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First Custom Fit Earphones

post #1 of 12
2/21/08 at 10:11pm
Thread Starter 
Hello,

I'd like to purchase my first custom fit earphones.

Given custom fit earphones are :
  • Very expensive ;
  • Unresaleable.
I do not want to make a mistake.
I hope I could keep them many years.

Music :
Really heterogeneous. Notably :
  • Rock : Aimee Mann, Eric Clapton, Pink Floyd, ... ;
  • Indie rock : Bloc Party, ... ;
  • Trip-hop : Archive, Morcheeba, Tricky, ... ;
  • Electro : Air, Björk, Daft Punk, ... ;
  • Classical : Chopin, Tchaïkovsky, ... ;
  • Soundtracks : Hans Zimmer, ... ;
  • ...

Sources :
  • COWON iAudio X5L with RockBox (main) ;
  • APPLE iPod Touch 16Go "jailbreaked".

Background :
  • Shure E3C (2 weeks, testing only) : Marked low-mids emphasis. Round basses (no impact). No details! Pleasant at first listening, but very quickly boring.
  • Etymotic Er6i (2 years) : Quite flat response. Amazing details! Very pleasant, but sometimes boring (really too flat !) and/or tiring (agressive).
    Changed after cable broke. Need for more fun.
  • Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 5 Pro (6 months) : Marked basses emphasis. Quite rugged response in trebbles (very hard to equalize !). Very inconstant : really fun for trip-hop/down-tempo/electro, but mids and high-mids are in retreat making voices and some instruments far-distant.
I like UE Super.Fi 5 Pro basses emphasis. It makes them fun. I want to preserve it.
I want more mids and high-mid, more present voices. UE Super.Fi 5 Pro sounds a bit muffled...
I do not want agressive trebbles, tiring listening.

Thank you for your help.

lélé
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post #2 of 12
2/21/08 at 10:42pm
budget?
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post #3 of 12
2/21/08 at 10:53pm
Looks like a job for the UE11! Of course, they might be way out of your budget.
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post #4 of 12
2/22/08 at 8:06am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by filipelli View Post
budget?
Hello filipelli,

For the moment, budget is not déterminate.

I'm combing for possible models, pros and cons.

Budget would only step in the final choice.

As I said, considering they're :
  • Very expensive ;
  • Unresaleable.
I prefer waiting a bit and buy "the right ones".

On the other side, I'd not pay more if it's not well-justified.

lélé
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post #5 of 12
2/22/08 at 10:12am
If you've got the money for it I would just go for the UE11.
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post #6 of 12
2/22/08 at 10:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by intoflatlines View Post
If you've got the money for it I would just go for the UE11.
x2,

As from what i have read they sound great. They seem to do everything perfectly. Very very expensive though. Hard to justify in my personal oppinion.

Matt
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post #7 of 12
2/22/08 at 10:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgonino View Post
Looks like a job for the UE11! Of course, they might be way out of your budget.
Quote:
Originally Posted by intoflatlines View Post
If you've got the money for it I would just go for the UE11.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Baines93 View Post
x2,

As from what i have read they sound great. They seem to do everything perfectly. Very very expensive though. Hard to justify in my personal oppinion.

Matt
Hello,

Did anybody compare them with lower-cost customs ?

As Baines93 highlighted :
They are great, but does it justify the higher price ?

lélé
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post #8 of 12
2/22/08 at 12:39pm
Heh, nice to see a fellow Lyonnais! Don't see them that much around the net.
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post #9 of 12
2/22/08 at 12:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by webzeb View Post
Hello,

Did anybody compare them with lower-cost customs ?

As Baines93 highlighted :
They are great, but does it justify the higher price ?

lélé
I dunno, like he says, they have no resale value. You can get livewires less then half the price, but then you may want to upgrade, so there goes $300. UE11 is a one stop end all IEM in sound IMO. They may make something cheaper that accomplishes nearly the same effect in a few years, but its going to be really hard to beat in IEMs. A six driver (dual treble, mid and sub) wouldn't change enough to justify a cost. If you can afford it... its the best upgrade in IEMs for the money.

Like the R10, build quality is not worth $4500. UE11 is a luxury item, same as most all audio equipment. If you like the bass... (and much of my favorite music too it seems), UE11 is not going to disappoint.
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post #10 of 12
2/24/08 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuryA View Post
Heh, nice to see a fellow Lyonnais! Don't see them that much around the net.
Bonsoir,

Es-tu aussi Lyon ?

Je n'ai pas l'impression qu'il y aie beaucoup de Français sur Head-Fi...

lélé
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post #11 of 12
2/25/08 at 8:23am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by manaox2 View Post
I dunno, like he says, they have no resale value. You can get livewires less then half the price, but then you may want to upgrade, so there goes $300. UE11 is a one stop end all IEM in sound IMO. They may make something cheaper that accomplishes nearly the same effect in a few years, but its going to be really hard to beat in IEMs. A six driver (dual treble, mid and sub) wouldn't change enough to justify a cost. If you can afford it... its the best upgrade in IEMs for the money.

Like the R10, build quality is not worth $4500. UE11 is a luxury item, same as most all audio equipment. If you like the bass... (and much of my favorite music too it seems), UE11 is not going to disappoint.
Hello,

Some questions :
  • What does look like the response curve ?
  • I live in France. What would be the procedure if I purchased them ?

lélé
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post #12 of 12
2/25/08 at 9:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by webzeb View Post
Hello,

Some questions :
  • What does look like the response curve ?
  • I live in France. What would be the procedure if I purchased them ?

lélé
UE-11 Pro Specification - Products - Ultimate Ears Earphones Headphones Personal Monitors

You would have to find an audiologist in France to make impressions. You would order by placing the order online or calling the company (best way, and their are much more options for customization this way) and then shipping the impressions to Ultimate Ears in the US. You may be able to send them an email to order before placing it online if you have trouble speaking English. When you get them shipped to you, prepare for customs to charge you as well. It is going to be a bit more expensive for an import item because of import tax, its a good thing the US dollar is weak currently.

hope that helps.
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