Everyone wants to be an insider, and you can be one too! Choose your poison: sign-up for our Newsletter, join us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter. Do all three and you'll be swimming in the the latest news, reviews, videos and more gadget goodness!
DT Newsletter Sign-Up
Sign-up for the Digital Trends newsletter and find out about the latest contests, the hottest content, and the most popular videos. Let us keep you up-to-date!
Our Facebook
Become a DT soldier! Join us on Facebook and share the best news, guides, videos and other cool information directly with all your friends. Some might even thank you for it!
Join the thousands and follow the best of us on Facebook.
That’s Right, Sign-up For Our Monthly Random Prize Drawings and You Could Be That Winner.
Smooth soulful and detailed. Deeply rewarding and worth every pound.
By: WeirdNeville
October 8, 2008 @ 2:42 PM
Comfort:
It’s easy to find the right sized silicone plugs in the batch provided. I find the best seal is got when you suck the plug (yuck!) before “insertion” and after that you have a good seal that lasts. However, you can’ eat whilst wearing them, they work their way out as you chew. The sound also changes as you clench your jaw. That said once fitted the over-ear wire supports them comfortably and you don’t notice the weight at all. The wire seems inflexible but it a good length. They’re certainly not earphones to use for the gym for a number of reasons. They’ll fall out, you can’t hear anything else and the wire is rigid enough to drag your headphones out. The same goes for using when walking. You really can’t hear the outside world with them in. A word of warning: These can go loud, but you won’t notice until it’s too late. Normally we perceive “loudness” as the distortion associated with pushing speakers and amps too hard. The combination of sealed fitment and the amazing sensitivity and range of these headphones mean that it’ll be your eardrums that distort first, permanently.
Build Quality:
They feel solid enough but to be honest when I spend Ãâã100 on something small enough to swallow I generally expect it to be made of adamantium and Spider spunk. I can’t comment on longevity as I’ve only had them a few weeks, but with replaceable ear surrounds, wires and the case everything can be overhauled at reasonable cost (about $20 for the wire for example). They have a 2 year warranty too. The L and R on the casing is small but this ceases to matter as soon as the behind ear wire is bent into shape âÃâ¬Ãâ it dictates which is left and right.
Sound Quality:
This is the important bit! You don’t spend Ãâã100 on headphones for their looks. It’s all about how they sound. Just to define the terms of my “test” I spent most of the time listening to them from my iPod with modest 192 or 256Kb/s stereo Mp3s. EQ’s were left resolutely flat. I figure that this is how most people will listen to them. I for one won’t be re-ripping 30Gb of music. Also, my experience with Hi-Fi is limited to car audio rather than home audio. I know that this is an anathema to most Hi-Fi buffs. I have to listen to music whilst travelling by and large. I don’t have time to sit and listen critically in a darkened room for more than a couple of hours a week. What I really want to be able to do is enjoy my music whilst on my way to work by car or train. This goes some way towards explaining why my car stereo is now twice the value of the car it’s in! Anyway, if you’ve got a Ãâã3,000 home stereo in a listening room, you’re not going to be interested in a pair of Ãâã100 headphones aimed squarely at the iPod generation are you? ;)
First impressions:
I broke them out of the box and plugged them into my CD player (Denon UD-M31) and had a good listen! Bjorks Homogenic album sounded revitalized. Vocals are sweet and pure, there is great separation and the headphones generate a great feeling of space and headroom. You forget that you’re listening to phones and simply immerse yourself in the soundscape. But I also noticed significant “hiss”. This is what the supplied attenuator is for. Plug it in and whack up the volume a couple of notches and the upper end white noise is eliminated. This seems like kind of a bodged solution to me, but I suppose that it is testament to the Super-Fi Pros exceptional sensitivity. Put on a good recording Robert Plant and Alison Krauss really excels with the walls of the recording studio sonically visible and the performers come alive inside your head!
I used my IASCA car audio test disc as well. The orchestral pieces are accurately and impressively reproduced. Cornets and horns bring the hairs on the back of your neck to attention, timpani rolls threaten to engulf and the whole ensemble feels live and true. Awesome. Closer mic pieces are equally pleasant. Up front vocals with sweet detail in the upper ranges. Strokes on cymbals are audible, inhalations of breath from vocalists and catches of nails on acoustic guitar strings are all there if you listen for them. Little “woo” from musicians in the studio can be placed behind the instruments. Carmina Burana sounds suitably epic and oppressive. But it all sounds natural and integrated. These do not sound like monitors, rendering a gnats cough audible at the back of the studio and sending the listener into fatigue with scapel sharp treble. Music flows from these headphones.
The real world:
I have to admit that I don’t sit listening to test discs on my way into work. I listen to the prodigy. I listen to Ludacris and Jose Gonzales (who Iove had the pleasure of seeing live). I like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Dire Straits is a guilty pleasure. What do these headphones do for these artists whilst I’m sitting on the train?
Everything. They are so musical. My feet start tapping the minute any decent musician is playing. Even those I don’t particularly like! The range is great (slightly less so via Mp3 but not cripplingly so), pace and attack is there when it needs to be but the overall sound is quite warm and laid back. I can listen for a couple of hours at least without fatigue but still be impressed with the detail on offer.
The most impressive aspect of these headphones is the depth and extension of Bass. Even with my mediocre Hip Hop rips these things drop low and accurate. It’s hard to describe, but there’s a reflexivity and presence that denotes not only Bass, but accurate Sub-Bass too. My closest approximation is when you feel the hit of a big sealed sub getting a kilowatt at least. Only these phones connect not with your ribcage but with the base of your skull. You feel the hit there instead! Missy Elliott fills the club. The timpanis fill the concert hall. But where subs so often find themselves flapping and sounding overblown and unruly these babys just got loud and low. It’s an experience unlike any other. Massive Attacks Mezzanine presses you against the wall with sweeping tides of Bass tones. Burial holds you in rapture and has you begging to be released. Bjork’s Hunter swells and pulses beneath you. Ludacris’s frankly ludicrous Infra-Bass on Blueberry yum yum leads to an impromptu cranial massage! But the bass never detracts from the soaring vocals and pure treble on offer. You can still hear shimmer and sparkle even with the deep stuff in full flow. My Denon home system is found wanting at these depths. My 10″ Sub getting 600 Watts wasn’t this pure or resonant. It’s galling. Cheap headphones have no right to sound this good on the lows! Super Fi ofter an “extended Bass" version of these headphones. If you require them I can only imagine that you have spent the last 10 years in nightclubs or at car audio sound offs! This is all with MP3 too. I never knew the codec even allowed those frequencies through!
To say I’m impressed with the Super-Fi Pro 5’s would be an understatement. They’ve brought music back to life for me. I no longer listen to music to block out the sound of the train. I listen to music for the pure joy of it. I’ve re-discovered artists such as Tortoise that simply don’t make sense through the strains of the standard ipod headphones. Complex pieces often break down under scrutiny and I’d always assumed it was the limitations of MP3 and the iPod’s meagre amp at work. Not so. Detail is revealed and songs resurrected. You can enjoy a great musical experience in those wasted minutes twixt door and desk. Probably the biggest testament to these headphones is that since getting them I’ve been enthused to buy music again. I didn’t rip it off in the meantime, I’d just stopped getting hold of anything new, content with the same old tunes I knew and loved. Since plugging into these I’ve rediscovered great old albums and bought a tonne of new ones. Kudos to Ultimate Ears. I’d thoroughly recommend them. I’m sure that if you are an ultra-critical listener you would find them wanting. Sometimes they lack a little transparency and they certainly sound “warm”. I think that this is so that they don’t sound too harsh on lower bit-rate recordings or get over wrought in long listening sessions. It’s a trade I’m willing to make. I’d love to hear top of the range Shures and other headphones to see what they can offer for extra money, but I’m well aware of the law of diminishing returns in Hi-Fi and as far as I can see it makes no sense to spend more than the cost of the player on better headphones (there will be those who disagree). I think Ultimate Ears have hit the sweet spot on the price curve with the superfi Pro 5’s.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
GREAT sound, GREAT Value, GREAT customer service!
By: James Brady
September 4, 2008 @ 11:44 AM
I would give my right arm before I would ever part with my UE triple fi 10 pro’s. I am a bass player who uses in-ear monitors, but was frustrated by the sound of the Shure E5’s that seemed to distort the bass frequencies. When I got my Ultimate Ears, I couldn’t wait to try them out..to my surprise, I got a little distortion. I e-mailed Ultimate ears and got a response the same day! Wow! Within 3 days, I had a new set of wires in my mailbox which solved the distortion problem…I am very pleased and can’t wait to order my Custom 10’s at Christmas!
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
ITS a wiiner
By: chris
July 20, 2008 @ 9:43 PM
Best earphones around by far, Bose, Entymotic, iPod (standard issue), doesn’t compare.
Pros- Best sound clarity and quality with bass, L bracket a 3.5mm plug which can stand more pulling and can stand a beating without snaping at the insertion point. Different ear size plugs come with it. Noise cancellation (there is no active swith, its the inner ear fit that cancels the noise not a mechanical device or electrnic device), case
Cons- Price, but you pay for what you get (worth it), don’t really know of anything else only had for a week now
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
superb!!!
By: Jose R
June 24, 2008 @ 1:03 PM
I just rediscovered my love for music again. These are by far the best sounding earplugs I have ever heard. All the instruments are heard with amazing clarity and well balanced. I only wish I came across these years ago.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
good sound, poor build quality
By: Paul C
December 4, 2007 @ 4:59 PM
These ear buds sound really nice, probably the best sounding pair I have owned.
However, I found them to be quite uncomfortable and hard to fit compared to the humble koss plug or the more expensive Entymotic.
The cable seems tough, but it has a strong PVC smell for the first few months which eventually fades, however it is stiff and prone to cracking.
The build quality is quite poor, the bass driver on my right earpiece broke after 10 months, and the cable covering broke around the same time.
Despite the advertised 2 year warranty, I was unable to get a response to my RMA request from the ultimate ears website after two separate attempts over a 1 month period.
And they do not sell spare ear buds for their products either. Customer support leaves a lot to be desired.
Not recommended.
Rating: 1 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Great product. Great value
By: Pablo Acevedo
December 3, 2007 @ 11:07 AM
I just purchased the super.fi 5 Pro and am astound in the quality sound I get when I am listening to my jazz and rock music. The details {bass, treble and mids] are great.
Thank you for such a fine product.
Rating: 8 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Great Product, lousy customer service
By: Greg Hassell
November 26, 2007 @ 5:34 PM
I own a pair of the super.fi 3’s and had them only about 2 months when the cable, right at the plug snapped. As they were under warranty, I called Ultimate Ears to get a replacement cable. Well, they took my information very quickly and rushed me off the phone. I should have known right then what I was up against. Here it is Three weeks later and I still have not received the replacement cable. I have made numerous calls to Ultimate, each time I get a different voice. (Yes, I did get the name of the last person I spoke with and she was “unavailable” and I would not take the chance of possibly receiving a “return call”. I cannot believe that a company of this caliber has shoddy customer service. I have called them again today, the same old response…”We’ll send you a cable today”!!!!
If it was not for the sound and quality, I would have purchased another brand. Good luck to all that may need customer service!
Rating: 4 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Ultimate Ear Super fi 5 Pro are Super!
By: JohnnyO
July 8, 2007 @ 1:43 PM
I am a musician and a recording studio owner so I am used to studio equipment and critical listening. I have had the Shure E2C’s and there is no comparison, these phones are absolutely superior to anything I’ve ever tried both in sound quality and comfort and are a real value.
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
Amazing value
By: Jason
June 30, 2007 @ 8:41 PM
I have had the Shure e4c,which are more expensive with less drivers,and i’ve got to say they don’t hold a candle to these babies. The lack of bass is not evident in the Shures until you try these out. Ok there will be reviewers that will tout the accuracy of the Shures being superior but hey they may just be a little more accurate on the highs but that only because there really is a distinctive lack of bass, music is made of treble,mids and bass,the super fi 5 gets them all in there and all very balanced. These are cheaper,they have one more driver in each earpiece compared with anything else in this price range (basically this means you can wack up the volume and there is less to no distortion which is satisfying) the louder you play the clearer it gets. Remarkabe but suprisingly evident! Snd as i’ve mentioned the value for money is great. I think they are cheaper than the e4c because you get less accessories, but hey id take sound quality over crappy bits and pieces anyday. Go out and buy, highly recommended!!
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
The very best!
By: Adam
May 15, 2007 @ 1:20 PM
Absolutely stunning in every respect – far far superior to the Shure E4c’s!
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No
High-end definitely - blown away by the quality
By: Bernd Stoeckl
May 8, 2007 @ 2:42 PM
These are the best headphones I have ever heard. They are close to my audiophile home equipment. Dry and defined bass, incredibly smooth and detailed mids and very airy trebles. No sharpness on the whole spectrum. Wide stage and clear separation of instruments. This little device truly let’s you hear music for the first time again, not promised to much.
Now I can enjoy music as much as at home when I travel, what more can I ask for?
Rating: 10 :: 0 out of 0 people found this user review helpful. Was this user review helpful? Yes | No