[SLCentral]

Hey guys,

I used to be much more active in the earphone/headphone world, and about five years ago I got my first IEM (e2c), and worked my way up until about three years ago I grabbed the HD-595, along with the Ultimate Ears UE-5c custom IEM. I quickly returned the HD-595 (didn't like them, even when properly amped), but I've used my 5c's for the past three years with no problems. To be honest, I feel like I'm missing something for the $600+ I spent on them, but I do enjoy the sound they produce, and I absolutely love them.

Here I am three years later, and I've started to notice physical cracks in my IEM's. It doesn't effect the sound, but it's worrysome to notice 2" cracks on your $600 monitors. Either way, I'm thinking I want something new. Seeing as how the UE-5's are engineered to be similar to the UE-5 Pro, would upgrading to the TF10, SE530, or Westone 3 be an actual upgrade, or would I be losing in sound quality?

I realize I'll probably be losing in comfort/isolation too. I haven't used a non-custom IEM in three years now...have they gotten any better in that aspect to compete with customs in terms of comfort?

Sorry for being long-winded, and thanks for all the help!

 

[SLCentral]

Bump.

 

[Tiyako]

i would definitely recommend W3 if that's within your price range.

 

[chef8489]

Contact ue and get them repaired. I can not reccomend a universal as last time I really tried them was before my ue-5c and nothing on the marked sounded better than my ue-5c did. I upgraded to ue-11 and really love them. What is it you feel you are missing with the ue-5c?
Problem is most people with the new universals do not have customs or have not tried the ue-5c to actually say if it is an upgrade. What you could do is contact westone and see how they compare the w3 and the es2 as the es2 and ue-5c sound similar with minor differences.

 

[SLCentral]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chef8489 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Contact ue and get them repaired. I can not reccomend a universal as last time I really tried them was before my ue-5c and nothing on the marked sounded better than my ue-5c did. I upgraded to ue-11 and really love them. What is it you feel you are missing with the ue-5c? Problem is most people with the new universals do not have customs or have not tried the ue-5c to actually say if it is an upgrade. What you could do is contact westone and see how they compare the w3 and the es2 as the es2 and ue-5c sound similar with minor differences.

I should contact UE tomorrow, being seeing as how they are out of their two-year warranty, I'd rather invest in a new pair of IEM's then pay to get these guys fixed. Of course, that greatly depends on how much the repair is.

It's not that something is really MISSING from them, but rather it just seems like something is off. Bass extension is good, but I know they can't reproduce frequencies that are in some of my songs, since I've heard them played on higher-end systems that can be (albeit, these were speakers, and not headphones). Mid-range seems a bit muddy, and the high-end I'm impressed with. All in all, I'm just not BLOWN away...maybe that's not what I should have expected, but for $600, I was expecting a bit more then this...who knows. I had to listen to some iBuds the other day, and of course there was a HUGE difference between the two sounds, the iBud's held their ground, and I'm really not convinced that there is a $600 difference between the two in SQ.

 

[chef8489]

Contact westone and see if they feel the w3 would be an upgrade from the Es2. You could always look at ue-11 and es3x. The bass on the ue-11 is much fuller and deeper than the ue-5c. The ue-5c definitely sound anemic compared to my ue-11.

 

[Tiyako]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLCentral /img/forum/go_quote.gif I should contact UE tomorrow, being seeing as how they are out of their two-year warranty, I'd rather invest in a new pair of IEM's then pay to get these guys fixed. Of course, that greatly depends on how much the repair is. It's not that something is really MISSING from them, but rather it just seems like something is off. Bass extension is good, but I know they can't reproduce frequencies that are in some of my songs, since I've heard them played on higher-end systems that can be (albeit, these were speakers, and not headphones). Mid-range seems a bit muddy, and the high-end I'm impressed with. All in all, I'm just not BLOWN away...maybe that's not what I should have expected, but for $600, I was expecting a bit more then this...who knows. I had to listen to some iBuds the other day, and of course there was a HUGE difference between the two sounds, the iBud's held their ground, and I'm really not convinced that there is a $600 difference between the two in SQ.

hmm....but i gotta say...maybe there isn't a $600 of SQ there. But just like myself who has ordered a pair of UE-11 Pro....i suppose when you want that SQ you just gotta pay price.