Ultimate Ears triple.fi

Our "pub" where you can post about things completely Off Topic or about non-silent PC issues.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
Edward Ng
SPCR Reviewer
Posts: 2696
Joined: Thu Dec 11, 2003 9:53 pm
Location: Scarsdale, NY
Contact:

Ultimate Ears triple.fi

Post by Edward Ng » Fri Jan 18, 2008 3:43 am

Absolutely marvelous. Hands down better than my Etymotic ER-4S, better than the ER-4P that my friend swears by that I have listened to (which, btw, are more satisfying than my ER-4S, at the least), and at least as good as the preproduction pair of Shure E500 I sampled at CES two years ago. Too awesome, and totally worth it. This may actually be as good as my loudspeaker rig at home...craziness!

The sound is already amazing before break-in just coming off my Benchmark DAC1. I'm going to see how they sound today with my Headroom Total Bithead, but I have a feeling it won't be necessary at all (nowadays I really only use it with my laptop as an external sound card so the onboard speakers don't let a pip out in the office, plus it sounds way better than the integrated sound). The thing that really hits me about these the fact that the response is so incredibly natural and flat sounding to me. The ER-4S was way too sharp for me, and the ER-4P, while an improvement, was still a ways thin at the bottom for my ears (and that's even with my Total Bithead, which really made a big difference at the bottom end). The Shure E500 that I sampled (preproduction though they were) were actually too fat on the bottom end, and did not feel natural. Highs were also less satisfying than the Etymotic offerings.

I do still have a set of Westone's true three-ways on preorder (since last May!!!), and I'm excited about comparing them against these when they come in, but the important thing is that I'm finally happy with a set of in-ear monitors, as I could never previously find a pair that was properly tone balanced while still providing the incredible resolution and dynamics of the higher end models (like the aforemantioned Etymotic and Shure models--amazing resolution, imbalanced tonality), that was at least until I got these. Now the only question is, can the Westone three-ways beat these? It'll be amazing if they do!

Hey it's like my my home rig; I have gotten to a point where I'm happy enough with the sound that I have no reason to bother screwing with it anymore. I've been using the same sound card, DAC, control amp and loud speakers here at home for a few years now with no desire at all to change anything, because I have the sound I want and am thoroughly happy to just sit here and listen for the sake of the music. Up until now, I did not have the sound I want in my portable rig, but at last it seems I have it with these 'phones!

Now about that darn Bose system in my Rogue...

-Ed

mcoleg
Posts: 410
Joined: Fri Feb 23, 2007 11:55 pm

Post by mcoleg » Fri Jan 18, 2008 5:40 am

they are pretty nice, aren't they.

they don't need an amp at all, unless you prefer the coloring one amp or another bring to the sound...

mids are a bit recessed, you'll notice. it can be fixed with ES cable. shure olives without the cores fit on them, btw; not only they are more comfortable but also might help with mids.

Post Reply