[No title]

GO TO ADMIN PANEL > ADD-ONS AND INSTALL VERTIFORO SIDEBAR TO SEE FORUMS AND SIDEBAR

whit96

Banned
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
76
Points
0
Location
New Jersey
OK, We Went For It. The Order Is In.....

....For the Ultimate Ears UE-10.

Being a "self proclaimed audiophile" (Take it for what you will ;) ), I mustered up the ability to put in an order for the UE-10's to see what it's all about.

There's a couple of us over at Head-Fi who are in the process of, or have already received, either the Sensaphonics IEM or the UE-5C's or 10's, in search of the "Holy Grail" of in ear monitors.

Since I'm primarily going to be using this with the iPod, I figured I'd post here to see if there's any interest in some impressions from a "guy obsessed with sound quality's" point of view.

I received my Headroom Cosmic w/Reference module today from Headroom, and pairing it with the 4S's is INCREDIBLE.

My friend at Headroom says that the UE-10 is supposed to be "all that" and a bit more, than the Ety's and Shures, so we shall see.
 

dmt1

Dismember
Joined
Apr 23, 2003
Messages
2,544
Points
0
Age
58
Location
Third Rock From The Sun
Website
users.domaindlx.com
Yeah, be sure to post.

I'm considering the UE5's; the frequency reponse curves that Tyson was alluding to over in headfi are more to my liking on the 5's than the 10's. And I've read that the 10's are overkill for the ipod, which is pretty much the only source I'd use them with, and unamped at that. If I would use them with a better source than the ipod, I'd consider the 10's...

So no sensaphonics for you, eh?:) You know, that incredibly hard plastic is going to crack!!!

(Just kidding).

Just out of curiosity, what other upper end canal phones do you own, or have tried, and what was your impressions?
 
Last edited:

whit96

Banned
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
76
Points
0
Location
New Jersey
Well it's getting late now, so i won't get into my impressions right now, but I currently own the Ety 4P, Shure E5, and the Shure E3.
 

whit96

Banned
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
76
Points
0
Location
New Jersey
Ok. Personally, I love the Ety 4p. It provides FABULOUS detail and fanasitic sound. You can easily seperate the highs from the mids and lows, and it handles "busy" music with ease. It also provides an extremely low, viceral bass, not "brainshaking" but for me much superior bass than other canal phones, except....

...The E5's. I don't feel the bass on the E5's get necessarily as "refined" as the 4P's, but it's definitely as low. It'll "swirl all around your head" without being sloppy. A great sound, but I just find them too rolled off at the highs for my taste, although the "treble booster" setting with the EQ under the new firmware really had brought those to a new light. I still find the Ety's to be "more open" though.

The E3's are very similar to the ER4P's as far as tonal signature, but I fing the highs and mids blur into each other a little bit, plus to me the bass just isn't as "fine". They're just not my taste.

The guys at Head-fi (as well as the gentleman at Headroom) feel that the UE-5's are FABULOUS, and perfect for something like the iPod. They supposed give you about the same detail as the Ety's with better bass response. I would have gotten those, but I would have just been asking myself "what if" If I really prefered them to the Ety's.
 

whit96

Banned
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
76
Points
0
Location
New Jersey
SimonTemplar said:
Did you buy them from Headroom? I didn't see them offered the last time I was on their site.



....sT


No, I got them though Ultimate Ears. I spoke to Mindy and Sherry, and they were both extremely helpful.

There IS a chance however that Headroom may carry them soon, so I hear.

I also understand they MAY be "overkill for something like the Ipod, but with the new lossless codec, I can hook it up to an amp like the Cosmic or the Total Airhead (I own one of them too.) and fill out the sound. But even without the amps, I still contend the Ipod sounds better with waves than any modern day PDCP.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 16, 2004
Messages
17,743
Points
36
Location
New York
I tried the Ety 4s and I loved the sound quality, especially when I was listening to my jazz but I just could not stand them stuck down in my ear canal and sent them back. I ordered them from headphone.com. Glad they came with a 30 day money back guarantee. I just ordered the Sony 71 from Audiocubes.com because they didn't look like they fit in the ear canal. I'll see.
 

whit96

Banned
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
76
Points
0
Location
New Jersey
Honeybee, I agree ear canal phones aren't necessarily for everyone, but if you were a fan of the sound quality, you may or may not be in for a drastic change with the Sony's.

That's what I've read, but I really can't say, as it's been a really long time since I've heard a pair.

Did you give them the full 30 days to check them out?


The UE-10's will be here TOMORROW before 8AM. Should be interesting. ;)
 

lindrone

New member
Joined
Apr 6, 2004
Messages
100
Points
0
Age
44
The guys at Head-fi (as well as the gentleman at Headroom) feel that the UE-5's are FABULOUS, and perfect for something like the iPod.
Hmm.. you know.. there's only one person on Head-Fi that has them and can actually vouch for them in any way (which happens to be the same person that's here anyway)... so I wouldn't go out on a limb and say there's "guys at Head-Fi".

Other comments has been based purely on speculation from frequency response charts... Not to say that UE5c aren't great.. I'm sure they have their merits and strengths.

However, I'm sure you'll love your UE10-Pro regardless, they're a huge step up from what you currently own... so there should be no comparison at all.
 
Joined
Mar 16, 2004
Messages
17,743
Points
36
Location
New York
I used them for 2 weeks and no other headphones to try to get use to them, but they (the rubber tips) felt nasty and the form was irritating after a while, plus the fact that I did get a little paranoid about hearing loss with those thiungs so far down in my ear.
 

AndyH

New member
Joined
Feb 17, 2004
Messages
4,865
Points
0
Location
Philly 'burbs
honeybee1236 said:
I used them for 2 weeks and no other headphones to try to get use to them, but they (the rubber tips) felt nasty and the form was irritating after a while, plus the fact that I did get a little paranoid about hearing loss with those thiungs so far down in my ear.
The only way you'd need to be worried about hearing loss with canalphones is if you crank up the volume too loud (same as any headphone).
 

dmt1

Dismember
Joined
Apr 23, 2003
Messages
2,544
Points
0
Age
58
Location
Third Rock From The Sun
Website
users.domaindlx.com
Another thing about the volume: theoritically at least, isolation type phones allow you to use less volume--you're not blocking out outside noise; you don't have to turn canal phones up to block ambient noise out--so you in theory may be actually protecting your ears with canal phones, if you're using them appropriately.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

MikeM

Retired
Joined
May 7, 2003
Messages
4,653
Points
0
Age
46
Location
ME, USA
The accusations and ensuing arguement have been removed from the thread since it doesn't belong here. Those involved directly have been contacted and the situation is being resolved. All content related to the thread is still here.
 

whit96

Banned
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
76
Points
0
Location
New Jersey
All I have to say is that I'm innocent and that this is a travesty

Got these at work today. Initially I feel like they may indeed be "overkill" for the iPod, because they are SO revealing. They sound INcredible so far. There's a nice balance between the highs and lows, and a LOT of depth.

I am finding some faults though with this combo though. I do feel it's because of the "limitation" of the electronics of the iPod. I'll find out when I get home and put it on my home gear, and amp the iPod with the total airhead.

Mike YGPM. :mad:
 

whit96

Banned
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Messages
76
Points
0
Location
New Jersey
More impressions.

There's no turning back. I can't listen to another setup...again. I happened to plug the UE-10's into the Cosmic (Brought in in with me today :D) and THERE it was. Everything. These are disgustingly revealing of everything. You can definitely tell which albums were recorded poorly and which were not.

These strike the perfect balance for me as far as the sound spectrum. If you've heard the Ety's, imagine the Ety's on steroids. More bass response (not the BOMBASTICness of the E5's), but really powerful. The mids were almost liquid, and the highs pitched perfectly. The soundstaging was at all of the extremes of my head. And this is unamped with Apple lossless on the iPod.

Using the Cosmic, that was it. The already low bass got even deeeepeeer, you could hear the string plucked and the resonance coming from it. The sound spectrum was just filled in magestically. It was amazing. With "Leave it" by Yes, you can pick out and follow any of the voices you wanted to. And the bass on the Beastie's "Shake Your Rump" just went down and down.

It's no slouch, but the UE-10/iPod combo straight really does stretch the capacity of the iPods output as far as electronic excellence. The amp just makes SUCH a difference. Unless you really want to lug an amp around with you, I might just stick with a UE-5c for the iPod alone. Keep in mind though I'd probably never say that if I didn't plug in the Cosmic, nor have I heard a pair of UE-5c's, but I know a some folks who swear by them.

As far as fit, I've had them in for four hours, off and on. They just disappear inside your head, no discomfort of itching or anything like that. Keep in mind though I'm a seasoned Ety user.

But I can't go back to the Ety's. I just can't. Not now. :D
 

random person

New member
Joined
May 8, 2004
Messages
286
Points
0
whit -- Thanks so much for your detailed impressions. The UE10 sounds amazing!

Based on your comments I am glad that I ordered the UE5c as it may be more appropriate for my purposes -- exclusively Ipod, no amp.

What have your friends said about the UE5c and Ipods? I get mine next week but am dying to hear any/all impressions until then!
 
Top