williamgoody
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- Jul 16, 2002
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I've recently come into a pair of the infamous Shure E5's, and thought I'd try to post a review, or at least some impressions, as these have tended to be somewhat mysterious here.
Equipment:
Sony DVP NS755P/Gilmore V1 (built by Antness)
Sony D-CJ01 PCDP/Meta 42 (Ad 843, built by JMT)
Nomad Zen
Music:
Anita Baker "Rapture"
Peter Gabriel "So"
Foo Fighters "One by One"
David Sylvian and Robert Fripp "The First day"
Description:
These phones are really built very well. The ear pieces comprise of two of their "high energy, low mass" drivers for each ear, encased in a hard plastic dome. The cord itself looks like a smaller version of something you would chain your bike to a pole to. It's a "metallic" cable encased in a see-through plastic material, terminating in a 1/8 inch adapter. The package comes with the phones, a carrying pouch (or case if you get the comsumer version), and three sets of their silocon sleeves (small, medium and large), plus one set of foam sleeves.
Fit:
Unlike the Etymotics, These are designed to fit leading from your ear canal, up over the top of your ear and down towards the back of your head. The stems don't go in nearly as far as the Ety's may for some in order to create a good seal. The cables surprisingly are not cumbersone, and are designed to hold their shape (memory cable). The cable itself runs about 60 in and really isn't at all that noticible when running down your back. Once you find a good combination with the right sleeves, you should be able to really wear these for hours without any trouble.
Sound:
In a word, dynamic. With the DC-J01/Meta, it's pure bliss. This almost 3D sound swirling around you head for me can best be described as if your standing in front of a huge Lite Brite board,with boards also on either side of you. With the various sounds coming at you somewhat like the lights lighting up all around you a various points. With the Foo Fighters the bass is incredibly tight, yet impactful, and doesn't get in the way of the magesty of the cymbals. The imaging and soundstage are really good for canal phones; you can actually hear and pick out the snares and high hats actually being hit amongst the wall of guitar coming at you. With Anita Baker as well as Sylvian, the "grooveability" factor is there in spades, without losing its afinity for the detail. If you want to groove, you can; if you want to analyze and look for instruments, you can as well. The mids are very full, yet again do not get in the way of the other parts. There's a lot of texture there (evident on the Peter Gabriel track "Sledgehammer"). The highs are clean and clear, and are sustained for quite some time. It's almost as if the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly.
Moving on to the Zen (unamped), the sound is pretty much the same (using the above as Lame encoded 320bps mp3's). Lots of detail and sound coming at you from various parts. My thoughts on this setup pretty much echo the above, so I'll leave it at that.
When you get to the "big rig", that's where some dissappointment comes in. It's as if they don't really handle the extra power well. The soundstage compresses just a bit, and just a touch of echoey hollowness is felt in some of the vocals. This is surprising to me, being that they're 110 ohms. The sound kind of sounds full to the point that it'll burst. Having said that, they don't lose any of their detail, and the puzzle is stil there, but that sensation of 3D sound is lost in the fullness of the sound. These were definitely more "enjoyable" for me from the smaller rigs.
As far as the genres of music used, I found these phones to be able to adapt to listening style very well. If you wanted to get lost in the gracefulness of Anita Baker, or rock out to the Foo Fighters, or psychoanalyze the sound of Mr. Gabriel, the capacity is there to be able to do all of this in a portable setting.
Advantages over the Etymotic 4 Series:
-Fit (Depending on your situation. You could probably again leave these in for hours and not have pain or that "my head is full" feeling. Very easy to get in and out after some practice as well.)
-Microphonics ( Or lack thereof. You can stike the cord
all you want, and nothing. You can hear yourself walking to a degree if you listen for it, but not while the musics playing.)
-Build (They won't break easy, that's all that needs to be said.)
-Soundstage (A bit bigger than that of the Ety's.)
Disadvantages over the Etymotic 4 Series
-Price (They retail for anywhere betwee four and five hundred dollars.)
-Versatility (The Ety's for me really shine in either a portable or home setting.)
-Sound (While the Shures definitely bring more to the table, soundwise they're not "miles above the Ety's". Considering the price, that's not great.)
Conclusion
The E5's are fantastic cans for portably use, and really bring this spectrum of listening to a new level. They aren't really "amp dependant" as far as getting their signture sound from them, to the point of where they the one set of cans I've heard that benefit from an amp the LEAST. Are they worth the $500?; that really depends on you. People who find the Ety's that uncomfortable really might want to try these, but to me the price tag for a new pair doesn't justify the results. For anything under $400 (I got mine for $360, or should I say, my mother did
), I'd say they may be worth it just on ergonomics alone, if you're looking for that travelling, portable, "on the go" premium sound.
Having said that, given the versatiliy of the Etys, they're probalby the better buy at this point; but if the mrsp of the E5's ever hit the $350 range, it's a different story.
Equipment:
Sony DVP NS755P/Gilmore V1 (built by Antness)
Sony D-CJ01 PCDP/Meta 42 (Ad 843, built by JMT)
Nomad Zen
Music:
Anita Baker "Rapture"
Peter Gabriel "So"
Foo Fighters "One by One"
David Sylvian and Robert Fripp "The First day"
Description:
These phones are really built very well. The ear pieces comprise of two of their "high energy, low mass" drivers for each ear, encased in a hard plastic dome. The cord itself looks like a smaller version of something you would chain your bike to a pole to. It's a "metallic" cable encased in a see-through plastic material, terminating in a 1/8 inch adapter. The package comes with the phones, a carrying pouch (or case if you get the comsumer version), and three sets of their silocon sleeves (small, medium and large), plus one set of foam sleeves.
Fit:
Unlike the Etymotics, These are designed to fit leading from your ear canal, up over the top of your ear and down towards the back of your head. The stems don't go in nearly as far as the Ety's may for some in order to create a good seal. The cables surprisingly are not cumbersone, and are designed to hold their shape (memory cable). The cable itself runs about 60 in and really isn't at all that noticible when running down your back. Once you find a good combination with the right sleeves, you should be able to really wear these for hours without any trouble.
Sound:
In a word, dynamic. With the DC-J01/Meta, it's pure bliss. This almost 3D sound swirling around you head for me can best be described as if your standing in front of a huge Lite Brite board,with boards also on either side of you. With the various sounds coming at you somewhat like the lights lighting up all around you a various points. With the Foo Fighters the bass is incredibly tight, yet impactful, and doesn't get in the way of the magesty of the cymbals. The imaging and soundstage are really good for canal phones; you can actually hear and pick out the snares and high hats actually being hit amongst the wall of guitar coming at you. With Anita Baker as well as Sylvian, the "grooveability" factor is there in spades, without losing its afinity for the detail. If you want to groove, you can; if you want to analyze and look for instruments, you can as well. The mids are very full, yet again do not get in the way of the other parts. There's a lot of texture there (evident on the Peter Gabriel track "Sledgehammer"). The highs are clean and clear, and are sustained for quite some time. It's almost as if the pieces of the puzzle fit perfectly.
Moving on to the Zen (unamped), the sound is pretty much the same (using the above as Lame encoded 320bps mp3's). Lots of detail and sound coming at you from various parts. My thoughts on this setup pretty much echo the above, so I'll leave it at that.
When you get to the "big rig", that's where some dissappointment comes in. It's as if they don't really handle the extra power well. The soundstage compresses just a bit, and just a touch of echoey hollowness is felt in some of the vocals. This is surprising to me, being that they're 110 ohms. The sound kind of sounds full to the point that it'll burst. Having said that, they don't lose any of their detail, and the puzzle is stil there, but that sensation of 3D sound is lost in the fullness of the sound. These were definitely more "enjoyable" for me from the smaller rigs.
As far as the genres of music used, I found these phones to be able to adapt to listening style very well. If you wanted to get lost in the gracefulness of Anita Baker, or rock out to the Foo Fighters, or psychoanalyze the sound of Mr. Gabriel, the capacity is there to be able to do all of this in a portable setting.
Advantages over the Etymotic 4 Series:
-Fit (Depending on your situation. You could probably again leave these in for hours and not have pain or that "my head is full" feeling. Very easy to get in and out after some practice as well.)
-Microphonics ( Or lack thereof. You can stike the cord
all you want, and nothing. You can hear yourself walking to a degree if you listen for it, but not while the musics playing.)
-Build (They won't break easy, that's all that needs to be said.)
-Soundstage (A bit bigger than that of the Ety's.)
Disadvantages over the Etymotic 4 Series
-Price (They retail for anywhere betwee four and five hundred dollars.)
-Versatility (The Ety's for me really shine in either a portable or home setting.)
-Sound (While the Shures definitely bring more to the table, soundwise they're not "miles above the Ety's". Considering the price, that's not great.)
Conclusion
The E5's are fantastic cans for portably use, and really bring this spectrum of listening to a new level. They aren't really "amp dependant" as far as getting their signture sound from them, to the point of where they the one set of cans I've heard that benefit from an amp the LEAST. Are they worth the $500?; that really depends on you. People who find the Ety's that uncomfortable really might want to try these, but to me the price tag for a new pair doesn't justify the results. For anything under $400 (I got mine for $360, or should I say, my mother did
Having said that, given the versatiliy of the Etys, they're probalby the better buy at this point; but if the mrsp of the E5's ever hit the $350 range, it's a different story.
