[toaster]

sorry to hear that the ue's just ain't doing it for you.

i would suggest you get a pair of sensaphonics and let us know what you think of those.

i bet you'll love them.

 

[doobooloo]

Quote:

Ok to recap. You like the SA5ks and hate the UE-10 Pros. Didn't I try to talk you out of the UE-10 pros and talk you in to getting the SA5ks. Sorry about your luck though.

Two things here - I didn't know the SA5Ks would be so similar to Etys in sound; from reviews it seemed like the UE-10 Pros were souped-up Etys so I thought that the sound signature would be similar. Oh well!

Quote:

get a pair of sensaphonics and let us know what you think of those. i bet you'll love them.

First, I would officially be bankrupt/broke if I did that.

Also, if I were to try another IEM it would be the Westones not the Sensas.

 

[Jon L]

I think I must have missed a few pertinent threads, but why did you decide to replace the Ety's in the first place??

I agree that Ety's do have shortcomings, mainly in bass, but that's pretty easily minized with something like SuperMacro w/ bass boost. The midrange/treble purity and detailing, as much as some people complain about it, can be astounding IF source/amp is very high quality and synergistic. This quality kind of reminds me of the older (and some claim best) Watt/Puppy 3/2, which many people have criticized for being hyper-detailed, but which absolutely could knock your socks off with the detailed purity.

 

[doobooloo]

Quote:

I think I must have missed a few pertinent threads, but why did you decide to replace the Ety's in the first place?? I agree that Ety's do have shortcomings, mainly in bass, but that's pretty easily minized with something like SuperMacro w/ bass boost. The midrange/treble purity and detailing, as much as some people complain about it, can be astounding IF source/amp is very high quality and synergistic. This quality kind of reminds me of the older (and some claim best) Watt/Puppy 3/2, which many people have criticized for being hyper-detailed, but which absolutely could knock your socks off with the detailed purity.

Long-term comfort was the biggest reason for switching to custom IEMs. Curiosity was also another, with all the glowing reviews stating that the UE-10 Pros were indeed a step above the ER-4S... I couldn't resist trying out what was even better than the ER-4S.

Oh well.

 

[Natsuiro]

I hope it was just a mix up at UE because I was hoping they would be super etys too.

 

[Zoide]

doobooloo:

It's interesting that you say the UE-10 Pro's sound similar to the HD650's. I'd read before that the HD650's and Sensa 2X-S sounded very similar (according to lindrone, PATB, and others IIRC). And indeed, from my 2X-S experience and short listening sessions with the 650's, they're pretty similar.

Also, I've read about how the UE-10 Pro's and 2X-S have certain differences in midrange, etc. but sound quite similar overall (starting with lindrone, and most notably in iamdone's recent comparisons).

So those things would lead me to believe that if the 2X-S sound very similar to the 650s, and the UE-10 Pro's sound very similar to the 2X-S, then the UE-10 Pro's should sound similar to the 650's.

So it's all nice and well in the land of the transitive property... except that the UE-10 Pro's had been described as great for Ety lovers, and the 2X-S as great for Shure lovers. And yet Etys and Shures are quite different. Not to speak of Etys and 650s....

So nevermind what I said, since it's almost impossible to guess what things are gonna sound like from reading posts unless you're very lucky

Sorry about your bad experience. I really hope that you'll find satisfaction sooner rather than later. At least you have the SA5K's, right?

PS: WOOHOOO! 1500 POSTS. Well, what a journey it has been. Quite a drain on time, money, and academic performance. Hopefully I will be out of here for good in the near future

That aside, thanks guys for all the fun conversation and audio advice. I'm really enjoying my music, so I guess that's what matters anyway

 

[gorman]

Reading doobooloo impressions got me thinking two things:

First and foremost, I would be inclined to think that there's something wrong with your specific set of canalphones. Your experience is too different from anybody else's to be real...

. The fact you mention that they have to reach painful levels to be balanced... it's rather strange considering they are meant to be instruments of hearing preservation, not destruction!

Apart from this, in case your UE-10 are exactly the way mine are... I can't see how you can say they don't go to deep bass, I can't see how you can define the bass to be bloated or, horror, distorted...

Something has got to be wrong.

 

[gorman]

I was having a look at your equipment, though... AKG 501, Etys, Cresyn E700. They appear to be all kind of bass deficient, overly analytical cans, don't they?

Maybe you should have given yourself some time to adjust to UE-10s... just a thought.

 

[waltermeyer]

Hopefully your UE's are having the same problem mine were when I first got mine. I got my UE-10's and was having the same sort of reaction. Mine were mainly very recessed highs and having to turn the volume up too high to get a descent sound. Luckily for me though I live in Las Vegas, so I didnt have to do the shipping back and forth thing. But when I went into their lab, I explained the problem I was having and they took them and put them on their scope. It has a little rubber cup that simulates an ear and they put the UE up to it and seal it then they get a graph of some kind with the levels its putting out. I dont completley understand what exactly it was reading but it was coming up short. He did some troubleshooting and eventually found that the cord was damaged. I watched the levels that he was getting with my original cord, and when he plugged my new cord in, I watched the levels go up significantly. I was glad they let me watch because I was very worried that I had made a mistake purchasing them and that they were just humoring me going through the motions of troubleshooting. I definatley saw a difference in the levels when he switched the cord. And when I tried them back on, they sounded much better. I was so relieved to know that there was really something wrong with them. Because if there wasnt, I was going to be seriously disappointed. So I hope this story eases your worries. I hope that there was something similar wrong with yours. Because I now love mine. Either way, I can assure you, Ultimate Ears will bend over backwards to try to make things right with you. My experience with their customer service was outstanding. Keep us posted, I hope your end result is a good one.

 

[acs236]

The SA5000's, which doobooloo has, have just about as much bass impact as headphone I've heard besides maybe the PS-1. However, I think your first instinct was correct -- somethign seems wrong with his particular UE-10s. Considering how many things could go wrong with them -- bad impressions, slight manufacturing defects -- they may very well be defective.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorman I was having a look at your equipment, though... AKG 501, Etys, Cresyn E700. They appear to be all kind of bass deficient, overly analytical cans, don't they? Maybe you should have given yourself some time to adjust to UE-10s... just a thought.

 

[guyverl]

I really hope they are defective... my UE10s are in the post now aand i'd be gutted if they had bloated bass and no detail...

here's for hoping, when I receive my UE10s i'll post my impresesions too... coming from ER4S background too i'll be able to do some similar comparisons to you doobooloo

 

[Feanor]

Wow, sorry to hear about this, it must be a major downer. You might want to let it burn in, maybe that is causing a bit of the badness. (maybe not though) I hope it comes around!

 

[boodi]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorman I was having a look at your equipment, though... AKG 501, Etys, Cresyn E700. They appear to be all kind of bass deficient, overly analytical cans, don't they? Maybe you should have given yourself some time to adjust to UE-10s... just a thought.

mmm...

I'm not so much impressed by doobooloo opinions...

The most important thing I'm conscious about is doobooloo have ears that are kind of very sensible towards pronounced bass . If he found etys not lacking in bass, period, it's just normal that a big percentage of other nice recent headphones will be noticed bassy for his ears, as the market as shifted towards bass in the last years on many brands - until maybe the last sony' flagships which aren't probably so much bass oriented

two options , imo
1. try to let your ears adapt to a new sound.
2. stick with k501 and etys (and eventually sa5000)
3. don't even think es3 will be different from ue10 pro, as they will be only very slightly different imo ( es3 have been designed with singer/guitar players in mind , so they should bring out a more present and refined mids )

-all this barring the retesting - refitting job will address the problem

and .. OT .. In time I've become less and less bass oriented too lately and eventually will get some etys before stepping on ES3/ UE10 pro

 

[joncirca57]

For what it's worth: I thought my first set went too far into my ear. When they fixed this the fit and the sound improved completely. (The one-note-bass I initially experienced went away). Might be worth calling UE to discuss stem-length if it's not too late.

Good luck!

 

[doobooloo]

Thanks for all your replies.

waltermeyer - thanks for sharing your experiences. It's comforting to know that you've experienced something similar as well. I really hope that whatever they do at the lab in the next few days when it comes back to me it sounds much better.

Regarding the cans that I've owned in the past - K501s, Etys, and Cresyn E700s - yes they're all rather bass deficient but I have used them extensively with bass boost (PPA bass boost, DAP bass boost, etc.). I also own the PortaPros which have a lot of midbass but I think it sounds very nice and smooth. I do enjoy bass when it's musical, tight, and well integrated with the rest of the music. After all, it's the bass that starts me tapping my feet more than anything. When I had the DT770 Pros I enjoyed them very much even though it had ridiculous amounts of bass. So I don't think it's just that my ears can't take bass. I've gone through a lot of high end equipment and I'm confident I know what high quality bass integration sounds like - and a headphone that has strong bass that integrates well with the rest of the sound spectrum can be one of the most satisfying things. That was what I was expecting from the UE-10 Pros, not monotonous bloated bass that masks everything else.

The thing is, if they sounded exactly like HD650s then I wouldn't be so disappointed. At least the HD650s were very free of distortion and bass wasn't overpowering - sound was balanced even though it was quite veiled and dark sounding. I feel that the UE-10 Pro sound is quite distorted at parts (tonality is off) in addition to having overpowering bass. Anyway...

guyverl - please do post your impressions. I would love to hear what you have to say as a ER4S owner.

Zoide - congrats on your 1.5k-th post!

Anyway, you're right, I guess it is very hard to correctly judge what these sound like from the reviews after all. I don't regret getting these though, I'll have to learn to love them over time but I think it's a good investment. As my lifestyle gets more hectic and mobile over time I know this is what I really need, not full sized headphones and amps but a truly portable audiophile system that can go anywhere I go.

joncirca57 - that may be the problem. I'll definately run this idea by UE today when I call them.

Anyway, thanks for all your input so far. I'll keep this thread posted with new info as they roll in.