shure ec5 or um2?

[juzmister]

i here so much arguement. Which one to buy?

 

[egokun]

I, too, would like to read an A/B comparison of the two. I've read many opinions, but they're all just "the E5c is better" or "no way the UM2 is much better". I've quite understood the pros and cons of each, but so far the only thing that would really make me choose is the price difference.

Anyone?

 

[juzmister]

yup. who is up to the challenge

 

[DOUGHN]

me three , also interested

 

[Spiritboxer]

It's a "Tastes great, less filling" argument and basically unwinable IMHO. In the end my decision making process usually involves flipping a coin, figuring, let the universe decide. Of course YMMV.

 

[juzmister]

thanks for the insight into your special place. Now does anyone have some constructive comments! (i agreed it is unwinable, i just want to know what i will be getting each way)

 

[SiBurning]

Two weeks ago I got the shure e5 and westone um2, and I've had the etymotic er4-p for a few months. Trying to compare them in detail is hard. Eventually, I'll have enough to write a detailed article, but that will probably take a few months.

To try to answer you, here's a couple of my initial impressions comparing the shure and westone.
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First, they both have a similar... what's the right phrase?... house sound? You notice this immediately when you compare them to the Etymotic, which has a very different sound. Neither has the kind of high end that the Etys are known for--what people sometimes debate is either detail or lots of high end energy, but to me sounds more like some large nonlinearities in the high-end frequency response.

There's a clear peak in the bass response of the Shures that's in a sweet spot to stress the lush overtones from low bass notes. If you're a Chris Squire fan (bass player for Yes, and known for playing very deep notes), you might appreciate the emphasis. In contrast, the Westones have two humps, one higher, and one lower. The lower one emphasizes really low bass below 50 Hz, which can be a good or a bad thing. The other hump is in that area the area emphasized by typical cheap boomy speakers--not a good thing--but the overall effect of the two humps is to emphasize the entire bass, if you're not listening too critically. (I suspect this is tuned for comply tips which I don't use.)

The shures seem to be less well controlled than the Westone. The notes don't decay as quickly as they should. This is probably a design tradeoff, where Westone chose to break up the bass (increase the damping, but end up with dual humps) to get better control over the speaker, and Shure chose to go with a more musical tone, at the cost of a slower decay. Note that the decay has effect well beyond the bass range, and possibly throughout the spectrum, even if its cause probably lies in the bass.

I don't like the Shure 4. It sounds like listening through a tunnel--as if I'm in the hallway outside the concert hall. Neither the Westone, nor Shure 5, nor the Ety 4p has much of this effect, although it does seem to be a characteristic of canal phones, in general, and you can get a bit of the effect with any of these if you seat the phones badly.
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Everntually, I'll have enough to write a full comparison, but it's going to take considerable time. Each headphone has its own strengths and flaws. Different tips have a large effect. Different music plays into the strengths and weaknesses of each phone. Finally, it matters whether you're at home in a silent environment, or are on a bus, train, or noisy street. With all these variables, it's really hard to come to grips with the differences. It's also hard to do quick a/b comparisons because it takes some time to switch the phones and it takes even longer if you don't have three sets of each tip for a quick comparison.

What I've mentioned above is the best I can do now without getting into how the different tips affect the sound, except that I do not like the sound of any of the foam tips. All the comparisons assume either the flange, or the clear or black plastic tips from the shure pack. If you use the foam tips, some of the above will not be true. But what I've mentioned does come through using any of the plastic tips.

 

[juzmister]

nice! thanks heaps

 

[dvallere]

Heh...I hate to throw a wrench into the discussion (but when has that ever stopped me?) Did you consider the Super.fi 5 Pro? Those have been by far the best-sounding IEM I tried (out of Shure E4, UM2, and that one). I only returned them because the foamies were the only tips that fit and it was objectionable to pay $13.00 shipping for a 2" square baggie of foamies. I am awaiting my custom sleeves from Westone for the UM2; this may improve the UM2 sound for me, but straight out of the box unamped the Super.fi 5 Pro definitely had an edge over the UM2.

 

[SiBurning]

Yeah! I even argue with myself about it...

I'm not very happy with the little comparison I did a few posts back. The truth is, if you seat the phones different, you can get the exact opposite result. Compared to choosing tips and seating them, the difference between these phones is small. Having said that, I don't rettract anything in the comparison, because it all seems to be right, even if it's all secondary effect. This is why I only comment on a couple of small things, and skip the big picture stuff--it's just hard to compare them.

Whatever you do, get some different type of tips and in different sizes, try them all, and figure out for yourself which one(s) to use. And, by the way, you might decide to use different sizes in each ear.

I've heard that Westone designed the Shure e5, and looking at the two, you'd think they were different product models of essentially the same phone. They also sound as if they're different versions, if they're voiced differently. The Shure has the first few inches of wire stiffened to help hold the phones in place when you rig it right over your ear, but even with this, there's no clear advantage compared to the lightness of the Westone--the Shure method doesn't work well enough to outright beat the Westone. I'm at a loss to decide in comfort as well.

The best recommendation I can give is that if price matters, just go with the UM2. If price doesn't matter, well, maybe like me, you'll have a hard time choosing beetween them on sound quality or anything else. Good thing I have both and don't have to decide. Then again, I often prefer the Ety over either, but the difference here is obvious. Like I said, it's going to take a good while to sort this all out.

A bit more, although I'm not completely clear about this all... Some people say the Shures are more musical, and the Westone more faithful or flat (frequency response). I agree. The shures emphasize overtones (Maybe that's what people mean by more musical.) which, in my humble (no, make that confused) opinion, is part and parcel of their looser bass/slower decay. From the opposite side, this can make the Westones seem hard by comparison. (Or depending on how you choose to describe it, dull, flat, or lifeless.) I note this particularly in solo piano (Chopin) where the Shures seem to add echo/hall presence/space/however you prefer to describe it. It also comes through with drums, where the Westone gives more of the initial dull thud, or rather, less of the ringing note that follows. (I'd call this a dry sound.) Another way to put it is Shure is more musical, Westone has more PRAT. Finally, in the high end, the Shures seem to have less distortion, although I don't know what this is exactly.

 

[juzmister]

it sure will, im confused as anything as to which one to buy. My dad aint going to buy me three pairs for my bday because thats the only way i can try them out.

 

[atx]

I'm using the UM2 with the foam tips and it sounds very similar to the Senn HD580. My only other iem is the ER6i, and the UM2 is a BIG improvement over the er6i-- no more annoying (non-linear) highs, thin unnatural vocals, and non-existent bass.

I hear the EC5 has even more bass than the UM2, so I don't think I'd like that.

 

[egokun]

Quote:

Originally Posted by atx I hear the EC5 has even more bass than the UM2, so I don't think I'd like that.

Funny, I've read quite the contrary

Every comment I've read says the UM2s have more bass, more treble, and a better fit than the E5c. On the other hand, those who prefer the E5c say the UM2s are less musical and more analytical, and that they're better for rock.

I'd say the big problem is the price difference. The UM2 can be found for a significantly lower price than the uber-priced E5c, and that will set the matter for a lot of people. If they were the same price, maybe the differences in sound signature would seem much less important

I have only seen these canalphones in pictures, and judging by the pictures, it seems to me that the E5c are the best-looking canalphones around. Also, I have the E3c and E4c and I've learned to like the Shure sound signature, so I believe that the E5c are a great product, albeit not perfect (but there's no such thing as the perfect earphone, right?). Still, the UM2s are intriguing... that's why I'd like to know as much as possible about them.

 

[juzmister]

ok, i can get the shure ec5 for same price as um2. Decisions, decisions...

 

[atx]

Quote:

Originally Posted by juzmister ok, i can get the shure ec5 for same price as um2. Decisions, decisions...

NEW? WHERE?!

Quote:

Funny, I've read quite the contrary Every comment I've read says the UM2s have more bass, more treble, and a better fit than the E5c.

The UM2's bass is perfect for me with the foam tips. Good impact, but I detect a treble rolloff so it's probably not for Grado lovers. It may sound different with the tri-flanges, I haven't tried them.