Ultimate Ears UE 900 Discussion and Appreciation Thread - Page 90

Mine's 1234.  I don't know what my other model was, as I don't have it anymore (the older one had the problem).  

Quote:

Originally Posted by goodvibes 

LOL. I don't like things pressing on my ears and you chose S4s and Monsters Golds over 530s and better Sonys. I guess way to much bass is your idea of quality. IEMs may not be for you, doesn't make them crap.

Don't bash on him for loving Bass... The 4.ai isn't the headphone for bass-lovers. :P 

Quote:

Originally Posted by DefBringer 

I have a long standing history of hating IEMs, basically exhausting the entire Shure product line as well as a variety of Sonys, Beats, and others...all of which I found to be essentially trash.  I stuck with a variety of beloved Sennheiser on-ear headphones until I came across the S4 from Klipsch. That humble IEM lead me to the Monster Turbine Pro Golds and my desire for better has lead me to purchase the UE 900.  

 

While these are the best IEMs I have ever heard, I am still not convinced they're worth $320 more than the Klipsch or $150 more than the Monsters.  Of course, the soundstage is infinitely wider and the mid-range much more buttery, but I am still struck at how weak the lower end in the UE 900 are.  I am a Comply guy and I know I am getting a good seal and proper insertion depth, but I can only assume that I have a bad copy of this IEM?  The bass is absolutely nowhere near as commanding as the reviews here would have you to believe.   The plucks of a cello on a favorite Debussy recording of mine are not as punchy as those on the Monster Turbine Pro Gold.  I will say it is perhaps more articulate in bass than the Monster Turbine Pro Gold, but the presence is just not there.

I would really suggest that you go for the 3.ai instead. :) Don't give up hope. From what everyone's said... the bass on them is phenomenal.

(ffalas..no I am outside Chicago.)

BEWARE OF QUALITY CONTROL ON THIS IEM!!!

So I went back to Apple last night and got another pair.  Different lot #1235.  Same problem but it actually developed after a few minutes of listening.  Scratchiness/static on certain frequences in BOTH drivers.

In addition, I listened a bit more this morning and over 30 minutes I had the left channel completely go out for a second or two 3 times.  This is from the swivel cable connection.  The other issue is a driver issue.

I purposely bought these at a brick and mortar so I knew this would be a quick and easy return/refund if I didn't like the sound or had quality problems.  I will be taking them back today and I am done with this IEM.

2 out of 2 failures.  Poorest QC experience in all my Head-Fi years.  If any of you think I just ran into a bad lot and their QC is fine consider this.....

With BOTH pairs upon immediate first listen, there is a hideous scratchy distortion in both ears for the first 5-10 seconds.  I have read this from at least 6 other owners of this IEM.  For many I guess it went away and stayed away but mine creeped back in.  If this is what happens upon first listen, how on earth can one say these are even tested once assembled?  Impossible.  They are slapping them together putting them in a box and shipping them.  Even though there is a silly plastic piece covering the jack that says "tested".

Perhaps some of you have this issue but have overlooked it?  Very prevalent for me on slower acoustic piano and jazz guitar tracks.  It's a certain frequency or a specific driver.

On a side note, I really liked the airiness and big soundstage but overall these still do not beat my JH5 or UM3X.

Both my set's are 1237.  Both have many hours of listening time on them, no issues.  Guess I got lucky, but I'll keep an ear out and post if something changes.
 

Got my full refund.  I can't imagine my nightmare if this was all done online and shipments of product back and forth waiting weeks??  I had a feeling I would either have quality problems or would be returning them anyway which is why I did it this way.  I wasted some drive time but have rid myself of this headache in 24 hours.

Having worked over 20 years in manufacturing, I understand that all companies can (will) have quality problems and defects but the sheer lack of any type of lot or quality control is what really bothers me.  I even talked to Logitech yesterday and asked them, "if I check other stores, can you tell me which lot numbers will be good?"  They couldn't and only suggested trying a higher lot number, hence, manufactured at a later date.  Whether the issues would have eventually went away or were intermittent, etc.  it's a problem and is unacceptable for even $10 earbuds let alone $400.  It's really shoddy QC.  Being so late in the game with a quad driver I guess they couldn't wait to get their product out there to compete with W4...quality defects and all.  Makes me appreciate Westone stuff that much more.
 
 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro 

Got my full refund.  I can't imagine my nightmare if this was all done online and shipments of product back and forth waiting weeks??  I had a feeling I would either have quality problems or would be returning them anyway which is why I did it this way.  I wasted some drive time but have rid myself of this headache in 24 hours.

 

Having worked over 20 years in manufacturing, I understand that all companies can (will) have quality problems and defects but the sheer lack of any type of lot or quality control is what really bothers me.  I even talked to Logitech yesterday and asked them, "if I check other stores, can you tell me which lot numbers will be good?"  They couldn't and only suggested trying a higher lot number, hence, manufactured at a later date.  Whether the issues would have eventually went away or were intermittent, etc.  it's a problem and is unacceptable for even $10 earbuds let alone $400.  It's really shoddy QC.  Being so late in the game with a quad driver I guess they couldn't wait to get their product out there to compete with W4...quality defects and all.  Makes me appreciate Westone stuff that much more.
 
 

Just curious, did you return and exchange at the same store?  The earlier batches are the ones that were said to have the problem.  If you went through the same store over and over again, chances are that all you really did was grab from the same bad batch over and over again.  It's like going through a carton of rotten eggs and hoping for a good one, it just won't happen.  I remember when Phonak first released the PFE 1xx series and had quite a bit of QC issues with their initial batch(es).  It took them a little while to clean up, but once it was cleaned up, they prove to be one of the better built IEMs today.  

I will agree only this far with your statements, the first, older batch(es) of UE 900 had quality control issues.  No word on the newer ones.  I have a feeling that the majority with some QC issues bought from a retailer that had old stock.  I will also agree that it may be in Logitech's best advantage to do some sort of recall.  But saying all UE 900 will have QC issues may be a little overstated, the newer batches don't seem to have the problem.  

First off, I don't think I said all UE900's will have quality issues?  I am relaying my experience above and buyers can decide for themselves on their confidence level with Logitech quality.  But I think I proved that they were NOT QC checking or qualifying their earlier product which is insane for a product intro.

Yes, I went to the same store because other stores did not want to deal with the issue.  And yes, I chose a different lot.  (Of course I would have not picked the same lot).  My 2nd pair was lot 1235.  You said you had lot 1234 so I figured I had a flyer and just getting a different lot would have been all it took.

Maybe someday I will get another pair.  I was really curious to hear them and now I have.  Even while I had some good sound stretches and generally like the sound, I found it more of another different flavor rather than a king of all universals type of sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro 

First off, I don't think I said all UE900's will have quality issues?  I am relaying my experience above and buyers can decide for themselves on their confidence level with Logitech quality.  But I think I proved that there were NOT QC'ing their earlier product which is insane for a product intro.

 

Yes, I went to the same store because other stores did not want to deal with me.  And yes, I chose a different lot.  Of course I would have not picked the same lot.  My 2nd pair was lot 1235.  You said you had lot 1234 so I figured I had a flyer and just getting a different lot would have been all it took.

The way you worded and stated your information made it seem that way.  My apologies for that assumption.  The thing is, I have a feeling the store you went to purchased in bulk and got batches of bad headphones.  I do agree that Logitech should do something about it.  The problem seems to have been fixed in newer models though.  Hopefully they can get a grasp on the problem and get the cable issues fixed.  

As for the "tested" label.  I'm not exactly sure how they test them.  I think they are plugged into a machine to ensure the headphones produce noise and get marked tested (EG, the drivers fire and make sound).  I'm not sure exactly how its done.  Whatever the process, I'm sure it's mechanical, so the headphones won't be in a dynamic state (moving around) while being tested.  I generally ran into problems while the headphones physically moved (small movements created some problems).  Since the machines didn't test for that, it was passed.  Again, this is all assumption.  

No problem, as you could imagine it was frustrating because I certainly would have kept them much longer to get a better feel for them since I enjoyed the sound.

For what it's worth, from memory I think they sounded real close to the Grado GR10,  only difference being UE900 sounding a bit more open.  But real similar sound sig.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spyro 

No problem, as you could imagine it was frustrating because I certainly would have kept them much longer to get a better feel for them since I enjoyed the sound.

 

For what it's worth, from memory I think they sounded real close to the Grado GR10,  only difference being UE900 sounding a bit more open.  But real similar sound sig.

Definitely is frustrating to get a product and find out it doesn't work too well.  Replace it and get the same outcome :(  I feel for you :(  Hopefully Logitech rids of the old batch some how, in many ways, it will deter buyers :(  

Westone had issues as well, many W4s weren't matched well and the RC versions had connector issues as well. Things like these happen, can't dub it as having overall poor QC yet, specially since it seems to be an accepted and addressed issue. 

Had mine since they got released and have had no problems. Look at the brightside, the QC couldn't be any worse than with Monster iems!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rip N' Burn 

Had mine since they got released and have had no problems. Look at the brightside, the QC couldn't be any worse than with Monster iems!

Oh yeah, horror stories about the Turbine series :p  I had no problem with my Gratitudes tough, nor my Inspiration.  Liked both headphones.