[phendric]

Hi,

For a birthday gift, several friends want to get me good (better than I currently have, at least) pair of IEM's, and the headphone guru of the bunch is offering me my choice between the following:

-UE Super.fi 5 pro
-Shure E4C

I like music to sound good, and I can recognize really good quality when I hear it, but I've never heard the UE's (my friend has the Shure's, and let me listen once - they sound quite good). Of those of you who have heard either, what would you suggest I go for? I listen to lots of classical music, together with some country and some pop.

Suggestions?

P

 

[jjcha]

Heh, it's been a while since we've had this question...

What will you be using as a source? If an iPod, tell us what version it is.

Also would be helpful - do you like a nice warm bassy sound or would prefer a crisp, fast, cleaner sound?

Best,

-Jason

 

[bLue_oNioN]

My recommendation goes to the Shure E4C.

P.S. Jason, he posted in another thread the following when he was looking for headphone suggestions:

Quote:

Originally Posted by phendric * Need ability to be driven by portable player (I have a Dell PDA with a very good mp3/ogg/AAC/FLAC player, including a good equalizer) * I need to be able to hear them both in quiet and loud places (the loudest place is on the 45-min bus/train ride home) * I prefer something that's not huge, so that I can carry them with me (ie, portable), and so that I don't have these huge things on my head. * I need something with good sound distribution (I think) - I listen to lots of classical music, with some country and some pop thrown into the mix, but nothing that's too imbalanced in terms of bass levels.

 

[phendric]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Heh, it's been a while since we've had this question... What will you be using as a source? If an iPod, tell us what version it is.

I'll be using a Dell Axim x50v (I know - I'm a tech geek)...Tried an iPod and hated it. I use my Dell because of a wonderful program called 40th iPlay - it's a media player that integrates an awesome EQ and cross-feed, and which sounds the best of any portable player I've used. I bought a 30 GB, 5th gen iPod and returned it a week later because the sound didn't compare.

Quote:

Also would be helpful - do you like a nice warm bassy sound or would prefer a crisp, fast, cleaner sound? Best, -Jason

As far as sound timbre/quality goes, I'm not sure. I know from what I've seen that the UE's give a nice bass quality, and that the Shure's are more balanced, and I also know that when I use EQ with my player, that I generally like to boost the bass and the high-end a little more...

Other than those two things, I'm not sure I can give a clear answer to your question, maybe because I haven't experienced the two sounds enough to know what I like.

P

 

[jjcha]

Maybe the best advice then is to borrow the E4c from your friend for a day or so and try it with your Dell... if you find that it sounds too thin or not enough bass for you, then try out the super.fi... if it sounds balanced to your ears (clean treble, nice mids, just enough bass), then I'd stick with it. The E4c in my opinion has a very different sound from the super.fi, and I think it's not that difficult to figure out if you want a warmer, fuller sound (i.e., super.fi) than it offers.

Best,

-Jason

Postscript: hmm, re your eq preferences... heh, with the super.fi you may be boosting the treble and the E4c you may be boosting the bass!

 

[phendric]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bLue_oNioN My recommendation goes to the Shure E4C. P.S. Jason, he posted in another thread the following when he was looking for headphone suggestions: Quote: Originally Posted by phendric * Need ability to be driven by portable player (I have a Dell PDA with a very good mp3/ogg/AAC/FLAC player, including a good equalizer) * I need to be able to hear them both in quiet and loud places (the loudest place is on the 45-min bus/train ride home) * I prefer something that's not huge, so that I can carry them with me (ie, portable), and so that I don't have these huge things on my head. * I need something with good sound distribution (I think) - I listen to lots of classical music, with some country and some pop thrown into the mix, but nothing that's too imbalanced in terms of bass levels.

It's been a long time since I posted that - either you have a good memory, or you know how to use the search function very well!

Add to the problem with big cans the fact that my ears stick out more than most people's do, and so something over the lobes starts to really hurt after a while. I tried a pair of Sennheiser PX100's recently, and while the sound was great, the phones hurt my ears after about an hour. No fun.

P

 

[derek8555]

definitely E4C.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

E4C hands down.

 

[LuckyKarma]

I was just thinking about posting this thread when I got home from class! I'm looking for a nice IEM too, but why is the E4c recommended over the Super.fi 5 pro if the Super.fi 5 Pro has a 7.4 rating on headphone reviews, while the E4c has a 6.5? The price of the Super.fi 5 Pro is more appealing as well, about $100 cheaper from Amazon

(I have a 4G iPod btw)

 

[derek8555]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuckyKarma I was just thinking about posting this thread when I got home from class! I'm looking for a nice IEM too, but why is the E4c recommended over the Super.fi 5 pro if the Super.fi 5 Pro has a 7.4 rating on headphone reviews, while the E4c has a 6.5? The price of the Super.fi 5 Pro is more appealing as well, about $100 cheaper from Amazon (I have a 4G iPod btw)

Rating doesn't mean much when the reviewer's taste of music is completely different from yours. Again, everyone has different ears, so you might hear things differently from him as well. Street price they are about the same. You can find new E4s for roughly $180-200. I doubt you can find SF5Ps much cheaper than that.

 

[jjcha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LuckyKarma I was just thinking about posting this thread when I got home from class! I'm looking for a nice IEM too, but why is the E4c recommended over the Super.fi 5 pro if the Super.fi 5 Pro has a 7.4 rating on headphone reviews, while the E4c has a 6.5? The price of the Super.fi 5 Pro is more appealing as well, about $100 cheaper from Amazon (I have a 4G iPod btw)

Well, given there's only one review of the E4c and 3 reviews of the super.fi 5 Pro on that website - there isn't any sort of critical mass necessary to gauge what the masses are thinking.

Just a note - with the iPod Photo, the E4c has a serious bass deficiency. I find the bass is nicely balanced and enough for me out of the Video and the Nano and the like, but with the Photo, it's fairly missing. Having said that, I still preferred the E4c with the Photo than the super.fi, but I prefer clarity far more than bass.

Best,

-Jason

 

[Michael415]

lol, which one gets recommended more depends on who is reading the posts first. Really the only way to find which you prefer is to try them both if at all possible. Unlike some of the others I much prefer the sound of the SuperFi's. They definitely pack more punch (bass) and when modded are super comfy and just about impossible to fall out during exercise. I primarily listen to jazz, blues, and for exercise dance/trance. If you want super crisp highs why not throw the ety's er4p's into the mix? Last I heard they were about the same cost as the superfi's.

 

[errorrrr]

Classical/pop/country arn't even heavy on the bass.... the thumping base on the UE would be wasted, and probably make your music unbalanced... I'd prefer ER4P (eytmotic) or E4G (Shure)

 

[phendric]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjcha Maybe the best advice then is to borrow the E4c from your friend for a day or so and try it with your Dell... if you find that it sounds too thin or not enough bass for you, then try out the super.fi...

My friend, who has been eyeing a pair of super.fi's for a while now is going to get them for me, and is going to let me test-drive both pairs. I get to keep the pair that I like better, and he gets to test drive the UE's to see whether he likes them better. Very nice.

Quote:

if it sounds balanced to your ears (clean treble, nice mids, just enough bass), then I'd stick with it. The E4c in my opinion has a very different sound from the super.fi, and I think it's not that difficult to figure out if you want a warmer, fuller sound (i.e., super.fi) than it offers.

I guess we'll see - once I've tested both pairs, I'll let you guys know what I decide.

Quote:

Postscript: hmm, re your eq preferences... heh, with the super.fi you may be boosting the treble and the E4c you may be boosting the bass!

Thanks for your suggestions, and thanks to the rest of you who have posted!

 

[bloodydoorknob]

I use the e4's and the super-fi's, but I prefer the e4's for there clarity and detail. I use a 5.5g ipod and it mates quite well to the e4's. I did prefer the synergy between the super-fi's and my 4g ipod though, because with a 4th gen Ipod the e4's were kind of lacking in the base department.