Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro (black)

Summary: Being a musician and an audiophile, i'm always looking for the perfect audio product. I have lately been looking for an easily replaceable set of street cans (professional jargon for headphones).

I had been using my on stage monitors the Ultimate Ears 10 Pro. These monitors are made for musicians all over the world to use on stage, and have the best isolation, reproduction, and fidelity. Everyone in the business respects Ultimate Ears as the standard for clarity and isolation. While using my UE 10 cans on the street I ran into a rain storm and realized how stupid walking around with my UE 10's actually was. Thus began the search for a pair of earphones i could STAND to use in an affordable, replaceable price range.

I used several brands:

Shure E5c $550 - Too expensive for the quality.

Shure E4c $300 - Rolled off highs and poor bass clarity, and you have to lodge them too deeply into your ears to recieve full bass. Which means while working out or well walking you're constaly touching the earphones up to secure the fit.

Bose Triport IE $100 - I still use these for coffee shops as they're non-isolating, with the volume turned down you can hear everyone perfectly and your music clearly as well.

Bose Triport OE $179 - collapsable over ear headphones that in my opinion are lifeless and not nearly studio quality although the acoustic properties should delight those not looking for high detail and more fixed on hearing the rich bass. The quality however is poor and wearing them is dangerous if you live in a large city where muggings occur.

Sennheiser Isolating Earphones $70 - All i can say, is No. They are the best in the pricerange but they aren't anywhere near the quality of sound i need. Give them a look if you want a Sony Alternative for accurate sound.

Then Ultimately I went back to my very first Decision before i decided to play the field. The Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro. I read the reviews from CNET and Honestly I think the Shure Name seduced them into rating the the E4c's Higher than these. Or more likely they didn't compare the products side by side. I believe thise because they reviewed the UE 10 Pros and gave them a higher rating and then claimed the Shure E4c is the best they've ever heard. Sorry fellas your reviews say otherwise. Now the comparison. You cannot compare these headphones to the E3c, there is no comparison. The E3c is subpar to these headphones in Sound, Comfort, and Construction. The E4c? Well for 50 dollars more you can get less Bass, (yes bass, live music contains it as well.) rolled off highs, and mids that are equally clear and robust but aren't $50 better. In sound the E4c does stack up quite nicely and may even have some bonuses on clarity. However to achieve the Bass as I said you have to make an airtight fit. with the tiny tube and flange construction this means they have to go deeper and that pressure after hours can make wearing them very uncomfortable.

The UE 5Pro earphones are $250 at most retailers and can be found at some music stores for $200. They appear to be redesigned to have thicker cabling and better stronger connectors which has eliminated alot of the concerns for owning a pair upon their release. They are equipped with Memory Metal in the top 2 Inches next to the ear so that if you choose they can be wrapped comfortably over your ear. This provides a secure fit and reduces the motion that the phone is subjected to. This allows for a fit that isn't quite as deep yet more secure. Once you're used to this you'll love it. This means that you can use a larger tip for the earphone and that tip can use it's suction, and not your ear canal, to stay in place. Do not try to lodge them in your ear, start with the larger tip and roll it into your ear until you find one that will seal air-tight. At first it may feel insecure but shake your head and see if they come out, they won't. This reduces or well eliminates that uncomfortable pressure on your ear canal. Alot of the reviews I've read are from people that opened them and started trying to stick them in their ear. There is a Manual included that explains their use and to use them properly it should be read. Acoustically these headphones use a total of 4 drivers (or speakers) to produce the sound. One is for lows and one is for mids and highs. They have rich ACCURATE bass that doesn't distort the sound in the mids and highs. Making the Highs and Mids very very very clear. To test this Try other cans with a Tune like Banana Pancakes - Jack Johnson and listen for the rain. Or Erykah Badu's - Back In The Day (puff) and listen for the Fender Rhodes Piano in the background tinkling. Brilliant and Robust! Piano tunes will have you noticing the Harmonics in the Pedal Sustains as Well as the continued melody. Something Shure i'm afraid lacks. Layering. You can hear and differentiate between these sounds easily while still enjoying them. Clarity is incredible sometimes I think I can hear each bristle on a snare brush making its own music. I can differentiate all of the Instruments in the Orchestra Clearly and still notice the Percussion working. These Earphones will allow you to hear things you haven't before and for only $250 dollars. I compare them with $550 dollar headphones and honestly if you're the average audiophile or consumer you're not going to hear $300 worth of difference. Instead buy these and spend the extra $300 at the Music Store. The Equipment I used to test these ranged from my Ipod to my studio. Which is loaded with Onyx, Mackie, and ProTools equipment. The finest test a prepared was on a 24 bit Crystal Wave File... They blew me away for the price. They truly are the best street earphone on the Market.

C.
Jazz Musician - Producer
Rio, Brazil S.A.