 My ears say YAY |
| Review Date: October 28, 2008 |
| Reviewer: Steve, Colorado |
These Buds come with the full arsenal for a great listening experience. They come with four types of buds, one type a foam kind that fits to your ear perfectly, so they are what I use. And when you put them in, you can't hear anything outside or around you. Airplanes with crying babies are no match; the buds cancel ambient noise by design.
The main selling point for me was the iPhone compatibility, with the mic and play button. Works great, and the only complain from a realllly picky perspective would be that the button be right below the mic, instead of on the main chord, as the mic and button are separate on the chord. But it makes no difference.
Another thing I like is the wire that comes out of the bud end. There is a wire about 2 inches long inside the cord that you can bend so when you put them over your ear they stay in place, which is great when I run and move around. They are large, due to the three drivers in each bud, but are worth it. From low to high frequency, they play music back as accurately as possible.
I record my music in lossless formats on my computer, so playback comes at CD quality. After a couple weeks of listening, this is what I found: Bass is strong. Now I wouldn't use these phones for a DJ or anyone whose only concern is bass, but every low chord or beat comes out as if you were right there playing it yourself. But this is what got me. The best sound quality for these speakers comes in the mid-high to high frequencies. It doesn't matter how high the sound is, be it a trumpet blaring, guitar at high E with cymbal crashes, or a female soprano hitting the highs, the speakers won't crack or fuzz like cheap headphones, and when comparing them to the generic iPhone ones I regretfully was using before, the difference is extremely pleasant and refreshing. This is quite something, since the first thing I listen to is Bass quality, so for the crisp highs to take away my attention from Bass is saying something.
One last thing for the listening experience that is a great joy to listen to is their reproduction of the sound itself. Some speakers make you feel like you're in the studio, others make you feel like you're listening by the studio, and each headphone is different. This is called sound stage, and the UE's reproduce it very well. Unamped, they can put you there
The case is great (practical) and I use it all the time, as well as the extender when I need to. For Audiophiles such as me, pictures and specs are on their website at [...]. They show you how to wrap the cord around your ear like i explained earlier, which is nice.
I have many headphones, including AKG 701's, Sennheiser HD 650's, Sony MDR-F1's, Shure and those V-moda's, among mannnnyyy others. For an earbud, these rank among the top of the list, and I would reccommend them to anyone. |
Best earphone i've ever owned
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| Review Date: October 7, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Travis Dockweiler, kalamazoo, mi USA |
First, let me mention that i've tried earphones out in the past and found them to be extremely uncomfortable in most cases. The Bose earphones are comfortable, but they don't go very far in your ear. The Shure E3C didn't sound good and they hurt so much they were unusable. After that experience I skipped out on earphones for a long time.
For the past few years i've been trying and using many different headphones. My favorite of the last year has been the AKG 701. They're huge and really need a good headphone amp. Don't laugh, but my main source of audio is an ipod touch using a headphone amp and Lossless audio. WAV format or Apple Lossless. If it's MP3, it's 320kbps.
I wanted to downsize my setup a bit for some uses, so I needed something smaller that could work well without a headphone amp.
Did maybe two days of research and found these and was shocked at how many good reviews on Amazon there was for these (the old listing). That's not very common with earphones it seems. It was a hard decision to go with these over a similar Shure model. The size of these ALMOST made me not get them. Please don't let the size keep you from getting them. It's not a problem. The other Shure model also seemed to have more Bass (according to reviews). That's a negative for me. I don't like any extra bass usually. That's one reason I love the AKG 701's. They have a perfect balance of everything.
Ok, with that out of the way I bought these and immediately found that even the smallest ear piece was too large and hurt my ears after just a few minutes of use. I'm not really a small person, but I was surprised that the small ear piece was a tight fit. Sony earbuds come with a small sized one that would work perfect, but I didn't want to risk it.
I tried the (old, not Comply) foam piece and it was defective! The foam was not glued on properly to the plastic insert. Imagine if I did not notice this! I'd be prying that thing out with tweezers perhaps. UPDATE: Ultimate Ears now includes Comply Foam inserts. Those things are the best! ZERO pain at all EVER. Not once in a year. Previously they were a separate purchase.
Be sure that when you use these to make sure the wire goes on TOP and back around the ear! It's a bit different than other earphones. They have a video on their website of how to insert them properly. It actually helps! Bring them from back behind the ear FIRST.
The nice thing about these is that they feel like an earbud with the ear clip. The wire that goes above and around your ear is really stiff and kind of keeps the earbuds in your ear.
I'm not good at describing the sound, but with earphones or headphones it's best to pick something that sounds good to YOU. Many times i've picked up headphones based on suggestions and they just didn't have my preferred sound. They either had too much bass or were too bright or had too much coloration. To me the sound from these just sounds perfect. Not to sound corny, but the sound is pleasing to the ears and there's not too much of anything at all. Perfect everything. To me, the sound is almost similar to that of the AKG 701, which is probably around the same price. With these those you really feel like your right there in the studio. I can't say that about any other headphone/earphone. Not even Grado stuff.
If your wondering what else i've tried before getting these. I've owned Sennheiser HD-555's, 580s and 650's. Beyerdynamic DT-990s, Grado SR-60, Grado 325i, AKG 701 and lots of other's.
For portable use SR-60's are good for some types of music, but I don't like the design, although it was my preferred headphone for portable players maybe.
AKG 701 was without a doubt my favorite headphone. Some may not like them, but it's my preferred type of sound. Second favorite were the Beyers of course.
Purchased the Grado 325i two months before the Ultimate Ears and thought they were good on some music, but terrible on others. They stress my ears out too much and I can't wear them for more than an hour. I think there can be such a thing as too much detail!
So now these are my new current main earphone/headphone. Believe it or not they can be used on an Ipod or Sansa View without a headphone amp. Of course they will sound better with an amp, but it's not always needed. Thanks to these new earphones i've now converted some of my old CDs that were ripped to mp3 back to WAV or Lossless.
Is the price too high? I don't think so at all. Never once felt like they were too expensive after using them for a week. I've compared them to many other headphones/earphones and they sound just as good as any other similar priced model.
Had the foam insert defect and that isn't enough to knock off a point. I've used these since July of 2008 and the build quality has been perfect. Only a month ago did I realize that the cable is user replaceable. I did not even realize this until I pulled it apart myself and plugged it back in. I seriously think if these ever die, i'll just replace them with the exact same thing. I like them that much. All music sounds good with these, but i'd like to try a similar Shure model just to compare them. On my new Ipod Touch they sound fine without a headphone amp. Using an amp makes them sound ever better, but it's not needed. Just a note, if you use a headphone amp with these, don't use rechargeable batteries. It degrades the sound quality. No lie!
I'm sorry, but as much as i'd like to come up with some more negatives, I can't. These are very good! Best i've tried yet. After hearing these I doubt i'll ever go back to regular headphones.
UPDATE: After a year i've now finally come up with one extremely minor negative. They are a somewhat big. Maybe in a few years UE can do a redesign and find a way to make them smaller. It's not a big deal. |
Picks up where the super.fi 5 pro leave off, awesome IEM
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| Review Date: April 19, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Andrew Davidoff, Santa Clara, CA USA |
I purchased the triple.fi 10vi as replacements for my super.fi 5 pros which were stolen. I loved the super.fi 5 pros and didn't really have any complaints about them, but if I had to be critical, I'd say they were a little bit lacking in the low end. I figured that since the 10s have 3 drivers vs the 5s dual driver design, the 10s would pick up where the 5s left off.
That pretty much sums up my experience. The overall performance of the 10s is markedly better than the 5s in exactly the areas you'd expect given their technical differences. I don't have experience with IEMs other than ultimate ears, but generally speaking I would say these little ear buds amazing. The sound reproduction is full and accurate.
Unfortunately I am not really sure how to describe what good IEMs sound like without using a bunch of subjective terminology, but here's perhaps a practical example from my experience. My first step into a "higher quality" headphone was the sony mdr v700dj. The first time I used those I thought they sounded amazing. Of course, they are a very different product from an IEM, but they now sound like garbage to me. If you are moving up from your favorite pair of over the ear monitors to ear buds, maybe that'll be a valuable anecdote for you.
I use a set of the rubber tips that comes with the 10s and find the fit to be just fine. They are not uncomfortable and I don't feel a need to fiddle with them once they're in. I do not use the built in mic, so I have no comments regarding its quality.
If you want to spend about 1/2 the price and still be very happy with your IEMs, I would recommend the super.fi 5 pros. But if you have the money to spend or are looking to upgrade from your existing IEMs, I highly recommend the triple.fi 10. |
Phenomenal sound, but not perfect
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| Review Date: December 11, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Shane O. Laake, Columbus, OH |
My quest for the perfect set of headphones had me read endless reviews from consumers, audiophiles, gadget blogs, and anyone else who wanted to weigh in. In short I never found one set of headphones to rule them all. Since I was looking at an investment of several hundred dollars such ambiguity left me a bit unsettled. Sure there were some moments of clarity:
* multiple drivers had the potential for more accurate reproduction
* balance armature drivers are among the best for headphones
* multiple ear cushion options offer the best bet for a good fit
These factors led me to this set of headphones, and despite quite a few complaints of cord damage being too frequent (sadly it seems many competitors also suffer these issues), I took the plunge. Granted a Gold Box price of $99 made it more of an informed impulse buy.
When you first get the headphones, you'll get an immediate satisfaction that you've purchased something of supreme quality. Packaging is top notch, the included case is both attractive and functional, and there are numerous accommodations for fit. Once I tried out the headphones I was a bit underwhelmed however. First off getting the right fit was difficult, which was made a bit more awkward due to the fact I've never worn earbuds that want to wrap the cable over the ear. After multiple tries, I was able to focus on the music, which also was disappointing. Sure it sounded good, but it wasn't great. Not having fully addressed the fit, I was losing low end punch to a poor seal, and the mids and highs weren't much better than $35 headphones. Did I just blow $99? Not at all, as the mids and highs improved with use (I left my iPod running all evening at a moderate volume, and an significant improvement was evident). The lows also improved greatly due to finding a better fit, and now I'm enjoying high fidelity audio wherever I am.
Overall the sound quality is highly transparent and clean. Things just sound how they should. I can actually hear the difference between 192kps and 320kps MP3s, and I imagine I can finally appreciate lossless files enough to justify their storage demands. In short, you will hear things again for the first time. This is why I give these 5 stars despite some of my issues with fitting and numerous reports of cable failures. Sometimes greatness comes with a price that goes beyond the financial, and if you're willing to take that on, these may be the headphones for you.
Other observations:
* cable length is just about perfect for personal use
* not only do you get four types of silicone cushions and foam ones, you get a second set of foam ones
* replacement cushions seem readily available
* while I love my headphones, if someone offered me $300 for them, I'd probably go for it |
Love At First Listen
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| Review Date: January 5, 2009 |
| Reviewer: E. A. Guerra, Hialeah, FL |
I really love the Etymotic Research hf2 and still think it's the best iPhone headset for the money. But when I tried the Triple.fi 10vi from Ultimate Ears, it was love at first listen.
The Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10vi really is the next best thing to custom earphones, something Ultimate Ears is known for. Like its competitor, the Shure SE530, the Triple.fi 10vi uses three drivers (or miniature speakers), but they are arranged slightly differently from Shure's top-end earphone. The SE530 uses two woofers for bass and one tweeter for midrange and treble, while the Triple.fi 10vi uses three balanced armature speakers: one for bass, one for midrange, and one for treble. While I found the sound quality of the SE530 to be quite muddy, the Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10vi has a more balanced sound with crisp highs, transparent mids, and deep, tight bass.
Another advantage of the Triple.fi 10vi over the Shure SE530 is its built-in microphone. For SE530 owners who would like to have more functions with the iPhone or mobile phones with a standard stereo jack, Shure has the MPA-3C accessory for similar functionality. But who would want to spend an extra $40 having spent at least $270 (street price) on triple-driver earphones? The microphone functions well, but as with the Super.fi 4vi and 5vi, Ultimate Ears placed the multifunction button smack in the middle, below the Y-split.
Sound quality throughout is incredible. From classical to alternative to pop, the Triple.fi 10vi really is the best sounding triple-driver earphones out there. It is among the best iPhone headsets -- if you can afford it. |
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