aWanderlust
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2004
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This story can best be told as a narrative, basically because I’m in to much shock to tell it formally. Please bear with it and read the entire thread if you’re interested, this is more than a comparison in sound quality of two great IEM’s.
I purchased a pair of UE-10 PRO’s about a year ago during the “craze” and loved them like a child, so I thought. As stated by others their sound has a visceral slam that involves the entire ear. Over the period of months they became my primary listening tool while a pair of lonely HD600’s gathered dust. I attributed this worship of the UE’s to their apparently better sound quality and the joy I got from listening to them. However, this euphoria did not last forever.
A few months ago I grew tired of my $1000 friends when I rediscovered my HD600’s. The fresh sound and the clarity that they provide made me distraught about my UE purchase. It was that day that I decided to purchase a new pair of IEM’s despite owning the self proclaimed “Ultimate Ears.” Some would call me crazy, but with a simple recommendation of the Shure E5’s from Edwood a few months after causally looking at several IEM’s, whom also likes electronic and trance music as I do, I decided to try the E4’s. They were a less costly experimentation and I felt they would have plenty to live up to in comparison to my UE’s.
First impressions had me laughing at how much better they UE’s sounded, but the Shure’s excellent musicality and reasonable base was confusing me. After fiddling around, I attained a better fit with the Shures by following a modification I read about where a foamie is combined with the soft tip. I was able to deeply insert the Shure’s in my ear with an amazing and comfortable seal. In fact, they are more comfortable that my custom fit UE’s. Note, I did not use foamies, I used earplugs to fill the inside of the soft flex tips. This is where the plot thickens and some seriously horrifying irony begins to appear.
Earlier today I was listening to both sets of IEM’s, sometimes one pair followed by the other, and sometimes one pair with a quick switch to the other by using only one in an ear at a time. It was doing this fast switching that I finally realized why I had grown tired of the UE’s. Their sound was muddy and even lacked detail, as if were colored by a blind child in comparison to the Shures. Had my ears been tricked for over a year to think that they were better? I’m not sure, but now I love my Shures. I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to little clips of hundreds of trance songs in my library in awe of the sound. Although they lacked powerful bass that the UE’s provided, even in a genre where bass is viewed extremely importantly, the Shures still sounded better IMHO.
Finally, the irony, I was on my way to get some dinner about 2 hours ago when the unthinkable happened. Following my usual routine, I popped in the UE’s, plugged them into my ipod, and headed out of my apartment to get some Chinese food. As I walked down the stairs I’ve navigated hundreds of times before, thinking about how strange the UE’s now sounded to my ears after a day of listening to the Shures, the cable of the left earpiece caught the metal railing of the stairs. The next sequence of events happened in the blink of an eye. Out came the earpiece, detached went the cable, down went the UE, and crush went my foot as I stepped on $500. Irony at its best, or worst.
And then there was one, working headphone that is. Attempting to not shed any tears I removed the right earpiece, folded the cable and placed it in my pants where it still remains. I then picked up the left earpiece, briefly inspected it to determine that the cracked bass driver and severed wires would require an entire new unit to be made, and placed it in my other pocket. I think I will look at my UE’s one more time though the screen on a digital camera as soon as someone curious enough will host a few pictures of the crushed dream for me. I have no want to replace it, however I am sad to see it leave my life in such a tragic way. They would have been nice for the occasional change for my new love, the Shure’s.
I guess the moral of this story is, IEMS are my ticket to mobility and freedom in the headphone world, but walking around with $1000 on your head comes with its risks. I have thought about everything I did today wondering what I could have done to prevent this disaster and even blamed UE for making detachable cables, though they are essential since it makes cable repair easy. In the end, no one is to blame but me, thank god my revelation about my dislike of the UE’s and came before their untimely demise, and not after.
Oh well, finally understanding why I did not enjoy music as much after getting the UE’s is now clear. They were a burden in more ways than one. Heut’ ist mein tag. Today is my day.
-Ryan
-Edit, of course I can. Sorry.
I purchased a pair of UE-10 PRO’s about a year ago during the “craze” and loved them like a child, so I thought. As stated by others their sound has a visceral slam that involves the entire ear. Over the period of months they became my primary listening tool while a pair of lonely HD600’s gathered dust. I attributed this worship of the UE’s to their apparently better sound quality and the joy I got from listening to them. However, this euphoria did not last forever.
A few months ago I grew tired of my $1000 friends when I rediscovered my HD600’s. The fresh sound and the clarity that they provide made me distraught about my UE purchase. It was that day that I decided to purchase a new pair of IEM’s despite owning the self proclaimed “Ultimate Ears.” Some would call me crazy, but with a simple recommendation of the Shure E5’s from Edwood a few months after causally looking at several IEM’s, whom also likes electronic and trance music as I do, I decided to try the E4’s. They were a less costly experimentation and I felt they would have plenty to live up to in comparison to my UE’s.
First impressions had me laughing at how much better they UE’s sounded, but the Shure’s excellent musicality and reasonable base was confusing me. After fiddling around, I attained a better fit with the Shures by following a modification I read about where a foamie is combined with the soft tip. I was able to deeply insert the Shure’s in my ear with an amazing and comfortable seal. In fact, they are more comfortable that my custom fit UE’s. Note, I did not use foamies, I used earplugs to fill the inside of the soft flex tips. This is where the plot thickens and some seriously horrifying irony begins to appear.
Earlier today I was listening to both sets of IEM’s, sometimes one pair followed by the other, and sometimes one pair with a quick switch to the other by using only one in an ear at a time. It was doing this fast switching that I finally realized why I had grown tired of the UE’s. Their sound was muddy and even lacked detail, as if were colored by a blind child in comparison to the Shures. Had my ears been tricked for over a year to think that they were better? I’m not sure, but now I love my Shures. I spent the rest of the afternoon listening to little clips of hundreds of trance songs in my library in awe of the sound. Although they lacked powerful bass that the UE’s provided, even in a genre where bass is viewed extremely importantly, the Shures still sounded better IMHO.
Finally, the irony, I was on my way to get some dinner about 2 hours ago when the unthinkable happened. Following my usual routine, I popped in the UE’s, plugged them into my ipod, and headed out of my apartment to get some Chinese food. As I walked down the stairs I’ve navigated hundreds of times before, thinking about how strange the UE’s now sounded to my ears after a day of listening to the Shures, the cable of the left earpiece caught the metal railing of the stairs. The next sequence of events happened in the blink of an eye. Out came the earpiece, detached went the cable, down went the UE, and crush went my foot as I stepped on $500. Irony at its best, or worst.
And then there was one, working headphone that is. Attempting to not shed any tears I removed the right earpiece, folded the cable and placed it in my pants where it still remains. I then picked up the left earpiece, briefly inspected it to determine that the cracked bass driver and severed wires would require an entire new unit to be made, and placed it in my other pocket. I think I will look at my UE’s one more time though the screen on a digital camera as soon as someone curious enough will host a few pictures of the crushed dream for me. I have no want to replace it, however I am sad to see it leave my life in such a tragic way. They would have been nice for the occasional change for my new love, the Shure’s.
I guess the moral of this story is, IEMS are my ticket to mobility and freedom in the headphone world, but walking around with $1000 on your head comes with its risks. I have thought about everything I did today wondering what I could have done to prevent this disaster and even blamed UE for making detachable cables, though they are essential since it makes cable repair easy. In the end, no one is to blame but me, thank god my revelation about my dislike of the UE’s and came before their untimely demise, and not after.
Oh well, finally understanding why I did not enjoy music as much after getting the UE’s is now clear. They were a burden in more ways than one. Heut’ ist mein tag. Today is my day.
-Ryan
-Edit, of course I can. Sorry.
