broww
New Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 11, 2011
- Posts
- 28
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- 11
Hi all
Have been looking around but didn't manage to find much info on SCL5 (a discontinued product from shure).
Really liked this pair of iem to the extent I am thinking of purchasing a brand new set just to collect.
For the curious head-fiers out there, e5=e5c=scl5, which is actually a cousin of Westone's UM2. I am personally from that era where UE was still under Jerry Harvey and not bought by Logitech, dual drivers iems are mainly e5, um2 or superfi.5 pro or eb and triple fi was the top end triple-driver iem.
Having heard some limited number of iems over the years, namely the older models like q-jays, klipsch x10, se530, um2, super.fi 5 pro and eb, triple fi, I can't help but feel e5/ scl5 has something unique that the rest do not have. Maybe its the sense of airiness. Maybe its the sound stage. But what's really outstanding is the projection of the sound, the kind of stereo imaging that I can't seem to find nowadays. I remember turning my head around time after time during the first few months of usage due to projection of certain elements in the sound ( e.g. there's a 'hey' in the background of the song Destination Calabria towards the 2nd half of the track). The memory of whizzing bullet past me in The Black Eyed Peas' Don't phunk with my heart still remains firmly etched in my memory. Plus, it is on the bright side of iem and vocals doesn't sound too veiled.
No doubt many people preferred UM2 over e5/ SCL 5 as the latter was the pricier of the two. And indeed I find that e5 could have a better bass impact/slam which UM2 does it nicely. But UM2 just does not sound right to me, not lively and doesn't feel surround-sound like. And it seems like newer iems are geared towards UM2 kind of sound signature. Then again I am considered a novice as truth is I have not heard many newer models.
And the greening of the cable. It doesn't affect the sound but it sure looks disgusting. Fit wise I find it comfortable, the memory wire was alright, isolation was top-notch. The build was good. It lasted me for 2,3 years before cracks appear despite being thrown around.
Now that my current pair of scl5 has cracks appearing as well, it seems like it may be time for me to move on soon. Hence the reason for this appreciation thread. I hope users of e5/ SCL5 will kindly leave their impression of this iem, for the curious or younger generations of head-fiers who may not have the chance to audition it.
Anyway, the above are based on my hearing preference and in no way am I out to demerit the other iems mentioned here. To each his or her own, right? And do feel free to advice me on what will be a good upgrade to SCl5. Maybe earsonics sm3?
Cheers.
