[Monopot]

Looking to replace my CX300's with something better as I’ll be doing a lot of travelling soon, including several long haul and after experiencing the difference some HD555’s make at home I thought I’d upgrade my IEM to something better.

I liked the look of the Ultimate Ears Super Fi 5 Pro but they look like they protrude to far and this puts me of. The next ones I liked the look of were the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Liquid Silver as they don’t seem to protrude as much so might be better.

Alternatively the Shure SE210 look OK as well. Just looking for an overall good sound, not massive bass but still have it there if that makes sense?

Any opinions or alternative suggestions? Ideally don’t want to spend more than £100.

Thx!

[Steven]

If you are spending £100 you could look at the SE310, or SE420 (2nd hand), or Westone UM1 or UM2 (2nd hand)

I say second hand as if IEMs have been looked after then all you need to do is buy new tips and you are as good to go. I myself bought my UM2 second hand

If you are new to IEMs the Shure sound may not have enough bass for you. I used to have the 5.Pro's but sold them as I do not like the Frankenstein look. UM2 are better anyway

[Monopot]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

If you are spending £100 you could look at the SE310, or SE420 (2nd hand), or Westone UM1 or UM2 (2nd hand)

I say second hand as if IEMs have been looked after then all you need to do is buy new tips and you are as good to go. I myself bought my UM2 second hand

If you are new to IEMs the Shure sound may not have enough bass for you. I used to have the 5.Pro's but sold them as I do not like the Frankenstein look. UM2 are better anyway

Thanks for this. UM2 are out of my range at the moment and not too sure on 2nd hand ones.

What about the UM1? In my price range and look pretty decent?

[Steven]

Well after a quick google UM1 new seems to be £90-120. on froogle. I've never used any of the companies so am hesitant to link to anything

Just be sure not to compare IEMs to full sized headphones directly. Generally IEMs cannot produce the same sound stage and wideness but you need a trade-off somewhere for isolation and portability. Also reproducing the piano seems to be a real test of what an earphone is made of

[Monopot]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

Well after a quick google UM1 new seems to be £90-120. on froogle. I've never used any of the companies so am hesitant to link to anything

Just be sure not to compare IEMs to full sized headphones directly. Generally IEMs cannot produce the same sound stage and wideness but you need a trade-off somewhere for isolation and portability. Also reproducing the piano seems to be a real test of what an earphone is made of

If I get them I'd get them from this place:- Westone UM1 True-Fit Single-Driver Earphones (UM 1) HiFi Headphones

The chap who owns it posts a lot on here and I've ordered from him before so would probably send my business his way again.

I had a look on Head-Fi and the UM1 seems to get a lot of positive reviews, more so than any others I've come across so far. Like the look of the UM2 but a bit too much for me at the moment.

Do the UM1 and UM2 rotate at all as the pics of them seem to show the earpiece section at different angles on a lot of photos?

[Steven]

They don't "rotate"

They fit "upside down" from what you would typically be used to with earbuds. They hook over your ear and insert in like that. If you look at pics, and how the shape of each ear piece matches the outer ear then you'll see what I mean

The UM1/UM2 are probably the best IEMs in the market for comfort and [ease of] fit as because of their design they are very easy to insert and take out

Just bear in mind that some people do not like IEMs for long durations as the tips go into your ear canal (properly like earplugs). No real way of knowing without owning though. Just want to make you aware

[Monopot]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

They don't "rotate"

They fit "upside down" from what you would typically be used to with earbuds. They hook over your ear and insert in like that. If you look at pics, and how the shape of each ear piece matches the outer ear then you'll see what I mean

The UM1/UM2 are probably the best IEMs in the market for comfort and [ease of] fit as because of their design they are very easy to insert and take out

Just bear in mind that some people do not like IEMs for long durations as the tips go into your ear canal (properly like earplugs). No real way of knowing without owning though. Just want to make you aware

OK thanks. I've used CX300s and MM50s so far but I tend to push them in quite a bit anyway to get better isolation so hopefully I'll be fine with some IEMs.

Didn't realise then went over the top actually (DOH). How does this work with glasses out of interest? Would suit me for ease of in/out as I use them a lot in the office so tend to have to pull them out quite a lot, or just sit with one in one out.

[Steven]

Put them in... then put glasses on. That way around :-)

[Monopot]

Originally Posted by LFC_SL

Put them in... then put glasses on. That way around :-)

Given how accident prone I am, I'll either rip them out or hang myself with them inside of a 2 days.

Think it best I look at contacts instead!

Seriously though, thx for the advice. I'm going to go for the UM1s I think. Not perfect like anything but by far the most positive comments I've found so far are for these.

[Steven]

The Westone cables might seem thin at first, but they are some of the best for minimising microphonics and staying tangle free. Yes they could do with being a bit thicker but then I've never heard of them tearing of their own accord so it should be fine

Just some quick advice - when taking IEMs out, pull on your ear lobe first and as you are taking each piece out, which should prevent the dreaded "Oh. My. God. The ear piece is in my hand and the tip is still inside my ear canal"