Simple Man’s review – Ultrasone IQ Pro (~400 - 450 USD)
This is called simple man’s review because they are based on the sound of these earphones directly from my mobile phone (HTC 10), using 320 Kbps mp3 tracks. No expensive gears nor lossless tracks,no EQ, and all that hi-fi stuff.
Product Specs :
Driver: 2-way Hybrid - One 8mm Dynamic driver + One Balanced Armature driver
Impedance: 20 Ohms; Sensitivity: 101dB/mW
Weight: 10g
Cable: 1.2m; non-detachable
Shell: Hard die-cast metal housings
Nozzle: 3mm (like Etys)
Release year: 2014
Build – 5/5
The housings are super hard metal compressed under high pressure, robust and yet, super light. They housings seat very comfortably in the ear. These are one of the best designs I've come across in terms of comfort. No part of the ear feels any unnecessary pressure. Excellent design. The nozzles however could have been a couple of couple of millimeters longer for a little more penetration. Nevertheless, we are loaded with a plethora of tips to ensure no trouble on this front. The wires are very comfortable and light and feel very strong as well. The memory ear guides are thick and I don’t see them breaking for any reason. The cables in the IQ Pro are non-detachable but I don’t see this as a problem at all considering the build quality of the wires. The L-shaped connector is same one used by the entire family, and they are super sturdy as well with a safe strain relief.
Accessories – 4/5
Inside the box we get,
A hard leather case which is the same case as that of Pyco. The case is simply is too tiny for the IQ Pro, and stuffing them in is near impossible. However, it is is useful to store other smaller IEMs though. Minus one for this.
Tips. We get a lot of tips. Same set as provided with the Tio. We get two sizes of Comply Tx-tips (with ear-wax guard this time), two sizes of conical tips, and 3 sizes of redular-styled tips. You can use these tips with you Etymotic earphones as well, if you are going for a shallow fit there.
We also get one Flight adapter and one OMTP adapter
Isolation & Sound leakage – 4/5
Isolation is great, The 3mm nozzles penetrate into the canal and secure a good seal maximizing isolation. It’s as much as you can get with a shallow insertion. Sound leakage is minimal to nil on normal listening levels.
Fit – 5/5
Personally, for me, fit is easy and very straight-forward. I faced no problems whatsoever. I use the silicon tips, both the conical ones and the cylindrical ones work good for me. With a shallow fit they sound great. I find no reason to dig in for a deeper fit.
Microphonics – 5/5
Microphonics are minimal, close to non-existant. The thick cables stay put and around the wear wear style nearly eliminates any concern of this. If you get a tight fit where the housings don’t move, you won’t hear the wires no matter what.
Drivability – Being a little low on Sensitivity, they aren’t super easy to drive. But with my HTC10 60% is sufficiently loud for me. I don’t see any issues driving these with any smartphone. Maybe you will push the volume a little further than usual.
Before we get to the sound:
You must know that i don’t listen to trance, EDM, or bassy stuff, no metal stuff, so, take my opinion about the extremes of the sound spectrum, and speed,etc., with a grain of salt, as they are just based on the kind of music I listen to- namely Jazz, blues, some progressive rock from the 70s/80s. However, to give a fair review, i include some of my favourite Daft Punk, Tool, NIN, and some Pop songs among my test tracks.
Eartips: I’m using the provided regular silicon eartips with the IQ Pro, they sound great and fit great.
Sound Signature–
The overall signature is neutral. Very highly detailed and clean sounding IEMs. The bass is handled by the dynamic driver, however, they are really linear all the way down and don’t have any emphasis in this region. Imagine the Etymotic (XR) bass quantity produced with a tight dynamic driver. So, it does have slightly better impact than a BA driver, but with almost the same quality and definition as we would get from a BA driver. The better impact adds a teeny bit of warmth to the mids which does it good. The mids are not super forward as the Etymotics, or Tio, but i believe it is very linear through and through, with no extra emphasis at any point.
Soundstage:
Very similar to the top end IQ. The soundstage is very wide and also has considerable height to it coming from the highs. The details are astounding and every sound painted in the soundstage has a lot of room around it. It seems like the space is limitless with equally unlimited depth. They also have a black background free of noise which paints a clear and vivid picture. Layering is very impressive. The presentation a little distanced which is perfect for monitoring use, yet not too much. They never sound too clinical or lifeless and at the same time don’t get too close and intimate. It’s beautifully placed.
Bass:
The bass is tight and taut. Very snappy, but at the same time they carry just that little bit of body required to carry to the mids. It is very BA like in nature. The sub-bass presented is a little tame and is more about definition than impact. You can still hear the rumble and it does reach deep all the way to the bottom. Even with dance tracks and heavily bass oriented genres you will not get the head-bobbing effect with the bass impact. The bass is all about quality and definition. More of hear the bass, rather than feel it kind. Natural instruments sound great with perfect on-the-spot timbre and sound very real. The notes in the mids and bass also carry enough weight and don’t come across as thin, like Etymotic. If you’re not a bass-head, you will appreciate these.
Mids:
Mids are very detailed and precisely presented. They are neither forward nor behind even by a centimeter relative to the extremes of the spectrum. Just like the bass and treble. The vocals carry enough soul with a touch of warmth, just enough to avoid sounding very dry. Female vocals also come across as with good body and don’t sound too thin, and if you have a bunch of singers going at it, you will hear all of them separated at their respective pitches. Upper mids aren’t boosted, they are perfectly in line with the rest of the spectrum. The guitars, especially, sound really amazing with the IQ Pro, every strum is blissful to hear. The electric guitar riffs have the perfect bite, and fall on your ears with all the definition possible. Every little finger movement come clearly and that bite is so satisfactory, i feel it beats even reality. Listening to Tool on these earphones can only be considered a guilty pleasure. It’s incredible. Imagine the Ety bite with zero harshness or sharp edges. And everything is so separated, with lots of space around them, and sound clean and clear. Micro-details presented are second to none. Instrument positioning is stellar. Absolutely nothing is left wanted with mids here.
Treble:
The treble is greatly extended without any emphasis. They are not harsh, nor do they come across as spikey. The micro-details, driven by a very technically sound BA driver, up to the tiniest detail is reproduced faithfully and presented in a very neutral manner. There is no exaggeration or unnecessary spikes. No sibilance to my ears. They are more on the smoother side without losing any definition. Perfect tuning!
Comparisons
All in the family: Ultrasone Pyco, Ultrasone Tio, Ultrasone IQ Pro, Ultrasone IQ
So, we have a total of 4 IEMs created by Ultrasone. Let’s do a quick round-up of each in a couple of sentences.
Family traits. All of the 4 IEMs share these sonic characteristics.
Tight and punchy bass. None of the IEMs have a bottom end that sounds boomy, or one that will interfere with the mids. There is no perceivable mid-bass hump/bloat in any of them. They are quick and tight.
Not V-shaped. You won’t find any of them going for an exciting, enhanced bass + enhanced treble, presentation. Meaning, also, no recessed mids.
Instrument positioning/Localistation All 4 earphones have very impressive positioning. They get progressively better the higher you go in the line-up.
If we look at the 2 single driver units,
Pyco and Tio, these two share similar soundstage width and height. Both are not extremely wide or tall. Both have nicely rounded soundstage and display good depth of field. But their presentation is very different.
While the 2 hybrids,
IQ and IQ Pro, have very wide soundstages with decent height and impressive depth. Very similar in stage dimensions. Here, again, the presentation differs.
The youngest
Pyco and the flagship IQ have similar tuning. Both of them have a balanced signature and have the same amount of bass in quantity. The mids, as well, in both the IEMs come up front to show their presence, and so does the treble. All in a very balanced manner.
Pyco is the balanced player, nothing great or out of the world in terms of detailing or technicality, but everything is very nicely presented in a mature way. Music is more intimate than distanced and sounds like decent room-speakers with good definition and positioning.
Tio is the unique one of the lot. It stands apart in its mid-centric presentation. They sound very intimate and get seductively close to the listener. They are extremely detailed and sound a little lush at the same time. Vocals are simply amazing in these earphones.
IQ Pro is the monitoresque player and sport a very neutral tuning with a slight emphasis in the bass, maybe just a couple of dBs north of neutral. Some might even find this anaemic. The soundstage opens up in a big way compared to the younger brothers in the line-up. Great width, and so much room for the instruments. Presents gobs of details and micro-details with great resolution and definition. Distanced presentation which makes it very apt for monitoring purposes and professional use, as intended.
IQ. The flagship earphone takes one step closer to the listener from the distanced presentation of IQ Pro. Not as intimate as the Tio, but right in between the two. The signature is elevated slightly to balanced levels. The bass gets a few more decibels of meat for impact, the mids and vocals take a step forward, treble seems the same. None going overboard, but staying balanced at all times. The IQ Pro is really 95% of the IQ in every way. If you don’t need that little tight and punchy bass presence, you will save a lot of money with the IQ Pro. With the flagship IQ you can enjoy music a little more than with the IQ Pro.
Ultrasone IQ Pro Vs Etymotic ER4XR (~400 USD)
Just one comparison outside the family with the master of monitoring, ER4XR, similarly priced and targeting the same audience. Let’s see how they trade punches in a direct comparison.
Switching from ER4XR to IQ Pro is like moving from your house out to a spacious park. The IQ Pro has considerably wider soundstage with more room around the instruments, whereas the Etymotics overload all the details into their comparitively smaller soundstage. IQ Pros add a little bit of warmth to their mids, which is slightly drier in the Etys. In terms of sheer detail retrieval, ER4XR is still unbeatable, but the IQ Pro isn’t far behind presenting atleast 95% of what the Etys are able to churn out. Both are special IEMs and have their own forte. But for practicality and ease of use, i find myself using the IQ pro very often. With the IQ Pros, you can also get to enjoy music, which will be a little challenging with the Etys.
So, this is where they all stand in these different sections of evaluation
Vocals: Tio > ER4XR > IQ > IQ Pro > Pyco
Soundstage: IQ = IQ Pro > ER4XR >= Tio = Pyco
Details: ER4XR > IQ = IQ Pro > Tio > Pyco
Instrument separation: IQ = IQ Pro > ER4XR = Tio > Pyco
Positioning/Localisation: IQ = IQ Pro > ER4XR = Tio > Pyco
Timbre: Tio > IQ = IQ Pro = ER4XR > Pyco
Overall Sound rating of Ultrasone IQ Pro: 9.2/10
Vocals 4/5
Soundstage 5/5
Instrument Separation 5/5
Details 5/5
Timbre 4.5/5
Conclusion –
Ultrasone IQ Pro gives us 90% of what the flagship model IQ offers for a little more than half the price. The other 5% gives us a little more boost to the neutral bass offered by the IQ Pro and makes the IQ a little more fun. Soundstage, details, and definition are stellar, and as good as the flagship model. If there are electric guitars in the song, the IQ Pro plays them the best, no contest. To top it all off, they provide a very easy and comfortable fit, and look great on your ears. For professional and monitoring purposes, you can’t get better than this.
