UE Super Fi 5 pro worth the extra £60 over Fi 3?

[mug51]

Hi,
My etymotic er-6i, decided to fail on me today, seems like a broken wire or connection in the right ear.
So i'm on a hunt for a new pair, would like to grab a pair while i'm on my way to uni tomoz if possible, but could always wait the extra day and listen out of one ear.
I can stretch as far as the UE Super Fi 5 pro, but only if it is worth the extra £60. £50 for the super fi 3 looks a good pice, altho as many have mentioned it lacks the bass. Is there much difference between those two other than that? I tend to listen to rnb and soul kinda music, have hip hop and rap on mp3 player but rarely play them. Oh and how far do the sf5 pro stick out by, and how does the pro compare with the EB version, all i know it doesnt stick out as much.

Others in mind are westone um1, shure se210 and se310.

Or if any one has other recommendations, id be grateful.

Thanks

[HiFi Headphones]

The Ultimate Ears Super.fi Pro 5 earphone and it's cousin the Super.fi 5 Pro EB (Extended Bass) do indeed have much better bass response than the UE Super.fi 3 Studio. The EB revision has been specifically designed to increased bass response. Both of the Super.fi 5's have dual micro-speaker drivers, whereas the Super.fi 3 has just a single driver.

See the Ultimate Ears website for their claims for what music each earphone is suitable for. In some ways the way they have described it is a marketing exercise, but the descriptions do give some indication of the response you can expect from each headphone.

Even the Super.fi 3 should give you slightly better bass response than an Etymotic ER-6i - the Etymotic is a very detailed accurate earphone with very little bass response.

In my experience most of the lower end ear canal headphones are a bit lacking in the bass department, including the Shure SE110 and SE210.

Shaun

[steverobertsbbc]

I went from super.fi 5 Pros to 5 EB's after damaging the 5 Pros (my fault!). Whilst the EB's do indeed have a very impressive (and maybe overpowering) bass response, compared to the 5 Pros they are much larger and block out a lot less ambient noise. This means that you have to turn them up a lot more whe travelling on public transport. In hindsight, another pair of 5 Pros would have been the better buy for me.

Steve

[mug51]

thanx for the replies.

The size of the UE's look as if mite bother me, ruling them out for bit and looking at others for the moment, I do like how you can replace the wires tho. I would prefer something with a similar size to the er6i's.
Anyone know if the q-jays are any good? and the westome um1? theyre both pretty small. And do they beat the UE's in most areas?

[HiFi Headphones]

I agree with the comments on the size of the UE 5 Pro EB. I don't find the size of the standard UE 5 Pro to be a problem.

I'm afraid I can't comment on the WestOne's or q-Jay's as I haven't personal tried them (we don't stock them yet - both coming soon though!).

Another option is the new Sleek Audio SA6 in-ear earphone. We've just started importing the SA6 directly from Sleek Audio. The SA6 is a really miniature earphone and is a very easy and comfortable fit compared to any of the Ultimate Ears and Shure in-ear headphones.

I've been using the Sleek Audio SA6 daily for the last month or so and I have to say I'm very impressed. The SA6 was an upgrade from a pair of Shure SE310's. As far as sound quality goes the Sleek Audio's are easily on par with the SE310 and UE Super.fi 5 Pro - in my opinion the easier fit and customization ability makes it a much better earphone.

I was a bit concerned the bass would be lacking on the SA6's as they have a single driver, but I've been pleasantly surprised. With the largest bass port there is plenty of bass for me.

Shaun