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: Great sound but a 'learning' curve
Summary: 2 Stars
These sound great. Apple getting $40 for the white iPod set when these are under $100 is nuts.
The downside is the form factor. These cannot be wound up around your iPod and stuck in a pocket, which is fine given my use. The 2.5" of the wire closest to the buds is stiffened so it holds a shape going over your ear. Getting that wire into just the right shape is key. Once you've got it there you don't want it to move. Luckily the included metal case will protect them and keep your curve safe.
Why is that curve so important? If it isn't just right they are horrible to wear. I was on the verge of returning them before I got just the right shape figured out. It is worth spending some time playing with the various included tips and bending that wire around before you make up your mind on how wearable they are.
If the sound wasn't so good I'd have taken off 2 stars for the 'difficulty' of use.
UPDATE: Just stumbled back across my review and thought it was worth updating. After about a year the interface between the metal connector pin and the wire came apart such that I had to tape it into my computer to keep them working. This is totally unacceptable build quality for a product like this. Of course the warranty is quite clear that the connector is not covered. If they last a year living on a desk I can't imagine how quickly they fall apart when used with an portable device.
Down to 2 stars, they sounded great, once I had it worked out they were comfortable enough but they made the included iPod head phones look well built...
Customer Review: Excellent sound for under $100!
Summary: 5 Stars
I acquired a pair of these earphones a few weeks ago, and wasn't too terribly impressed at first by the low bass response and slightly tinny sound, which only improved a little as I broke them in.
However, I finally tried switching ear tips (it comes with several sizes), and oh boy! what a difference!
Those complaining about low bass are probably having trouble getting a good fit with these earbuds. The thing about In-Ear Monitors like these is that it is absolutely imperative that the listener attain a perfect seal in the ear canal. I found that my problem was that the tips I had been using were not big enough, which resulted in a lack of a good seal and, therefore, not enough bass response. If you are really having trouble getting these things to fit right, you can try the foam eartips, though I do not recommend them as they are intended to be disposable and yet are rather costly to replace.
Once you get a good fit, however, the sound is quite lovely. The bass is clear without being too much, the midrange is very nice (find a good quality opera recording that you've been listening to with those crappy iPod earbuds and be amazed!) and the highs are clear and smooth. In short, the sound is flowery and rich. The volume out of my iPod (3rd generation 15GB....I know, I'm old-school) is actually better than what I get with the original iPod earbuds, especially since the Ultimate Ears do such a great job of blocking out noise. I think one would be extremely hard-pressed to find a better earbud at this price. Go for it!
Customer Review: Wow. I am super unimpressed.
Summary: 3 Stars
Oh, how I wanted to like these head phones! the sound is so cold, uninspired, flat. Perhaps I made a bad choice going with these as I am very much in love with the warm beautiful sounds of my Grado SR60. and no one ever claimed these were a warm set of bugs.
That said, honestly, i had a sound test against my el cheapo $20 sony MDR51, and there simply isn't enough sound difference to justify the $99 vs $20 price difference. These were a bit clearer, yes, but the sony wasn't that much worse by my humble comparison.
I tried to listen to all my favorite tracks on my ipod, from drum and bass, to rap, to folk, to indie rock, and these headphones just can't seem to get my blood racing. i was bored listening to its flat sounds. If i may anthromorphasize these headphones for a sec, my best analogy of the expereience of hearing these bugs is its like talking to someone who really just don't care. the words are said acurately, the conversation makes sense, but they just don't care much about what they are saying.
do these bugs produce mostly accurate sound? i guess. more sonic detail then my cheap sonys? maybe a little bit.
exhilerating experience hearing my favorite songs like what i had with my Grado SR60s? do these bugs love producing the sounds as much as i love hearing them? definitely, absolutely not.
so sad. i was so excited to get a great set of cans again after my SR60 died, and the office enviroment didn't exactly welcome the open air design.
What to do now? sigh...
Customer Review: Overhyped garbage. Being generous with two stars. Not worth the cost.
Summary: 2 Stars
iPod Video 30GB (G5). It's no secret that the stock Apple buds are extremely uncomfortable, tend to fall out and offer so-so sound. So, after reading countless reviews heralding these the best things since sliced bread, I bought a couple pair of the UE Super.fi 3's over the holidays for my daughters' iPods. What a mistake. Jebus! I've gone through a half dozen name brands under $100, including Sennheiser CX300's and a pair of $20 Phillips "premium" buds, being displeased with all of them, before finally settling on the Bose Triport in-ear headphones.
These over-hyped UE earphones hover next to the drug-store replacements and, to me, don't sound any better than Apple's stock earbuds. In fact, as I've read quite a bit after the fact, regrettably, (negative reviews tend to get buried) the UE Super.fi 3's have almost no discernible bass whatsoever. Yes, the mids are there and the highs are too bad, but the lack of bass is unforgivable. They sound more like a child's set if someone like Fisher-Price made MP3 players.
I'd hoped to "upgrade" from the Bose (which stage well and have an excellent balance of sound) to the UE Super.fi 5 Pro's, but, after hearing these, I am sending them back today and won't likely invest in UE until I hear a much better product for the money. Mind you, I realize these are not their premium products, but, for the money, they're incredibly underwhelming. Hell, even the Phillips buds sound better, more balanced than these. Suffice it to say, I am extremely disappointed with UE.
Customer Review: Uncomfortable and inconsistent
Summary: 1 Stars
I purchased these to give myself a better listening experience when I'm listening to ripped CDs on my computer or my Zune (everything ripped in WMA lossless). [By reference, my normal music system is a Rotel CD player, Rotel integrated amp, and B&W 703s.] After burning these in for a few days, I tried the medium sized silicone cups. While the seal was pretty good, the 'phones blocked out a significant amount of ambient noise, and the highs and mids were fantastic, the fit was extremely uncomfortable and there was absolutely no bass. I tried all of the other silicone cup sizes to no avail: the earpieces remained unacceptably uncomfortable and the bass was lacking. Ironically, in order to get the best seal and best sound from the earpieces you need to really push them into the ear canal, which is precisely what causes the painful listening experience. And when I say pain I don't mean pressure similar to being underwater, I mean pain from the earpieces being forced into the ear in order to achieve the proper sound. Ultimately I tried the foam eartips and lo: the pain was gone...but so were the fantastic highs and mids. The sound certainly seemed to have more bass, but I realized after careful listening that the sound was merely muddled. I'm going to return these and hopefully find something else that will be more comfortable and more consistent in the sound. If you can get these to fit comfortably, and properly, the only downside will probably be a lack of low frequency extension.