Forget the rest... these are the best!
Pros:
Great sound, nice bass, sensitive, perfect cord, durable and unbeatable for the price.
Cons:
None but may reveal the flaws in cheap players or poorly ripped music.
The Bottom Line:
Best in-ear phone I've found in this price range and I've owned or tried most of them.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
Ok... I'll confess that I'm somewhat of an audiophile--I enjoy good sound. I've been in search of the perfect headphones for travel and have tried quite a few along the way and most had some serious flaws:
- Sennheiser closed back studio phones (HD-280): too big to travel with but otherwise decent sound and isolation.
- Bose QuietComfort 2: Way overpriced, provides isolation only at lower frequencies, so-so sound, and they broke.
- Sennheiser PXC 300: Similar sound to Bose above but at a much more reasonable price and more durable. Same problem with limited isolation.
- Sony MDR-EX71: Cheap but boomy muddy excessive bass, fragile "J" cord, poor overall sound, limited isolation.
- Etymotic ER-4: Great isolation, nice mids and highs, but weak bass, fussy fit, uncomfortable after a few hours, not very sensitive (some players can't drive them very well).
- Shure E3c: Similar to the Ety ER-4s above with slightly better fit.
- Shure SE310: New version of E3c above, better bass, better sound, but a REALLY stupid J cord that's way too short and gets too heavy with the extension.
- Sennheiser CX300: Cheap, OK sound, but nasty stiff cord that suffers from bad "microphonics" (rubs against your shirt and you hear it in your ear).
Ok... so after trying all of the above, I finally tried a pair of Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pros and WOW! These literally seem to combine the best attributes of all the other in-ear canal phones and add a few improvements of their own.
First of all, the sound is glorious. It's well balanced with deep honest bass, clear mids and precise highs. You can listen to them for hours and hours without fatigue because nothing is over emphasized or distorted. They sound significantly better than both the Etymotics and Shures in the same price range and that's saying quite a bit.
One warning on the good sound: The Super.fi's will reveal any flaws in your player and source material. So if you listen to a lot of poorly ripped (i.e. 128Kbit or less) music and/or have a cheap player, you might be happier with headphones that are a bit less honest and revealing.
The Super.Fi 5's are also far more sensitive than any other in-ear phones I've tried. That means you don't have to turn your player up as far which both improves the sound (you're not stressing the player) and improves battery life. Because of the high sensitivity and ideal impedance, there's far less need to use an external headphone amp with these compared to the Shures and Etymotics which is a big cost and hassle savings for those who might be considering one.
They're easier to get in and less fussy with fit than either the Shures or Etymotics I've tried. The bass with both of those requires a near perfect fit, but with the Super.Fi's, it's easy to get good bass.
They're also more comfortable than other in-ear phones I've tried. If it weren't for the great isolation, you would almost forget they're in your ears.
Speaking of isolation, it seems like a touch less than with my Etymotics but still a lot more than say the Sony or Sennheiser canal phones. And there's no comparison to something like the Bose or any other over the ear noise cancelling headphone.
They also seem very durable. The cord is thick but doesn't suffer from excessive microphonics like other thick cords I've tried. Plus the cord is a $20 replacement item if you manage to kill yours which is very cool. With most headphones, you have to throw them away if the cord dies. That and the 2 year warranty make these a good long term investment.
They don't have a dreaded "J" cord with one earpiece lead being much shorter. I've yet to find anyone who likes J cords. Someone needs to explain that to Sony, Shure and others who still use them?
The DO have a cool little piece of stiff wire in the cord near the earpiece that lets you hook the wires over your ears if you want to make them extra secure. Ultimate Ears are the only ones I know of with that feature.
They also come with a nice metal case, a cleaner and a generous assortment of eartips. Replacement tips and parts are reasonably priced.
In summary, They do everything well!
