are Shure's meant to sound like this :O !

R B Customs · 2 Mar 2007 at 17:34

fish99 said:
EX71 do have overblown boomy bass and a shrill top end (both IMO), so if you're used to that sound then it could explain your observations on the Shures. Then again I haven't used the Shures myself.

yea, the sony's sounded terrible ( imo ) for everything apart from bass. it was boomy, and over done, but thats how i liked it. the highs were shrill also... didnt like that.
my worst gripe was the build quality, no word of a lie i have been through nealry 5 pairs of them until i lost my recipt and couldnt replace my current ones, which i use with bare wires showing, and all sorts ! the wires just ate them selves appart !

does anyone know where i stand in terms of returnign them ?
theyre from the big online book store, not a trader.

Rick

titaniumx3 · 2 Mar 2007 at 19:10

Get some Super.fi 5 Pros if you want huge bass slam without hugely recessed highs or mids. They're probably the cheapest of the dual driver IEMs out there and while they're not incredibly detailed, they more than make up for it in terms of sheer musicality, huge soundstage and groove. Say what you want about IEMs and soundstage but these babies have a bigger and more realistic soundstage than my ATH-A900s! :eek:

Honestly I lost a pair of these and bought a new pair simply because they are so fun to listen to. Some of my favourite metal albums sound downright amazing on these.

pitchfork · 2 Mar 2007 at 19:19

I use shure E4's when drumming live as monitors, absolutely brilliant and worth every penny.

Never tried the E2's

Vegetarian · 3 Mar 2007 at 02:50

toucam said:
Are you serious? Clingfilmed EX90 sounds as good as E500 or UM2, have you actually ever owned any of these IEMs? That's just plain bad advice. You will never get head-shaking bass with these and if you just want bass then look somewhere else. Try UE Super.fi 5EB these are designed with loads of bass in mind. Should have done a bit more research before you buy anything as IEM can be a minefield.

Yes they do sound nearlly as good once modded - the UM2 just have a musicality about them the sonys dont have - the UM2s are drier and gritty. Have a look at my headfi thread http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=195719&highlight=Sony+ex90 Theres easly as much bass from the Sonys as a 5EB but its better bass - the 5EB's are just boomy and horried!

Im a pro musician mate so I know my stuff and maybe you need to do a bit more research hehe

Pics of clingfilm mod!

Smurfy · 3 Mar 2007 at 10:10

strange, i use E2C's, i love them, for 50 quid i think they are an awsome buy.

I dont find they lack base at all, perhaps its the music your listening too, i mainly listen to metal, mainly metallica and tbh they sound so awsome with them.

Will_3rd · 3 Mar 2007 at 10:14

Smurfy said:
strange, i use E2C's, i love them, for 50 quid i think they are an awsome buy.

I dont find they lack base at all, perhaps its the music your listening too, i mainly listen to metal, mainly metallica and tbh they sound so awsome with them.

agreed the pair I bought last year were ace, maybe you just encode your music at rubbish settings?

I encode most of my music at LAME VBR and the bass comes through fine

@ OP I've listened to Music for the Jilted Generation and Fat of the Land and they sound great through my Shure headphones.

toucam · 4 Mar 2007 at 12:33

Umm, I think I have done enough of research on IEMs because I owned E3c, UM2, E5c and now E500. I would never touch anything made by Sony. If you listen mainly to Hiphop or R&B with overblown thumping bass then they can do the job just fine but try some classical music or opera they would go straight to the bin. Have you seen any pro musician wears Sony IEM ? I don't think so.

Vegetarian said:
Yes they do sound nearlly as good once modded - the UM2 just have a musicality about them the sonys dont have - the UM2s are drier and gritty. Have a look at my headfi thread http://www .head-fi.org/forums /showthread.php?t=195719 &highlight=Sony+ex90[ /URL] Theres easly as much bass from the Sonys as a 5EB but its better bass - the 5EB's are just boomy and horried!

Im a pro musician mate so I know my stuff and maybe you need to do a bit more research hehe

http://img .photobucket.com/albums /v314/veggie_musician /DSCN2644Medium.jpg[/IMG ]

[IMG]http://img .photobucket.com/albums /v314/veggie_musician /DSCN2643Medium.jpg[/IMG ]
Pics of clingfilm mod!

[IMG]http://img .photobucket.com/albums /v314/veggie_musician /DSCN2646Medium.jpg[/IMG ][/QUOTE]

james.miller · 4 Mar 2007 at 12:35

toucam said:
Umm, I think I have done enough of research on IEMs because I owned E3c, UM2, E5c and now E500. I would never touch anything made by Sony. If you listen mainly to Hiphop or R&B with overblown thumping bass then they can do the job just fine but try some classical music or opera they would go straight to the bin.

you have no experience of the ex90 so you cant comment. end of. oh yeah they're crap because...welll...because i said so. nice argument

Have you seen any pro musician wears Sony IEM ? I don't think so.

i've not seen many wear um2's either. whats your point?

toucam · 4 Mar 2007 at 13:56

The point is pro musicians only use Westone, Shure or UE IEMs but never Sony. Sony's don't reproduce the sound as accurate and detailed as those mentioned. Have you A/B E500 and Ex90? How do you know it sounds as good? So you can't comment either, end of.

james.miller said:
you have no experience of the ex90 so you cant comment. end of. oh yeah they're crap because...welll.. .because i said so. nice argument

i've not seen many wear um2's either. whats your point?

Vegetarian · 4 Mar 2007 at 14:06

I have seen pro musicians wear Westone customs before james.miller!

toucam - Im a pro musician and use Sony's and Im a classical musician working with some of the UK's top orchestra's and international conductors! I know what Im talking about - I have 4 degree's in music - I trust my ears. Sony makes some of the best pro equipment out there.... Toucam you are such a fan boy!

I think the EX90's sound great... not to be confused with the EX71's which sound terrible!

You have spent a lot of money on IEM's.... Why buy UM2, e5c and e500 when basicly they more or less give the same sound quallity and basic sound sig... sure the e500's are more detailed but they are no worse a IEM than the UM2 (many people perfer UM2s over the e500). If you done so much research why did you spend so much money on the same thing.... why not go for something like ES2 or UE pro 10's....

james.miller · 4 Mar 2007 at 15:18

Vegetarian said:
I have seen pro musicians wear Westone customs before james.miller!

oh for sure, i was only referring to stock um2's. i know westones are highly regarded but i assuming es2's are better than um2's? same hardware i believe though?

toucam said:
The point is pro musicians only use Westone, Shure or UE IEMs but never Sony. Sony's don't reproduce the sound as accurate and detailed as those mentioned. Have you A/B E500 and Ex90? How do you know it sounds as good? So you can't comment either, end of.

well yes, i dont know why you assume we haven't. I dont know if you've realised but vegetarian and I both base or views on first hand experiance. Now while i havent tried the e500's, i have tried the um2's so yes, im a much better position to make a comparison than you.

rug · 4 Mar 2007 at 19:04

Customs, which flanges are you using on the e2's? from my experience with IEM's foams give better isolation but less bass in my opinion. Having previously used E2's and still owning them, they shouldnt be light on bass unless you're not getting a perfect seal in the ear. In fact I've found the E2's to be fairly boomy compaired with some dearer headsets. They arent the easiest of the shure range to fit in the ear as they are quite large and have an awkward shape. From memory I could never get a good tight seal if I using the reverse looped over the ear fit, found they fitted far better worn in the conventional way. I used the small hard clear flanges, they may be slightly uncomfortable initially but this improves with time. The E2's definately had more "loose" bass than my current etymotic's, the the E2's may be tighter in delivery than the sony's but I definately wouldnt say they are neutral.

R B Customs · 4 Mar 2007 at 19:17

rug said:
Customs, which flanges are you using on the e2's? from my experience with IEM's foams give better isolation but less bass in my opinion. Having previously used E2's and still owning them, they shouldnt be light on bass unless you're not getting a perfect seal in the ear. In fact I've found the E2's to be fairly boomy compaired with some dearer headsets. They arent the easiest of the shure range to fit in the ear as they are quite large and have an awkward shape. From memory I could never get a good tight seal if I using the reverse looped over the ear fit, found they fitted far better worn in the conventional way. I used the small hard clear flanges, they may be slightly uncomfortable initially but this improves with time. The E2's definately had more "loose" bass than my current etymotic's, the the E2's may be tighter in delivery than the sony's but I definately wouldnt say they are neutral.

Hey, ive tried all the tips, my ear canals seem pretty small to be honest, and the smallest of black tips wreck my ears ! im more than 'used' to In Ears, but those hurt in a totaly different way. Ive found the foam's to be the best seal / sound so far just not ideally hygienic :O

the shape of the clear tips is perfect, and have taken a while to get used to but still don't get as good a seal as the foams.

As for Queries regarding EQ on my Zen, anything past +4 ( you reccomended +12) just distorts the hell out of the music. they are warming up a bit now as they continue to burn in, and i compared them to my lass's Sennheisers today and ... well no comparison, the shures are a much much nicer sound, just minus the kind of resonance of the bass.

im lookign into some ultimate ears Super.fi 5's, and the sony 90's are looking tempting, just i may feel like a bit of a ninny on the bus with clingfilm wrapped round my buds !
then again... what are your guys thoughts of people wearing Beyer DT-770's on the bus ! i dont think i have the nerve

lol

Its very nice of you lads to argue about the higher end IEM's but... i cant really afford to spend upwards of £300 at the moment :-)

but damn i wish i could ><

I think the last chance i will give these E2C's will be a purchase of a pocket Amp, C&C box, or a home made one. then i may just give up

they dont sound like i would like them to.

Magsy · 4 Mar 2007 at 21:02

I think you just dont have the fit right. I have E3c's and I know what you are describing well.
Play with the tips, warm them or nead them. Try to lube your ears (lick fingers or something!) or wet the tips and push them in deep. You will get used to the fit in the end. If they are not in and tight you will get no bass.

I also let the wire drop from my ear, I cannot get a tidy fit over the ear.

toucam · 5 Mar 2007 at 00:18

I thought about buying UE10 before but the reasons I didn't go ahead because of so much hassle involved like having ear impressions done and I heard stories on Head-fi about people had to re-mold a few times to get a perfect fit... And also ears change its shape and after a period of time it needs to be remolded again. But ultimately, I'm satisfied with the sound quality of universal IEMs, can't wait for Westone 3.

I'm a fan of classical music and since you said you play for top orchestras RESPECT

I think I can trust your ears, makes me tempted to get a pair of Ex90 to do some comparison!

By the way which orchestra do you play for if you don't mind me asking? Have you played with the LSO before? I'm a LSO fanboy

Don't tell me their brass section needs to get instruments clingfilmed to make better sound

Vegetarian said:
I have seen pro musicians wear Westone customs before james.miller!

toucam - Im a pro musician and use Sony's and Im a classical musician working with some of the UK's top orchestra's and international conductors! I know what Im talking about - I have 4 degree's in music - I trust my ears. Sony makes some of the best pro equipment out there.... Toucam you are such a fan boy!

I think the EX90's sound great... not to be confused with the EX71's which sound terrible!

You have spent a lot of money on IEM's.... Why buy UM2, e5c and e500 when basicly they more or less give the same sound quallity and basic sound sig... sure the e500's are more detailed but they are no worse a IEM than the UM2 (many people perfer UM2s over the e500). If you done so much research why did you spend so much money on the same thing.... why not go for something like ES2 or UE pro 10's....

Vegetarian · 5 Mar 2007 at 00:58

Im extra for Halle Orchestra, Opera North, English National Ballet, Manchester Camarata, Northern Chamber Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, BBC National Orchestra of Wales emong others

The orchestra manager of LSO did phone me up last year - but thats as close as I got to playing with them lol. But I do know many of the players in the LSO and when I hear a soundtrack I bore friends when I hear a solo by a certain player eg Maurice murphy (starwars was his first gig with LSO - he's the trumpeter if you dont know). You be suprised to learn few wind players do use clingfilm in LSO haha - you be suprised what they use to patch up their instruments!

A clingfilm EX90 sounds a lot like a UM2 - but imagain sound not in your head like the UM2s but a few rows back... the treble is also a lot more forward on the Sonys but never screachy. I still perfer the UM2 as I like the dry slightly dead sound they give. The EX90's are deff more lively... I only got the sony's as I needed something I could take about without fear of getting stollen on a night out - I got them quite cheep in sony centre as they pricematched chepest USA price

RB Customs - You need to flash your Zen to USA firmware - you need to get into service menu - think its push reset and on at same time - delete firmware.... then go to creative USA site and download latest firmware - you will find that my EQ settings will work and the zen will also sound better too

No distortions. Re Clingfilm EX90s you cant see the clingfilm from outside if you do it properlay - have a look at my photos earlier on in the thread. I put foamies on my Sony's anyway for comfort so its impossible to tell even close up they have clingfilm on them.

elevenseventysix · 5 Mar 2007 at 19:00

toucam said:
The point is pro musicians only use Westone, Shure or UE

...and Sensaphonics 2X-S!