Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5vi vs Klipsch Image S4i

[Aurial]

I know, I know, yet another thread about earphones.

I've searched the forums and google but can't find either a thread or site comparing these two sets of headphones.

My Apple In-Ear's have packed up (seems to be the problem other users are encountering where they're becoming clogged and you can't clean them). I'm not very impressed that they've packed up so soon so I'd rather spend the extra and get a decent set than the Apple's again.

Both of the above come with a cleaning tool.

Does anyone have any experience of both sets and can give me some insight into which are the better pair?

 

[sidewinder]

Which Apple in-ears? The current version come with a second set of mesh caps and can be removed and cleaned.

S-

 

[Muncher]

What music do you listen to? What do you want from your headphones (i.e. isolation, treble, bass)?

 

[Aurial]

Which Apple in-ears? The current version come with a second set of mesh caps and can be removed and cleaned.

S-

Thank you for that!
For whatever reason my Apple's didn't come with any replacement tips, just the silicone/rubber ends, so I had no idea you could remove the mesh to clean inside (obviously didn't read the instructions either). I've just bought some Sodium Hydroxide solution to give them a clean tonight. You've just saved me up to £110 (depending on which pair I went for) over an already expensive christmas period. Thank you sir.

I should be getting some overtime through in Jan/Feb though so am still interested on opinions about the two sets of headphones I mentioned.

What music do you listen to? What do you want from your headphones (i.e. isolation, treble, bass)?

I listen to a variety of things from rock (Stereophonics, Hard-Fi, Foo Fighters, Kings of Leon) through to pop and easy listening (Ben's Brother, Lady Gaga, chart stuff) and the classics (Paul McCartney, etc). I'm not really into Dance music, etc, (although of course I own Fat of The Land by the prodigy, as everyone should).

I'm after a good set of 'phones that are going to deliver supperior sound and last me for a while. A lot of reviews I've read for different sets seem to list a common complaint of lack of bass. I'd like the best sounding 'phones I can get for that sort of money. And the button and microphone are quite important.

The reviews of the Ultimate Ears on the Apple Store are quite good, but there aren't as many of them as there are for the S4i's, although the S4i's score 1 star less. I'm also not sure which of the remote controls/microphones whould be better. I'd prefer the fuctionality of the S4i's as they have the volume button, but I'd wear the wire under clothing so due to its position it may not be suitable.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Muncher]

Lack of bass can be an issue, especially with single driver (speaker) earphones. Earphones with 2+ drivers tend to have a dedicated woofer to compensate. I haven't actually tried either earphone, but if you go over to the head fi forums, plenty of people have, and they're really helpful. From reviews I've read about both headphones they seem to have plenty of bass.

If you really do like to listen to lots of different kinds of music, you might want to get more neutral sounding 'phones. Scavenge around audiophile websites like head fi and see if you can find reviews that sound like what you want.