[qaid]

I was looking forward to buying some nice headphones until I misplaced my Shure E2Cs. Well, after a week of doing research here on which earphones to get, I found my E2Cs again, but I'm still interested in replacing them.

Shure E4C and E4C-N, Etymotic ER-4P, and UE Super.Fi.5 Pro are all the same price on Amazon (~$175). Some of the reviews here favored one product over another due to "more bang for the buck." But since these are all the same price, which ones should I get?

I listen to a lot of genres, but I would like some emphasis on bass. I felt my E2Cs to be lacking, but I don't want muddy bass.

Also important are your opinions on comfort, sound isolation, and how it looks in your ear (I don't know if you guys feel the same way, but I want my earphones to look like they costed however much I paid for them...not as big of an issue as sound quality but still...)

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[intoflatlines]

Both of those E4c are the same, I believe. If you want emphasis on bass, get the SF5 Pro. If you want a ton of bass, get the SF5 EB.

 

[NeObliviscaris]

Ok

I have used the SF5 and ER4, and both are wonderful wonderful earphones.

SF5: I use with ES2 (Westone) cable (great comfort), great earphone, great bass, however, comfort may be an issue, it has an awkward fit, but once you get used to it, it's all good. Sounds good straight from my iPod's headphone jack.

ER4: I currently use with a P-S adpater, wonderfully balanced and detailed. Not designed for techno'ists, but I still like it. The use of a bass friendly Tomahawk helps out. I was not to please with the ER4 (P) straight out of my headphone jack, too high! These are comfy with Shure Olive tips as well

It really depends, I reckon since you want an emphasis on bass, get the SF5

 

[qaid]

hmm thanks for the suggestions so far, I think I might have miscommunicated so I will clarify:
I'm not exactly all for bass, I will listen to other music too. Mostly 80s,90s, and present rock, but also some rap, techno, and a little classical.

To tell the truth, I was kind of leaning towards E4C but now I am not so sure. To those who have both E4C and E2C, is E4c more "bass-ier?" $170 is a lot to me, so I need to make sure I'm making the right decision.

Thanks for your input guys.

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qaid /img/forum/go_quote.gif I listen to a lot of genres, but I would like some emphasis on bass. I felt my E2Cs to be lacking, but I don't want muddy bass. Thanks for your opinions.

If you truly mean this, none of those 3 IEM's qualifys and I think the Super Fi EB is too muddy. You need a pair of SE530's.

 

[huntercb]

I was debating these exact headphones about a month ago, went with the SF5's, and am quite pleased. Though not as comfortable or subtle as the Shure E3c's I had before, they sound great. The quality of your music may have a bearing on what you want to buy; the ER-4's will reveal most any imperfections in your songs. When I posted the same question on HF, the Shure E4's got rather tepid responses.

The SF5's definitely have more bass than I was used to with the E3's, but I haven't found it to be particularly muddy or overwhelming.

Just FYI, if you look at most of the vendors on Head-Fi, you can find all three of those headphones for cheaper than at amazon

 

[indigo]

I actually had the Shure E4G's, and now have bith the SFPs and the Shure E500's. I listen to fairly similar music to you, and you can't go wrong with the SFP's. They have a "fun" sound, strong bass (not muddy) and good highs. Having said that, they are not the most comfortable IEM's out there, and I honestly cannot go for more than a couple of hours before I "feel" them.

The Shure E4's, while having a very good midrange, has weaker bass when compared to the SFP's.

You might also want to consider The Atrio M5's.

 

[kpeezy]

If I ever get an IEM again (kinda thinking about it) it will be the ER4P. Paired with the bassy mini^3 it's awesome. That is a great setup.

 

[pataburd]

Between the ER-4S and the Super.fi 5 Pro, IMHO, the ER-4S is the better of the two. I liked the S.f5P a lot, but I liked the ER-4S even more in terms of clarity, speed and balance. The S.f5P provided a consistently fun, highly enjoyable (non-critical) listen, though. "More" bass with the S.f, but not necessarily "better" bass. : )

 

[glac1er]

I think you'll be happy with the sf5pro. The E4 and ER4P sound very good too with different sound signature but they have even less bass than the e2c. Also consider the Atrio M5 for strong bass.

And my opinion on looks, comfort, etc:
ER4P has best isolation but sticks out a lot and not very comfy since it goes deep into your ear canal. Most of my friends said it looks like a <$10 headphone. Super.fi is a bit better looking but it also sticks out a lot. I think E4c looks best out of the three and sticks out the least.

 

[qaid]

Thanks for all the responses you guys. I am now leaning towards Super Fi 5 pro, but I'm still considering Shure E4C. When I make my decision, I don't want any regrets you see.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you truly mean this, none of those 3 IEM's qualifys and I think the Super Fi EB is too muddy. You need a pair of SE530's.

sorry....that is way out of my price range. I don't even own a pair of headphones or speakers yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by huntercb /img/forum/go_quote.gif I was debating these exact headphones about a month ago, went with the SF5's, and am quite pleased. Though not as comfortable or subtle as the Shure E3c's I had before, they sound great. The quality of your music may have a bearing on what you want to buy; the ER-4's will reveal most any imperfections in your songs. When I posted the same question on HF, the Shure E4's got rather tepid responses. The SF5's definitely have more bass than I was used to with the E3's, but I haven't found it to be particularly muddy or overwhelming. Just FYI, if you look at most of the vendors on Head-Fi, you can find all three of those headphones for cheaper than at amazon

yeah it seems that you guys prefer SF5P. Do you not like E4C? I respect your opinions and I will probably buy based on your combined decision, but I would like to know why E4C is inferior. And what is E4C better at when compared to SF5P? I'm just wondering why E4C is $70 more than SF5P MSRP if people here prefer SF5P

(also, I'm not buying these immediately....I've seen SF5P as cheap as $100 new, so I'm waiting on a good deal)

Quote:

Originally Posted by indigo /img/forum/go_quote.gif I actually had the Shure E4G's, and now have bith the SFPs and the Shure E500's. I listen to fairly similar music to you, and you can't go wrong with the SFP's. They have a "fun" sound, strong bass (not muddy) and good highs. Having said that, they are not the most comfortable IEM's out there, and I honestly cannot go for more than a couple of hours before I "feel" them. The Shure E4's, while having a very good midrange, has weaker bass when compared to the SFP's. You might also want to consider The Atrio M5's.

So are you saying the E4's midrange better than SFP? or just very good?

 

[indigo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qaid /img/forum/go_quote.gif So are you saying the E4's midrange better than SFP? or just very good?

Bear in mind that I mostly listen unamped. The Shures were probably the first IEMs that I really liked (I had the Etys 4P before), they had a great midrange and were not shy in either the lows or the highs either. I liked them so much I bought E4Cs followed by E4Gs (after I sold the E4Cs off and suffered seller's regret). However after a period of time, I somehow always felt that they were missing an added "oomph" in the lower range (which I could get on the home system and in the car) and I disliked the idea of carrying around a portable amp.

I tried the Bose IEMs, the Atrios M5 and the SFPs to try to find a happy balance between the mids of the Shures with a stronger low range. For that budget range, the SFPs came closest to meeting the brief- good unamped, strong (not muddy) bass, good mids and highs.

Sorry to be so longwinded, and to answer your question- while the E4's definitely sound better (stronger and more clarity) in the mids, the SFPs imho is a better overall package if you are looking for a fun, non clinical, stronger bass sound. The only issue I have is the comfort (I use the smallest tips on the Shures and the UEs), which led me to the E500s but that's another story.

 

[Surly]

I am also contemplating between these three IEMs. At the moment I own E4s and ER-4Ps and a P->S cable. I am contemplating the opportunity of a trade of super.fi 5 pros for the -4Ps. I only intend to keep one pair of IEMs permanently.

At this time I listen unamped but the possibility of an outboard DAC+amp exists within the year.

The etys have a wider image and are a lot more revealing. The Shures are warmer, with nicer mids, a little more bass but less bass extension. I'm trying small and medium Shure olives on the Shures - I don't like the sound of olives on the etys. With triple-flanges the etys have MUCH better isolation than I can achieve in my ears with Shure olives but sometimes there's a weird colour or phasing of the sound as my ear distorts the tips I guess. I also find that I'm constantly fiddling with the Shures to keep them in and they take 5 minutes to get a good seal.

Since I already have a fair bit of listening time on the Shures and enough on the etys to know what to expect from them, I appreciate descriptions of the super.fi 5pro sound in direct comparison to these other two phones. I'm also quite concerned about fit on the super.fis since I appear to be a challenge in that regard.

I may consider custom tips, at least, down the road but not until I've picked an IEM to build them for.

 

[PooJou]

To fix the sticking out issue - wear them reversed so that they point in... I don't know why UE just don't make them like this from the factory, about a thousand times more comfortable.

This is just to help the Superfi case

 

[redrich2000]

I have both the ER-4P and the E4G, to be honest they are not that dissimilar. The Ety's have a tad more treble clarity and the Shures are a tad warmer through the mids. I was expecting them to be more different than they are.

What aspect of the E2Cs bass did you find lacking? If you found it to be muddy and want more balanced natural sound bass then the Ety's or the Shures would he the way to go. If you want a similar bass quantity but tighter and better defined then it would seem the SF5s are wht you are after.