[kevhuynh]

Hehe. So I guess the spending spree begins as these are my second set of cans in as many weeks

. Anyhow, I was just wondering what these badboys come with? Is it a soft case or a hard case?

Is the listening experience fairly close to a 595? I went with the UM2 since it was described as having the biggest soundstage and being the IEM that most closely resembled the sonic signature of a full headphone. Am I hoping for too much?

 

[music251]

They come with a hardcase, very useful I might add. I use it myself all the time. The UM2 sounds great, I would recommend using them with a mp3-player that has an onboard EQ. The sound is a bit dark when using them with an ipod shuffle. Don't get me wrong though, the UM2 do sound great, especially if EQ'ed correctly. Allow some time for burn-in, and use triflanges. That way you'll get the best sound.

 

[DJGeorgeT]

After September 1, 05, It comes with 4 pairs of comply tips, a loop cleaning tool, zip case (soft case), and instruction manual. Before Sept 1, it came with a pelican case instead of the soft case.

It does sound like a full size headphone and has very good soundstage, but I prefer the Super.fi 5 Pro when it comes to soundstage and uncongested presentation. The UM2 may sound congested and compressed when you raise the volume on them.

 

[Julz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music251 I would recommend using them with a mp3-player that has an onboard EQ. The sound is a bit dark when using them with an ipod shuffle. Don't get me wrong though, the UM2 do sound great, especially if EQ'ed correctly. Allow some time for burn-in, and use triflanges. That way you'll get the best sound.

I found the best sound by far is with the short comply tips. The tri-flanges just didn't seem to give a decent seal for me. And, with my Minidisc player with no EQ'ing what-so-ever, I don't think they sound dark at all. I think they sound pretty darn amazing. Mind you, my Sharp Minidisc player does have superior sound quality to iPods, so no suprises there - **straps into flame suit** - Personally I'd be miffed if I had to EQ these baby's to get good sound quality, but hey, each to his own.

All, of course, IMO...

 

[Spiritboxer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julz I found the best sound by far is with the short comply tips. The tri-flanges just didn't seem to give a decent seal for me...

I can't use the tri or bi-flanges either and the short comply tips don't quite do it. The Shure clear flex were ok but kinda uncomfortable in the long run and as of yesterday my tip of choice is now the Shure foamies, great seal with reasonable comfort. Started out with them on my E3's and it looks like I've come full circle.

 

[kevhuynh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DJGeorgeT After September 1, 05, It comes with 4 pairs of comply tips, a loop cleaning tool, zip case (soft case), and instruction manual. Before Sept 1, it came with a pelican case instead of the soft case. It does sound like a full size headphone and has very good soundstage, but I prefer the Super.fi 5 Pro when it comes to soundstage and uncongested presentation. The UM2 may sound congested and compressed when you raise the volume on them.

Ack, so you're saying the SF5 Pro may have a moore full siaze headphone feel?

 

[Borat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevhuynh Ack, so you're saying the SF5 Pro may have a moore full siaze headphone feel?

In terms of soundstage and quantity of bass, the SF5Pro sounds like a full size headphone. The soundstage rivals that of the Sennheiser HD650 IMO (wider, but falls a little short in depth) if this is important to you.

 

[kevhuynh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Borat In terms of soundstage and quantity of bass, the SF5Pro sounds like a full size headphone. The soundstage rivals that of the Sennheiser HD650 IMO (wider, but falls a little short in depth) if this is important to you.

Damn...yeah it really is. I could sacrifice a bit of detail if it meant the overall experience was closer to a set of full sized cans.

That said, if say the SF5pro's were a 10 in that regard (for an 'IEM), where would the UM2 sit? I'm having buyer's remorse already

.

 

[Max Minimum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music251 They come with a hardcase, very useful I might add. I use it myself all the time. The UM2 sounds great, I would recommend using them with a mp3-player that has an onboard EQ. The sound is a bit dark when using them with an ipod shuffle. Don't get me wrong though, the UM2 do sound great, especially if EQ'ed correctly. Allow some time for burn-in, and use triflanges. That way you'll get the best sound.

It's really amazing the differences in experience we all have with IEM's. For me music251's post just about sums it up. Eq'ing to bring out the treble and using the triflanges are the only way I can get decent high end extension and a proper seal with these. Anything else and it's pretty much midrange only in my ears. EarphoneSolutions included the tri-flanges when they shipped it which I was not even expecting. Their ziplock baggie container was stapled to the invoice. And it's a good thing. Otherwise I'd have sent them back.

There was another suprise benefit here, too. The long Comply tips do great things for my Ety ER-4P's. They make them more comfy and bring out a bit more bass all while easing insertion/extraction. I think the ER-4P's are much closer to the 595's than the UM2's, especially with the Comply tips.

 

[kevhuynh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Max Minimum It's really amazing the differences in experience we all have with IEM's. For me music251's post just about sums it up. Eq'ing to bring out the treble and using the triflanges are the only way I can get decent high end extension and a proper seal with these. Anything else and it's pretty much midrange only in my ears. EarphoneSolutions included the tri-flanges when they shipped it which I was not even expecting. Their ziplock baggie container was stapled to the invoice. And it's a good thing. Otherwise I'd have sent them back. There was another suprise benefit here, too. The long Comply tips do great things for my Ety ER-4P's. They make them more comfy and bring out a bit more bass all while easing insertion/extraction. I think the ER-4P's are much closer to the 595's than the UM2's, especially with the Comply tips.

Son of a. Just what I didn't want to hear

.

 

[Max Minimum]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevhuynh Son of a. Just what I didn't want to hear .

You still might like these though. Eq that treble up and they are definitely enjoyable.

Also, if you decide you don't like their sound signature you won't have any trouble selling them here. They tend to go quickly. And you can get the Etys for around $200.

 

[Spiritboxer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevhuynh Son of a. Just what I didn't want to hear .

Hey, don't psych yourself out, if you don't like them, return 'em and get the SF5P's. I still have a week or so where I can return mine if I so choose though I don't think I will. I'm really enjoying them.

 

[music251]

Don't fret so much over the UM2. They do sound great, and what is also very important - they are very practical to use. Easy to insert and comfortable to wear (more so than other models after what I've read here...). The EQ'ing is a bit frustrating, but it seems that apple will soon offer a customizable EQ on their iPods (they filed for some new EQ patents for the iPod), so then this will cease to be a problem. The important thing to mention here is that EQ (preferably subtractive to avoid distortion) works brilliantly with the UM2. Plenty of both detail and musicality. These are the only IEMs I've own, though I'm a picky person when it comes to sound. So if I think they can sound great, then it can't be that bad..
That said, on some recordings the UM2 will sound dull unEQed, but that is using the shuffle. If you use an iRiver or something with a real EQ, then there really isn't a problem.

 

[kevhuynh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by music251 Don't fret so much over the UM2. They do sound great, and what is also very important - they are very practical to use. Easy to insert and comfortable to wear (more so than other models after what I've read here...). The EQ'ing is a bit frustrating, but it seems that apple will soon offer a customizable EQ on their iPods (they filed for some new EQ patents for the iPod), so then this will cease to be a problem. The important thing to mention here is that EQ (preferably subtractive to avoid distortion) works brilliantly with the UM2. Plenty of both detail and musicality. These are the only IEMs I've own, though I'm a picky person when it comes to sound. So if I think they can sound great, then it can't be that bad.. That said, on some recordings the UM2 will sound dull unEQed, but that is using the shuffle. If you use an iRiver or something with a real EQ, then there really isn't a problem.

Ah okay. So is it mainly an Ipod thing? I'm using it out of my laptop line out which sounds pretty damn good. Any mp3 playback program you guys recommend other than winamp?

 

[wakked1]

I use an iRiver H320 and Winamp on my laptop. Well, I also just got a iPod Nano from work, which sounds pretty good with the treble enhancer (though a bit too 'hot' sounding). My fav is my Winamp EQ setup though out of the Thinkpad.

It does come with a zip hard case btw, not a soft case as one poster mentioned. If you can, get a Shure fit kit to try with it, FWIW the flex sleeves are my favs...