Ultimate Ears Personal Reference Monitors: The *Custom* Custom In-Ear Monitor - Page 14

Originally Posted by YoengJyh 

 

 

 

Then i better not to waste the 2k... buy 2 pair of UE RM better.

Originally Posted by etherlite 

alright, without tuning, just how is this PRM fare to the other CIEM contenders?

Originally Posted by jude 

 

I couldn't disagree more.

 

I've tuned mine to help compensate for differences between my left and right ears (as mentioned in the post that starts this thread), and the result was outstanding. The Personal Reference Monitor has been my personal reference (no pun intended) IEM since it arrived--my current first-string quarterback in a stable of world-class custom in-ears.

 

Kunlun, I know you have a penchant for wanting to thoroughly skewer what you see as rip-offs and hype, but, in my opinion, your aim is way off on this one.

 

Tuned as a matched pair, and you'll end up with nothing less than a top-tier custom IEM. If you've got any differences between your ears, and you're feeling a bit bold during the tuning process--bold enough to tune with those differences in mind--then the outcome can be extraordinary.

 

If yours didn't turn out well, you should see what UE can do to help you.

Originally Posted by Kunlun 

The dials go way over 100 on the tuning box for the UE PRM.

 

I won't say it's the first thing I did, but, okay, actually, the first thing I did was to take one of the dials to over 150 and compare it to 50.

 

THE CHANGE WAS MILD

 

Audible, but mild.

 

It sure as hell wasn't however many dB people are thinking it was. That is definitely not how the tuning box works.

 

Changing the tuning from 50-50-50 to a tuning of 55-50-45 or what have you is practically nothing.

 

The tuning system is being way, way overhyped in reviews like Steve Guttenberg's (no surprise). Use of EQ on a DAP is a larger effect than what is possible with the impedance changes for the UE PRM.

 

 

Also, I confirmed with a UE rep that each dial does not directly correspond to bass, mids and treble driver groups, but rather each has an effect on the overall impedence measures.

Originally Posted by YoengJyh 

 

 

 

Then i better not to waste the 2k... buy 2 pair of UE RM better.

Originally Posted by jude 

 

I couldn't disagree more.

 

I've tuned mine to help compensate for differences between my left and right ears (as mentioned in the post that starts this thread), and the result was outstanding. The Personal Reference Monitor has been my personal reference (no pun intended) IEM since it arrived--my current first-string quarterback in a stable of world-class custom in-ears.

 

Kunlun, I know you have a penchant for wanting to thoroughly skewer what you see as rip-offs and hype, but, in my opinion, your aim is way off on this one.

 

Tune it as a matched pair, and you'll end up with nothing less than a top-tier custom IEM. If you've got any differences between your ears, if you're feeling a bit bold during the tuning process--bold enough to tune with those differences in mind--and the outcome can be extraordinary.

 

If yours didn't turn out well, you should see what UE can do to help you.

Originally Posted by average_joe 

 

There is no change above 100, so setting it to 150 or 999 is the same as 100.  I plan on finding out the details, but I was told by some high up LUE (Logitech Ultimate Ears) people it changes the bass, mids, and treble, and my ears confirmed.  And I had two sessions with the box so far and used my other CIEMs for comparisons both times.  Using the bypass button to go between neutral and the knobs at max/min, I did think there were fairly significant changes, but not huge changes.  I was using my DX100 as a source.

 

Originally Posted by jude 

 

Though the tuning box doesn't operate like a graphic equalizer or parametric equalizer, it does alter the tonal balance, so I think it could reasonably be said that audio equalization of a sort is obviously a component of the tuning process.

 

I don't think they're intending the Personal Reference Monitor for the general consumer market. I think they're intending the Personal Reference Monitor for the pro audio market, and/or consumers who could reasonably be called (or at the very least consider themselves) experienced listeners.

 

I admit that I found the the tuning session to be a unique and at times a somewhat intimidating process. I brought music. I brought a bucketload of test tones. I stayed a while. I tuned with a goal in mind, and I tuned until I was not only comfortable with what I was hearing from the tuning pieces, but really satisfied.

 

The custom in-ear monitors market is still very much a specialty market. Well, the Personal Reference Monitor is a specialty product within that specialty market. It's certainly not for everyone; but for those it is for, it can be uniquely marvelous.

Originally Posted by Kunlun 

The part about going over 100 is interesting.

 

It's interesting that the UE guy I talked to was open about the three knobs (which obviously effect bass, mid and treble--I hope you didn't go to the top of LUE to ask that) do not have so simple an effect that turning the bass knob up simply directly effects only the bass. What the UE rep explained was that the knobs effect the overall curve (edit: the tonal balance, in Jude's elegant phrase), rather than being like an eq which bumps up one frequency without effecting the rest of the range. Does what make what I was trying to say more clear?

Originally Posted by average_joe 

Just a quick update to the amount of adjustment possible...it is approximately +7 dB for each frequency knob and only affects that part of the spectrum.  I will have more info in my review...