[NickSi]

Well i went to "the Shack" yesterday, i was just looking to see what they had and maybe i could find some ksc75 on sale. no sale, but i saw something interesting. a pair of the Ultimate Ears Super.Fi 3 Live Pro Grade.
http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family
i had never heard of the "live" series. and in addition i had never heard IEM's so i itched the upgradeitis. i took them home and was so excited to have a new toy, even though deep down i knew i would never keep them. after battling a rather nasty blister pack, i unboxed them and put these little rubies in my ear. well surprise surprise i couldn't get a good seal. after some fidgeting and adjusting, i had a good seal in my left ear, but not my right, after trying all the different sizes i discovered med. was best. still couldn't get a good seal in the right. so after about an hour of listening i was lying down and got a good seal in the right. i was so excited i sat up and the movement loosened it!!! i was not very impressed!!.

well the sound was good, excellent clarity, very defined highs, present bass, my only complaint was the sibilence (i dont know how to spell that) i was listening to a weezer song called Such a Pity. and the lead vocal's "Ss" were so harsh i had to take the IEM's out of my ear. to make sure this wasnt just the track i listened to it over my Senn HD465 and no harshness at all.


later than night i returned them much to the shock of the "Shack's" employee, who, i had questioned at the time of purchase about return policy. he said "i wouldn't worry about [returning] it those things are really good, I've never seen one returned".



Over all this was an informative experiment. i learned that im gonna have trouble getting a seal in my right ear, and the voice of Andrea Bocelli has never sounded better than over these phones.

today im thinking about going down to B#$! B~% and trialling some SE210s
to see if the black olives get me a better seal.

 

[thread]

Yeah wow. I've never heard of those either.

 

[koike]

yeah i heard of it...but i haven't heard one yet.
seems like its the same as the super.fi 3 studio, single armature.
maybe the tuning of the armature is different.
could be better. couldn't find any specifications though.

 

[NickSi]

has anyone else done this?? tryout IEM's then return them, my mother brought up the point that that isnt very hygenic if they just re-shelve them. in my own devilish way i sorta want to go and buy then return the package then buy it again as an open item for less!! or do you think they are clever enough to catch me???

 

[pez]

wow, i wouldn't try that, but all you have to do is get alcohol and clean them off, that way it's good as new, they have to clean them before they package them anyways. I have sf3's, but those look tempting.

 

[TenaciousO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickSi /img/forum/go_quote.gif has anyone else done this?? tryout IEM's then return them, my mother brought up the point that that isnt very hygenic if they just re-shelve them. in my own devilish way i sorta want to go and buy then return the package then buy it again as an open item for less!! or do you think they are clever enough to catch me???

Come on, that's just lame.

 

[NickSi]

ok i've got an update for you, i went to BB and purchased a pair of SE210's for 150. again i have no plan to keep them i just wanted another base for comparison.

the 210s differ from the UE's in the fact that i can actually get a seal with them. they stay in my ear just fine and can keep a seal. i have tried the tri-flange the small softies, and the medium black olives. most comfortable are the black olives, easiest to insert softies and best isolation...you guessed it the tri-flanges. overall comfort is poor even with the olives, maybe im not used to the feeling but, I'm not sure i want to get used to it.

Sound...nice. very blah sort of, i haven't heard anything that made me think wow these sound good! very much not worth it. they don't make me want to wear them. the UE i wanted to wear because they sounded great with classical and opera but these...meh. also microphonics is much more present in these than the UEs.


About the UE's sibilance i think my source was to blame because i tested my mx500 later with the same song and they were sibilant as well.

if i had to choose i think i would give the UE's another shot. im learning how to get a proper seal and if i could squeeze olives on to the UEs i think they would be pretty comfy!!

i plan to do a Phake headFone review as soon as i receive my fake: cx300 akg k324p and "shure"(doesn't look anything like a shure) so if that interests you keep and eye out for that.

 

[Hanzo]

Inasfaras the UEs go, I loved the sound of my 5pros but never could get them to maintain a seal, let alone be remotely comfy. Even tried swapping the left and right earpieces.

That said, even UM2s only fit me OK, so I am thinking about customs.

Oh, and buying something knowing full well you plan to return them is kinda lame as well. I doubt that they will rebox them, but rather send them back to UE who will test, refurb, and sell as b stock. This kind of practice does nothing but raise the costs for UE which no doubt goes in to the equation when the decide the pricing for these. You may not keep the UEs (or Shures or whatever) but the phones you DO end up buying will have in the price something to cover the costs of returns. We all pay more.

 

[NickSi]

so i am supposed to blindly spend $150 without trying them first??? if they blew me away and i thought they were worth the investment i would keep them. i knew i was probably going to return them because i have never spent more than $30 on headphones and am quite happy with them.

don't get me started on the prices going up. big buisness is so ineffiecient with costs. im sure someone from UE has stepped on a plane before for a buisness trip and im sure that like most companies their employees fly in the buisness class. if they took coach instead of buisness class ONCE, im sure they could regain the cost of every return and subsequent b-stock sale. so please don't try and tell me that returning products is the cause of rising prices because costs can be cut other ways.

 

[HeadBanger]

why don't you just buy a set of larger headphones, and enjoy the comfort and clarity. whats the point in buying stuff you know your going to return, its not like your going to keep them. headphones in most cases sound better than their IEM counterpart cost wise, so stick with headphones unless you really need the portability,

 

[kramer5150]

While doing what you are doing is certainly not illegal, IMHO it borders on immoral. IMHO your practice does not help to reduce the MSRP of the IEMs. Of course there are other factors as well that drive up cost, but managing customer returns does have an impact on their bottom line.

Longer-term impressions are far more useful, as you have discovered with the super-fi... hearing perception can change over time. I have found the only useful short-term impressions are those made with an A-B-C comparison, at least that way you are base-lining them against one another. Meets are great for this.

NY frequently has head-fi meets twice a year I believe and mini meets as well. Try and attend one of those and demo gear before you buy... do us all a favor and stop this practice. Your all-too brief, short term impressions and thread posts are of minimal value anyways.

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickSi /img/forum/go_quote.gif has anyone else done this?? tryout IEM's then return them, my mother brought up the point that that isnt very hygenic if they just re-shelve them. in my own devilish way i sorta want to go and buy then return the package then buy it again as an open item for less!! or do you think they are clever enough to catch me???

thats just lame... (sarcastic tone) How old are you?

 

[MaillerPhong]

Well, as another new guy with low (no) postcount, I found myself in a similar situation. I got the UE SF3 LP from Radio Shack as a replacement for my ER6i's which were being repaired at the time. Liked the way they sounded, was completely pleased with them, then did some research on them. Turns out the only difference between "Live Pro" and the SF3 Studios was the spiffy red color and about $30. I'm not a guy who sleeps on a bed of cash to throw at this hobby, and my fashion sense isn't picky enough to justify spending the extra money on the color of my phones. So I returned them, and am planning on getting the cheaper version at some point.

Immoral? Possibly. But the economics of the situation makes it a hard argument.

Jeff

 

[kramer5150]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaillerPhong /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, as another new guy with low (no) postcount, I found myself in a similar situation. I got the UE SF3 LP from Radio Shack as a replacement for my ER6i's which were being repaired at the time. Liked the way they sounded, was completely pleased with them, then did some research on them. Turns out the only difference between "Live Pro" and the SF3 Studios was the spiffy red color and about $30. I'm not a guy who sleeps on a bed of cash to throw at this hobby, and my fashion sense isn't picky enough to justify spending the extra money on the color of my phones. So I returned them, and am planning on getting the cheaper version at some point. Immoral? Possibly. But the economics of the situation makes it a hard argument. Jeff

Theres nothing wrong with returning an item you are unhappy with. Thats our right as consumers. You had every intent to keep them, you just found something you liked better, for less $$$.

I see it as more of a morality issue, IMHO. The OP has no intention of keeping these phones, and is now considering buying his/her open box return items at a discount.

 

[audiomagnate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickSi /img/forum/go_quote.gif so i am supposed to blindly spend $150 without trying them first??? if they blew me away and i thought they were worth the investment i would keep them. i knew i was probably going to return them because i have never spent more than $30 on headphones and am quite happy with them. don't get me started on the prices going up. big buisness is so ineffiecient with costs. im sure someone from UE has stepped on a plane before for a buisness trip and im sure that like most companies their employees fly in the buisness class. if they took coach instead of buisness class ONCE, im sure they could regain the cost of every return and subsequent b-stock sale. so please don't try and tell me that returning products is the cause of rising prices because costs can be cut other ways.

Pathetic.