Customer Reviews

Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Extended Bass Noise Isolating Earphones (Black)

5 star:		(41)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the Ultimate Ears Super fi model especially designed for "bassheads," featuring a disproportionately large bass driver complemented by a more conventional driver for the middle and high frequencies. I don't think UE would ever claim that what results is a balanced sound signature. Yes, the mids and highs are present and the quality is clean and reasonably detailed, but these frequencies are definitely recessed and with some kinds of music this can result in an unnatural kind of reproduction.

On the bright side, however, the bass reproduction is marvelous. Not only is the quantity/extent of the bass frequencies as powerful as any headphones or earphones I've ever used, the quality is excellent. The bass is tight and pleasant, neither boomy nor thumpy. This overbalance toward bass frequencies renders the UE 5 EB's ideal for use when listening to music in which the bass is presented "front and center," including techno bass (aka "car audio bass"), drum n' bass, and many types of rap/hip-hop. For music in which the basslines are prominent but comprise part of a more balanced presentation overall, opinions will vary. With rock music, for example, the strong bass is certainly a plus, but I have found that sometimes the bass overpowers the middle frequencies too strongly, and some detail is lost.

It should be noted that this bass-dominated sound signature renders the EB's a good choice for people who own iPods and feel that their music player is weak on bass. Without any EQ adjustment, the iPod suddenly is transformed into a player where the bass is PRESENT.

In terms of build, the EB's superficially seem well-constructed and designed. I have heard complaints, however, that the thinness of the wires and earpieces render them vulnerable to breakage. Be careful out there! Thoughtfully, EB has includes a variety of ear tips with these IEM's (including foam, flanged, and plain) so that users with different sized ear canals can get a good fit. The EB's don't extend deeply into the ear canal, which is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, this means that if you get a good fit of the earpiece into the entrance to the ear canal, comfort is good and isolation decent. However, if the fit is not quite right both comfort and isolation will prove frustrating. Making the right choice of ear tip is absolutely essential when using the EB's.

Oh, and some people think that the EB's look kind of strange when worn. Larger than the higher-priced Super fi 5 Pro model, the EB's stick out a bit. Your call as to whether this is a problem.

Like all of the UE IEM's in this series, the EB's are packaged with a nice set of accessories, including a 1/4" adapter plug, a sound attenuator, a soft travel case, an earwax loop, and a silvery metal storage case which includes a winder that helps head off what is always a problem with IEM's, cord tangling.

It's unlikely that the EB's will prove satisfactory as your "everyday" earphone unless you listen solely to bass-dominant types of music. The truth is, however, that even for bass-heavy music the overall sound signature of the Super fi 5 Pros is likely to be more satisfactory for most users (I own both). But as a second pair specifically for use with bass-y music, the EB's are well-designed and definitely fun.

I received my pair of Ultimate Ears EB's yesterday and have been comparing them to my old headphones, the Etymotic 6i's. And since there are very few reviews out there that compare the two, I wanted to put in my two cents.

My first impressions right out of the box are that the learning curve for getting a good fit and great sound out of the EB's is extremely short. I put them on my ears and after a few seconds of adjustment got an amazing sound through my IPod. Compared to the Etymotic 6i's, the 6i's insert way into the ear, and getting a proper seal is extremely important to the way the headphones sound. The EB's don't require that kind of complete seal, so they are easier to use. The EB's, however, do not give nearly as great a seal to outside noise as the 6i's (do not believe the other review), so traffic and voices in a crowded coffee shop will leak through to your music experience. After hours of use, I actually found the 6i's to be more comfortable, but the EB's come with multiple earpieces of different sizes, so comfort is not a critical issue.

Now sound--the EB's will blow you away with the amount of bass they give out. I cannot describe how extreme the bass is with these headphones, especially compared to the Etymotics which have an extreme lack of bass. If you ask me if the bass is overexaggerated and unbalanced, I would have to say yes--you actually have to turn the volume way down in order to not destroy your ears, they are that powerful. But when it comes down to the detail of the sound--hearing echoes, acoustics, layers of sound, and different locations of sounds, I believe the EB's do just as good of a job if not slightly better than the 6i's.

The bass, although extreme never distorts the mids and highs of vocals, other instruments, and other sounds--it is amazing to hear the huge thump of bass beside the echoed vocals of Portishead or detailed raspiness of Nas. Also, listening to acoustic tracks and instrumental jazz I believe is extremely well done by the EB's. No detail is lost, and I actually believe the bass in those tracks are not overly unrealistic and add another layer to the experience. There is surprising a lot of bass in symphonic tracks and the drumbs of jazz tracks naturally--when heard in the jazz lounge or at the music hall themselves--that listening to them with very little bass does not do them justice. So I believe the EB's actually do a better job of reproducing acoustic and jazz tracks than the Etymotics, because the latter has such a low amount of bass that despite the 6i's great detail and sound separation a whole layer of music seems to be missing.

The negatives about the EB's is that, because of the huge amount of bass they carry and because they are overall louder than most headphones, one has to watch very very carefully in order not to damage one's hearing. This is actually a concern with these headphones. The comfort is not amazing, but neither is it a problem. The wires are also very thin, even for these style headphones, so the wires are even more tangle-prone than normal. Overall though, these headphones produce very detailed sounds, from high to extreme low, sounds are well separated and located. These headphones, in general, add the bass to the detail of the Etymotics, and with that added layer of lows may even add slightly more detail than the Etymotics. Music like rap and rock and other bass essential music will definitely benefit with these headphones. Buy them, but watch out for your hearing.

After a few weeks of research, I came across Ultimate Ears on Amazon.com. Not sure of what they were, I logged on the UE website and was impressed by the technology behind the Super.fi 5 EBs in addition the bands listed as those using the UE products. I came really close to buying the Shure E2c's, but was easily swayed not too (the Shure's only received 3 stars compared to UE's 5).

Once receiving our new earbuds in the mail, I tried them out immediately on my ipod. I listening to majority of the music that bass heavy. Very impressed.

The main reasons for purchasing the UE's was so my wife could keep the earbuds in her ears while running, two-they are noise cancelling, three-they were a definite upgrade from Apple's earbuds that come with the scroll ipod.

Don't buy from UEs website, you'll be ripped off. Get the black earbuds from Amazon. I bought them at $30 discount. If I could, I would buy them again so my wife and I had our own pairs.

I've had these headphones for a month now. One word: OUTSTANDING! You will not be disappointed at all. They do the job convincingly and then some.
I'd like to comment about the reviews on the EB's and the PRO 5's that the expert reviewers have given on these sets. Trust me I'm not knocking the pro's but I have a little musical background and want to share some opinions here. All the reviewers give the PRO 5's a better rating because of their FLAT response. In the audiophile world "flat" sound has always been considered the best way to go in listening to music. Example: look at your "highend"audio equipment, no bass or treble controls. So where am I going here, I bet if you removed the bass output on both the Pro 5's and EB's the mids and highs would sound identical,considering that both sets have the same frequency response and similar drivers.
All I am saying here is ,to those shopping around for IE phones,don't let the reviewers scare you into thinking you are sacrificing sound by buying the EB's.
Trust me,these things ARE NOT boomy. Boomy is the Bose IE Triports. Had a friend listen to the Bose and my EB's,and he liked the boominess of the Triports better. He said the Bose had a lot more bass. They are trying to make up for lack of seal in the ear setup,but very little high end.
If you want a little extra punch in the low end and not sacrifice the mids and the high's, then the EB's are for you and you'll save 40 bucks to boot.. IF want flat then the PRO 5's will do the job and then some, with a little more sound isolation. Joe D.

As a vigilant user of headphones I was hesitant of using buds, so I did my research and found these bad boys. I wanted bass and that is exactly what I got, in spades. I will admit that there is slight learning curve of how to properly put these buds in your ears, but that can be fixed by reading the manual. The only trouble I had with the headphones was getting the right fit, which is essential. I found out that one has the put the buds in their ear and then gently rock them back and forth until they stay put ad you get the true bass experience. These buds also deter aby sound from getting into your ear. I have used these on a bus, sitting next to the heater and still heard nothing. The price also was a factor, if you buy these from Amazon and look for the other sellers, you'll find there are some sold for as little as $178.88, which a lot better than the usually $200.00.
My overall unqualified reccomendation is buy these because they will not let you down and are of high quality.

I actually purchased the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 EBs by mistake, as I'm not particularly a fan of rap, metal, techno, electronica, or other bass-heavy genres. When shopping and deciding on UE vs. other brands, I looked more closely at price than the model specs (these listed $50 cheaper than the Super.fi 5 Pros). Upon realizing my error, I had some serious concerns about the "mind bending bass" described by others prior to receiving them (too late to cancel). However, after using them extensively for three weeks with my portable players (Sansa e280 and an IBM laptop), I'm thorughly delighted with the sound quality. I would characterize the bottom as "rich" vs. thumpy or exaggerated as many other reviewers described, while the mids and highs are by no means compromised.

Physically, their size gives them an unusual appearance, but trust me, no one's looking at you as closely as your self-conscious mind would have you believe - and, if they are, maybe it's more than the buds they're checking. Personally, I didn't detect so much as a second glance during the six flights on which I've used them, and I'm as paranoid as they come.

As for comfort, I'd rate them a 3, but only because I have large, assymetrical ear canals and only get a tight seal with the disposable foam eartips. The silicone tips are much more comfortable, but they just don't work for me. However, please don't hold my Vulcanism against the product.

I assume the UE Super.fi 5 Pros offer a more accurate sound reproduction and I see that the noise isolation rating is about 50% higher, but I'm not going to buy another set right now to find out how much better they actually are. Suffice it to say that I greatly prefer the sound of these extended bass models over any of the high-end standard and noise-cancelling over-ear/on-ear headphone I own, and the outsized low frequency driver of the EBs substantially improves the performance of my portable players. Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 EB Earphones (Black)

I am a DJ from Louisville, KY and I recently purchased these when my old headphones gave out, and this is the best investment I have ever made. These have wonderful sound quality and block out ALL ambient noise. I had a monitor blasting nothing but High noise against my head, and I never once noticed it. When I would take off the one earphone it would hurt to hear the monitor, but when I put it back in, nothing but the track I was cueing up.

Even if you only mix with one ear, these would probably protect your hearing in that ear, as you don't have to blast the headphone volume to match the monitor.

I recommend these to any audiophile looking for the perfect set of travel earphones, or to any DJ wanting to protect their hearing.

These, and a set of musicians earplugs will ALWAYS go in my gig bag.

I had many concerns before buying this phones. I tried many headphones and currently was using Bose IE. I had many problems fitting them in my ear and the sound was below par to me even if I press the phones into my ear using my hands. I started researching. I was going to buy this or the $500 Shure E500 pth. Then I said myself, why not give it a try before investing a fortune in a phones (shure one) and I can tell after using this UE 5 for a few hours with my ipod, they are far beyond better than my expectations. Superb sound quality and brain damaging BASS. I can never turn up the volume on my ipod more than half way. You gotta listen to believe. If you are looking for an earbud fur your IPOD or MP3 player (if you are not gonna listen lossless music), I can definitely say this is the real thing.

I've read some of the reviews here criticizing how the bass on the EB's are overemphasized. I would have to disagree. Anyone who has listened to a lot of live music, especially pop(and it's sub-genres), rock(and it's sub-genres), would say these ear phones are spot on. The bass is powerful and deep, but hardly overtake the music in any way. Let the "cd listeners" have their "balanced" sound. To me, it's not real.
The mids and highs are well done also. While not the best I've heard, are detailed and neither to far back or to far forward on the soundstage. Nothing fatiguing here, so listening long term is enjoyable.
My only (minor) criticism is that they are physically long ear phones. I wish they came in clear so they would be less noticeable. If this doesn't bother you, you should be very happy with them. Considering the price( < $130), how can you go wrong?
Overall, I give them a grade of A-.

Edit - I wrote this review based on listening through a 2nd generation iPod Nano.

These were replacements for the V-Moda Vibes, a nice pair of cans but a little weak in the bass for me and almost no sound isolation.

PROS: Massive bass. Highs are kept intact and are smooth. Best price for dual drivers on the market. Good sound isolation. Love the over-ear memory wire, no mircophonics (exterior sounds traveling through wires). Replaceable cord. Very high sensitivity (119 dB). Love the double-flanged and foam ear buds.

CONS: A little big and a little ugly (okay with me, they work like hell!). Cord about 6 inches too short. Tight squeeze in carrying case.

OVERALL: If you love bass you will regret getting anything else. They are easily driven by portable players and just make me smile when I turn it up. Would definitely buy again.