[fierce_freak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rx7_fan so when you give me a review in a quiet room, in those ideal conditions- it's useless.

I think you should at "to me" at the end of that...it's incredibly useful for me to read a review in a quiet room as that's in one of the locations I primarily use them. I'm an oddball, though, so perhaps my view isn't as valid (i generally prefer IEMs over anything else, open, closed, even speakers).

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Monkey I guess I understand the posts above regarding not wanting to use amps with IEMs. However, it really isn't debatable that certain iems benefit from an amp. They just do. The E4 and UE-10 are two such iems.

Personally, with IEMs, I use them on the go. Well, most of the time I do. I find having to carry an amp around to be a pain and with UE-10s the difference with an amp is very small. (Feel free to ask UE themselves). So most times I don't use an amp with these headphones.

Sure the E500s will sound better with amp. Personally, I don't want to go back to the days were I had to carry an amp with me. And if the UE's XXX 's sounds better unamped and not as good amped then e500s, I go for the XXX's. Or visa-verse. Only because my wife doesn't want to carry an amp. I wouldn't unesimated the value of not needing an amp.

 

[The Monkey]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisfromalbany Personally, with IEMs, I use them on the go. Well, most of the time I do. I find having to carry an amp around to be a pain and with UE-10s the difference with an amp is very small. (Feel free to ask UE themselves).

Actually I did. Jerry said he believed they improved a fair amount with an amp. But I understand your point, it is advantageous to have an iem that does not require an amp to sound very good. However, I think it is also important to note that a bunch of us Head-Fiers do not use our iems only on the go. Therefore, reviews that take into account amps and source are very useful.

 

[Harun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rx7_fan I think you really do not need spectacular gear like Grace Amps, Merridean CD players, and Cardas cables to have an accurate impression of IEM because I mostly use IEM w/ my portable gear. So when people use high end gear to give their impressions of IEM it's pointless to me, because it wont sound like that when I use it with my portable player. Also, when they sit in quiet enviroment to review IEMs is pointless too, because I don't use IEMs in quiet environments, I use it when I'm outside; where its noisy (example: on campus, gym, street, subways), so when you give me a review in a quiet room, in those ideal conditions- it's useless. For me, when I write about IEMs, it's straight up my 5g iPod and the IEM i'm talking about in a every day condition. I don't care about amps, interconnects, line-out, whatever, I use done of that. It's just my iPod and the IEM. Basically, I come with the attitude of "Here's my 5th generation ipod with 320kps encryption, impress me with your IEM" I'm not going to do anything extra. The developer's job is to impress me with their IEM straight out of my iPod. Their job is to fill in any gap the iPod is missing (in term of sound quality). I don't want to buy a canal phones and have to buy an amp to make it sound good. So for those of you who said, "ooh you didn't use the E500 in a quiet enviroment, or use a good amp, or use a great source, or even with the right interconnects" I say freak, are u going to get to use all that crap while you're on a subway? running a gym? walking to class while you're on campus? NO, it's just going to be you and your iPod. Obviously there are different people who plan the E500 with their amps, merridian cd players, and exspensive interconnects; but don't you think 'if the UE10 is more accurate than the E500 on cheesy old ipod, it would perform even better with a greater equipments'? I usually don't participate in arguements about IEM or headphones because I could care less about what people think. But the claim of the E500 is more accurate than the UE10 is so outrageous that I feel like I must post something so people who do not get to hear both wont be misinformed. Ooh and I love SHURE, I have a ton of their products that I actuallly pay for. I just don't put it in my profile the products I own because that would be bragging (and a waste of my time), and why would I want to brag to you guys. I just put my favorite 2 canals on to let u guys know how I listen to music.

I agree with you a 100% rx7_fan. I bought an amp for my E4c's a while back. I returned them the day after because my portable gear became un-portable. The whole thing got like 3 times larger and the improvement of the E4c's were nothing great. I'm glad i don't need an amp for the UE-10's, that really is a huge plus for me.

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rx7_fan I think you really do not need spectacular gear like Grace Amps, Merridean CD players, and Cardas cables to have an accurate impression of IEM because I mostly use IEM w/ my portable gear. So when people use high end gear to give their impressions of IEM it's pointless to me, because it wont sound like that when I use it with my portable player. Also, when they sit in quiet enviroment to review IEMs is pointless too, because I don't use IEMs in quiet environments, I use it when I'm outside; where its noisy (example: on campus, gym, street, subways), so when you give me a review in a quiet room, in those ideal conditions- it's useless. For me, when I write about IEMs, it's straight up my 5g iPod and the IEM i'm talking about in a every day condition. I don't care about amps, interconnects, line-out, whatever, I use done of that. It's just my iPod and the IEM. Basically, I come with the attitude of "Here's my 5th generation ipod with 320kps encryption, impress me with your IEM" I'm not going to do anything extra. The developer's job is to impress me with their IEM straight out of my iPod. Their job is to fill in any gap the iPod is missing (in term of sound quality). I don't want to buy a canal phones and have to buy an amp to make it sound good. So for those of you who said, "ooh you didn't use the E500 in a quiet enviroment, or use a good amp, or use a great source, or even with the right interconnects" I say freak, are u going to get to use all that crap while you're on a subway? running a gym? walking to class while you're on campus? NO, it's just going to be you and your iPod. Obviously there are different people who plan the E500 with their amps, merridian cd players, and exspensive interconnects; but don't you think 'if the UE10 is more accurate than the E500 on cheesy old ipod, it would perform even better with a greater equipments'? I usually don't participate in arguements about IEM or headphones because I could care less about what people think. But the claim of the E500 is more accurate than the UE10 is so outrageous that I feel like I must post something so people who do not get to hear both wont be misinformed. Ooh and I love SHURE, I have a ton of their products that I actuallly pay for. I just don't put it in my profile the products I own because that would be bragging (and a waste of my time), and why would I want to brag to you guys. I just put my favorite 2 canals on to let u guys know how I listen to music.

The thing is, Andy, some of us do use our IEMs at home on our reference system (whatever it might be). Some of us use our IEMs in a semi-portable manner as well. My point is that changing the source/amp/interconnect/lineout, etc, can change the sound quite a bit. Personally, I use my IEMs with an amp and line out just as often as I go without the extras, and that's just portable/semi-portable listening. I probably spend even more time with them at home. As far as reviewing goes, when I do a proper review I try to comment on on-the-go listening, as well as stationary listening.

My initial impressions were made with an amp, because I would be using it with one much more than without one. I fully intend to do further testing unamped. I did already give my opinion based on a brief unamped session though. As I said, I think the UE-10 sounded a bit better unamped. When an amp was added in I think the E500 sounded better. Again, I'd really like to do a lot more listening, but that was my initial take.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harun I agree with you a 100% rx7_fan. I bought an amp for my E4c's a while back. I returned them the day after because my portable gear became un-portable. The whole thing got like 3 times larger and the improvement of the E4c's were nothing great. I'm glad i don't need an amp for the UE-10's, that really is a huge plus for me.

Personally, I already have a good collection of headphones for what I am not on the go. So when I am not on the go, I don't use the UE-10s to much. Lately I have been going between with SA5000s and HD650s. Find the SA5000 have more high end treble, more bass extension, and alittle more detail in general. SA5000s have the most detail of all the headphones I listen too.

Anyways the ability to use IEMs w/o an amp shouldn't be over looked. And having to carry an amp around with e5s, was a pain. If I didn't do this, forgot an interconnection, was in a hurry, ect., I almost didn't want to listen to the e5s.

 

[LFF]

Going on the amped v. unamped - I agree with Jasper994. The UE-10's did sound a BIT better that the E500's when unamped. However, once my line out was connected to my Hornet, the E500's were the clear winner for me. Now, I always carry my RSA Hornet with me so portability isn't really an issue for me but I can understand how it might be for others. If I had to choose between the E500 and the UE-10 today, knowing what I know now, I would choose the E500. The difference in amped v. unamped was small to me but the difference between the amped UE-10 and the amped E500 is staggering.

Keep in mind, these are just my opinions and I do LOVE my UE-10s but that night I put the E500 into my RSA Hornet I knew there was something special. The smile on my face was large and the music was coming through in a way that I have never heard before with IEMs.

I still stand behind my opinions[size=medium] 100% [/size]. ALSO, please keep in mind, I don't smoke crack and I am only sharing my thoughts with my friends here on headfi. I have not been paid or bribed. If I think something is good, be it music or a $500 IEM that beats a $1000.00 IEM, I will share it with you guys and gals through my honest opinion and hope that at the end of the day, someone will be smiling due to my opinion.

Keep on listening to the music!

 

[Jasper994]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LFF Going on the amped v. unamped - I agree with Jasper994. The UE-10's did sound a BIT better that the E500's when unamped. However, once my line out was connected to my Hornet, the E500's were the clear winner for me. Now, I always carry my RSA Hornet with me so portability isn't really an issue for me but I can understand how it might be for others. If I had to choose between the E500 and the UE-10 today, knowing what I know now, I would choose the E500. The difference in amped v. unamped was small to me but the difference between the amped UE-10 and the amped E500 is staggering.

Quote:

If I think something is good, be it music or a $500 IEM that beats a $1000.00 IEM

I think a lot of us are fogetting this huge difference in price too. You're paying a lot of extra cash for the customization. Some people feel it's worth it, but a good number of people don't, particularly those who would like the opportunity to resell it. Regardless, the idea that there's now a $500 ($400?) universal fit IEM that'll compete with the best in custom IEMs is great news. UE knows this too, and it's one of the reasons they're coming out with the Triple X. For less than the price of the UE-10, those folks here who have deep pockets (or long lines of credit

) will be able to own both the E500 and the Triple X. That's awesome news around these parts because if the E4 and SF5P are good tells, it'll be worth owning both.

 

[Brian Kinney]

Does anyone have any info on the UE XXX's, like how they'll compare the the E500 or the UE 10's, are they custom or? I emailed them about it and they didn't respond. I really need to get a pair of IEM's here.

 

[Alex M]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brian Kinney Does anyone have any info on the UE XXX's, like how they'll compare the the E500 or the UE 10's, are they custom or? I emailed them about it and they didn't respond. I really need to get a pair of IEM's here.

UE XXX are supposed to be universal fit headphones with sonic signature similar to UE10, but with somewhat more enhanced bass. They are not expected to sound similar to E500.

 

[rx7_fan]

If this discussion get any more heated, I swear Luis and Aaron will jump me next time we see each other

Hey guys, we need to meet up soon, haven't seen you guys forever; and now we have something to talk about too.

 

[kin0kin]

costing more $$ doesn't neccessarily means that it sounds better anyway, though not many would admit that a more pricey phone sounds worse than a cheaper one, especially something like a 1000 bucks custom iem. But seriously, if the UE10pros is anything like the e500, that'd be the biggest disappointment I'd have if I ever splurge my $$ on them.

 

[plainsong]

In a perfect world where we all have the same size and shape ear canals, the E500 might be perfect. But if they don't fit right, you can't escape the fact that they won't sound right. In my case, both my canals are really straight, and one is longer than the other. This makes universal fit really really really tough. It takes ages to get a decent seal and matching sound in both ears.

Now I know with the ergonomic shape that Shure went with, they're really addressing that, but it's bound to not fit everyone.

Then there's comfort. It takes seconds to get the Sensas seated right, and even the injected silicone stuff used to take the impressions is more comfy than a generic foamy or tri-flange shuffed in there. I can't go back to something that uncomfortable.

These are issues that the E500 really can't 100% address for every ear canal, and because of that, the sound will suffer for those it doesn't fit.

 

[fierce_freak]

I guess I was lucky to be born with the canals I was (trade off for all the ear infections as a kid

) - IEMs sound fantastic to me, getting a seal is almost literally effortless, and I can get them in (with foamies) within 15 seconds without really rushing (i've gotten them in in about 2 seconds on occasion O.O).

-edit- oh, i also find them to be rather comfortable most of the time, usually to the point of not really being able to tell there in (besides the occlusion effect)...can't imagine how comfy customs must be

 

[Pete7]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fierce_freak I guess I was lucky to be born with the canals I was (trade off for all the ear infections as a kid ) - IEMs sound fantastic to me, getting a seal is almost literally effortless, and I can get them in (with foamies) within 15 seconds without really rushing (i've gotten them in in about 2 seconds on occasion O.O). -edit- oh, i also find them to be rather comfortable most of the time, usually to the point of not really being able to tell there in (besides the occlusion effect)...can't imagine how comfy customs must be

Maybe you should consider the UM56's for those E500's. Custom tips I'm sure will improve the sound quality considerably. I'll let you know the difference between foams and customs when I get them, still hopefully this week. I'd let you try my UM56's at the meet, but I'm afraid your ear canals most likely aren't identical.