by Noah Kravitz, Reviews Editor

24 April 2006

The Ultimate?

 

Ultimate Ears, like Shure, Etymotic Research, Future Sonics, and others before them, has capitalized on the iPod craze by adapting the technology used in its professional line of in-ear monitoring systems for consumer use. The Ultimate Ears super.fi line of in-ear earphones uses drivers and other audio technology developed by UE for their custom-fit solutions for professional musicians, but employs them in one size fits all phones suitable for mass production and marketing to the consumer electronics audience. The result, UE claims, is custom quality audio reproduction at less than custom prices.

Having previously reviewed "iPod compatible" in-ear phones from Future Sonics and Etymotics, I recieved word from UE's PR department that they wanted to throw their phones into the ring of contenders worthy of an iPod owner's hard-earned cash. I use my iPod most every day, and while $100+ does seem like a lot to spend to upgrade a $300 music player, the fact of the matter is that the earbuds Apple supplies don't do its music player justice. Upgrading to a higher quality grade of phones, be they in-ear or "cans" type, does more to bring out the potential of an iPod than any other upgrade save a quality set of powered speakers.

The question I faced while testing UE's newest consumer-grade earphones was the same one I've grappled with when reviewing quality headsets from other manufacturers: At what point does the performance-per-dollar curve flatten out enough that spending more for the next-highest level of phones is no longer worth it? Put differently, if UE's $99 super.fi 3 Studio phones are worth the cost, are the $250 super.fi 5 Pro phones be worth the extra cost?

Beauty is in the Ear of the Beholder
Both the super.fi 3 Studio and 5 Pro are excellent earphones. Ultimate Ears' UE-10 Pro ($900) Studio Reference Monitors are used by professional musicians worldwide, and their entire line of custom fit in-ear monitors are critically acclaimed. One listen to either the super.fi 3 or 5 makes it clear why UE products are so popular. The super.fi series blows Apple's stock earbuds out of the water, sound quality wise. Both models bring a level of clarity and richness to music that serious music buffs look for and casual listeners will appreciate immediately. Bass is deep and full without distorting, and voices across the sonic spectrum are rendered distinctly, whatever your style of music.

The main difference between the two UE models tested is that the super.fi 5 Pros pack two armatures into each earpiece whereas the 3 Studios offer only a single driver per ear. The results is that the 5 Pros, in addition to being physically larger than the 3s, create an increased depth and clarity across the 20-16,000 Hz range of frequency response. The super.fi 5 Pros are also loud! Whether used with an iPod, laptop computer, or other audio source, the 5 Pros played noticably louder than other earphones used at the same volume setting. The 3 Studios were also a bit louder than other phones I've used, though not nearly so much as their big brothers.

The 5 Pros also come with both hardshell (metal) and softside cases while the 3 Studios only include the latter. Each set of 5 Pros also includes 1/8" to 1/4" stereo and 1/8" stereo to mono adapters. One detail I really like about both sets of super.fi phones is that the cables are detachable from the earpieces themselves, so a cable gone bad is an inexpensive fix instead of the end of your $250 earphones. Both models also feature earloops that bend behind the ear for cable management, and a two-year warranty.

super.fi 3 Studio and 5 Pro both come with several sets of silicon ear pieces as well as one set of foam ear sleeves. The "foamies" provide the ultimate listening experience, expanding to create an excellent seal with the outer ear while also dampening unwanted noise to the fullest extent. My only issue with foam ear sleeves is that once they get wet and dry out, they must be thrown away. As such, they're not ideal for plane rides and, in particular, exercise. The included silicon sleeves stand up much better to moisture while sacrificing only a little bit of sound quality. UE did a good job with both their foam and silicon sleeves, but while the latter proved quite comfortable in my ears, they did have a tendency to slip out when I took them to the gym and started sweating. No plastic sleeve I've tried has yet matched Etymotic's flanged rubber tip when it comes to gym-proof usability.

Both sets of phones are rated at 26db of noise isolation, which means that when properly inserted in your ears, they will block out quite a bit of outside noise. Unlike electronic noise cancelling headsets like the popular Bose Quiet Comfort series, in-ear phones like the UE's physically isolate the listener by creating a seal between the outer ear and earphone. The result is an excellent listening experience in quiet and noisy enviornments alike: the isolating effect of in-ear phones is particularly welcome on trains, buses, and airplanes. Noise isolation means that you actually can listen to your music at lower (and thus, safer) volumes, as its not competing to be heard over external sound sources. The flip side is that you must use extra caution to not raise volume levels too much; the 5 Pros are particularly capable of pumping out ear-damaging decible levels in direct proximity to one's ear canals.

A note about using quality earphones with digital music players: Just as a good set of phones can bring out the best in your music, it will bring out the worst in it as well. Compressed digital music formats like mp3 and m4a (AAC) files may contain noise artifacts resultant from the compression process. Low-quality digital music sounds worse when played through a quality earphone or speaker system because those artifacts are revealed for all of their flaws. Investing in a good set of phones must go hand in hand with investing some time to ensure that your digital music is compressed at a high bit rate or, better yet, converted using a "lossless" encoder. All but the most discerning audiophile will be hard pressed to pick out the flaws in a 192kbps AAC file encoded from a pristine source, but play a 64kbps mp3 file through a pair of super.fi 5 Pros and you might never want to listen to music again.

Conclusion
Ultimate Ears has done an excellent job of translating their custom-fit monitoring products to the consumer market. Both models in the super.fi line are worthy of serious consideration by anyone looking to get more from their iPod (or any music player with a headphone jack). Ultimately, headphones of any sort - let alone in-ear canalphones - are a very subjective thing, but both super.fi models come out of my tests highly recommended. The 5 Pros are defintely better sounding than their little brothers, but whether or not that sound difference is worth two and a half times the cost really comes down to what you want out of your listening experience. If accurate, nuanced reproduction of every bit of your music is important to you, then the extra $150 is probably worth it to you. For that matter, spending $600 or $900 on a custom-fit pair of UE reference monitors would likely be even more worth it to you.

However, for "general high quality" listening, the super.fi 3 Studio earphones are my pick here. For $99, these phones can go toe to to with anything under $150 including the Etytmotic ER-6i ($149) and Future Soincs EM-3 EARS ($99) or XtremeMac FS1 ($149). The differences between these earphones come down to matters of personal preference: I find the EARS and FS1 to have the best sound of the lot when used with foam sleeves, however I generally prefer the convenience of plastic ear tips instead. With plastic tips in place, I think the super.fi 3 Studios have the best overall sound. However, the flanged rubber tips included with the Etys are by far the best fit for me during exercise, and I always listen to music at the gym. So it's a matter of how the phones fit your ears and what you'll be using them for.

While the 5 Pros do sound richer and more detailed than the 3 Studios, I gave the super.fi 3 Studio model a slightly better rating based on bang-for-your-buck. For $99, the super.fi 3s are a fantastic upgrade over Apple's earbuds and in-ear phones in the $50 range like those from Sony; the difference in sound quality will be immediately and dramatically apparent. Stepping up to the $249 super.fi 5s isn't such a no-brainer. Yes, they sound better than the 3s, but some measure of active listening is required to really appreciate them. As such, they don't represent as clear of a value-add for the average iPod owner. That being said, they are excellent earphones for the critical listener.

Ultimate Ears super.fi 3 Studio and super.fi 5 Pro earphones are available direct from the Ultimate Ears website and through music and electronics retailers (compare prices at PCPrices). Both models are available in black and white (clear models are also available exclusively through Guitar Center) and super.fi 3 Studio phones sell for $99.99 per pair while super.fi 5 Pro phones are $249.99 per pair.

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