Ultimate Ears SuperFi 3 Studio Noise Isolating Earphones (Black)
by Ultimate Ears
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Ultimate Ears SuperFi 3 Studio Noise Isolating Earphones (Black)
Customer Review: Beautifully clear sound, but absolutely no bass.
Summary: 3 Stars
Previous earphones: used UE Metro.Fi for about 1 year (who steals earbuds at Starbucks?), been borrowing my friend's Shure E2c for about 3 months.
I got these about 3 days ago and have been using them about 4 hours a day. I usually listen to my own CD's ripped at high quality (256kps at minimum) and I like my music pretty loud. Maybe these need a couple weeks to break them in, but I think I'll be returning them and going back to the Metro.Fi. Here are my impressions:
Clear Sound - listening to Josh Groban or George Winston, the sound comes out clean, like you're in the concert hall. No hiss, no distortion until the volume gets ridiculously loud. Vocals come out really great.
Underrepresented Bass - at first, I thought I put them in wrong. But after 3 days, I realize that these just don't have the bass. Playing Kanye West or Akon, the songs just sound terrible. Bass is worse than the Shures, which are notorious for weak bass. Probably enough for classical or soft pop, but some types of music need that oomph from the low range (super.fi's use a balanced armature instead of a dynamic drive, so weak bass is expected. But I didn't think it would be this bad; my Metro.Fi's blow this away).
Overrepresented Highs - maybe I just notice this due to the lack of bass, but many songs sound too bright (Usher, Rascal Flatts). I can lower the treble, but that just ruins the dynamics of the music.
Conclusion: these sound like reference headphones; clean sound that lets you hear all the music, but doesn't let you tweak them to get the sound you want. Makes sense since the Super.Fi line is for musicians. But for normal people, the Metro.Fi's are much better. The lack of bass is the killer here... if you just listen to classical and soft pop, these actually would be a great set to have. But if you like any other type of music, look elsewhere.
Customer Review: Sweet sounding plugs!
Summary: 4 Stars
First off, these puppies sound good! However, there are things anyone intending to buy these earphones should know:
The sound is loud and crisp but definetely mid-trebley, as with most in-ear headphones. The low end is there, but for full effect, it takes to position the earphones just so in your ear canal at the right volume. Since they tend to slide out of the ear canal as one moves, this sweet spot is not very wide. That said, however, I recognize the difficlulty of delivering earth shaking bass in a device this small. Most bass-rich systems utilize either massive speakers/ woofers or chambered enclosures (or both) to deliver. Since the size of this type of headphones doesn't permit for either big speakers or special chambers, maybe the thing to do is to use the human cranium as the resonating chamber! I am yet to find any in ear headphones that really deliver bass to die for. Such is the difficulty to get big bass in so compact a package. Maybe the 5 and 7 series are better in this regard (for the price they better be). So if you really need earth shaking bass in your playback, look into buying those pricey phones. The lack of such bass is the only reason
i didn't give it five stars.
Also, the lack of colored LEFT (blue or white) & RIGHT (red) tags on the earphones make it tricky to put on for the first time. I didn't realize I had them reversed until the pain got so unbearable I just had to check. So be careful.
Riding while using them can be dangerous, since the sound isolation is so great one can barely hear jets thundering overhead.
Bang for the buck, ( I paid $69.99 on amazon), I really recommend these headphones to all but big bass aficionados.
Customer Review: Most Bang for the Buck!
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased the Ultimate Ear Super.fi 3 Studio earphones just before Christmas to replace my old standards, the Sony Fontopia MDR-EX71SLA ear buds. I'm much happier with the Super.fi 3s. These earphones are extremely fun to listen to. They convey the music with a sense of energy the Sonys never had.
Are they the perfect earphones? Not even close - but they're darn good for the money. Like others have mentioned in their reviews, proper fit is essential. I tried all the different size tips before settling on the smallest silicon pair for my small ears. Once inserted properly, they're very comfortable, provide great noise isolation, and sound awesome. The fact that they loop around your ear makes for a great solution at the gym. These earphones stay in place without need for adjustment while running on the treadmill or using an elliptical machine. And the short, thick symmetrical cord rarely tangles, unlike the thin and awkward J-cord on the Sonys.
As for sound quality, the Sonys have deeper bass and a more extended treble, but the midrange sounds recessed, IMHO. The Super.fi 3s have tighter bass, a much better midbass and midrange, and slightly rolled off highs. They're very warm and lush sounding. Yes, I wish there was a little more detail at the top, but because of its absence the Super.fi 3 never becomes fatiguing, even at loud volumes. I've thrown all genres of music at them and they haven't failed to amuse me. They're also easy to drive, requiring about half the power of the Sonys.
For critical listening and articulate detail, look elsewhere. But for good fun on the cheap, the Super.fi 3 earphones really deliver the music and the passion behind it.
Customer Review: Great product
Summary: 5 Stars
I got this product after reading numerous reviews about the Shure and Etymonics earbuds that have similar reputations, and decided that these had better reviews overall. I originally got them for a trip, because I needed some good earbuds for an 18 hour plane ride. I have found that, if you take the time to figure out which size earcup works for you, they A) sound fantastic, and B) act like earplugs. I have worn them mowing the grass, and I can have the music volume extremely low, and can still barely hear the motor. People that have complained about these not having good bass response did not take the time to figure out which cup works best for their ear and are not inserting them properly. They really do have fantastic sound. I recommend reading the included instructions about how to put them in. It seems simple enough, but I thought it helped. One more thing, the reusable cups are great for normal use, but if you really want comfort, give the foam plugs a try. They're not as multi-use, but they really do sound great. Also, the cord is a little short, but you can get a replacement cord that plugs into the earbuds themselves from their website for about $20. The cord is also not the thin cheap stuff on a lot of other cords, this stuff is thick and durable. So then,
Positives:
- Noise Canceling
- Great sound
- Comfortable (I've worn them for hours at a time with no discomfort)
- Really well made
Negatives
- Takes time to get fitted properly
- Take more time that normal earbuds to put in
- Needs periodic earwax cleaning
I hope this helps, I think that these are the best buds you can get for the money.
Customer Review: Excellent, once you get used to them
Summary: 4 Stars
I wanted a set of earphones that would stay in my ears better than those supplied with my iPod and also a set that could effectively be used on an airplane, i.e., could shut out most of the ambient noise. The UE Super.fi 3's have met my expectations, albeit, not without some initial struggles on my part. I found that the medium-size ear cushions that came pre-installed hurt my ears, probably because my ears were not used to having something jammed so deeply into them. I tried the smaller size cushions which only made matter worse since those allowed the earphones to protrude even further into my ear canal. I tried the foam cushions, which felt a little better but were very unstable and would always come off the earphones when I removed them, leaving me with a couple of foam cushions stuck in my ears. I was on the verge of shipping these back to try something else but I persevered. I finally figured out that I needed to go to the larger size cushions so that the earphones did not protrude as far into my ear canals but, nonetheless, sufficiently muted outside noise. The sound quality was not compromised in any way and I am a happy camper. Now, it's possible that my ear canals just finally got used to having something stuck in them, so that might be part of it. Bottom line is to have a little patience at finding the right ear cushion and just wearing them for awhile should make you happy with your purchase. Sound quality-wise, these earphones are superb. I did not want a product that over-emphasized the bass response but had clean sound across all frequencies and these meet that requirement. Highly recommended.