Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro And ipod touch hiss? and other headsets help

[meridiusuk]

Hi all, i am trying to make my mind up that should i go for the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro to go with my ipod touch.

I have a pair of sennheiser-cx300 and want to upgrade, I have tried my friends B&O A8 headsets and sound good but i like in ear phones which thay are not and not good at isolating the background sound out.

I am after some good quality sound and good base but not to much just a set that gives alot of depth i like the Cx300 for this.

now the problem is i have herd that these Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro can create hiss is this true ? or other top of the range headsets.

i want a good pair of headset that can do all range of music apart from classic as i dont listen to that.

The Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro seem big is there any other headset that are as good as the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro buts are smaller in size ?
or are the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro the best in the price range.

thay look by the pictures that thay would stick out alot ?

can anyone help me as i keep getting diffrent info on diffrent headsets and dont know what to go for heard the denons are good the 700 model but thay only use 1 driver as the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro use 2 drivers so thay can not be as good as the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro ??

can anyone tell me waht are the best headsets in the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro price range or are these the best is there anything smaller but slighty less godd at sound but with good base ???

the cable on the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro seem thick ar thay terrible to fit into your ears is the wire a pain ?

can anyone help me thanks

[tarotgaladriel]

I have the super.fi 3's and they do pick up the hiss. Don't be put off buying upgraded earphones beacuse of hiss, they don't cause it, they just show up an existing hiss not apparent on cheap earphones.
I stress that they do not create the hiss, they are just picking up on the hiss already on the touch. It's because these earphones are higher quality that you can now hear it, they are not the cause........you can only hear it when there is no music, once the music is playing you won't even notice it.

They are great earphones, the 5's are even better on the bass front, but I am more than happy with the extra clarity of the 3's.

They do stick out more than other earphones, but they are comfortable and can be worn in another way if you swap the wires around (http://www.ultimateears.com/videos/superfi_mod.htm), that makes for a flatter profile. Some prefer it, I prefer the standard fit. The wires are thicker, but not a problem, you soon get the hang of it and they are comfortable and sturdy.

[thedodgyguy]

Actually it has nothing to do with the quality of the earphones, but it does have do with an impedance mismatch and the enhanced isolation combining to emphasise hiss.


One way you can cut hissing is to put in an attenuator like the Shure PA235 (http://www.earphonesolutions.com/shpaleatfors.html). By increasing the impedance presented at the headphone socket by cutting the volume a little with the PA235 (i.e. by turning up the iPod volume slightly higher than you normally would, then using the PA235's volume dial to turn it down a bit), hiss disappears. You can also get a similar (and more expensive) effect by using something like Etymotic ER-4P>S converter cable (http://www.etymotic.com/ephp/er4-acc.aspx). Basically you want the at-headphone-socket impedance to be somewhere in the region of 100 ohms.


The only caveat about using attenuators is that they can change the sound character of the phone slightly, and in the case of the cheap potentiometer used on the PA235, potentially degrade sound quality as well.


All right, that's the hiss aside. Now onto the Super.Fi. I think it sounds great. A balanced, high quality sound and good value for money in terms of sound as far as balanced-armature in-ear phones go. The problem is, the fit is terrible compared to Etymotic or Shure. The body design is bad, the units stick out of the ear and the cable arrangement is not great. Since the fit is also worse than Ety/Shure, it has a higher tendency to keep falling out of your ears. Only a recommendation if they fit you properly.

[The Cos]

I just got a pair of Super.fi 5 Pros, and I love them. They do stick out of your ears a bit, so you won't be able to sleep with them on, if you're a side sleeper. I don't really mind the way they stick out. As far as comfort goes, I find them to be fairly comfortable. After primarily using earbuds for so long, I'm still getting used to having something inside my ear, but aside from my learning curve, they are comfortable. What I like most about the fit is that they don't fall out. The Apple earbuds and in ears, as well as the Sony EX71, always seemed to jump out of my ears...unless I was perfectly still. With the UEs I can move around without them moving at all.

The sound quality is the best I've heard. Clear mids and highs, and good bass. I've heard sounds in some of my favorite songs that I haven't heard till now. I'm really pleased with the sound.

As for the hiss, it is pretty loud with the UEs, but I found that attaching the sound attenuator (included) eliminates all of the hiss, without any changes to the sound (as far as I can tell). So, as long as you don't mind plugging in one more attachment, the hiss won't be an issue:)

Good luck in your search for earphones!

[meridiusuk]

so the sound attenuator is just a volume control ??? you just lower it and leave it at that and then use the volume on the ipod to up the volume ????

is this an ipod problem or is it the same on every device becasue of the high end ear phones ?? what is the best way to set it up pause a song and up the volume all the way up on the ipod and then lower the sound attenuator untill you hear no hiss ???? and then lower the volume on the ipod

also the cx300 which i have hav a 112db rating and the UE are 119db not much in it for the impedance

do all good earphones do this i mean what about other brands do thay have the same hiss problems or is there headset out there with just as good sound as the UE 5 without the hiss and smaller size sets and better sound isolation ? or is the UE 5 the best at this price range.

just dont ant to waste my cash if thay are no good for me

also i have read this at

http://uk.gear.ign.com/articles/671/671883p1.html

The biggest downside of these 5 Pros is the cord design. As great as these phones sound, the cords are a constant frustration. To be blunt, they are thin and cheap. They tangle constantly and feel as if they could snap with any level of abuse. The cord design is one of the best features of Shure's phones - a thick, durable cord that doesn't tangle easily and feels to be up to the high-end design level of the expensive phones it's attached to. While I understand UE's decision to keep their headphones light and easily portable, I think they could have gone with a better design then this. Also, the cord is just a bit too short and no extension cord is included

what do you think about that ?

[yinyang]

i don't think the hiss on the iPod touch is very noticeable when compared to the iPod shuffle (gen 2) when listened through the super.fi 5Pro's. if you're concerned about the "sticking out" fit, then try switching the earphones around ie pull out the wires and put them back in reverse (they used to have this on the site as an official 'mod', but it doesn't seem to be there anymore!).

also the cords have changed since that review above - they're very sturdy now.

only other option you could look at are westone, which are also supposed to be very good, especially the UM2...

http://www.earphonesolutions.com/weinea.html

edit - the link to the 'mod' is a few posts above... ooops :)

[meridiusuk]

mmm the um2s are way over the cost for me here in the uk the UE5 pros are £130 = $260
the UM2s are £230 = $460 which is way to much

we in the uk get totaly ripped off for prices

what about the attenuator you get with the UE5 pros there seems to be 2 diffrent kinds ones like a jake plug and the other is like a littile cable version which one do you get with the headsets as the jack version would be not very good for the ipod as it would stick out loads do all new headsets come with the cable type now ????


also what about these Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 4 are these any good i know thay woul;d not be as good as the 5 pros but how do thay do for sound quality and bass over the cx300 and how would you class them agenst other headsets beet than the sures 210 ?
these headsets seem to come with more ear plugs as well, more than the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 pros ?

[The Cos]

Ouch. That is pretty steep.

One thing you won't need to worry about is the 5 Pro's cord. Mine is thick and sturdy...it doesn't feel cheap in any way.

About the attenuator, UE includes one as a pack-in with the 5 Pro (and I think all of its models). Unlike the Shure mentioned above, UE's is not like a volume control at all. There are no buttons or adjustments on it. Basically, its just a small rectangular box with a headphone jack at one end and a small cable with a headphone plug at the other. Just connect it between the iPod and earphones, and you're good to go. Here is my experience with the 5 Pro with and without the attenuator:

Without attenuator:
1) Audible Hiss
2) Earphones are really loud. I set the volume slider at around 5-10%

With attenuator:
1) No Hiss
2) Volume at a more normal level. Slider is set at about 40-50% (which is where I normally keep it when using other earphones).

Anyway, you can go to the Ultimate Ears website to see a picture of the attenuator and other included accessories. There's also a video that shows how to insert the earphones. If nothing else, it will give you a better idea of how far the UEs stick out.

Hope this helps :)

Edit:

Oops, my browser didn't load all of your post. My apologies for repeated or unnecessary info LOL.

Also, there's really not a lot of info about the Super.fi 4 yet as far as sound quality goes.

UE must be using the attenuator with the cord now. My Pros came in just this week, and my attenuator has a cord.
:)

[meridiusuk]

thats good to know that thay come with the cord version as the jack plug version would be bad and would stop me of thinking of getting these full stop.

i have herd the denon- ah-700 are exellent to anyone know are these just as good ???

it seem i have the list to

UE pro 5
Ue fi 4
Denon ah-700

just dont know what to do

can you hear the hiss when you pause the music or just when you play music or in the ipod menus ?

[yinyang]

mmm the um2s are way over the cost for me here in the uk the UE5 pros are £130 = $260
the UM2s are £230 = $460 which is way to much

we in the uk get totaly ripped off for prices



then buy them from the link I gave you - shipping is free to Europe for any purchase over US$180...

white UE super.fi 5 pro - US$180
white UM2 - US$300

they shipped mine to Aus since they were about half what I'd pay here!!

[meridiusuk]

yep but i live in the uk and by the time i pay tax and import duty i might as well buy them here

$180 = £90 +17.5% tax = £105.75 + import tax ahich i would say at least 5% gives me a total of =£111 which is $222 and postage as for overseas its FREE if order over $280 s thats more as well.

only that i can get them in the uk for £120 but still dont know which to get between these models but thanks for trying to help on that

[The Cos]

...can you hear the hiss when you pause the music or just when you play music or in the ipod menus ?

I can hear the hiss as soon as I wake my iPod Touch from sleep mode. It is really noticeable without music playing. With music, I can still hear it if I listen for it...but its not really too bad.

[meridiusuk]

I can hear the hiss as soon as I wake my iPod Touch from sleep mode. It is really noticeable without music playing. With music, I can still hear it if I listen for it...but its not really too bad.

#
you said attaching the sound attenuator stops the hiss do you use it all the time and is it ok ? does it totaly stop the hiss

is it a pain using it having 2 conections to the ipod

[The Cos]

I do use the attenuator most times. Its not that big of a deal for me to plug in the extra piece and it doesn't really add too much length to the headphone cable. As far as I can tell it stops the hiss entirely. My ears are pretty sensitive so if the hiss was still there, I'd probably hear it at least somewhat. I've listened to my Pros both with and without the attenuator, and I can't tell the difference in sound quality. I actually got the idea about using the attenuator from a post I read at head-fi.org.

[dragontit]

Try the Q-Jays. Dual drivers & very small in size. $180

[meridiusuk]

thanks for th help but are these q-jays as good quality as the uE 5 pros ? since thay are so small???

also what are the build quality like on the UE 5 pro seen alot of problems with them craking ?? or have thya fixed tis problem

[meridiusuk]

also the q-jays Sensitivity: 95 dB SPL @ 1 kHz mmmm very low would need to pump the volume up but need to know what the quality are like

do the q-jays have more base than the Sennheiser cx300 ??? or warmer sound
and do the q-jays offer the same isolation as the UE Pro 5?

[The Cos]

I've heard about UE phones cracking too. I don't know. Mine are brand new, so they feel pretty durable...I guess time will tell. Besides, that's what the 2 year warranty is for ;)

[meridiusuk]

do the q-jays have more base than the Sennheiser cx300 ??? or warmer sound
and do the q-jays offer the same isolation as the UE Pro 5?