Trysaeder
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2009
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Owning quite a few iems myself, I've had a bit of experience with all kinds of cables. But never UE before. I've tried the TF10 for a short time and found that ok, but now that I've bought a second hand SF5pro for recabling, I have the cable sitting right in front of me.
There are good cables and then there are bad cables. I've experienced them all now. The CK100 cable is by far the best out of any IEM I've had or tried. The only way they can carry noise is if you stretch them taught and pluck them like a guitar. It retains very little memory, but enough that it will mould to the shape of your ears.
The IE8 was second best, the over ear fit combined with very good cabling and comfort made it a well built IEM. Memory was ok, the long part of the cable held a little memory, the over ear part held not enough. It sometimes rolled off my ears. Next is the Vsonic R02pro. This cable does not want to bend. It has a slight memory effect, but takes a long time to break the shape that it's in. If you keep it in a nice shape for a while, it's all good. Being worn straight down makes it more microphonic, but not intolerably so. Very good cable for the price. Slippery and doesn't tangle easily.
Then we get to the IEM that I recommend to my friends, the MEE M9. I'm going to use the M11 as reference, since I haven't had an M9 in a while. This cable retains its shape. Very. Well. Not very microphonic, perhaps better than the R02, but if you ever roll it up around a small object, such as the clip, you'll never get the bends out of it. My friend's M9 that he wraps around his ipod classic doesn't have this issue, so don't wrap it around small stuff (they were the same cable, the newest one).
So those were the best to tolerable cables.
Now the sennheiser MX560 or something. It's not an iem so microphonics is not an issue, so efforts can be focused elsewhere. Like being tangle resistance. But it isn't, it manages to cling to itself whenever you coil it up, it loves itself too much. Being rubberised doesn't help either, it loves itself even more.
Then we come to 'I WANT TO BURN YOU ALIVE' sorta cables.
Ultimate ears. How much work did they put into their cables? I heard about all the plug breakages, and the annoying memory wire, but the people who put up with this sort of crap obviously have never tried iems with good cables.
1. Memory wire. Is it really necessary? How much more expensive would it be to just include some good ear guides like the sennheiser IE series or Phonak's PFE? Probably less than the price to shove a piece of metal into a wire. Metal is malleable, but also turns crystalline when you move it back and forth. Being a bendable metal means that it won't crystallise into something strong. Being ear guides, you'll be constantly adjusting them each time, because they'll probably get bent out of shape when you cram it into a reasonable realistically sized carrying case. Although I've never seen one break, nor feel the one I have breaking, it will definitely happen in the future.
The wire itself. If the M11 had good memory, this has photographic memory. I received it in a coiled state. I extend it straight. It springs back to the coiled state. Now I don't care if it's been in a coiled position for a few days. That's how I store my other iems. Springing back is what solid wire does, not stranded.
The infamous plug. I don't think I have to say more about this. How many years has it been like this?
And finally, a good point of their cables. I'm trying to strip the insulation off the wire near the plug with nail clippers and side cutters. I can't do it. There's some sort of shock absorber that takes all the force, and makes it feel like I'll cut straight through.
I am willing to put up with all of UE's other flaws (not that many, luckily), but when $20 iems have better cables, there's something wrong.
Now, all this is ok, because I'm recabling them, but to not say it on the box that you NEED to recable them eventually is misleading.
Buying a UE product is like buying an ER4S. You need an amp for the ER4S, you know that. The impedance says so. But with UE, you need to recable it, but there's nothing on the box that says so. You'd probably know that if you did research, but then you wouldn't buy UE for fear of the cable. My SF5pro sounds great when it works, but the cable is poo.
Buying UE? Recable. If you can DIY, it's not that expensive. I don't believe in all the cable voodoo, but a better cable places your mind at ease, allowing you to enjoy the music. That I'm sure of.
If you're still reading, sign the global petition to have Audio Technica cables on EVERY iem. Would make the world a better place.
[edit]: head-direct biflanges are teh sex. I can use them as an extended medium single flange.
There are good cables and then there are bad cables. I've experienced them all now. The CK100 cable is by far the best out of any IEM I've had or tried. The only way they can carry noise is if you stretch them taught and pluck them like a guitar. It retains very little memory, but enough that it will mould to the shape of your ears.
The IE8 was second best, the over ear fit combined with very good cabling and comfort made it a well built IEM. Memory was ok, the long part of the cable held a little memory, the over ear part held not enough. It sometimes rolled off my ears. Next is the Vsonic R02pro. This cable does not want to bend. It has a slight memory effect, but takes a long time to break the shape that it's in. If you keep it in a nice shape for a while, it's all good. Being worn straight down makes it more microphonic, but not intolerably so. Very good cable for the price. Slippery and doesn't tangle easily.
Then we get to the IEM that I recommend to my friends, the MEE M9. I'm going to use the M11 as reference, since I haven't had an M9 in a while. This cable retains its shape. Very. Well. Not very microphonic, perhaps better than the R02, but if you ever roll it up around a small object, such as the clip, you'll never get the bends out of it. My friend's M9 that he wraps around his ipod classic doesn't have this issue, so don't wrap it around small stuff (they were the same cable, the newest one).
So those were the best to tolerable cables.
Now the sennheiser MX560 or something. It's not an iem so microphonics is not an issue, so efforts can be focused elsewhere. Like being tangle resistance. But it isn't, it manages to cling to itself whenever you coil it up, it loves itself too much. Being rubberised doesn't help either, it loves itself even more.
Then we come to 'I WANT TO BURN YOU ALIVE' sorta cables.
Ultimate ears. How much work did they put into their cables? I heard about all the plug breakages, and the annoying memory wire, but the people who put up with this sort of crap obviously have never tried iems with good cables.
1. Memory wire. Is it really necessary? How much more expensive would it be to just include some good ear guides like the sennheiser IE series or Phonak's PFE? Probably less than the price to shove a piece of metal into a wire. Metal is malleable, but also turns crystalline when you move it back and forth. Being a bendable metal means that it won't crystallise into something strong. Being ear guides, you'll be constantly adjusting them each time, because they'll probably get bent out of shape when you cram it into a reasonable realistically sized carrying case. Although I've never seen one break, nor feel the one I have breaking, it will definitely happen in the future.
The wire itself. If the M11 had good memory, this has photographic memory. I received it in a coiled state. I extend it straight. It springs back to the coiled state. Now I don't care if it's been in a coiled position for a few days. That's how I store my other iems. Springing back is what solid wire does, not stranded.
The infamous plug. I don't think I have to say more about this. How many years has it been like this?
And finally, a good point of their cables. I'm trying to strip the insulation off the wire near the plug with nail clippers and side cutters. I can't do it. There's some sort of shock absorber that takes all the force, and makes it feel like I'll cut straight through.
I am willing to put up with all of UE's other flaws (not that many, luckily), but when $20 iems have better cables, there's something wrong.
Now, all this is ok, because I'm recabling them, but to not say it on the box that you NEED to recable them eventually is misleading.
Buying a UE product is like buying an ER4S. You need an amp for the ER4S, you know that. The impedance says so. But with UE, you need to recable it, but there's nothing on the box that says so. You'd probably know that if you did research, but then you wouldn't buy UE for fear of the cable. My SF5pro sounds great when it works, but the cable is poo.
Buying UE? Recable. If you can DIY, it's not that expensive. I don't believe in all the cable voodoo, but a better cable places your mind at ease, allowing you to enjoy the music. That I'm sure of.
If you're still reading, sign the global petition to have Audio Technica cables on EVERY iem. Would make the world a better place.
[edit]: head-direct biflanges are teh sex. I can use them as an extended medium single flange.
