Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5vi vs Apple in-ear vs Shure SE110

[Nubben]

Hi all,

I recently purchased a set of Shure's SE110 in-ear headphones (£70/$110) to use with my iPhone. They sound great but found the cord cumbersome - always got tangeled up - and the optional mobile adapter made it a bit too heavy for my test. So returned those and bought a pair of Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5vi with mic built in to the cord. Great. These were however much more expensive - £150/$240. With both the Shures and the UEs I use foam tips.

1. So, I have started to question the value of the UEs. Apple's new in-ear headphones I didn't like at all but having read up a bit more it seems they would sound better with foam tips instead. Has anyone tried the Apple in-ears with foam tips?

2. Also, the UEs have one driver while the Apple ones have two drivers in each ear. Does two drivers make a difference at all?

Thanks in advance all.

Nubben

[ReyZero]

Yes two drivers makes a difference, but all the reviews I've read on the Apple is that they're mainly good for listening to pop, really weak bass and such.

[archurban]

obviously I would go with Ultimate ears. even Apple one is good but not enough to get closed to super fi. 5vi. even I can distinguish from super fi. 4vi which is single driver. sound quality is much improved over apple's in-earphone. if you are concern about quality than money, go with ultimate. I guarantee it.

[hyroboarder]

Yeah I'd have to agree with archurban. From what I've had/tested in terms of in ears, UE is the way to go. They have been in the business for years and focus everything on earphones, whereas apple focuses on phones, laptops, desktops, mp3 players, and on the side makes an earphone.

In terms of your driver question, yes it would be better to have multiple drivers but the end sound quality can differ regardless.

[wildpanda86]

I went through the same headphones before settling on the Apple In-Ears...

The Shure's were just too cumbersome, the UE 4vi sounded good (but the tips easily came off and would get stuck in my ears).

The Apple In-Ears where pretty decent at first, but importantly they where very easy to use, comfortable, and had decent sound... but I started experimenting with the Comply T-400 foam tips after I found that they fit the Apple in-ears and was very suprised by how good they sounded... improved clarity, bass, and isolation... with the foam tips they sounded better than the UE 4vi's.

Now Comply makes Apple In ear specific foam tips

[hashmash]

one thing i dont understand is how can u even spend that much on headphones lool

[ReyZero]

one thing i dont understand is how can u even spend that much on headphones lool
Return, eBay, family, so on.
There isn't a place where you can sample headphones to find which one you'd like, except maybe custom booths. Then again, unless they either supply fresh tips for you to use, or have some beefy anti-septic wipes, I'll just stare at them then pass.