[toaster]

i don't really know what's going on here, but the e5's have astonishing bass.

they have emphasized mids and very undetailed highs, to put it simply.

something that needs to be taken into account (and the only possible thing i can think of that can possibly be attributed to the most recent comments made about the e5's) is that some people are after "ear-rattling" bass. by this i mean having your entire outer ear literally vibrated by bass. this SIMPLY CANNOT HAPPEN WITH CANALPHONES.

now this does not mean that bass response with canalphones cannot be good. as a matter of fact, the bass response with the e5's can be incredible, and is among some of the best bass i have ever heard. despite the fact that it does not vibrate my entire ear when i listen - although it certainly does have the capacity to vibrate the inner ear and rattle throughout the head.

some of what i have been reading lately regarding people's experience with the e5's simply doesn't make any sense to me.

also, make sure that if you are looking for the most bass out of your e5's, that you have triflange tips. it is disputable whether or not the sound is best on the e5's with the triflanges, (i certainly think it is) but it is certainly not disputable that the triflange tips provide far more bass than any other tip that can be used with the e5's.

 

[archosman]

I felt that the Etys had what the E5s lacked, and the E5s had what the Etys lack. IF you could combine both I think you could have the best of both worlds... bass and detail.

 

[random person]

Quote:

Originally Posted by raptor18 The problem is that i live in Sweden. I think i'd have to travel to the US to get these because of the custom molded sleeves. Regards Raptor

Actually I think if you can find an audiologist (even one that has no experience with IEMs -- just one that has done "full shell" molds for hearing aids will do) in Sweden all you have to then do is send your molds to UE and they will send your custom-molded UE5cs right back to you. Email ultimate ears directly and they'll confirm that -- they may even be able to recommend an audiologist for you. But if they don't have a name, just call around and find one that has done "full shell" impressions. And make a copy of the UE instructions from their website about how to get good molds. Send them in, and wait for your custom IEMs to arrive about two weeks later!

Of course, this is all academic because you may find that over time you will become more acclimated to the Shure E5 sound.

 

[ProParadox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by archosman I felt that the Etys had what the E5s lacked, and the E5s had what the Etys lack. IF you could combine both I think you could have the best of both worlds... bass and detail.

Yeap. A slight bass boost from an equalizer, and the etys are exactly that.

 

[widds2v]

UE5 are 700 bucks arnt they? How is that a slight jump in price from E5s which go for in the 300s new >< I think someone should come out with a new canalphone in the $550 range for a step up from shure without hitting custom IEM prices (and cons, if you dont like them, cant resell).

 

[metal_monger]

"I also think the detail of the E5 could be better"

I have also owned the Ety 4p and I disagree with you. I think the Shure's are pretty good on the detail factor, from what I remeber of my Ety 4p they are on the same level. The Shures definately have more bass then the Ety's.

I like my shure's so far for thefollowing reasons:

1) the build quality is awesome on these

2) the microphonics are much bette thenthe ety 4p (had some problems with thisuntil I messed with the sliding plastiic tube - but once i figured that out they are pretty good)

3) Sonically I am pretty content with the sound on these . But I also loved the Ety sound, just hated the cord and their low comfort factor which leads me to......

4) overall comfort is top notch imo. The yellow (the color sucks) foamies are extremely comfortable more comfortable then the Ety's could ever imgaine. IMO this is what makes the leap to Shure e5's worth it.

So far I plan to keep these Shure's, but I have more testing to do with them (at the univ and at the gym).

One more thing. Back when the ETy's 4p used to cost about 210 dollars I would say they where the best overall value(if you are comfortable with the ety's which I was not). Now I see ety 4p everywhere for 300bux? So Now I would say the Shure e5 are better in that price range. But just my opinion.

 

[bangraman]

Once again sticking to portable use, and for portables with adjustable EQ, the Etymotic low-end cannot be EQ'd up that successfully. Of course you can ramp up the bass on the ER-4P but it creates a low end that is simply louder and does not actually get to the dynamic-phone level of bass that the E5 can. You just don't get the sense of attack and bounce in the lows. It's like EQ'ing a tinny set of earbuds... more low EQ will let you HEAR more low ends (with more "buzz"), but that doesn't necessarily mean that EQ'd it compares to an earbud which can do bass properly.


On the other hand, going by the same method the E5c cannot be EQ'd up to the treble level of the Etys.


So, you can compromise in both respects. EQ up the bass on the ER-4 (not satisfying from a dynamic phone standpoint) or EQ up the treble on the E5c (not satisfying from the Ety standpoint). Since the Etys are considerably boosted in the highs, What I do is to make use of the extra bass that the E5 gives by reducing the midbass a little (the iPod preset, although it's a global reduction, is the 'Bass Reducer'). What this does is to naturally draw attention to the higher frequencies without additional EQ. The midrange works well when travelling, so I enjoy a subjectively higher treble response this way for certain types of music. For most of the rest, the E5 'as is' works generally better than the ER-4P for me.

 

[Jon L]

Well, sell the Shures and buy back used Ety's + SuperMacro with bass boost. Problem solved..

 

[photographlondon]

No amount of bass boost is going to make the Etys have decent bass - sorry.

To the original poster: I was in the same situation you are in and opted in the end for the Sennheiser HD25-1. Maybe you should consider this headphone yourself? It's not a canalphone but a small and rugged portable closed headphone which has a far more balanced sound than any universal canalphone, ie it can do bass, mids and highs fairly decently.

On the downside it doesn't isolate quite as well as canalphones (pretty close though - good enough for me to use on the very noisy London Underground), and it's not as comfortable due to it's supra aural design.

It's also cheaper than the 4p and E5, and a lot cheaper than any of the more exotic custom IEMs.

 

[enzoferrari650]

I say give the UM2's a try. I've been very satisfied with mine.

 

[Big D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by widds2v UE5 are 700 bucks arnt they? How is that a slight jump in price from E5s which go for in the 300s new >< I think someone should come out with a new canalphone in the $550 range for a step up from shure without hitting custom IEM prices (and cons, if you dont like them, cant resell).

The UE-5c are $550 plus audiology fee.

 

[hentai]

is shure e5 overpriced? $550 seems quite alot , can buy rs1 or hd650 with that?

 

[Wmcmanus]

Here we go again. There seems to be a strong market for IEM's that are sonically better than the ER-4S or E5 but without the big price tag of the UE10-Pro or Sensa 2X-S. Ultimate Ears was going to develop some consumer models that filled this market, or at least that was the rumor a couple of months ago. Presumably this would be in the $400-$600 price range (this is my guess anyway) but designed for the audiophile consumer market (i.e., not designed to compete with the UE-5c). Any more news on this, or was it just a rumor?

 

[ProParadox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by photographlondon No amount of bass boost is going to make the Etys have decent bass - sorry.

Have you ever heard etys with a bit of bass boost?

 

[widds2v]

etys with all of the boosting EQs on the ipod still have no bass, now you may be talking about bass boost from an amp, but that just means you have to carry around a player, amp, and etys to get the same effect as player and shures... i'll stick with the E5s.