[crimsonadam]

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[remilard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimsonadam Amazon is selling the Shure E5c for $329, which effective means that they're now in exact competition with the UM2s. This is the lowest (mainstream) price that i've seen for the E5c headphones, and i'm getting the itch to jump. But i've heard a lot of good things about the UM2s. I currently have a set of the Shure E2s (due to their reputation for stronger bass than the E3s). Bass response and prominence is of great importance to me, though i still value a good quality headphone. That being said, i also love my Beyer 770s. So, now considering that the UM2s and the E5cs are at the same price, i'm hoping that i could get some opinions about which are the (perceived) better buy and which would make a basshead happier. Thanks to everyone who replies.

They use the same housing, cord, and as near as I can tell drivers so they are equal value at equal price. The westones do come with a hard case, the shures come with more tips.

Shures have more bass but the westones have a lot of bass so I guess it comes down to how much of a basshead you are. I like the HD650 and I eq'd the westones to be less bass heavy on the bass light ipod, just to give an idea of how much bass we are talking about.

 

[jagger333]

where do you see shure E5 for $329 on Amazon?? the lowest price i see is $369

 

[Sugarfried]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard They use the same housing, cord, and as near as I can tell drivers...

Just to clear a few things up:

E5 and UM2 do not use the same cord or the same housing. The drivers and driver configuration are also not the same.

They both have a clear cable, but it is a completely different material.

Same thing with the housings - they're both clear, but they are otherwise unique.

As for drivers/acoustics: the E5 crossover is in the cable, the UM2 crossover is in the housing. They are not identical drivers either. All armature drivers look similar, but sensitivities and tuning vary in different makes and models.

 

[crimsonadam]

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[crimsonadam]

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[remilard]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugarfried Just to clear a few things up: E5 and UM2 do not use the same cord or the same housing. The drivers and driver configuration are also not the same. They both have a clear cable, but it is a completely different material. Same thing with the housings - they're both clear, but they are otherwise unique. As for drivers/acoustics: the E5 crossover is in the cable, the UM2 crossover is in the housing. They are not identical drivers either. All armature drivers look similar, but sensitivities and tuning vary in different makes and models.

Yeah I was completely wrong about the cable, I haven't seen the E5 in a while. As for the housing, they are both clear, they are both the same material, they are both the same general shape and fit the same. Their are minor, non substantive differences and they obviously use a different mold but I think they are clearly not independent designs.

As for the drivers, I had noticed that I could tell the two drivers apart in either model but not the corresponding driver in each model. I also though the difference in sound could be entirely attributed to crossover, but there is obviously no way to know.

Either way, of all the IEMs on the market, these two are most similar in appearence and sound.

 

[catscratch]

Between these two, it's a choice of sound signatures. The Shure has forward mids and recessed treble. The UM2 has a clearer, more forward treble but recessed mids. On the whole, their quality is about the same. (UM2 is wearing biflanges, which I assume would be the default tip for most people). I think UM2 would be better for electronic music, and the e5c would be better for rock/pop; neither beats the ER-4S for classical (not so the ER-4P though, which I don't like all that much - it needs too much EQ to perform).

 

[geardoc]

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimsonadam .. So, now considering that the UM2s and the E5cs are at the same price, i'm hoping that i could get some opinions about which are the (perceived) better buy and which would make a basshead happier. Thanks to everyone who replies.

Both are very good and sound similar.

The big difference is in the cabling. The UM2's cable is thin and light, whereas the E5 has that memory wire and a stiffer (teflon coated?) cable that sort of tangles. It takes a bit longer to get the E5 installed but once its in, then the memory wire takes the strain off of your earlobes.

 

[spinali]

I haven't had any experience with the Shures, but my UM-2 just came in today.

If anything, I'm a treble-bead, but these have exceptionally well-defined bass (hardly excessive), pleasing treble, and revealing definition. I've only listened unamped from an iPod (with treble boost, of course), so the sonic richness top to bottom is a nice surprise.

They're like pillows with the foam pads.

Quite a step up from my modest MX-500s, which are now officially in retirement.

 

[Sugarfried]

Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard Yeah I was completely wrong about the cable, I haven't seen the E5 in a while. As for the housing, they are both clear, they are both the same material, they are both the same general shape and fit the same. Their are minor, non substantive differences and they obviously use a different mold but I think they are clearly not independent designs.

I agree with you that they both have the same general shape (and to a lesser degree fit) and they are made out of a similar clear ABS, but the other differences are not minor nor substantive.

The way in which the nozzles are affixed to the assemblies is quite different - the E5 nozzle is keyed into place, the UM2 is not. There is a silicone boot encasing the drivers in the E5, there is not in the UM2. These may not seem like major things, but they are.


Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard As for the drivers, I had noticed that I could tell the two drivers apart in either model but not the corresponding driver in each model. I also though the difference in sound could be entirely attributed to crossover, but there is obviously no way to know.

I can't give too many specifics, but the crossover is not the only factor contributing to the differences in sound.


Quote:

Originally Posted by remilard Either way, of all the IEMs on the market, these two are most similar in appearence and sound.

Consindering how small of a market it is (as far as the amount of products currently available) I can't disagree with that.

 

[crimsonadam]

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[illwafer]

time for me to add my 2 cents.

i agonized over my purchase and went with the UM2. my pricerange was under $500 too.

from what i've read, the UM2 is made for musicians, therefore the sound is flat. some people call it "balanced", but it basically means that there isn't pronounced or missing bass or treble. it would give you the closest thing to the way the musician wanted you to hear the music (or the engineer).

i am using them as monitors for the music i make. i also use them for my mp3 players, etc. you can eq them all you want, but out of the box they should give you the "right" sound (as long as you don't use a pos ipod).

remember, you can get the UM2 for $285 shipped on ebay from a reputable dealer. the money you could have saved over the E5 could have went towards custom earmolds.

 

[Sugarfried]

crimsonadam: We designed the nozzle and housing to be durable. Since we're talking about small plastic parts that see a lot of wear and tear we felt that adding a silicone enclosure to the drivers would increase the robustness. We keyed the nozzle so that it is not held in by glue alone. E5's were designed for stage use, so the requirements were pretty strict.

Some of this might seem like overkill, but these elements are the reason we are comfortable offering a two year warranty.

 

[Imyourzero]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugarfried crimsonadam: We designed the nozzle and housing to be durable. Since we're talking about small plastic parts that see a lot of wear and tear we felt that adding a silicone enclosure to the drivers would increase the robustness. We keyed the nozzle so that it is not held in by glue alone. E5's were designed for stage use, so the requirements were pretty strict. Some of this might seem like overkill, but these elements are the reason we are comfortable offering a two year warranty.

I wouldn't call it overkill, because I've heard of the nozzles on the UM2 breaking off and know of at least one person on this board that it has actually happened to. Mine never broke, but I was extremely careful with them. I examined the area on the monitors where the nozzle is glued to the driver housing and could see where that might be a point of failure or could possibly cause a problem in the future. I doubt it'll ever be an issue for most people, but it can and does happen so prospective buyers should be aware of the pros and cons of each model before they make their decision.