My new King of IEMs (Tony's Triple.fi review) - Page 11 - Head-Fi: Covering Headphones, Earphones and Portable Audio

nc8000 · 12-19-2007, 03:19 PM

You wish .......

I have just finished listening to Kraftwerk's Minimum-Maximum and the TFP takes this to a new level, I never knew there was so much going on in there and so much bass. I have tried modding black olives but they are unable to go deep enough into the ear to hold the phone so I will stick with the biflanges. I have now reverted from the flip-flop mod and have found that while the flip-flop mod might give a slightly better seal it also positions the phones so they press certain parts of my ear and was the main reason for the physical discomfort. They are still not as comfortable as Ety's but I was able to go all the way through Minimum-Maximum (near 2 hours) without major discomfort and I still find that the stock cable works very well. I've been doing this test from my Nano and SuperMicro and using the UE airline adapter as it completely eliminates the whine/hiss from the SuperMicro.

antonyfirst · 12-19-2007, 03:39 PM

I love Minimum Maximum. It brought me into electronic music one year ago. It has such a beautiful bass (and details) that it sounds great with the Etys too.

jinx20001 · 12-19-2007, 03:56 PM

Originally Posted by IPodPJ

I can't believe Tony sold them. He was discussing it with me but I didn't think he would actually do it. How disappointing. After he waited so long for them to get to him from me, after a week he sells them to someone else. He was just unhappy with the cable and I told him to wait for a replacement. How can you be able to wait 60 days for the TF, then love them more than any other IEM, then sell them within a week because you don't have patience to try a recable is just beyond me. Frankly, I'm just mesmerized over this one.

i think the issue tony had was a bit more than just the cable deep down, hes given up on them way too soon after such a promising review even if it is just the cable. ofcourse its just a feeling i have and he does just say its the cable alone but i dont have trouble with any cables,wether it be shures,ultimate ears or atrios.

the problems i do have however is the overal design of the earphones. i find the cables fit closer and tighter to the head with earphones such as the shures due to the shures sitting flush in the actual outer ear. the ultimate ears cables have been ok with the metal wire in to help but the triple fi 10 for whatever reason was a bit of a pain with memory wire or not and i put it down to the earphone design and bulkiness out of the ear.

the cable is just a cable and shouldnt be any more comfortable or uncomfortable as any other cable with a smooth unbraided surface (unless its super thick ue11 style) so any problems anybody has with cables is just down to overall design IMO.

ofcourse thats just my thoughts on it and i cant speak for anybody else

antonyfirst · 12-19-2007, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by jinx20001

the problems i do have however is the overal design of the earphones. i find the cables fit closer and tighter to the head with earphones such as the shures due to the shures sitting flush in the actual outer ear. the ultimate ears cables have been ok with the metal wire in to help but the triple fi 10 for whatever reason was a bit of a pain with memory wire or not and i put it down to the earphone design and bulkiness out of the ear.

You said it well. When I say "cable", I mean how the design makes you feel the cable (over the ear, and so on). Some people have called it bulkiness, others "fit". I have solved the "tip" part of fit issue, but couldn't do anything with the rest.

Regarding the feeling of yours you are talking about, I have provided all the impressions I could and given all the hints that came to mind to describe this IEM. Many people have been buying the Triple fi lately, and they know exactly what to expect from them. I wouldn't change anything from my review: neither the enthusiasm about the great sound quality, nor the frustration I gathered from the lack of comfort. As this happens in a moment of tension in my life, such a frustration makes me difficult to enjoy the sound. There are some people who are giving their own point of view about the matter (sound & fit), so whoever reads can make his mind and decide if this IEM is for him.

MaloS · 12-19-2007, 04:41 PM

Jinx, try to give some credit here. Tony is a resourceful guy, and did a number of things to resolve the issue. It seems that nothing short of an entire chassis revamp will fix the problem, which is not reasonable for a such high tier product.
Some would keep it to fix at a later time, but others would rather sell and move on, even though the sound quality is very impressive.

jinx20001 · 12-19-2007, 04:44 PM

Originally Posted by antonyfirst

You said it well. When I say "cable", I mean how the design makes you feel the cable (over the ear, and so on). Some people have called it bulkiness, others "fit". I have solved the "tip" part of fit issue, but couldn't do anything with the rest.

Regarding the feeling of yours you are talking about, I have provided all the impressions I could and given all the hints that came to mind to describe this IEM. Many people have been buying the Triple fi lately, and they know exactly what to expect from them. I wouldn't change anything from my review: neither the enthusiasm about the great sound quality, nor the frustration I gathered from the lack of comfort. As this happens in a moment of tension in my life, such a frustration makes me difficult to enjoy the sound. There are some people who are giving their own point of view about the matter (sound & fit), so whoever reads can make his mind and decide if this IEM is for him.

i couldnt agree more, the triple fi are an amazing set of earphones that is brilliant but very hard to enjoy. the design has always baffled me a little because you would think ultimate ears would surely notice peoples biggest complaint would be the fit of their universal earphones. and yet they release the triple fi with the same design as the super fi series which the complaints were aimed at.

the only evidence that ultimate ears is taking note of its customers is the recently released super fi 4 its just a shame they didnt think of the idea a little earlier

what can ya do...

jinx20001 · 12-19-2007, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by MaloS

Jinx, try to give some credit here. Tony is a resourceful guy, and did a number of things to resolve the issue. It seems that nothing short of an entire chassis revamp will fix the problem, which is not reasonable for a such high tier product.
Some would keep it to fix at a later time, but others would rather sell and move on, even though the sound quality is very impressive.

sorry you read my comment the wrong way i was agreeing completely with tony but just trying to show people a simpler way of seeing the problem. lots might think its down to the cable itself but as tony confirmed its more due to design making the cable sit on the ear uncomfortably compared with many other phones

soozieq · 12-19-2007, 04:52 PM

Originally Posted by jinx20001
but i dont have trouble with any cables,wether it be shures,ultimate ears or atrios.

Some people are more sensitive to cables than others. I didn't get on with some of the Shure cables at all, finding them stiff, intrusive and annoying.

If the cable annoyance can't be overcome, I can see why Tony would find it affecting his enjoyment of the music. Once you've got an annoying cable, it's hard not to become obsessed with it. I disliked the Shure SE310 cable intensely. It was completely unyielding and 'kinky' and I was always aware of it.

jinx20001 · 12-19-2007, 04:55 PM

Originally Posted by soozieq

Some people are more sensitive to cables than others. I didn't get on with some of the Shure cables at all, finding them stiff, intrusive and annoying.

If the cable annoyance can't be overcome, I can see why Tony would find it affecting his enjoyment of the music. Once you've got an annoying cable, it's hard not to become obsessed with it. I disliked the Shure SE310 cable intensely. It was completely unyielding and 'kinky' and I was always aware of it.

as mentioned above my point was more towards the problem being design rather than actual cable, i agree totally tho, i was completely obsessed with the cable on the ety er6i, it was just so thin i was scared to tug on it even slightly, this worry made me always check the cable by taking the earphones out making sure it was still in the connection correctly, completely spoiling any enjoyment

antonyfirst · 12-19-2007, 05:06 PM

Then you admit you have had issues with cables. This one is not very microphonical, but is too stiff and annoying. When I realize I can't move my head without heavily noticing the cable against my face, or against my ears, this is the moment I decide to give up.

I've tried quite a few things to solve this issue, from inventing some shirt clips to experimenting other fantasious ideas. No way, even with the shirt clip, the part of the cable over it felt too intrusive when I moved. Partially because of the way it connects to the case (even if with the flip flop mod it's a bit more comfortable).
This is not the way I enjoy a IEM, or music at all.