wolfen68
Headphoneus Supremus
The following is not a thorough analysis...but is provided as a courtesy to several members that have requested that I provide some information as soon as I am able. There are some imperfections in my comparisons...I will point these out where I am aware of them.
I owned E5's during a 30 day trial period. My impressions of them were much as some other members have stated. They reproduced that full sound, and had plenty of bass, but I found them congested and the bass seemed muffled. The highs just didn't reach out to me like I had hoped. They were a huge step up from E3's, and I could have lived with them happily if there were no other options. I ultimately sent them back, but took lots of notes on their performance in my normal test regime.
Concurrently, the debate was beginning to brew on head-fi regarding custom IEM's. Initially skeptical, I considered the ramifications of going to a custom IEM. It then occurred to me that I have spent hundreds of dollars moving up the upgrade ladder...and even with recovering some costs by selling used hardware, I decided a drastic decision to go "all the way" may be the remedy.
I called Ultimate Ears and discussed my needs with the Harveys. For portable use and a sound trouncing (pun intended) of the Shure E5's, they suggested the $550 UE5c's. After some additional research, I got my impressions from a local audiologist and sent them off.
About 10 days later, I recieved my UE5c's. They really strike the beholder as an amazing piece of technology. I ordered the clear option, and you can see all the neat gadgets inside. Additionally, I have a short last name, and per my request, my entire last name is stamped in red and blue on the two ear assemblies....overall, a real conversation piece.
I plugged in the UE5c's, and in short, was very disappointed. They sounded terrible to my ears. Muffled, no highs, and very flat sounding. No point in detailed analysis or more comparisons later in this review.
Astounded, I called UE and spoke with Jerry Harvey, one of the principal founders and designers. We discussed some fit issues I may be having (I have very narrow ear canals). He requested that I return the UE5c's for a fit adjustment. Additionally, he requested that I trial the refitted UE5c with the resistor circuit removed. Though he preferred the circuit in place himself (which reduces the mid-high frequency hump), he was beginning to believe that some indiviuals coming from Ety's/Shures would prefer this configuration. I'll refer to this configuration as a UE5c w/no NF for "notch filter".
Upon receiving the UE5c w/no NF, I put them through my usual song list and here are my impressions:
These earpieces are now a completely different animal. I am now hearing what I believe is being described by other reviewers. Is the change due to fit differences? I don't know, but the earpieces still feel very similar to the original fitting. In fact, I probably need to send them off one more time for a minor improvement in the isolation. My best guess is that the majority of the difference is due to whatever electronics UE decided to change.
After many hours of listening, I can confidently say that the UE5c w/no NF are vastly superior to the E5's. I experienced a "mini-wow" when the music started. They sound sharper and more detailed than E5's. The bass is about 1/3 - 1/4 less than E5's, but is much more defined. They are very forward, even when compared to the E5's, E3's, and SR225's that I'm acclimated to. The mids are beautiful. The highs are also superior, but they do fall short of my SR225's (to my minor disappointment). However, the fact that I've mentally begun comparing them to my SR225's as opposed to other canalphones is a telling statement in and of itself. Generally, I would describe the presentation as somewhat detailed and warm.
The "sensitivity" noise I hear on my Archos DAP is somewhat less than what I heard with the E5's (to my tremendous relief). Interestingly, with Shure canalphones, they always seemed to sound better to me the louder I took them. With these UE5c w/no NF, I don't experience this phenomena. Their presentation seems consistent at all volume levels.
I heard the following in my test songs (mp3 VBR 210 kbps from an Archos JBR20, and redbook cd from a Yamaha 630 reciever/Panasonic DVD player):
Neko Case's "Furnace Room Lullabies"-I use this song to test a headphone's high frequency and detail potential. It's a high, haunting female vocal that will reach into your guts with the right equipment. The UE5c w/no NF rendered it very nicely. Everything seemed balanced and the detail I was used to with SR225's was pretty much there. However, the highs fell just a little short of my expectations.
AFI's "Ever and a Day" - Wait a minute something's different here. The standalone male vocals sound great. Then the background portion kicks in and it sounds further away than usual. It doesn't ruin the song by any means, but it's noticeable. It's like the background singers are just a couple of feet further away at the edge of a cave. This "recession phenomena" pops it's head once in awhile in different tracks.
Trashmen "Surfin Bird" - An old tune just to see how an older recording sounds. Vocals sound great "bird is the word"...but the recession of everything else is very noticeable on this track.
Urge Overkill "Sister Havana"- Typical rock with all the good stuff. Rendered perfectly.
Styx "Renegade" - I only use the first 30 seconds of this song. I've noticed that some headphones do not accurately represent the "heartbeat" in the background at the beginning of the song. On some, this bass note sounds like a tap. On the SR225's and the UE5c w/no NF, this bass note has a mild but firm punch. A++ here for a canalphone.
Johnny Cash "Heart of Gold" and "A Singer of Songs"-Every song I listened to off of the J. Cash "Unearthed" collection sounded unbelievable. The male vocals are wonderfully forward and detailed. The folky background guitar is awesome...a real treat.
Tori Amos "Leather"- This track sounded a little warmer and less detailed to me than it's presented by my SR225's.
Joe Satriani "Borg Sex"- Even though this song has a lot of different level stuff coming at you, it sounded pretty good on the UE's if a little warm. Overall balance seemed spot on.
I've learned that the UE5c w/no NF are indeed impressive if slightly unpredictable. I have a lot more to learn about these, but they are very satisfying after Shure E5's. From the second I put them on, I began appreciating what I was hearing....no acclimation period required. The recessed background on some tracks is there, but does not ruin the experience. I'm getting a minor twinge that the UE5c w/no NF are revealing some of the shortcomings of my Archos unit...but I haven't been able to put my finger on this yet. For some reason, the UE5c w/no NF generally sounded poorer out of my Yamaha receiver. My SR225's are more tolerant of the Yamaha's headphone jack.
If money is not the concern, I've found that the UE5c w/no NF strengths outweigh the E5's strengths. Comfort is excellent. Insertion is easy....a quarter twist backward to insert, a quarter twist forward to remove. For me, the extra level of clarity is a major victory. The UE5c w/no NF falls just short of the SR225, but not by much....an amazing achievement.
I owned E5's during a 30 day trial period. My impressions of them were much as some other members have stated. They reproduced that full sound, and had plenty of bass, but I found them congested and the bass seemed muffled. The highs just didn't reach out to me like I had hoped. They were a huge step up from E3's, and I could have lived with them happily if there were no other options. I ultimately sent them back, but took lots of notes on their performance in my normal test regime.
Concurrently, the debate was beginning to brew on head-fi regarding custom IEM's. Initially skeptical, I considered the ramifications of going to a custom IEM. It then occurred to me that I have spent hundreds of dollars moving up the upgrade ladder...and even with recovering some costs by selling used hardware, I decided a drastic decision to go "all the way" may be the remedy.
I called Ultimate Ears and discussed my needs with the Harveys. For portable use and a sound trouncing (pun intended) of the Shure E5's, they suggested the $550 UE5c's. After some additional research, I got my impressions from a local audiologist and sent them off.
About 10 days later, I recieved my UE5c's. They really strike the beholder as an amazing piece of technology. I ordered the clear option, and you can see all the neat gadgets inside. Additionally, I have a short last name, and per my request, my entire last name is stamped in red and blue on the two ear assemblies....overall, a real conversation piece.
I plugged in the UE5c's, and in short, was very disappointed. They sounded terrible to my ears. Muffled, no highs, and very flat sounding. No point in detailed analysis or more comparisons later in this review.
Astounded, I called UE and spoke with Jerry Harvey, one of the principal founders and designers. We discussed some fit issues I may be having (I have very narrow ear canals). He requested that I return the UE5c's for a fit adjustment. Additionally, he requested that I trial the refitted UE5c with the resistor circuit removed. Though he preferred the circuit in place himself (which reduces the mid-high frequency hump), he was beginning to believe that some indiviuals coming from Ety's/Shures would prefer this configuration. I'll refer to this configuration as a UE5c w/no NF for "notch filter".
Upon receiving the UE5c w/no NF, I put them through my usual song list and here are my impressions:
These earpieces are now a completely different animal. I am now hearing what I believe is being described by other reviewers. Is the change due to fit differences? I don't know, but the earpieces still feel very similar to the original fitting. In fact, I probably need to send them off one more time for a minor improvement in the isolation. My best guess is that the majority of the difference is due to whatever electronics UE decided to change.
After many hours of listening, I can confidently say that the UE5c w/no NF are vastly superior to the E5's. I experienced a "mini-wow" when the music started. They sound sharper and more detailed than E5's. The bass is about 1/3 - 1/4 less than E5's, but is much more defined. They are very forward, even when compared to the E5's, E3's, and SR225's that I'm acclimated to. The mids are beautiful. The highs are also superior, but they do fall short of my SR225's (to my minor disappointment). However, the fact that I've mentally begun comparing them to my SR225's as opposed to other canalphones is a telling statement in and of itself. Generally, I would describe the presentation as somewhat detailed and warm.
The "sensitivity" noise I hear on my Archos DAP is somewhat less than what I heard with the E5's (to my tremendous relief). Interestingly, with Shure canalphones, they always seemed to sound better to me the louder I took them. With these UE5c w/no NF, I don't experience this phenomena. Their presentation seems consistent at all volume levels.
I heard the following in my test songs (mp3 VBR 210 kbps from an Archos JBR20, and redbook cd from a Yamaha 630 reciever/Panasonic DVD player):
Neko Case's "Furnace Room Lullabies"-I use this song to test a headphone's high frequency and detail potential. It's a high, haunting female vocal that will reach into your guts with the right equipment. The UE5c w/no NF rendered it very nicely. Everything seemed balanced and the detail I was used to with SR225's was pretty much there. However, the highs fell just a little short of my expectations.
AFI's "Ever and a Day" - Wait a minute something's different here. The standalone male vocals sound great. Then the background portion kicks in and it sounds further away than usual. It doesn't ruin the song by any means, but it's noticeable. It's like the background singers are just a couple of feet further away at the edge of a cave. This "recession phenomena" pops it's head once in awhile in different tracks.
Trashmen "Surfin Bird" - An old tune just to see how an older recording sounds. Vocals sound great "bird is the word"...but the recession of everything else is very noticeable on this track.
Urge Overkill "Sister Havana"- Typical rock with all the good stuff. Rendered perfectly.
Styx "Renegade" - I only use the first 30 seconds of this song. I've noticed that some headphones do not accurately represent the "heartbeat" in the background at the beginning of the song. On some, this bass note sounds like a tap. On the SR225's and the UE5c w/no NF, this bass note has a mild but firm punch. A++ here for a canalphone.
Johnny Cash "Heart of Gold" and "A Singer of Songs"-Every song I listened to off of the J. Cash "Unearthed" collection sounded unbelievable. The male vocals are wonderfully forward and detailed. The folky background guitar is awesome...a real treat.
Tori Amos "Leather"- This track sounded a little warmer and less detailed to me than it's presented by my SR225's.
Joe Satriani "Borg Sex"- Even though this song has a lot of different level stuff coming at you, it sounded pretty good on the UE's if a little warm. Overall balance seemed spot on.
I've learned that the UE5c w/no NF are indeed impressive if slightly unpredictable. I have a lot more to learn about these, but they are very satisfying after Shure E5's. From the second I put them on, I began appreciating what I was hearing....no acclimation period required. The recessed background on some tracks is there, but does not ruin the experience. I'm getting a minor twinge that the UE5c w/no NF are revealing some of the shortcomings of my Archos unit...but I haven't been able to put my finger on this yet. For some reason, the UE5c w/no NF generally sounded poorer out of my Yamaha receiver. My SR225's are more tolerant of the Yamaha's headphone jack.
If money is not the concern, I've found that the UE5c w/no NF strengths outweigh the E5's strengths. Comfort is excellent. Insertion is easy....a quarter twist backward to insert, a quarter twist forward to remove. For me, the extra level of clarity is a major victory. The UE5c w/no NF falls just short of the SR225, but not by much....an amazing achievement.
