ultimate ears?

Never trust anything that's been anywhere NEAR Sarah Brightman!!

Joe90

Ultimate Ears are one of the most respected makers of In Ear Monitors (IEM) for the pro audio world, hence their customer base. The new UE5c is an attempt to bring that technology to the consumer market. There are a few things to be careful about though - as Graham pointed out they will be voiced for the pro market which may not be to your taste; secondly they are custom fit only, so you have to have an ear impression made; and finally they are $550 for a pair!

Personally if I wanted a pair of IEMs for home use I would go for either the Etys or the latest Shure E series (see http://www.handheldaudio.co.uk/pages/shure_earphones.asp)

Cheers
Simon

Thanks for the responses!

I'll probably get the etymotics as they also can be driven by portable and amps with the adapter.

Does anyone use etymotics with the headline?

I'm tempted to have a supreme bedroom system consisting of CDI/headline/hicap/etymotics.

I require a closed headphone with minimal leakage as my wife dislikes my taste in music.

Can anyone comment?

Dave

Hi Dave,

I have lived with a pair of Etymotic ER4Ses for the last year and a half. They are great, and ideally suited to noisy environments, like for blocking out the "music" they play at the gym and for traveling by plane. They are very listenable and clearly qualify as audiophile quality. The in ear design will work very well for you and your better half will certainly appreciate the personal nature of the reproduction. I do not have a headline, but they are very well driven by the Headroom Total Airhead and Maxed Out Home. Despite very good bass, the Sennheiser HD600s do a better job. However, it sounds like the Sennheisers will not qualify in the sound leakage department.

thanks Gents,

I've ordered the etymotic ER-4P with adapter.

can't wait!

Dave

I've just ordered a set of Etymotic ER-4P too...

Paul

Very tempted - I'm planning buying an iPod later this year and in the meantime am about to commence a bit of home recording work and the 4Ps would be ideal. Where can you buy them, and is it the usual case of £-$ substitution if I buy them here in the UK.

Also, can anyone describe to me what a 35dB reduction in external noise would translate to - I'd love to use these phones for my drumming (I normally use silicone earplugs (to bring overall ear sensitivity right down) and big, powerful headphones turned up loud to 'mix' with the sound of the acoustic drums...

Thanks,

John

I've ordered mine from a guy advertising on ebay, but I haven't received them yet, so can't comment on service.
Price was £170 (ie. 169.99) all-in.
I compared this to buying from the US, and decided to pay the extra.

Paul

quote:

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Originally posted by Top Cat:

Also, can anyone describe to me what a 35dB reduction in external noise would translate to - I'd love to use these phones for my drumming (I normally use silicone earplugs (to bring overall ear sensitivity right down) and big, powerful headphones turned up loud to 'mix' with the sound of the acoustic drums...

Thanks,

John

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Top Cat,
I believe that Etymotic claims sound reduction more on the order of 23dB. In any case, using them is much like putting a pair of foam ear plugs in your ears: outside sounds can be heard but are greatly muffled. Of course, the advantage is that you now have personal music that rivals your home rig (well, almost). Like I said above, this is a great advantage in noisy environments or when you want to exclude piped in music that doesn't match your taste (actually, the same thing, now that I think about it). With music playing, you cannot hear normal conversations around you. They may work very well in the application you mention above. However, they are very isolating and would not be great in situations where hearing your surroundings is important, such as riding a bike in traffic or on the subway. Again, I use and greatly enjoy my ER4Ses weekly and really don't know how I tolerated going to the gym without them. BTW, I highly recommend using any of the Etymotic models with a portable amp such as Headroom's Total Airhead (www.headphone.com)

The etys have arrived!

I've set them up at work on the PC and listened to several MP3s and they are quite impressive.

The detail is outstanding but the bass could be better. No doubt exerything will improve when I listen through the headphone out on my marantz CD63SE.

I am drooling over the thought of getting a headline to marry up my CDI and hicap!

Will update later

Dave

Ety update...The quality BASS is in the house!

These headphones rock!

Ross and Andrew... I wasn't panicking about the bass as the etys were off a cheap sound card and 96kps MP3 at work. I am also very aware of the need to drive them into the canals...this is very important for bass.

When I got home they went to a new level as expected. I played Faith No More The Real Thing album. This is an album that has really tight bass and the etys excelled. I am experimenting with the "S" adapter as the output from my marantz CD63SE is quite high.

Do these phones need much running in?

Dave