is it worth upgrading from the Shures E3c's to the E5c's??

[aluren]

i have a pair of Shure E3c's and i absolutely love them. i can just put them on at nite and get drifted away! now that i know just how much of an impact that headphones have on the music, i'm wondering whether i should upgrade to the E5c's....

i've read some reviews on head-fi.org and one guy said that he can't really tell the difference between the E5c's and the E3c's from early on. but then when he use professional music players (whatever that is), he said the E5c's seem to perform well and that the E5c's cranks out more high ranges than the mids.

my question is whether or not to get the E5c's. i don't have any special professional music players, only the ipod. some opinions would be much appreciated! because i simply cannot justify blowing $350-450 on anything right now, not less a set of earplugs...

[AndyH]

I've never listened to the E3's, but I do own the E5's and love them! I'd say the main improvements over the E3's would be both extended highs and lows with the E5's (due to their dual-driver setup).

[DylPod]

I upgraded from the E3's to the E5's and I'm glad I did. The E5's are everything I liked about the E3's but with better high frequency detail. I always felt the E3's were lacking sparkle.

I also find the E5's more comfortable because the shape and stiff cord sheath keeps them from moving around in my ear. I felt the need to constantly adjust the E3's which irritated my ear after a while.

The E5c's come with the same tips plus a triple flange. I find the tri-flange gives me the best combination of comfort and seal. But they required cutting off the smallest flange or the high frequencies are muffled (making them bi-flange tips I guess).

Whether they are "worth it" is a question of your personal value model. The E3's hit a sweet spot in the price/performance curve. Moving up to the E5's you are paying a lot for small improvements. The improvement isn't nearly as much as, say, going from stock earbuds to the E3's. I value sound quality and I can afford luxury purchases so they are worth it to me. But they wouldn't have been worth it if I had to eat ramen noodles for a month to afford them.

I was wondering the same thing as you before I ordered so I bought them from www.earplugstore.com which accepts returns with no restocking fee.

[rx7_fan]

This is an excellent post, i was wonderin if i should upgrade my Shure E3c to Ultimate Ears 5c. So far, only Kaffue has the UE5c, so give me some feedback man.

[kauffee]

Definitely worth it. I was set to move up to the E5c or UM2, when I realized that I just wasn't going to stop until I got to the top, and that meant custom molded. Every head-fi member (other than Lindrone, but that's a whole separate issue) who has both the Shure E5c and UE5c emphatically prefered the UE5c in terms of sound quality.

Really for me it was a choice between the UE5c and the Sensaphonics 2X-S. When I added it all up, the the UE's came out ahead for a few reasons. The main reason was really the material. A few head-fi members who had Sensas had a driver fail on them, requiring a remake. More members also had initial fitting problems requiring remolds. Sensa's warranty is only 6 months, which is half the time of UE (which is still short, imo). But adding it all up, I just was worried that the Sensas might not be as durable and last as long, due to the fact that they are basically flexible within the driver.

Now, I would freely admit I may be way off there. I'm sure their durability is probably close to that of the UE phones, but since nobody has had them long enough to know, I really didn't want to take the chance. Plus, UE customer service is just tremendous so I felt more confident putting my $600 in their hands.

The only sucky part is that I'll never know whether or not I'd prefer the sound of the Sensa or the UE10Pro. That's the breaks, though. I'm still amazed by the UE5c every single time I put them on. It's pretty shocking how good they are. Plus, they're SO comfortable and easy to insert.

Here's my review that I wrote about 3 weeks after getting them. I just read through and I wouldn't make too many changes:
http://forums.ipodlounge.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=58744

[aluren]

Originally posted by DylPod
I value sound quality and I can afford luxury purchases so they are worth it to me. But they wouldn't have been worth it if I had to eat ramen noodles for a month to afford them.

very nicely said there!

wow i didn't even know anything about Ultimate Ears until kauffee and rx7 fan mentioned it above. i read your review, kauffee, of the UE 5c's review and it seems very appealing to me. i would have to agree with you that i'm also looking for the BEST set of earphones, and i feel that after getting the E5c's, i'll be yearning for more.

coming from the E3c's, i'm definitely looking for dual driver earphones. custom fits seems nice because i still have to adjust the E3c every once in awhile.

i just checked out the Ultimate Ears website and they have the UE 10 pro, 7 pro, 5 pro, 5 ambient, and 5c. i know you said you weren't able to compare the difference amongst them, but i just wanna ask how much of a satisfaction you are getting with the 5c and whether or not you might think of upgrading to a 10 pro or 7 pro?

if the UE5c for you is the top draw, be-all-end-all earphones, then i'm gonna seriously consider them. otherwise i might wait couple months and get the more expensive model since i have a perfectionist personality.

[kauffee]

Well "be-all and end-all" is a pretty strong word. I'm still curious to hear what the Sensas and UE10Pro sound like. But the UE5c has definitely cured my upgraditis. I'm certainly not going to buy another pair anytime soon. I'm more than satisfied with these.

In the UE line, your choice is basically between the UE5c and the UE10Pro. The 5Ambient isn't fully sealed... outside noise is able to come in. The UE7Pro supposedly has a very strong bass and is recommended for drummers. The 5Pro has a flatter response. Nobody (to my knowledge) has gotten them for listening to mastered music.

The 5C is EQ'd for mastered music. It has good, strong bass and a bit of mid-bass hump. UE originally didn't have the mid-bass hump and they found that people really preferred it, so they put it in there.

The 10Pro is their top of the line and it has 3 drivers and the flattest frequency response. This is the model the professional musicians wear, I think. A number of people got them for home use, though. Basically, from everything I've read, the 10Pro is the most analytical in the line and has the most detail. There have been a few people who upgraded from the Ety ER-4P to the UE5c and found the bass too strong, so they got the 10Pro instead and were happy. I'm not big on analytical sound and I didn't like the Ety much at all, so it was easy for me to choose the 5c over the 10Pro.

What you really have to decide, aluren, is between the UE5c and Sensa 2X-S. Head over to head-fi and read the reviews of each.

[aluren]

well, after reading all the reviews, its seems like the UE10's are getting alot of good response. but i highly doubt i want to pay close to $1,000 bucks for them (or the sensa 2X-S). its just ridiculously expensive. so far there's only one review of the UE5c that i read, and that was kauffee's review. everything else was about how the UE5c suck compared to the UE10...

before buying my Shure E3c's, i read alot of reviews on it and found a majority of them to be positive (except for the lack of bass). in the end, i went and got'em cuz its slightly more than the E2c's and significantly less than the E5c's or Ety. coming from apple stock buds, this was a major improvement. i bought them when i was still in college and paid for it with internship money.

but now that i've graduate and will go full time soon, i think i can upgrade to the next step. that's why i posted this thread. i think i will go with the UE5c when i get my second paycheck. (first paycheck goes to mommy!) i'm a simple music listener, and not at all an audiophile or professional musician. so i guess analytical sound wouldn't be necessary for me either.

thanks for you help kauffee. i appreciate your opinion!

[kauffee]

No problem, but did you check out the reviews at head-fi? There are a bunch of UE5c reviews. Ones by penbat, wolfen68, and random person come to mind. Also check out the review by John Atkinson that was in Stereophile very recently:
http://www.stereophile.com/accessoryreviews/1204ultimate/

If you're coming from Shure E3c's I think the UE5c will be perfect. The only time I'd be hesitant to recommend them is to someone coming from Etys who really loves the Ety sound.

[Spaghetti]

I actually thought the bass was a little muddy on the E5 when I compared them to the E1s. Now I have never heard the E3s, so I can't give you a good comparison. I listened to them through a very nice mixer set up in a guitar store, so it wasn't the source either.

I absolutely LOVE my Sensaphonic 2X-S canal phones/ With or with out my SR-71 they are wonderful. They cost $750 plus whatever fee you audiologist (spelling?) charges, but I think they were worth every penny. As far as how long they last, I don't know anything about the electronics, but I did ask my audiologist about the material, and he assured me that there shouldn't be a problem. He had a hearing aid company that used the same material.

I hope that helps some.

[aluren]

Originally posted by Spaghetti
I absolutely LOVE my Sensaphonic 2X-S canal phones/ With or with out my SR-71 they are wonderful. They cost $750 plus whatever fee you audiologist (spelling?) charges, but I think they were worth every penny.

have you tried the UE5c or UE10PRO?? i just wanna see how it compares to the 2X-S.

[kauffee]

Unfortunately, there are not a lot of comparisons of UE and Sensa phones, due of course to the price and the fact that you can't just sell off the pair you don't like.

Big D on head-fi has both the 2X-S and UE10Pro. He hasn't stated a preference, only to say that the UE10Pro has more of a "wow factor." Lindrone has all three and strongly prefers the 2X-S, going so far as to say that the UE10Pro is hyperrealistic and unnatural and, basically, that the UE5c is crap. Of course, he never misses an opportunity to bash UE, so I take his comments with a huge grain of salt.

iamdone has the 2X-S and just recently decided that they were too muddy compared to his Grado RS-1s, and so he is ordering the UE10Pro. I'm really curious to see what he thinks.

I don't think you can make any sweeping generalizations, but based on everything I've read, I think there are a few pretty good correlations that seem to pop up. People who love the Sennheiser sound should probably go with the Sensaphonics. People who love the Ety sound should probably go with the UE10Pro. Grado users who really like the brightness and agressiveness of the Grado should probably choose a UE phone, as well. As far as Shure goes, their own products vary too much to make a generalization.

Sennheisers have what some (including me) would describe as a "veil" over the vocals and high end. It's not that it's bad, it's just not nearly as bright as the Grado sound signature, which I like. Personally, I'm very sensitive to this effect. It's part of the reason I really don't like the Shure E2c and, from a sound signature perspective, why I chose the UE over the Sensa. UE's sound has been described as more aggressive and forward and less "organic." Plus, Lindrone doesn't like Grados and doesn't like the UE5c, so I was pretty sure I made the right decision. Now that iamdone has described his 2X-S as muddy in comparison to his Grados, I'm sure of it. Maybe when I finish med school I'll pick up a set of UE10Pros, but for now I'm pretty darn happy with the UE5c.

[Spaghetti]

Originally posted by aluren
have you tried the UE5c or UE10PRO?? i just wanna see how it compares to the 2X-S.

I have not compared the two. I wish I could but that is just too much money. :)

I would say that I disagree with anyone that says the Sensas have any kind of "muddy" sound. I think they are crystal clear, if maybe a tad on the warm side. Nothing like what I found in the Shure E5s.

I don't think Lindrone necessarily bashes the UEs. He just has a strong preference for the Sensaphonics. ;)

In reality, it is so much of a personal preference. Just go with your gut feeling. Honestly, I decided on the 2X-S for three reason. First, I read the comparison on sound that others made and thought they would be closer to what I would prefer. Second, the Sensaphonics end up to be less expensive, which gave me more cash to put towards my SR-71. Last, I like the thought of the softer material.

I know that I made the correct choice for me, but it was just that, the choice for me. Good luck!

[flatso]

Of course you can split the difference and get the Etymotic ER4P's
which I swear is the sweetest sound I have ever heard...including the E3's

[aluren]

hey kauffee, do you personally know these people? it seems like you guys have a deep knowledge of each other's preferences for earphones.

but anyways, i want something that is more forward, one that enhance the vocals and less focused on the background. my Shure E3c's does that for me and i'm very happy with them. i definitely want to upgrade to the lines of the Shure sound, and so far after all the advice mentioned here, i think i will go with the UE5c's. let me know how things go with med school, kauffee! i wanna hear what you have to say about the UE10PRO's.

[kauffee]

No, I don't personally know any of them. They are all members on head-fi.org who've posted comments on the phones. You really need to do a lot of reading over there before buying, I think.

I don't start med school until august, so it will be quite some time before I can even think about the UE10Pro (or whatever else is available in 4 years).

One reason the E3c is so forward with the vocals is because the bass is so weak. The UE5c is still very forward, but it's not as dramatic as the E3c. It will definitely sound warmer at first.