Ultimate Ears vs. Bowers & Wilkins...

[iDeth]

Hoping to get a few opinions from y'all.

Which in-ear units would you purchase?

B&W C5's or UE TripleFi's?

They're both very close in price and I've read mostly positive reviews on both.

Just casual listening on my Macbook Pro and iPad.

Appreciate the opinions in advance.

 

[iDeth]

bump.

 

[Eddyisgreat]

Never had the B&Ws but I have two pairs of the UE Triples. One is a backup. It's that good. I Can't use anything else.

 

[bwhli]

What exactly is your price range? Haven't heard the B&W before, but the UE's weren't that great IMO. There are certainly better options for the money.

 

[Zwhaler]

UE TripleFi 10's here. Best headphones to deliver precise audio, I use them for audio production and the detail is very good.

 

[iDeth]

What exactly is your price range? Haven't heard the B&W before, but the UE's weren't that great IMO. There are certainly better options for the money.

My price range is less than $200.00. The UE's are currently on sale for $160.00 and the B&W C5's are at the Apple Store for $180.00.

I currently use a set of Sennheiser HD-280's that I've had for 3+ years and they're very good. I'm just looking for something a bit easy to travel with, etc.

Casual listening with no external amps involved. Majority of music would be classic rock (Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Rush) and some alternative (Pearl Jam, Nirvana.)

Thanks again for the help.

 

[winterwooskie]

If the B&W offering is anywhere near as good as their P5 headphones then I'd recommend them in a heartbeat. Fantastically clear, crisp sound.

 

[Policar]

My price range is less than $200.00. The UE's are currently on sale for $160.00 and the B&W C5's are at the Apple Store for $180.00.

I currently use a set of Sennheiser HD-280's that I've had for 3+ years and they're very good. I'm just looking for something a bit easy to travel with, etc.

Casual listening with no external amps involved. Majority of music would be classic rock (Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Rush) and some alternative (Pearl Jam, Nirvana.)

Thanks again for the help.

Although the frequency response curves indicate otherwise, imo, the UE10s sound significantly better than the HD280s. A lot faster and a nice, mild mid bass boost. Not great, but good for the price. Kind of uncomfortable and bad build quality. The best sound I've heard for the money, but I haven't heard a lot and my over the ear headphones are noticeably better.

Never used the B&W earbuds, but it seems like they're dynamic rather than armatures? So they probably block out less sound.

They seem to have the same reviews on Amazon, more or less. But a few reviewers seem to prefer the B&W earbuds to the Shure 535, widely considered to be the best non-custom and way better than the UE10s.

You can compare frequency response curves here:

http://cdn.head-fi.org/1/1c/1ced4e4d_CX300-SE530-UE10tripleFi.png
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BowersandWilkinsC5.pdf

 

[iDeth]

Although the frequency response curves indicate otherwise, imo, the UE10s sound significantly better than the HD280s. A lot faster and a nice, mild mid bass boost. Not great, but good for the price. Kind of uncomfortable and bad build quality. The best sound I've heard for the money, but I haven't heard a lot and my over the ear headphones are noticeably better.

Never used the B&W earbuds, but it seems like they're dynamic rather than armatures? So they probably block out less sound.

They seem to have the same reviews on Amazon, more or less. But a few reviewers seem to prefer the B&W earbuds to the Shure 535, widely considered to be the best non-custom and way better than the UE10s.

You can compare frequency response curves here:

http://cdn.head-fi.org/1/1c/1ced4e4d_CX300-SE530-UE10tripleFi.png
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/BowersandWilkinsC5.pdf

What over the ear headphones do you use?

 

[alphaod]

I have the TripleFis as a backup. They are very good in quality, isolation, and balance.

However if you can budget for it, I would highly recommend investing in custom IEMs

 

[Papanate]

Hoping to get a few opinions from y'all.
Which in-ear units would you purchase?
Just casual listening on my Macbook Pro and iPad.
Appreciate the opinions in advance.

You've answered your own question - you are a casual listener...does it really matter what people think is the best? Both will be fine.

That said...can you not demo both sets for yourself? That's really the only
way to tell which is better - it's how 'you' hear them.

 

[Policar]

What over the ear headphones do you use?

Stax SRS 3030 with a gamma2 DAC.

Very clear sound and lots of detail, but they make sibilant and over-compressed recordings sound really unpleasant.

The UE10 holds its own, though, just less detail and a more closed, boxed-in sound. In general it's great.