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Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

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Old 04-08-2009, 7:00 PM   #1
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Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

Just purchased some UE's Super.fi 5vi for my iPhone 3GS as the standard iphone ones keep falling out of my ears so though I would invest in a good pair however on first use I am not that impressed.

I didnt feel like they had much bass, they felt quite tinny and seemed to distort a bit at about 75% volume on various tracks but not all.

The standard iPhone 3Gs earphones seem to have more bass and whilst they are no better sounding the UltimateEars ones don't appear to be £90 better than the apple ones.

Am I doing something wrong with them. I am using the stand silicone adapters as dont have an issue with them falling out of my ears.

I dont have the EQ set on my iphone.

Any ideas? Is ther anything to be set on my phone to make them better?

Could they be faulty or could it be my MP3's are not up to a quality that is shown through these earphones?

Thanks
Mark
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Old 04-08-2009, 7:49 PM   #2
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Re: Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

Probably the tips, you'll tend to lose the bass impact if the seal within your ear canal is not good.
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Old 04-08-2009, 8:08 PM   #3
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Re: Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

My UE SuperFi 3's are a bit bass light but they definatley do not sound tinny, the high and mid ranges are superb.

Strange about the distortion too - unless the earphones are fautly I'd say its the MP3 files, what bitrate are they?
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Old 04-08-2009, 8:20 PM   #4
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Re: Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

I think the bit rate is prob 128 but would have to check. Been sampling a bit more music and it doesn't sound as bad and first time I tried

they are very clear. Do you have eq set on you iPhones?

This is the first expensive set of earphones I have purchased so could it be that I am not used to them?

What did you do to increase the bass?

Thanks
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Old 05-08-2009, 1:47 AM   #5
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Re: Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdavenport View Post
I think the bit rate is prob 128 but would have to check. Been sampling a bit more music and it doesn't sound as bad and first time I tried
they are very clear. Do you have eq set on you iPhones?
This is the first expensive set of earphones I have purchased so could it be that I am not used to them? What did you do to increase the bass?
Thanks
I'd go back to fit first. They should seal in your ear, they don't sit on the edge like buds do, try the different tips they came with to get a good, comfortable, firm seal, that has some resistance as you try to remove them.

But good quality phones don't overdo bass anyway, they are about providing balanced clear sound and realistic bass.
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Old 05-08-2009, 1:22 PM   #6
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Re: Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

Quote:
Originally Posted by mdavenport View Post
I think the bit rate is prob 128 but would have to check. Been sampling a bit more music and it doesn't sound as bad and first time I tried

they are very clear. Do you have eq set on you iPhones?

This is the first expensive set of earphones I have purchased so could it be that I am not used to them?

What did you do to increase the bass?

Thanks
I don't use EQ - I think it's evil. I've tried the added bass EQ on my iTouch when using my UE's but the bass distorts too much and sounds far too muddy. I'm happy to sacrifice some bass depth for bass quality and accuracy. I haven't done anything to increase the bass, I'm happy with them as they are for the reasons mentioned above.

As drubbing as stated in his post, a poor seal will result in extremely poor bass, make sure you are getting a snug fit.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Drubbing View Post
I'd go back to fit first. They should seal in your ear, they don't sit on the edge like buds do, try the different tips they came with to get a good, comfortable, firm seal, that has some resistance as you try to remove them.

But good quality phones don't overdo bass anyway, they are about providing balanced clear sound and realistic bass.
The UE's are bass-light though, they don't do deep bass at all - but the bass that they do is nice and tight
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Old 05-08-2009, 6:13 PM   #7
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Re: Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

Hi, just a thought, would you consider replacing the silicone tips with Comply foam ones? I did on my SuperFi 5 Pros and the difference is like night and day. Worth a punt @ around £18.00 for 5 pairs

Regards

Chris
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Old 14-09-2009, 12:22 AM   #8
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Re: Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

to the OP - did you work out distortion issues? I too just bought a pair of superfi 5vis for my iphone and have noticed distortion on some (but again, not all) tracks at highest or second highest volume.

Coming from Shure E2cs and Sennheiser CX300s I had no issues with distortion at those levels, although I was on an older iPod 5g at the time.
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Old 16-09-2009, 9:44 PM   #9
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Re: Just got my Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5vi Headset for iPhone

i have ultimate ears super fi 5's as well,i have a nokia now.You cant use the the ipod's EQ with any other headphones,it distorts no matter how good your headphones are.I had a iphone and i had to set it on jazz(only increases treble and mids) or default.That is one of the main reasons why i got rid of it.It's not ur headphones it's the ipod's EQ,On acoustic(best EQ) MY HD650,IE8,UE SF5 and UE SF5EB all distort.If it is set on default then it might just be your headphones or the bitrate of the song.
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