[jtevol1]

Just read this review from iLounge (it's interesting how some points contrast with Jude's review, particularly in their expectations of the final product):

http://www.ilounge.com/index.php/ipo...-ear-monitors/

These were his initial impressions of the beta product:

Secrets—especially when they involve breakthrough iPod products—are hard to keep. We really want to tell you guys and girls everything we hear about, and if we’re enjoying something, we want you to have a chance at enjoying it too.

For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been testing something new from Ultimate Ears. It’s early in development - first phase - but it’s seriously impressive. Enough so that I’m willing to go to the edge of the limited amount that I can say about it, to prepare those who might be looking for the next big thing in high-end audio.

I’ve been generally quite impressed by UE’s products in the past, but this one has the potential to be important on the scale of its best-known designs, for a number of reasons that I mostly can’t get into yet, since it’s not due out for a while. You may know from my earphone reviews that I’m not a classic bass-head - muddy thump doesn’t do it for me, so I’d take detailed, controlled low end over wider but flatter bass any day. The ideal would be if we didn’t have to compromise, and the highs and mids weren’t given short shrift in the process. That’s what UE appears set to deliver.

I always hold off on final earphone opinions until I know several things: the guaranteed final sound signature, price, and package details. Given the vague information I have at the moment, it’s too early to make any near-final judgments. But if it’s on time, at the right price, and both looks and sounds at least as good as what I’ve been playing with, this could be the big one for UE—a true killer product. I’ll share more, including pictures, as soon as I can.

 

[OvidiuDanut]

Yep, interesting review. And also makes me think again about buying some E500 ...

 

[MarcusL]

Interesting read. Thanks for the link. Its iLounge so I'm pretty sure Horwitz used the iPod's headphone out for this review.

Some amusing lines:
Quote:

the UE-11 Pro sounds like it’s been colored to create “bass presence,” or the sensation that your ears are being filled with warmth, like many of Bose’s speakers and headphones.

Furthermore, he likes the E500 highs

:

Quote:

Where UE-11 Pro suffers the most is in direct comparison to the Shure E500/SE530, an earphone we’ve loved at less than half the UE-11’s price. Even when we flip between the two earphones, we still think that the E500 has just the right sound balance for the majority of our music, adding just enough sparkle to the highs and oomph to the lows without compromising on midrange detail.

If this review would have weight, then the UE11s may not be the cup of tea for those disappointed in the Edition 9's frequency response?

 

[jtevol1]

Why don't you think the review has weight? I've always appreciated his careful attention and thoroughness analysis in his review of musical equipment.

 

[Akathriel]

I disagree, I think the review has plenty of weight, and I do not think it is diminished in the slightest by using the ipod amp. IEMs are very low impedance, and it seems to me that most non head-fiers would probably use this ampless out of ignorance. So it better sound good ampless imo. Even so, I wish he had tried it with an amp, and talked more about the QUALITY of the bass rather than just saying you can get the same amount in cheap IEMs.

 

[jinx20001]

great review in my opinion ilounge always give acurate comments on eaphones and i could not agree more,ive yet to test the ue11 myself but how can u not respect the great opinion of ilounge

 

[trose49]

I have a hard time buying into the review once I read that the the OP's states that the e500's have shimmering highs

The e500's IMO do not have shimmering highs and are not in the same league as UE-10's by comparison.

Have not heard the 11's yet and Im in no rush at this time to get em. I just love the balanced sound sig of the UE-10 I hope UE does not to decide to drop this product from it's line in the near future.

 

[shaizada]

Very very interesting thoughts. I first read his UE-11 review and then read his older review of the UE-10s.

The first thing I found very interesting was his use of the IPOD headphone out, as I think that outlet is more of a convenience factor (especially for us head-fiers with portable amps or even amps designed for IEMs such as the Tomahawk) than one used for quality on the go listening. Amps are not just for volume as is widely misconceived by the general public, but rather to increase sound quality through less distortion at lower volumes. Great thing is that you can increase the volume without distorting the sound. IEMs are extremely sensitive and the UE-11 in particular would react accordingly with even minute changes of the audio signal feeding them. The author mentions the bass being deep yet midbass being accentuated. I feel audio signal coming in has a lot to do with this.

Just to confirm my intuition about the use of MP3s instead of lossless files that many of us use (or even MP3 files at very high bit rates above 256 kbps), I read his UE-10 review. He explicitly mentions 160 Kbps files which would be sacrilegious to many a head-phile.

Now, I understand that the iLounge is centered around the ipod per se, but getting the full audio capabilities of such a high end IEM would, IMHO demand a quality signal feeding it. That is when you can hear what the IEM can or cannot do. For lesser bit rates or lesser quality signals, there are other IEMs that can be used as well. But mentioning that the bass and midbass are over accentuated (as is particularly the case with MP3s at lower bitrates the way the algorithm compresses the file sizes and audio quality), might really be considered for re-evaluation with an audio signal fit for the IEM in question. Maybe I am mistaken, but just because an IEM is "supposedly" the next pinnacle of sound from a manufacturer doesn't mean that it should sound excellent in any situation with any kind of audio signal.

With the inherent inaccurate bass of lower quality MP3s and maybe the sensitive nature of the crossover and dual bass armature design of the UE-11s, one might get the effect of accentuated mid bass. Maybe there is a little too much bass oomph. But maybe the dual bass armatures just need a good signal to sound "right".

I'm not saying that the UE 11 pro are the be all and end all of the IEM world, but I am saying that any IEM in that league should be given a chance with a quality audio signal fit to evaluate its true performance.

In the end, I believe the authors review has merit. But only in his context of reviewing the sound through the IPODs headphone jack with compressed MP3s. I'm not so sure if his review would hold the same ground with a typical head-fi portable audio gear setup (Lineout Dock, Portable Amp and maybe even an external DAC through a laptop

). Someone please lend him an IMOD to listen to......will his opinion about the sound still remain the same?

I do agree about the pricing though.....that is a lot of money to spend. Hec I thought the UE-10 pros were outrageously priced. The UE-11 pro just takes it to another level. My excuse to get them is that the artwork is "free" for the first 60 days

Thats a $200 discount!! I am actually SAVING $200 by buying the IEMs now! I scored baby!

At the same time, I wish UE can do some real magic and have these kind of IEMs sound great right out of the IPOD headphone amp......then I don't have to spend all this darn money on cables and amps and nonsense! One IEM to rule them all.

 

[jtevol1]

He never stated his testing methods. Specifically, no one know if he uses mp3s or lossless (my guess is the latter). And although he said he tested it with his iPod, it doesn't mean that's the only thing with which he's tested.

 

[shaizada]

Well, you have a point....though in his UE-10 review he says he did use 160kbps MP3s. Maybe we should email and ask him

Still, it is going through the IPOD headphone out. Lets just say that my Shure E500s sound (and my Triple fi 1- pros when I had them) didn't appeal to me through that headphone out. Oh well.

 

[MarcusL]

You got it spot on, shaizada.

The review has weight... to the iLounge iPod crowd.

Some people spend that extra amount to improve their audio without thinking about the source. An old head-fi saying goes, "crap in = crap out". Then again, it's iLounge so they build their systems around the iPod, not the other way around. So I'd rather rely on Jude's take on these.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif how can u not respect the great opinion of ilounge

I am a natural skeptic

. But my reaction was mainly because of the fact that the $130 PK1's deliver better highs than the E500s amped or unamped, iPod or not. Saying the E500s sounding "just enough sparkle to the highs" is kinda amusing, imho. Anyway, to each his own. I have tinny ears

.

 

[jtevol1]

I think it's more than the "iLounge iPod" crowd, considering I'm not even a member of iLounge and am a iRiver person (even though I own an iPod).

For me, at least, his reviews were influential in me purchasing the E500 and the AKG K701. I see from his reviews that our preferred sound signatures are similar, so if he says he likes some audio equipment, I'm at least interested.

 

[jtevol1]

Even still, I'd probably take the UE-10 over the E500, mainly because of them being customs.

 

[MarcusL]

No problem. Have fun with what you have, jtevol1.

 

[Father Schu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarcusL /img/forum/go_quote.gif Then again, it's iLounge so they build their systems around the iPod, not the other way around. So I'd rather rely on Jude's take on these.

Has Jude reviewed the final production model yet (his translucent blues)? If so I can't find it in my searches.