[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by philodox From what I have read in reviews other than yours, the E4's have a good amount of bass when using the foam inserts and getting a proper seal. And I did ask for quality over quantity... I'm no basshead. So far my favourite headphones have been K340, K271S, K501, K1000... these are not bass heavy headphones.

Well my favorite full sized headphone is the RS-1 which have been described as a bassheads best friend but I still find the E4's have decent bass, maybe not quite the quantity of the RS-1's but they have great balance and detail.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero Well my favorite full sized headphone is the RS-1 which have been described as a bassheads best friend

That is until they try the PS-1...

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by elnero Well my favorite full sized headphone is the RS-1 which have been described as a bassheads best friend but I still find the E4's have decent bass, maybe not quite the quantity of the RS-1's but they have great balance and detail.

Sounds like the sort of bass that I appreciate, thanks for the comparison.

 

[elnero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994 That is until they try the PS-1...

hehe, true enough. I've yet to hear a pair of those and can't really imagine it, I consider myself a bit of a basshead but I don't like it way overdone which it sounds like the PS-1's are.

 

[donunus]

Now among you guys here, unamped and out of the latest ipods headphone jack... e4 or ue5

 

[Hoedje]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donunus Now among you guys here, unamped and out of the latest ipods headphone jack... e4 or ue5

Unfortunately it is not so black and white. As you read through the threads in the forums you see people going back from UE5's to e4's but also the other way around. People who love the UE5's.

The new iPod (5G) is not a reason to buy extra bassy phones such as the UM2 or the UE5's. They tend to make the sound too bassy, muddy... However a lot of people love a lot of bass. Do the UE5's have a greater soundstage, or do they sound distant?

I have only heard the UM2's briefly, I find them MUCH too dark. But this was only briefly. Maybe my head has compensated for the Shure E4 sound, I don't know. However, I think you can't go wrong buying E4's for your iPod 5G. They are more easily driven than ER4's. They have greater bass response. They sound neutral and balanced. On the other hand the UM2's and the UE5's have a greater bass response (too great?), but lack in other areas.

You should really try to get an image of what sound you love? Threblehead, basshead? What kind of music do you listen to?

 

[LFC_SL]

I won't be taking the review too seriously, but they appear to have put some thought into it, which makes a change from the blind lavishing of praise of a certain player I'm used to seeing

 

[titaniumx3]

The SF5pros sound like the ER6i on steroids. I don't know how UE do it but these things are very aggressive sounding, hence some music is difficult to listen to unless you have a good EQ available (they do respond to EQ nicely though). Even on my euro-capped sony discman, they're aggressive (60% volume is loud, compared to the ER6i which is still quiet at 100%!).

The things I hate about the SF5pros is that they have too much upper bass/lower mids and the treble is a bit harsh; the mids arn't really recessed, they're just overshadowed by the bass. They're also awkward to wear, especially for those with small ears or narrow ear canals.

Thats said, if you're into hip-hop they are perfect, honestly the bass is ferocious.

 

[roy_jones]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoedje Unfortunately it is not so black and white. As you read through the threads in the forums you see people going back from UE5's to e4's but also the other way around. People who love the UE5's. The new iPod (5G) is not a reason to buy extra bassy phones such as the UM2 or the UE5's. They tend to make the sound too bassy, muddy... However a lot of people love a lot of bass. Do the UE5's have a greater soundstage, or do they sound distant? I have only heard the UM2's briefly, I find them MUCH too dark. But this was only briefly. Maybe my head has compensated for the Shure E4 sound, I don't know. However, I think you can't go wrong buying E4's for your iPod 5G. They are more easily driven than ER4's. They have greater bass response. They sound neutral and balanced. On the other hand the UM2's and the UE5's have a greater bass response (too great?), but lack in other areas. You should really try to get an image of what sound you love? Threblehead, basshead? What kind of music do you listen to?

I pretty much agree with this assessment. I've got both the UM2 and the E4's, and have been auditioning the UM2's for a couple of weeks now. I think there is a period where you have to adjust to the different sound signatures, and making any broad sweeping generalizations before that has occured is both very tempting to do, and also a mistake.

No matter what I do, I can't get the E4's to sound right with Tool. I think it's because Tool relies heavily on bass and soundstage, the two areas that are a little weaker in the E4. In terms of overall sound quality, the E4 sounds superior than the UM2, to me.

I agree with the comment that the UM2's are probably too dark. The only way I'm going to keep the UM2's over the E4 would be because in portable situations, having the extra bass is good...and because I find the ergonomics of the UM2 much much better. In terms of overall sound quality though, I don't see how anyone can say that the UM2 is better.

 

[dk123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasper994 The SF5P changes vocal tonality a little by slightly lowering the pitch. The E4 is more accurate.

What exactly do you mean by this? I'm having a hard time making sense of this.

 

[roy_jones]

I could be wrong- but I think I've noticed the same thing with my UM2's. Basically the IEM is dark. One of the distinctions that I feel is often not documented in talking about these 'bassy' canalphones, is that it's not just that they're bassy. They're dark. What I mean, is that they 'pollute' the other frequencies by taking them down a half-octave or so.

So if you're listening to a singer who has a wide range, like a Jeff Buckley, or Thom Yorke or other female vocalists, sometimes you can perceive a slight alteration in the highest of notes they hit. I find it quite annoying, actually.

Again, this might not be what Jasper what referring to, but I figured I might as well throw it out there anyways...

 

[dk123]

What I'm saying is that there is no way a headphone changes the fundamental pitch of the music. It doesn't make something an octave lower, or take the pitch down a half octave or whatever. The pitch is the pitch. I think that what is going on is that the different earphones will cause different colorations of the fundamental pitches because their freq. response may cause the overtone series to be reproduced in a way that is not totally natural by emphasizing or deemphasizing certain parts of the freq. spectrum. So an instrument or voice may not sound totally right. I'm sure that an individual's ear shape etc. has an effect on this as well.

FWIW, I actually have been finding the UM2 to have a more realistic reproduction of many accoustic instruments compared to the E4s, but there is a darkness that permeates the sound sometimes that is not totally appealing.

 

[Ref]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dk123 What I'm saying is that there is no way a headphone changes the fundamental pitch of the music. It doesn't make something an octave lower, or take the pitch down a half octave or whatever.

I had this feeling when i changed from Philips HP890 to Koss KSC-75 - like it made anything sound a bit lower....

 

[Jasper994]

You can change the pitch of someone's voice by accentuating certain frequencies. If you want a good example of this, try listening to earlier Eminem vs. more current Eminem... Some people refer to this effect as the JBL effect since JBL monitors tend to accentuate the low end. Some people find this effect to be very enjoyable (including myself in the case of the UE-10), but it's not really neutral.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dk123 What I'm saying is that there is no way a headphone changes the fundamental pitch of the music. It doesn't make something an octave lower, or take the pitch down a half octave or whatever. The pitch is the pitch. I think that what is going on is that the different earphones will cause different colorations of the fundamental pitches because their freq. response may cause the overtone series to be reproduced in a way that is not totally natural by emphasizing or deemphasizing certain parts of the freq. spectrum. So an instrument or voice may not sound totally right. I'm sure that an individual's ear shape etc. has an effect on this as well. FWIW, I actually have been finding the UM2 to have a more realistic reproduction of many accoustic instruments compared to the E4s, but there is a darkness that permeates the sound sometimes that is not totally appealing.

Essentially what you're saying... Sorry if I didn't necessarily use the correct terms.