Shure E500 vs Westone UM2 (preview)

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pixpox007 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sorry.. don't mean to post multiple times.. but I just tried UM2 with and without EQ on Foobar right now again and all the things like instrument seperation, very clear and articulate highs etc.. come to existance with proper EQing. Without EQ, I personally find the UM2 barely tolerable.. but with EQ.. it sings lovely.. really.. the difference is like radio and hi-fidility.. UM2s are simply not meant to be used without EQ if you just want to have fun listening ti music and not a musician.. Bump up the high frequencies, lower the ones around 1KHz a little and if you want bum up the bass (lower freq.) just a bit. I am not an EQ fan and I hate any EQ on any of my Grados because the Grados are already compensated to my perfect liking.

in reply to this person,EQ will solve most earphones problems with a boost in high or low frequencies available,you're suggesting that the um2 sound better with EQ,but u forget the EQ you set is your personal settings,which is generally why earphones are reviewed upon non EQ'ing some people may not like your suggested settings which is why earphones that sound great with well seperated instrumentals and so on are suggested as great,this is my opinion ofcourse and im not suggesting you are wrong but im always dissapointed if i find i need to fiddle with EQ to get great sound,the engineers that work at westone,shure and ultimate ears and so on are the experts there original sound is what is suppose to be the best or claimed to be and i will always see it that way,once again this is my opinion but is anybody else disturbed when they know they have to EQ boost to get the sound they want or believe the earphones should have???

 

[pixpox007]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif in reply to this person,EQ will solve most earphones problems with a boost in high or low frequencies available,you're suggesting that the um2 sound better with EQ,but u forget the EQ you set is your personal settings,which is generally why earphones are reviewed upon non EQ'ing some people may not like your suggested settings which is why earphones that sound great with well seperated instrumentals and so on are suggested as great,this is my opinion ofcourse and im not suggesting you are wrong but im always dissapointed if i find i need to fiddle with EQ to get great sound,the engineers that work at westone,shure and ultimate ears and so on are the experts there original sound is what is suppose to be the best or claimed to be and i will always see it that way,once again this is my opinion but is anybody else disturbed when they know they have to EQ boost to get the sound they want or believe the earphones should have???

Agree to what you say, but it depends on what the headphone manufacturer was addressing.

The Senns are designed to have a maximally flat response, with a little bit of ambience effect mixed in it, while the Grados have their freq. response modified to create a more impactful sound. Consequence of this is that by EQing the Senns, you can adjust it to the sound you like, while its very difficult with the Grados because its already adjusted by the manufacturer according to what they thought is best.

Same goes with the Shures and UM2s. UM2s are designed for musicians while the Shures are EQd already to provide a more impactful sound for the iPod listener. It is therefore unfair to compare the UM2 and Shure with no EQ to review their driver quality...

Sure, from a no hassle listening point of view the Shures come ahead, but I really don't think they have better drivers than the UM2, because when EQd, the UM2 drivers really sing.. at least much better than the similarly priced Shures.