they are doing , is to tune them in a way that fatigue won't ruin your listening experience.
I find this earphones surprisingly well balance, and due to their larger size, I find the soundtage excellent as well.

 

[xluben]

Try listening to a few of your songs pre-loaded with the Treble Booster EQ. I think it helps out the Super.fi's hi-end quite a bit.

 

[titaniumx3]

Try the bi-flanges; for me it increases treble quality considerably over the foamies. Also sounds less congested (less midbass I think).

EDIT: Also give them some time, the sound will clear up considerably, you just need let your ears adjust.

 

[Drag0n]

RnB180,, I know this it totally unrelated to this thread,...but out of curiousity..Who is that in your display pic (Cuz i know this isnt you).
Gorgeous eyes,geez! :RS80 smile:

 

[LFC_SL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drag0n RnB180,, I know this it totally unrelated to this thread,...but out of curiousity..Who is that in your display pic (Cuz i know this isnt you). Gorgeous eyes,geez! :RS80 smile:

...you know it actually is...joking lol

 

[roy_jones]

Good review. I haven't heard the Super.fi's, but I did move from E4's to UM2's, and I would say that my perceptions of the UM2's were close to your own....which is to be expected since they have similar sonic signatures.

It's unfortunate. My only hope at this point is the Shure E500 that is due out in May. I think it might be the first 'close to balanced' IEM that has been released as a universal. Very frustrating to have to make a choice between two polar opposites, almost, in terms of the E4 vs. UM2. I would much prefer something in the middle. In fact, I think the E4 might be sonically superior, but the ergonomics of the UM2 win out in dramatic fashion for me.

If you didn't like the soundstage of the super.fi's, I don't think you'll like the soundstage of the E4's any better. It is precisely the 'micro-details' as you put it, that the UM2 or I'm imagining super.fi does not convey. The Ety's or the E4's would do a much better job, if you're talking about acoustic music that requires something very fast and resolving. The problem there is bass and fullness. It's really a trade off. I think the deciding factor ends up being genre. If you listen to a lot of bass-heavy music, you're much better off with the super.fi or UM2.

 

[redshifter]

rnb,
a very astute review of the s.f5pro. i also have the er4s and yes, the ety commands the last word in speed and detail over the ue. give the s.fpro5 time to burn in, and try it with an amp like the sr71. also, when using the rubbery tips, you do not need an air-tight seal with them. not like you do with the ety's. the super.fi are almost in-ear earbuds. i use the memory wire to hold the s.fpro5 at the right angle in my ear, adjusting after they are in.

 

[pawdog]

I Got my 5 Pro's 1-23-06. Upgrading from E2c's. The first thing I noticed is the ease of the fit. I just inserted the medum tips that they shipped with, they just plain fit like a glove. After about 3 minutes I quickly grabbed the E2C's, using the silicone tips that I had adjusted to over the past 6 monts,and inserted them. They really seemed like hard plastic marbles.

The first source I tried them with was my PC using Media Monkey. I immediatley recognized a more balanced and open sound and higher volumne even though I turned the volume down before starting the music.

Next was the Dell DJ 20gig which really shines with the E2C's. The sound with the 5 Pro's seems so much smoother somehow. The music really sounds the way it should strong bass, clear accurate vocals, a wonderfull presentation.

The real joy came today with the Karma. Listening to Earth, Wind & Fire, I adjusted the karma EQ to a sound I would call nothing short of remarkable. While my family watched American Idol, I totally tramsformed my head into a concert Hall. I can't speak about comparisons to audiophile equipment, but I know what sounds good to me.

They may not be the best or even better than others in their class but they sound damn good.

 

[mariowar]

Pawdog, welcome to the Superfi5pro club, they are wonderful !!!!!!!!!!!!!! just trust your ears, if you love them, stick to them. Terms like accuracy, balanced, flat are often misleading and lead you to upgraditis which like AIDS has no cure.
I just can't believe the bass, and the over the top mids. I just rise the 14 khz a bit (3 db out of 15 db) on my eq and voila, excellent highs. However, in cases of really bright recordings I use flat eq. I just Diana Krall (The girl is on the other room), Norah Jones (Come Away With Me), Jane Monheit(Taking A Chance On Love), Michael Bubble(It's Time) and Peter Cincotti (On the Moon), are just a few examples of what these wonders can deliver

 

[Edwood]

I haev pretty small ear canals, so I absolutely cannot stand the Super.fi's foamies.

Their silicone tips, however are the most comfortable I've ever used before.
Ultimate Ears really has these perfect.

In fact, the Super.Fi 5 Pro is THE only IEM my wife can stand. She likes them alot. Other foamies hurt her ears, she can't stand anything that pushes outward inside her ears.

So, um yeah. I haven't seen my Super.Fi's in awhile. She apparently lost her old POS sony earphones, so I gave her the Super.Fi's as a replacement till she could find them. Well, she found them, and curious, they are up on the wire and headphone "tree", unused.

-Ed

 

[dvallere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood I haev pretty small ear canals, so I absolutely cannot stand the Super.fi's foamies.

I don't mind the size of the foamies so much, but they are made of such a cheap scratchy foam. I can actually feel the roughness when they are in my ears. Why doesn't UE make them from something like the UM2's "Comply" tips, smooth and yet foamy at the same time? AFAIK the UM2 Comply tips are similar to earplugs you get at the drugstore; maybe I'll pick some up today and try to mod for the Sf5p...