Ultimate Ears In-Ear Reference Monitors Review - Page 7

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 

No these are my first. The first day I had them in I didn't feel any discomfort, just felt very full. The next day though when I went to put them in, my left ear was very sore and my right was only slightly sore. I can only wear them for about 30 minutes at a time now before I have to let my ears rest for 4-5 hours in between.

If they felt fine the first day try doing the on off thing for a week then see about a refit.  Your ears need to adapt a bit.  The fact that the second day was when you noticed pain tells me the fit might be more correct than you might think.  It's npot too disimilar to working a new muscle group the first time.  

A proper lube like Otoease will help condition your ears too and ease the early stages as you get used to insertion and removal as well.  Not necessary for everyone.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

DBA/B2/EQ5

Closer to the e-Q7 than e-Q5 to my ears, since they're also (slightly) mid-forward. And I might add that their sound signature is fuller than B2/e-Q5/e-Q7.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 

Got my UERM end of last week. Sound is excellent, but fit was not good. Got pain in both ears shortly afterwards. They are going back, despite my molds being done by UE's audiogist at RMAF. Both sides were slightly too large, the left more than the right. I'll report back with comments on the sound when they fit properly as that can certainly change the sound.

When I got mine, the left side felt slightly too large and would cause nagging ear pain. After several days of trying I was about to send them back, but both the dealer and dfkt encouraged me to give them a bit more time. So I took a pause to let the ear pain and sensitivity subside, and to my surprise it didn't return when I tried them again. Don't know how, but it seemed like my ear had somehow "adapted" to the earpiece.

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 

Closer to the e-Q7 than e-Q5 to my ears, since they're also (slightly) mid-forward. And I might add that their sound signature is fuller than B2/e-Q5/e-Q7.

Yeah they are slightly mid forward but the UERM has more present treble akin to EQ5 than EQ7 IMO.  I'd say the EQ7 has a less balanced high/low FR than the EQ5 or UERM for my ears.  Yes I too find the UERM fuller than the universals in question.  If that wasn't the case I would have sold them most likely and just used the B2.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 


Insertion and removal is very easy. It's just when it's in position it feels like it's tugging itself tight to my ear by grabbing the inside of my ear canal and creating excessive pressure.

Got it.  Yeah, don't force yourself, give your ears rest.  Try giving them a full day off after a decent listening session and see if you can extend the sessions w/ the pain reducing or disappearing within a week or less.  If not, refit.
 

Thanks guys.. I think UERM is what i'm looking for then.. I didn't like ACS T1.. too warm and bassy for my ears.... Well I look into it and see better ways of getting UERM into my country (Malaysia).. Its pricey here, and the import tax is just insane... 

Yes I agree.. give your ears some off time.. like don't put them on for 3 days and try again.. if 2 weeks later the pain still exists, send them back.. My ACS got sent back 3 times for fitting/quality issues.. :( My customs journey hasn't been good so far.. I hope i wont get them with the UERM...

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkwanness 

Thanks guys.. I think UERM is what i'm looking for then.. I didn't like ACS T1.. too warm and bassy for my ears.... Well I look into it and see better ways of getting UERM into my country (Malaysia).. Its pricey here, and the import tax is just insane... 

Yes I agree.. give your ears some off time.. like don't put them on for 3 days and try again.. if 2 weeks later the pain still exists, send them back.. My ACS got sent back 3 times for fitting/quality issues.. :( My customs journey hasn't been good so far.. I hope i wont get them with the UERM...

Thats a shame! I thought you were enjoying your ACS T1s when you got them from Jaben. At least, I thought I remember you proclaiming its awesome-nes on the local forum (Lowyat.net).

Don't get me started on the import tax. That is the one biggest reason why so many good things are ridiculously overpriced in Malaysia. Blasted corrupt, money-grubbing govt...uhh...I'll save that rant for a political forum. LOL.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

Yeah they are slightly mid forward but the UERM has more present treble akin to EQ5 than EQ7 IMO.  I'd say the EQ7 has a less balanced high/low FR than the EQ5 or UERM for my ears.  Yes I too find the UERM fuller than the universals in question.  If that wasn't the case I would have sold them most likely and just used the B2.

Agree about treble on the Ortofons, it's probably just a matter of what strikes you first (in my case the forward mids).

Interestingly, since I started to venture into customs I've learned that most fellow head-fiers regard their fuller sound very highly. I feel different in that regard, as I tend to think that fullness kills air and space, both of which I'm a sucker for. The JH13 demos' fullness (from their twin drivers) sounded annoyingly obtrusive and rather closed in to my ears, and I felt that claims about their soundstage were massively exaggerated. Even the UERM - though no doubt excellent and with a better sense of space than the JH13 - sound noticably more intimate than my favorite universals and borderline obtrusive with some stuff. It's a matter of preference and I actually prefer a leaner and more open sound like the EX1000's or FAD's, so I'll probably stay out of customs and confine my hunt to (vented) universals.

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 

Agree about treble on the Ortofons, it's probably just a matter of what strikes you first (in my case the forward mids).

 

Interestingly, since I started to venture into customs I've learned that most fellow head-fiers regard their fuller sound very highly. I feel different in that regard, as I tend to think that fullness kills air and space, both of which I'm a sucker for. The JH13 demos' fullness (from their twin drivers) sounded annoyingly obtrusive and rather closed in to my ears, and I felt that claims about their soundstage were massively exaggerated. Even the UERM - though no doubt excellent and with a better sense of space than the JH13 - sound noticably more intimate than my favorite universals and borderline obtrusive with some stuff. It's a matter of preference and I actually prefer a leaner and more open sound like the EX1000's or FAD's, so I'll probably stay out of customs and confine my hunt to (vented) universals.

That is interesting.  I find my modded UERM to have better separation and air than the EX1000 which was more intimate to me but still excellent among IEMs.  Of course I think our gears and ears are coming in to play here so it's very much YMMV.  Fullness for me isn't closed in sound but round notes w/ weight or substance.  For example, the HD800 has more air, space and fullness than the 009 to my ears so I don't think it's a pick one over the other necessarily though both are open.  I think we are kind of talking about two different things at this point.  Sounds like your UERM is sounding a bit congested?  For me the imaging is very precise and accurate in space but I think it isn't quite perfect in coherence at all times but still the best triple I've heard yet.  There's always vented customs too if you feel that's your thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heret1c 

Thats a shame! I thought you were enjoying your ACS T1s when you got them from Jaben. At least, I thought I remember you proclaiming its awesome-nes on the local forum (Lowyat.net).

Don't get me started on the import tax. That is the one biggest reason why so many good things are ridiculously overpriced in Malaysia. Blasted corrupt, money-grubbing govt...uhh...I'll save that rant for a political forum. LOL.

 

yeah... i really liked it when i first got it.. before the3 times i sent them back.. i had my ortofons as backup since then, and slowly the sound got to me.. when i finally got my T1 from repairs, I no longer like the thickness of it... Don't get me wrong, T1 are great.. but not my type of sound.. I prefer eq-7 over W4, SM3.... just my preference.... 

T1 is said to be neutral.. but to me its more of a slanting \ graph with bass/mid bass behing more pronounced.. i tried my friend's MG6pro that day.. bit better but still bass heavy... same goes to JH13 and apparently ES5 too..  Is it my preference on sound (not too strong bass) or is it a must for customs to have good bass presence?(be it to perfect the lack of bass in universals, or on stage requirement) aren't there any customs with ety er-4's bass-lite signature? 

I don't hate bass don't get me wrong.. but I dislike intrusive bass/midbass! Does UERM also have a slight emphasis on the lower end too? 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Maxvla 

No these are my first. The first day I had them in I didn't feel any discomfort, just felt very full. The next day though when I went to put them in, my left ear was very sore and my right was only slightly sore. I can only wear them for about 30 minutes at a time now before I have to let my ears rest for 4-5 hours in between.

take heart, that's how I felt with my first (universal) IEMs at first, but I got used to it. then I started pursuing ear-care products, and soft tips, and custom tips, and... got custom IEMs. well worth it, although it was a long upgrade path 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkwanness 

Does UERM also have a slight emphasis on the lower end too? 

 

Absolutely not.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anaxilus 

That is interesting.  I find my modded UERM to have better separation and air than the EX1000 which was more intimate to me but still excellent among IEMs.  Of course I think our gears and ears are coming in to play here so it's very much YMMV.  Fullness for me isn't closed in sound but round notes w/ weight or substance.  For example, the HD800 has more air, space and fullness than the 009 to my ears so I don't think it's a pick one over the other necessarily though both are open.  I think we are kind of talking about two different things at this point.  Sounds like your UERM is sounding a bit congested?  For me the imaging is very precise and accurate in space but I think it isn't quite perfect in coherence at all times but still the best triple I've heard yet.  There's always vented customs too if you feel that's your thing.

I agree on better separation on the UERM vs. the EX1000, but not on air and space. I also think that we're talking about different things here, in my book fullness and high separation make things appear very near, like in a studio or small venue. In a larger venue, a concert hall or even a stadium, there's usually a greater distance between musicians and listener, which translates into leaner notes and less separation. The UERM are unable to convey that sense of distance and there's no way they can trick me into imagining that I'm in a large concert hall, 'cause the singer always seems to stand right in front of me at arm's length. In my book their presentation is adequate for club music (jazz is very nice) or classical chamber music (i.e. small ensembles), but simply too confined and unrealistic for a symphony. I don't have the EX1000 at hand, but I picked up the FX700 for a short A/B with Mahler's second and I'd take their presentation without hesitation over the UERM's with that kind of music.

Regarding congestion, not at all. To the contrary, one thing that both the JH13 and UERM have over most universals is that they sound amazingly un-congested (for lack of a better term). Maybe due to multiple bores, I don't know, but that aspect is very impressive.

As for vented customs, those I know of seem to be on the bassy side, but I'd be definitely interested in a lean and flat sounding vented custom.
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by jkwanness 

I don't hate bass don't get me wrong.. but I dislike intrusive bass/midbass! Does UERM also have a slight emphasis on the lower end too? 

Nope, not to my ears.