[albau]

I'm done with UE. In few years two pairs of 5 Pros died on me with same symptom - one of the drivers going silent. But I love their warm sound signature - pronounced but tight bass, detailed mids, slightly rolled but pleasant highs and wide, spacious soundstage. Works great for the on the go music I listen most such as classic hard rock, acoustic jazz and symphonic. Now I have to listen to my old Shure E3c but they aren't as engaging and too neutral to me.

So given budget of no more than $300 (better less) what would you recommend with similar sound but more reliable?

 

[justyourboy]

It doesn't fit in your budget but the JH audio JH5 is supposed to be a tuned up UE 5 pro with a longer warranty.

 

[Shaggy-FOO]

The Earsonic SM3 are pretty close to super.fi 5 Pro sound signature.  They aren't amazing at one thing, but great all-around performers which the Super.Fi 5 pro was to me. 
 
Besides that, I found the MTPC to be better than the Super.Fi 5 Pro.  It has more vibrant mids with lush vocals and prominent, crisp, detailed bass which doesn't muddy out the rest of the frequencies.  And the highs are detailed and fast, though not as much as the triple.fi (which is ok because the triple.fi were borderline fatiguing to me).  At times though, I found the mids to be slightly too forward overshadowing some acoustics and snares in rock music.  But overall, they are a step up from Super.Fi 5 pro.

 

[Sil3nce]

i was about to say you probably would go with the sm3s or maybe even the ie8s for your soundstage preference

 

[Rip N' Burn]

I just recently bought the SF5 Pro and if you want comparable bass and soundstage it would be either the Sennheiser IE7 or IE8, TF10, and SM3.

 

[Photofan1986]

I went from SF5pro to IE8 and I have to say they are completely different beasts. I realized though that the IE8 are definitely better all in all, but they are so different that some might prefer the SF5pro (but technically speaking, the SF5p sound veiled, harsh and unrefined in comparison).
Now, I have the SM3 and they take it all for me (my IE8 isn't getting much eartime lately, except for bed time listening, as their "contour" sound is good for low volume listening.)
 
And yes, the SM3 might be considered closer to the SF5p than the IE8. However, there is a couple of differences: the SM3 are much much better (

), they are much clearer, have no midbass hump like the SF, they have much more refined treble and a wider soundstage. However, I'd say they have slightly less bass quantity. All in all, a pretty big upgrade (for me, anyway) as I considered the IE8 to be a big upgrade over the SF5P and the SM3 a big upgrade over the IE8.

 

[albau]

I just recently bought the SF5 Pro and if you want comparable bass and soundstage it would be either the Sennheiser IE7 or IE8, TF10, and SM3.

Sorry but all cans above are outside my budget which now after some unexpected losses dropped to $200. Which leaves me with what, Monster Turbines? Anything else with warm but detailed signature under $200?

 

[IpodHappy]

On sale, the Monster Turbine Pro Golds run in the $180 range.  They are more bass heavy than the Super.Fi 5s and have a nice but somewhat less extended treble.  If you can live with what I consider nasty microphonics, the Klipsch Custom 3s sound quite nice.   They can be had for $110 on Amazon currently.  Do your research first to be sure you won't mind the microphonics and don't consider them if you plan to use these while being active.  The Etymotic ER4S and Shure e4cs in my signature have substantially less bass than the Super.Fi 5s.  There are a lot of other non UE $100-200 range IEMs out there, but I can't comment since I've not heard them.

 

[albau]

I was considering Custom 3s but read a lot about cable microphonics which is a no-no to me since I mostly listen while working out or jogging.

I'm no bass head. I liked SF5Ps mostly because of spacious and warm sound with enough detail and separation. Now when I'm listening to my old and frail Shure E3c I can pretty much live with their sound as well even though to me it seems a little bland. One thing that I really hate are screechy, forward highs and sibilance.

Is it possible with under $150 not to get overall worse than E3c in terms of detail, soundstage and balance? Since it seems impossible to approach SF5Ps with anything less than $200 and more neutral E3c are fine by me I started looking at Audeo PFEs, Etys MC5 and RE-252. Any opinions about how these stack against Shures?

 

[Photofan1986]

Quote:

Is it possible with under $150 not to get overall worse than E3c in terms of detail, soundstage and balance? Since it seems impossible to approach SF5Ps with anything less than $200 and more neutral E3c are fine by me I started looking at Audeo PFEs, Etys MC5 and RE-252. Any opinions about how these stack against Shures?

The Shure e3c are very lowly regarded phones, and I must say that I would not buy the SF5p again either.
There are plently of options out there, just have a look at some great thread like Joker's one.
http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/478568/multi-iem-review-115-iems-compared-monster-miles-davis-tribute-added-10-17
Regarding the RE-252 compared to the Shure, I consider the RE-252 as top tiers, they are really that good, so I think they would simply wipe the floor with the Shure (although I haven't heard the e3c).
The Audeo PFE are also certainly better than the Shure, and have a good price.
Also have a look at: Panasonic RP-HJE900, Head Direct RE-0, Hippo VB, Fischer Audio Eterna and dba-02, Jays Q-jays....
Really, imo there are many better options than SF5p but of course YMMV.

 

[albau]

I finally happily wound up with Audeo Perfect Bass (same as PFE but different filters and pack-ins). Initially I couldn't get good seal with supplied sleeves or any other non-foam one I had but this was fixed with Shure Olives. But with PB's default and only green filters Olives skewed SQ too much towards low end but that again was fixed by separately ordering and using grey filters standard on PFE. 

 

[DJGeorgeT]

The SF5P are not veiled. It depends on what tip you use with then. The single flange makes the SF5P sound dark. I use the double flange tips instead and shove the earphones deep in my ear. The sound is excellent.