[penbat]

Its early days yet, just working through UE-10 and Superdual burn in but it is quite a shock to the system listening to UE-10s after listening to E5s for the last 9 months. The bass is far less prominent. It is so subtle i'm even wondering if my bass drivers are even working. I may well get used to them after psychological and actual burn-in. But yes there is so much more detail generally on the UE-10 than the E5s.

My E5s cost me £500 last year and the UE-10s cost me around the same amount of money this year.

I did have a serious problem trialling Ety 4Ps - i could barely detect any bass at all so i returned them, maybe i just didn't get a good seal, maybe it is the shape of my ear canal i don't know.

I intend to keep my E5s as well so i can alternate between them and UE-10s. I expect i will learn to like the UE-10s in time but i may find that using a decent EQ worth doing (with IPod G4 perhaps). It is allowing me to learn and experience more about IEMs.

None of the choices were clear for me, Sens (crap email support etc), UE-5C (issues discussed here), UE-10 (as Lindrone says maybe a little cold for E5 users).

If HRA is right and UE release better and cheaper IEMs in about a year's time I will get a new pair then and hopefully the knowledgebase on IEMs on Head-Fi wil have expanded a lot by then. Maybe Sensa might improve their customer relations by then as well !

I have a non-upgraded Superdual but i don't know how much impact an upgraded Superdual would have.

 

[Jester]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penbat Its early days yet, just working through UE-10 and Superdual burn in but it is quite a shock to the system listening to UE-10s after listening to E5s for the last 9 months. The bass is far less prominent. It is so subtle i'm even wondering if my bass drivers are even working. I may well get used to them after psychological and actual burn-in. But yes there is so much more detail generally on the UE-10 than the E5s. My E5s cost me £500 last year and the UE-10s cost me around the same amount of money this year. I did have a serious problem trialling Ety 4Ps - i could barely detect any bass at all so i returned them, maybe i just didn't get a good seal, maybe it is the shape of my ear canal i don't know. I intend to keep my E5s as well so i can alternate between them and UE-10s. I expect i will learn to like the UE-10s in time but i may find that using a decent EQ worth doing (with IPod G4 perhaps). It is allowing me to learn and experience more about IEMs. None of the choices were clear for me, Sens (crap email support etc), UE-5C (issues discussed here), UE-10 (as Lindrone says maybe a little cold for E5 users). If HRA is right and UE release better and cheaper IEMs in about a year's time I will get a new pair then and hopefully the knowledgebase on IEMs on Head-Fi wil have expanded a lot by then. Maybe Sensa might improve their customer relations by then as well ! I have a non-upgraded Superdual but i don't know how much impact an upgraded Superdual would have.

It's this lack of bass that has me concerened about buying the UE-10. I am sure that they are amazing phones, but I do like a nice punchy bass. You made an interesting comment regarding UE releasing a version in the next year, is there something on their website that references this?

The first thing the comes to mind when I think about the potential lack of bass in the UE-10 is that they were designed for artists. When they perform, what the really need is to be able to hear themselves and not the drums. This could be the reason for the lack of bass. Not sure but this is my very uneducated guess.

 

[penbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jester You made an interesting comment regarding UE releasing a version in the next year, is there something on their website that references this?

This is what that HRA said. He claims to be a friend of Jerry Harvey and to be heavily involved in the IEM world. PM HRA if you want. I think it is only informed speculation. I don't have any more sources. You would not expect UE to confirm this for commercial reasons.

I may get more bass as my Superdual & UE-10s burn in. I'll have to wait to find out.

 

[random person]

Hi Penbat!

The bass thing is interesting. When I placed my order and was trying to decide between the UE5c and the UE10Pro, Ultimate Ears was very direct with me to go with the UE5c if I wanted serious bass. They described the UE10 as flatter, more accurate, but not as much fun for people who really like bass. As I've read the reviews of the UE10, I am relieved that I went with the UE5c instead -- the bass is very present, very tight, but not overwhelming. It is strange though as you would think that a phone with two bass drivers instead of one would indeed be more bassy!

I'm beginning to think that DJ George was right when it said that judging from specs differences that the UE10Pro might appeal more to those who come from the Ety persuasion, while the UE5c may appeal more for those from the Shure camp. In any case I am sure you will love the UE10Pro once you adjust to their sound.

 

[Welly Wu]

I am still of the opinion that the Ue-10 PRO possess skull shakin' bass in the context of my reference system.

 

[KPOT]

Ue10pro have no any lack of bass!!! I think they have a bit more bass that normal. I've described it in my review, which you'll see at the beginnig of next week. (i wrote it but didn't translate)
For example, beyerdynamic dt880 haven't such deep and mindblowing bass!

 

[Big D]

Penbat I'm quite concerned about your description of a lack of bass to the point it is almost absent.

At the moment I am listening to Scissor Sisters on the iHP. There is no way I could call the bass subtle. I actually feel the bass note vibrating in my ears. If I then select the Ultra Bass EQ it is like I just stuck my head against the subwoofer of my home cinema speaker set.

Could you give an example of what music you are listening to? Not only so we can deride you

but so I could compare to you experience.

 

[penbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big D Penbat I'm quite concerned about your description of a lack of bass to the point it is almost absent. At the moment I am listening to Scissor Sisters on the iHP. There is no way I could call the bass subtle. I actually feel the bass note vibrating in my ears. If I then select the Ultra Bass EQ it is like I just stuck my head against the subwoofer of my home cinema speaker set. Could you give an example of what music you are listening to? Not only so we can deride you but so I could compare to you experience.

I'll try to analyse what is happening more carefully this weekend.

 

[lindrone]

I said this before, and I'll say it again here..

Sensaphonic has a fuller, warmer bass than the UE-10. UE-10's bass is there, it is definitely not an Ety ER-4... but the bass is very lean with next to no vibration whatsoever. If a clean, lean bass is not enough visceral impact for you, and for many people it might not be enough, 2X-S is a much better choice.

 

[gorman]

Ok, not to be rude or anything, but to write something along the lines of "i'm even wondering if my bass drivers are even working" is craziness made text. In my review I tested the UE-10 with Telarc's Super Bass 2 and there was *a lot* of bass. All these things are subjective, I can understand, but there's got to be a line drawn somewhere...

 

[lindrone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorman Ok, not to be rude or anything, but to write something along the lines of "i'm even wondering if my bass drivers are even working" is craziness made text. In my review I tested the UE-10 with Telarc's Super Bass 2 and there was *a lot* of bass. All these things are subjective, I can understand, but there's got to be a line drawn somewhere...

To be fair, I can see where Penbat's coming from. Going from E5c to UE-10 is a huge adjustment in one's perception of "bass". I suspect if I did not have 2X-S first to ease that transition, I would find the UE-10 much less likable.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorman Ok, not to be rude or anything, but to write something along the lines of "i'm even wondering if my bass drivers are even working" is craziness made text. In my review I tested the UE-10 with Telarc's Super Bass 2 and there was *a lot* of bass. All these things are subjective, I can understand, but there's got to be a line drawn somewhere...

I owned the E5 and it always struck me how unrealistically strong and forceful the bass was on these things. Going from the E5 to most other canalphones may seem like all bass has been lost and this is exactly what penbat is experiencing. This also explains why so many people think the etymotic headphones lack bass, while in fact they do not. However, for most synthetic type of music such as electronica, having lots of bass is almost a necesity and in this case a naturally sounding phone like those from etymotic and maybe the UE-10 Pro may not be appropriate. I thought Jerry created the UE-5C as an alternative to the E5. Lot of bass with more high end and detail.

 

[gorman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJGeorgeT for most synthetic type of music such as electronica, having lots of bass is almost a necesity and in this case a naturally sounding phone like those from etymotic and maybe the UE-10 Pro may not be appropriate.

I tested with Prodigy's Fat Of The Land. Again, I can't see how one could complain about the bass... I don't want this to sound as a personal attack on penbat, though. So, just take it as an opposite view of this, ok?

 

[DJGeorgeT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorman I tested with Prodigy's Fat Of The Land. Again, I can't see how one could complain about the bass... I don't want this to sound as a personal attack on penbat, though. So, just take it as an opposite view of this, ok?

the Shure E5 doing its evil work again....

 

[winty]

Just my thoughts...

Bass is by its very nature fairly omnidirectional, which is why many people get by with 2 speakers and 1 subwoofer. It can be very hard to isolate where in the stereo mix the bass is coming from using loudspeakers. For me this usually manifests itself as the bass being in a warm layer at the bottom of the sound.

Pop on the UE10s and you can hear exactly where the bass is coming from. On quite a few recordings, I've been very surprised to hear what used to be all-enveloping bass was now coming from a single precise point in space. My initial reaction to UE10s was also "where's the bass?", and I am one of those who found the Shure E5 to be a bit bloated.

Now that I know what's going on (in my opinion), I have no complaints. I've simply learned to listen in a slightly different way, and it's more incredible than anything I ever heard before.