Ultimate Ears UE 900 Discussion and Appreciation Thread - Page 100

any idea where to buy comply tips for this in bulk for cheap? On the comply website it's frigging expensive! Really liked the seal from these tips, but if I need to change every other month...meh

I saw in another thread someone's paint was chipping off after 3 months of use. Does anybody else have this problem? I'm apprehensive of buying them after seeing so many issues with quality control and workmanship.

 

Looks like a scuff mark.  Can't possibly imagine paint chipping off after a few weeks without any abuse.

OK, after trying many $100-200 IEM's in an effort to find something that sounded as good as my SRH-940 I finally broke down and bought these at the local Apple store (last pair) figuring I have the 14 day return policy if I don't like them or have issues with them cutting out.

Have to say, so far they are very impressive. The mids and treble are pretty much perfect and the bass while not heavy is very satisfying as well. I think these have a pretty good sound stage for an IEM as well.

I was very concerned that the law of diminishing returns would make me unsatisfied with them. But so far they are letting me enjoy my music in a way I have not been able to do with an IEM for quite a while.

They've MUCH better isolation than my previous IEMs (RE0s and CX300 II), can't compare with any IEMs of it's price-range though, but I am mesmerized so far:D. 

Your experience mirror mine. I tied all the Head-Fi "koolaide" IEMs. These are the ones that I refer to that are supposed to be just as good, cheat the realm of logic, better than IEMs 5 times their price, etc etc blah blah blah. What I found was you can't cheat the old "you get what you pay for" mantra. The UE900s are levels better than any of those others. There are issues that have been noted but if you get a good pair you will find they perform wonderfully.

After having these on all day, I really like the sound of these IEMs. The only flaw I see with this model is the damn memory wire, it's more in the way than being helpful. Can anyone recommend me an alternate cable with the same or better quality cable without this annoyance?

Edited by Dat bass - 2/9/13 at 8:41pm

 

Mine has a small one on the right bud.  Not as bad as in the picture.  There is a thin layer of black plastic on the exterior of the silver plastic (used as the faceplate of the housing).  That black film can peel off I guess.  

As a UE-4 Pro owner I was intrigued by the UE900 when I first learned about them at their release last year. I've been lurking around in this thread for a long time curious to find out as much as possible. How do the quad armatures mesure up against the UE4 dual? Is the armatures of better or lesser quality? Are they comfortable and easy to use?

Last week my curiosity took me to my local Apple Store and a few minutes later I was a UE900 owner. So what did I think of them?

Well, to cut the chase; I've returned them today.

SQ is good, a bit wider soundstage than the UE4, there's a clear recemblance in sound signature, the UE4 has much better mid frequency that makes the vocals clear from the rest of the mix. All in all I was pleased withe the sound, not floored in any way but pleased.

What made me return them was that the shape of the earphone did not play nice with my ears. I guess my time with custom IEM's has made me forget about how difficult it can be to get a universal IEM to seat correctly in your ears. To much hassle for me. I also found the quality to be sub par for the price they're asking of me. Had I not been a customs owner I would probably kept them, but as I am... out they went.

I'll save the money not spent on the UE900's for my future UE-18 purchase

 

Oh crap! Just noticed a very small scratch on mine as well, and I really baby these things for the 2 weeks I've had them. Practically unnoticeable, and honestly they sound so good I don't think I'll be returning them unless they get as bad as that photo posted previously. 

 

Anyone else experience these chipping issues? I'm on batch 1243. 

Picked up a pair from the Apple Store to try them out and I absolutely love the sound. That being said I got a bad batch and get rattling in the right connector when I listen to certain songs. Hopefully when I reorder from logitech that'll be fixed. I got batch 1234. Also does anyone notice a difference between the two cables? The black makes the highs quite harsh on mine.

Edited by benk97 - 2/11/13 at 6:16pm

The black cable seems brighter on mine as well but I like it more than the other cable (different strokes).

batch 1237 but so far no issues after switching cables 3 times.

Love love love the sound of this IEM. It is an IEM that finally matches my Shure 940/1440's

Hi everyone!  I'm new to this site and don't know a lot about audio equipment, but I do know what sounds good to me.  And with that disclaimer I feel that I have given fair warning to those who would prefer to skip over this post. 

 

First, let me say that I have been reading this thread and really appreciate the information here.  As I learn more I will certainly do my best to contribute when possible.    

 

I have had the UE 900's for a little over a month, and before that the Shure SE 215's (which I still have), and various other non-custom, "off the shelf" IEM's.  The source I have been using for the last year and a half has been my iPhone 4s, which plays my music purchased from iTunes.  Before I jump into the main subject of this post - I will say that I simply love the UE 900's.

 

For the last 3 months or so I have been using an application that I purchased through the iTunes store called Audio Xciter Studio ($4.99), made by Aphex. With some minor differences, including a different color and settings feature, it uses an interface that is very similar to the music app that is built into the IOS. 

 

The second I installed the application, all of my music library could be read and played from within Audio Xciter.  Music files are not altered or moved with the app, and can still be played as usual using the IOS music app if desired.

 

The bottom line for me is that when using Audio Xciter Studio with ANY of my IEM's, including the UE 900's, the music sounds much better... not a little better... MUCH better.  I don't know all the fancy words to describe the difference...so I will just say that, to me... the sound of music is "unlocked" and no longer muffled, providing better clarity, greater realism, and making it seem like the band is playing in the same room.  What is crazy is that I did not realize the music I was playing was unnatural and muffled until I used the application.  I simply did not know what I was missing.  And from what I understand, it is NOT an equalizer.  I took the time to read some of the extensive information about the product and the company, and it appears that THE APPLICATION HAS TO "SEE" THE ENTIRE SONG FOR IT TO WORK ... and then it works real time with no lag.  Because it has to see the entire song, STREAMED MUSIC WILL NOT PLAY.  This means you have to download the song to your device locally or you will receive a message (probably the wrong message) stating that the file is DRM protected and can't be played.   

 

I have a very eclectic taste in music, and I have yet to find a song that the application does not improve.  But since music is a matter of taste, I thought I would conduct a test with a common sound that most can identify as "correct" or "incorrect"... that being the sound of rain hitting the ground.  So, yesterday I purchased from the iTunes store, Samantha Barks singing "On My Own" from Les Miserables.  Using the UE 900's with Audio Xciter turned off (it has a toggle within the application so you can easily hear the difference in sound at any point in the song), the rain in the backgroud sounds muffled, and although clearly discernable as rain, sounds subdued and not perfectly realistic.  But with Audio Xciter Studio turned on... the rain sounds clear, more realistic, and almost perfect.  I get the same impression from all sounds in a song - and if an artist's voice sounded good without the application, wow... it gets even better.  If you want to be blown away listen to Taylor Swift singing "Ours" with UE 900's (or any good IEM) and Audio Xciter Studio turned "on".

 

At least for me, the application improves the quality of sound with any IEM I have used, including the UE 900's, so much so that I would confidently say that the improvement in sound is greater than one would experience when upgrading from the SE 215's to the UE 900's. 

 

I'm wondering if anyone posting in this thread has tried the application, and your thoughts on what the application is doing to make my ears perceive better quality sound ... I believe there is a different version of the application for less money that does exactly the same thing but without the "equalizer" option (which really isn't necessary in the first place IMO because 3 presets included as part of the application are more than adequate).

 

Thanks!

Edited by soundbored - 2/12/13 at 3:43am

This thread reads like a horror story of QC issues.  Was tempted to give these a try....but I think I'll hold off for the time being.

 

It seems like a sound signature worth a listen though, if the quality issues get sorted out.

A bit off topic, but my UE 700´s are beginning to break down only after a few weeks of use. The 3.5mm connector wire is exposed. Very poor for a 150 dollar product, although I got them for around 50. Have to say I´m not impressed if this is an indication of UE´s build quality. That said the sound signature is very nice, it would be very interesting to hear the 900 someday. So I guess I´m also on the "waiting for further revision/post launch QC improvements" list.