[ghiberti]

hey, guys.
I need your help.
please, give me your opinion. the more, the better. I'd appreciate it.
I'm residing in south korea and recently at local forum,
heard one guy's saying um2 and e5c have similiar physical properties- frequency/impedance, etc-, so the sound difference between them you have experienced is just a placebo effect. in the end, it has come down to the dispute between reductionism and phenomenology or something

. what do you guys think about that? I know many guy's saying um2 is more balanced and detailed, or vice versa. do you think this difference is real or just a illusion?

*if it's like what he said, I don't know what all these disputes and recemmendations are about.

 

[cheechoz]

Without a doubt, there is a difference. The bass is stronger on the UM2, and believe me, I am very picky about bass response. I find that the E5c is more musical and accurate then the UM2. Also, I like the high end better on the E5c's. They are very minor differences, but they are no doubt there.

 

[Cerebral_Mamba]

HOw can something thats different be same?? I don't undertand that. UM2 and EC5 are different, and they can never sound exactly the same probably even if you want to unless you make the cable, drivers, connectors, cross-feed circuitry, casing, tips all the same and to the same specs.

 

[crazyfrenchman27]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghiberti hey, guys. I need your help. please, give me your opinion. the more, the better. I'd appreciate it. I'm residing in south korea and recently at local forum, heard one guy's saying um2 and e5c have similiar physical properties- frequency/impedance, etc-, so the sound difference between them you have experienced is just a placebo effect. in the end, it has come down to the dispute between reductionism and phenomenology or something . what do you guys think about that? I know many guy's saying um2 is more balanced and detailed, or vice versa. do you think this difference is real or just a illusion? *if it's like what he said, I don't know what all these disputes and recemmendations are about.

Just because a headphone has a simliar frequency response and impedance does not mean that they sound the same. There are other things that contribute to a headphones sound.

I bet everyone in this room could distinguish a difference between these two IEM's in a DBT. It is not subtle.

-Matt

 

[ghiberti]

BUMP

come on guys~
yeh, you may find this a very silly question.
but I need your opinion.
thanks, cheechoz, Cerebral_Mamba and crazyfrenchman27.

 

[Bull Moose]

If you want another reference, earphonesolutions.com has a good amount of customer regarding both the IEM's you're talking about. I've owned the UM2s for a month now and I think they sound amazing on my iAudio x5. Though I made a big upgrade (from shure E2c's) I'm still impressed on almost a daily basis by the sound these things produce. Also you should know as some people on head-fi have made me aware: Westone worked on the E5c at first and then Shure decided to move the project to Mexico so they could be built for cheaper. Any one is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong here, but in a way the UM2 is a different version of the E5c. And a lot of people have turned to UM2s because they offer a very similar sound for a much cheaper price.

 

[keuning]

I never heard them, so I cannot comment on that (UM2 are on their way though

). However the specs are far from similar.

Impedance: UM2 = 27 ohm; E5c = 110 ohm (this is more than factor 4x)
Sensitivity: UM2 = 119 dB/mW; E5c = 122 dB/mW (ok this one is close)

Shure does specify a frequency response for the IEMs because they find that that depends too much on the response of the ear-canal itself. It seems though that the E5c was originally designed by Westone (as was the E1, just look at the old UM1 that was just replaced) and as such it seems they still have a similar but not identical sound.

 

[afbug]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bull Moose If you want another reference, earphonesolutions.com has a good amount of customer regarding both the IEM's you're talking about. I've owned the UM2s for a month now and I think they sound amazing on my iAudio x5. Though I made a big upgrade (from shure E2c's) I'm still impressed on almost a daily basis by the sound these things produce. Also you should know as some people on head-fi have made me aware: Westone worked on the E5c at first and then Shure decided to move the project to Mexico so they could be built for cheaper. Any one is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong here, but in a way the UM2 is a different version of the E5c. And a lot of people have turned to UM2s because they offer a very similar sound for a much cheaper price.

Westone used to make the E1 for Shure too and Westone's version, UM1 has stronger bass. Shure make the E3 to replace the E1, so i think it is similar to Westone's new UM1.

They should sound similar but not the same.

 

[chrisfromalbany]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghiberti hey, guys. I need your help. please, give me your opinion. the more, the better. I'd appreciate it. I'm residing in south korea and recently at local forum, heard one guy's saying um2 and e5c have similiar physical properties- frequency/impedance, etc-, so the sound difference between them you have experienced is just a placebo effect. in the end, it has come down to the dispute between reductionism and phenomenology or something . what do you guys think about that? I know many guy's saying um2 is more balanced and detailed, or vice versa. do you think this difference is real or just a illusion? *if it's like what he said, I don't know what all these disputes and recemmendations are about.

after owning both the differences are small. I guess if I had to choose one out of the two I would go with Shure e5s. I think they are alittle more musical and I like the fit better. UM2s are good as well and cheaper. And because of the price difference I would go with the UM2s because the differences are so small. I haven't done a a/b comparison because I owned the two at different times. UM2 are alittle more analyical and the e5s are alittle more musical. The mid bass was more in the e5s and sounded heavier. UM2s seems to have deeper bass just not as much upper bass. Again this differences were small and both units required an amp to bring out peak performance. I see the number listed above, but I don't care really. I did to a/b comparison they both need an amp much more then UE-10s I have.

Hope this helps...

-Chris

 

[solvexyz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bull Moose Westone worked on the E5c at first and then Shure decided to move the project to Mexico so they could be built for cheaper.

Sugarfried just cleared it in other recent thread that Shure just moved the project back to the states, so they all are built in the states like Westone.