[jmpage2]

Hey guys, I just wanted to drop by after a long hiatus and get peoples input on whether this upgrade would be worthwhile.

I've had my Shure E4C for about 2 years and have been contemplating upgrading to something with a slightly warmer sound. I like the E4C but the sound is a bit too 'clinical' or 'sterile' for me at times. The white cables on my E4Cs also look a bit too conspicuous on occassion when I'm in less than friendly neighborhoods.

One thing I DO love about the Shure E4C is the foam sleeve. I find this gives me the absolute best seal possible and I go through a pair about every month. I believe that the foamies are not as widely available or cheap for the Super.fi 5 Pro.

Any thoughts are welcome. If in fact I go for this upgrade and am satisfied with the results I will be having a fire sale on my E4C.

Oh ya, recently purchased Sennheiser 300b as a pair of cheap 'workout' and 'knock around' phones.

 

[indigo]

I recently made the switch, acquiring a used SFP with Westone cable from a very helpful head fier.

I had the same issue as you- I found the E4 somehow lacking an "oomph" or a low end, and my research here led me to either the SFPs or the Atrios M5s. Bear in mind that I tend to listen to my music unamped through an ipod.

The SFP, while not as detailed as the Shures, give a fuller and more fun sound. They certainly do not lack for bass while retaining the mids and the highs.

Only issue I have is that they are larger and not as comfortable as the Shures. I also just got the E500s, from another helpful head fier, and they might just meet your brief. They have the signature Shure sound but with a strong bass presence, however they are not as forgiving as the E4 or the SFP, ie to get the most out of these, you have to have good recordings or/ and an amp (imho), but they are still enjoyable nonetheless.

 

[jmpage2]

I'm an idiot

SFP = Super Fi Pro.

got it!

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Going from the Shure E4 to the super.fi 5 pro would be a drastic downgrade. Don't risk it. To my ears, the 5 Pros are too basy and very muffled, and very uncomfortable to boot. I'm surprised you find the E4's clinical, I think they are actually fairly dark IEMs, albeit nowhere near as dark as the 5 pros.

 

[jmpage2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Going from the Shure E4 to the super.fi 5 pro would be a drastic downgrade. Don't risk it. To my ears, the 5 Pros are too basy and very muffled, and very uncomfortable to boot. I'm surprised you find the E4's clinical, I think they are actually fairly dark IEMs, albeit nowhere near as dark as the 5 pros.

Thanks for the input. Nearly all reviews of the two put the Super.fi Pro 5 in a higher bracket than the Shure E4.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Well, you can't always trust what you read. Perhaps only people who were particularly enthusiastic about their 5 pros decided to write a review? Perhaps they have undeveloped ears, or just plain poor taste.

 

[afobisme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmpage2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the input. Nearly all reviews of the two put the Super.fi Pro 5 in a higher bracket than the Shure E4.

what, really? nearly all the reviews i've read set the shures ahead of the 5 pros.. headphone.com, cnet etc

i guess you can't put too much weight on reviews..

 

[jmpage2]

Quote:

Originally Posted by indigo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I recently made the switch, acquiring a used SFP with Westone cable from a very helpful head fier. I had the same issue as you- I found the E4 somehow lacking an "oomph" or a low end, and my research here led me to either the SFPs or the Atrios M5s. Bear in mind that I tend to listen to my music unamped through an ipod. The SFP, while not as detailed as the Shures, give a fuller and more fun sound. They certainly do not lack for bass while retaining the mids and the highs. Only issue I have is that they are larger and not as comfortable as the Shures. I also just got the E500s, from another helpful head fier, and they might just meet your brief. They have the signature Shure sound but with a strong bass presence, however they are not as forgiving as the E4 or the SFP, ie to get the most out of these, you have to have good recordings or/ and an amp (imho), but they are still enjoyable nonetheless.

Aren't the E500s like $499? If so quite a bit out of my budget. I will be listening to high bitrate MP3 on an iPod anyways, so it's a bit of a waste.

 

[only500made]

Quote:

5 Pros are too basy

bleh, nope. It could use some more. With genres using artificial drum machine bass, it totally lacks it. It's good with natural bass guitar though.

still, theyre good for what they are. I got mine not too long ago and I love them despite not having enough "artificial bass". there's a sweet deal for it @ 100 a pop @ compusa.for that price, theyre unbeatable.

PS
my avatar would indicate something.

 

[indigo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmpage2 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Aren't the E500s like $499? If so quite a bit out of my budget. I will be listening to high bitrate MP3 on an iPod anyways, so it's a bit of a waste.

Actually, you can get E500's off ebay from bobsound at $260 with shipping, I know a lot of head fiers did that. He comes and goes though and when he does appear, his stock sells out in a few hours literally. Alternatively, search the For sale column. SFPs can be had for about $150 from Amazon or about the $110 mark used here.

 

[indigo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif Going from the Shure E4 to the super.fi 5 pro would be a drastic downgrade. Don't risk it. To my ears, the 5 Pros are too basy and very muffled, and very uncomfortable to boot. I'm surprised you find the E4's clinical, I think they are actually fairly dark IEMs, albeit nowhere near as dark as the 5 pros.

I find the Shure E4's clinical in comparison to the super.fis. But i find the super.fis altogether a more fun listening experience. Then again I find my ATH ES7 more fun than the E4s.

I bought my E4s brand new at full retail when they first came out (2 in fact, E4C and later E4G). I just got my super.fis last week used from a fellow head fier at less than half the price, and I still find the super.fis a more together listening experience, especially unamped. As I said before, only issue I have is the fit.

 

[Spyro]

Careful with PiccolloNamek's advice. In his mind Etys rule the world and everything else is crap.

E4 and SFP are on equal ground. E4 has a flatter and more accurate response but can come off as boring to some. SFP' have bigger fuller and more musical sound but ironically they are not as accurate. It's a somewhat artificial sound but UE pulls it off quite well as they are fun to listen to and destroy any other IEM under $150

 

[indigo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif E4 and SFP are on equal ground. E4 has a flatter and more accurate response but can come off as boring to some. SFP' have bigger fuller and more musical sound but ironically they are not as accurate. It's a somewhat artificial sound but UE pulls it off quite well as they are fun to listen to and destroy any other IEM under $150

That is perhaps the most accurate description I've read so far. In fact, with your permission, I'd like to cut and paste this and use again in the future.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif Careful with PiccolloNamek's advice. In his mind Etys rule the world and everything else is crap.

What the hell are you talking about? You'd better learn to think and read before you spout off at the mouth, son. If you've been reading any of my posts, you'd know by now that my opinions about the ER4s have changed drastically. I don't appreciate your attitude one bit.

Furthermore, I don't think non-ER4 IEMs are crap. Just the SF5P, and here's why:

On the 5 Pro, look at the huge difference between the height of the bass and the depth of the dip in the upper midrange. For me, this rendered vocals almost unintelligible, and made most instruments sound very distant. The dip in the E4's upper midrange is almost as deep, but much narrower, and is much less deep relative to the level of the bass, making the sound far more balanced overall.

 

[Spyro]

PicolloNamek....tame down son....and put the slide rule down.

While I know there are some pure audiophiles here on Head-Fi...most people here are just looking for some good sounding equipment and some music enjoyment. They are not interested in mila watts or kilo wattz or Db's or Ab's or decumbopulater rods or flux capacitors or boring graphs, etc.

I will actually AGREE with you that ER-4S is MUCH more accurate than E530 but accurate does not translate to music enjoyment. These are music lovers here not sound engineers. But I would be willing to bet big money that if you polled 20 music lovers off the street more than 17 would take E530's in a heartbeat over Etys. They'd probably even favor the SFP's.
Are they stupid? Have terrible ears? etc. NO, they just know what they like. You need to understand that and not take the technological aspects of sound reproduction so literally.

SFP and E4 are on equal ground soundwise, just different presentations.