[Orpheus]

wow.

just got my E5 today. and i first tried them with the foam tips, cause that's what i always use with my ety 4p/4s. and when i plugged them in, they sounded really REALLY REALLY bassy!!! i mean, they actually sounded kinda weird, like the high-frequency driver was blown or something. they had so much bass that i could really get that visceral type deep bass feeling that loudspeaker subs and good external headphones have.... but just wayyyyy to much of it. so, i originally thought something was broken.

then i tried the middle sized silicone tip, and it sounded so much better! the frequency response was much more like what i was used to, but the bass was still more defined and deeper than the ety 4s/p... and finally the detail and high-frequency sound was back.

finally settled in on the smallest silicone type. fits great.

so, i guess with the E5, there is such a thing as TOO good seal! with these phones, a perfect seal will have too much bass. i guess that makes them ideal for custom ear molds, which i found to seal worse than tri-flange tips or the foam tips (got a set for my ety's... and they sound really crappy. wasted $100 on these things. big mistake.)

anyway, with the silicone tip in, noise isn't isolated as well. so, i'll be keeping the ety 4's for situations where i need the most isolation possible (like airplanes.) but otherwise, the E5 seems to have greater extension in the low-end, and about the same detail up-top as the ety's.

also, i think they'll be better for me at work--normally i'm worried to wear the ety's cause they isolate too darn well. i can't hear the phone ring, or even people stepping in my office. and that's bad, cause phone calls can be really important. at least with these i can hear something i hope. (though normally i'd say more isolation the better...)

good phones. really nice sounding once you find the right balance of sealing. and bass is deeper and punchier than the ety's. i've always thought the ety's were light on bass compared to my sony cd3000's and my senn hd600's.

yup, i think me and the E5's will get along fine.

 

[toaster]

the e5's are great.

on planes, all i heard was music, so no need to worry about etys beating them there.

 

[Orpheus]

actually, the ety's do beat them there. by quite a bit. the e5 still isolates more than any standard phone or anything.... but the ety's do go farther into the canal, and thus have more isolating material inside the ear.

 

[Big D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheus actually, the ety's do beat them there. by quite a bit. the e5 still isolates more than any standard phone or anything.... but the ety's do go farther into the canal, and thus have more isolating material inside the ear.

If you put an ety foamie on the E5 you'll get a comparable seal.

 

[Orpheus]

i tried it with the foam. it still isolates significantly less than the ety + foam. again, that's because the e5 is farther out of the ear, and there is less material inside the canal.

however, the foam with e5 makes the bass way too overwhelming for me.

 

[Big D]

I too found that massive bass overwhelming at first going from the ER4, to the extent I put them away for a week. After finding this site and reading some opinions I came back to them and after a couple of days I really did adjust to the sound.

I still found the ER4s to be uncomfortable for more than an hour and that after this time they wanted to be parted from my ear. The Shure's were always comfortable with the foam.

 

[ampgalore]

So is there a consensus now, UE5 or E5? For comfort, for sound?

Personally I use ER4 with the foamies. I once wore them for a 3 hour plane ride, quite comfortable. Plus the foamies blocked out engine noise even when I wasn't listening to music.

Next time I will have to purchase some real earplugs for those occassions when I just want noise isolation.

 

[Big D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ampgalore So is there a consensus now, UE5 or E5? For comfort, for sound? Personally I use ER4 with the foamies. I once wore them for a 3 hour plane ride, quite comfortable. Plus the foamies blocked out engine noise even when I wasn't listening to music. Next time I will have to purchase some real earplugs for those occassions when I just want noise isolation.

I don't there will be consensus ever! There are so few users of the UE-5c, and none that I've seen have used the E5 first. I have gone for the UE-10 Pro so I'll be of little help to you. I have used Shure E2, E3, E5 and Ety ER4 before so I hope to offer an idea of the differences.

I think you should really contact Mindy, Jerry or Sherry at Ultimate Ears and see what they say. You are buying a personalised product and they want you to be happy. I've never been exposed to such good customer service and the clientele list speaks for itself (excepte Aaron Carter)!

I know frequency response charts should be taken with a pinch of salt, but the audiologist who did my impressions was impressed with the ear simulator they had used. The comparison between the UE-5c and the E5 has to bear some significance in real life situation. Contact Random Person who actually has the UE-5c and ask their opinion.

[size=medium]UE-5c vs E5[/size]

This is the only comparative review I've seen (from the UE website):

Forbes magazine

I'm afraid that's as much as I can help with.

 

[etmanq]

Which one is the best from what you owned?
Why dont u choose UE5 instead of UE10?
Coz i saw their chart, and there is just a little difference.

 

[rajs]

Orpheus -- I found that the E5 isn't as isolating as the E3 are ... which I believe Shure also states on their site somewhere. With the E3's I prefer the yellow foamies -- which gave me very good isolation. The other type of ear pieces weren't as good in my opinion on the E3 for my purposes and what I liked.

In the case of the E5 though I found that I much prefered the sound of the Tri-Flanges ... but I needed to trim the stalk a bit until it was almost flush with the bottom of the lowest flange. The thing I gave up though was that the isolation from outside noises isn't as good as with the foamies. But I also felt with the tri-flanges I had the E5 in my ear good and well and wasn't worried about it shifting or falling out.

I would definitely find the thread by lindrone on the E5 and the experiences he has had with it over time -- for me it was a good baseline read and allowed me to compare my experiences with his and others.

In regards to the other ear fittings such as the gray plastic and the clear plastic --- I didn't like them as much as the tri-flange ... but they might be a bit more comfortable over an extended listening session since they aren't all the way into the ear canal as the tri-flange is. I think I remeber the clear plastic is a little firmer and more isolating as compared to the gray plastic which was softer (less rigid) and also allowed certain frequencies from the outside to get in easier.

Either ways enjoy and spend some time listening to each type to decide which one you really like.

Regards

- rajs

 

[Orpheus]

Listening to the E5's the whole day at work. And MAN........ they are REALLY good. the bass is nicely extended, significantly better bass than the Ety's.... deeper and fuller. the frequency response graphs i've seen of these phones suggested rolled off high-range, but i don't hear that. it sounds quite detailed, and natural at the same time. never fatiguing.

i think these could quite possibly be the best in ear-canal phones made thus far!--as long as you don't need extreme isolation.

(thank rajs for the awesome transaction... i've never had such a perfect business deal in all my 100+ units $50,000+ worth of trading!)

 

[ILikeMusic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orpheus ...and when i plugged them in, they sounded really REALLY REALLY bassy!!! i mean, they actually sounded kinda weird, like the high-frequency driver was blown or something. they had so much bass that i could really get that visceral type deep bass feeling that loudspeaker subs and good external headphones have.... but just wayyyyy to much of it. so, i originally thought something was broken.

That was exactly the same sort of experience I had when I first tried the E5's, until I found the tips that work for me (middle-size silicone). Like you, I first thought that I had a bad pair or something, until I figured it out. This doesn't seem to happen to everyone, perhaps it has something to do with the individual fit in some ears. Anyway, as you mentioned, once you work it out the E5's sound great... visceral (for a canalphone) bass but with highs still in the same league with the Etys.

As far as isolation goes, the ER-4 have more, with just about any tip. But, most find the E5's to be much more comfortable (including me). I miss some of the total isolation of the Ety's but for me it's a more-than-worthwhile tradeoff for the increased comfort... the E5 isolation is quite sufficient for most uses even if not quite as great as the Etys.

 

[Orpheus]

yup, i totally agree. i think the E5's more comfortable cause it doesn't go nearly as far as the ety's into your ear canal. it kinda just sits on the outside. they look cool too.