Ultimate Ears Super fi 5 silver earphones

Recently I've been on a bit of a quest to find the perfect pair of headphones in the £50 - £100 price range. For the price these knoock spots of the rest.

Only the Shure's come close to these. I've owned both the Shure EC3 and SE210. Both sound great, but the SE210 are badly designed and fell to pieces. The E3C are the best I've had from the Shure range, but even these don't compare with the UE Super 5. The Super 5 provides strong bass, while also delivering crystal clear highs.

Also, you don't have to put up with this wearing them behind the ears stuff - you can if you want to, as they are designed to be worn with the cable either way.

I've also got a couple of pairs of Etymotic headphones - the ER6i and HF5 - the ER6i are pretty good for £50, but I wouldn't bother with the HF5 - at £80 quid you'd be far better off with the UE Super 5.

If you're thinking of buying them shop around - I got them for £82.99 - a bargain in my opinion.

Sound
As with all in-ear 'phones the sound depends on the fit in the ears, and that's really important with the SuperFi 5. To me, the SuperFi 5 is reminiscent of good open back headphones. Vocals can sound quite intimate and clearer than the SuperFi 3. On the right material, instruments are placed in a wide sound stage for example, some of the tracks in the Corrs "Talk On Corners", and the Samantha James' Rise acoustic sessions tracks have a big sound. The brighter sound that works with vocals can make high hat cymbals a bit prominent. Bass will be heard if it's in the mix, and synth bass sounds good provided that the ear pieces fit well; the bass in Lady GaGa's "Fame" and "Poker Face" can sound quite percussive. You need to sit still if the cables are not looped over the ears, as any movement is readily heard as thuds and clanks. The sound does improve from new after a few hours use.

Construction
At long last the earpieces are colour coded for left and right. Unlike earlier SuperFi models, the cable is not replaceable. Whereas the SuperFi3 came in a sturdy aluminium container, the SuperFi 5 has a plastic hardshell container.

Gym
As the cable is thinner and more flexible than earlier SuperFi earphones, I have some doubts that it will withstand the occasional "lassooing" of Spin bike handlebars in the gym. If not, then it will mean buying the complete earphones! I was really surprised that the Comply foam tips not only stayed in place during sweaty treadmill sessions, they even remained in place during extended side planks on a Power Plate! The sound isolation really works in the gym so that I can exercise in my own musical bubble.

Reliability
Although my SuperFi 3 earbuds lasted almost 3 years of gym sweaty sessions, the right earpiece in the SuperFi 5 failed in two sets shortly after purchase when used in the gym. The third pair started to fail in February 2011.

Comfort
The Comply foam tips are really comfortable - I've twice gone to sleep with them in position - but quite costly to replace.

Customer Support
When one of the earpieces failed in my well used SuperFi 3 'phones, Logitech were unable to replace the earpiece, but gave me a significant discount on a replacement (I choose the SuperFi 5). They have also been helpful (yes, I would have expected them to be) when the SuperFi 5 failed after three weeks, and the two replacement pairs also failed. They have replaced the SuperFi 5s with the successor 700s which are an improvement in sound quality

Conclusion
There have been quality control issues with the right ear piece and although it now lasts longer, the problem has not been solved. Ultimate Ears are now owned by Logitech and there seems (to me) to be cost cutting issues. The sound is good, but their longevity is questionable, care is needed in the gym, and Logitech no longer sell this model (replaced by the 700), so there needs to be substantial discount from the recommended retail price before they are good value for money. If you can afford it, try the 700s.

1st of all I should say that I am not an audiophile, and that these headphones have been tested using my ipod and I am comparing these headphones to a replacement set of ipod headphones.

The sound quality that these earbuds give out is far beyond that given out by the ipod ones, music is far clearer and the bass quality is amazing. I was also surprised by the fact that I needed to turn the volume down significantly as these earbuds are so much louder. For sound quality I have to give these 5/5!

The problems I have with these are the fact that I find the ear buds themselves to be to large and uncomfortable, I was surprised to find that the smallest rubber heads are actually a little large for my ears and can fall out quite easily, I can squash the foam buds small enough so they fit but they are too uncomfortable to wear for prolonged periods. These are my 1st pair of earbud headphones, so I am unaware if I happen to have smaller ear canals than average (given the fact I find the smallest set to large I suspect so). However that said I do love the quality of these headphones and will look to see if I can buy smaller buds to make these more comfortable.

The build quality is very good, they seem to be really quite robust and with a 1.2m cord they are quite flexible in where I put my ipod. The only real question is are they worth the price tag.... Personally I wouldn't pay out just over £100 for a pair of headphones, no matter how good they are I just wouldn't spend that much cash on something I am bound to loose or break, if you are prepared to spend the cash these sell for then I doubt you will be disappointed with your purchase.