LFF
Co-Organizer for Can Jam '09
Member of the Trade: Paradox
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2004
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REVIEW: UE Super.Fi Pro’s
First of, I am in no way employed or related to anything I may review. My review is strictly for the public domain and for those here at Headfi. My intentions are to provide a comprehensive review of a product by paying attention to detail and overall sound performance. Overall impressions are strictly my opinions and should be taken as such. If you have any questions, please post or send me a private message.
I will always use the same reference disc for all products. This reference disc was provided to me by a high profile professional recording engineer who shall remain un-named at his personal request. The CD contains 11 tracks which were hand picked to provide hell for any stereo equipment, particularly headphones and speakers. Now – onto to the review…
EDIT: There seems to be some interest in the review music I used. If your interested, please PM me for more details.
EDIT: This review covers only my INITIAL impressions. Will edit further is my opinons change.
THE COMPANY:
UE aka Ultimate Ears
Ultimate Ears® is the leading supplier of in-ear- monitors for professional musicians, with an 80% market share, and an emerging provider of premium earpieces for the consumer market. Founded in 1995, the firm supplies custom-molded earphones costing up to $900 per pair to a Who’s Who of performers in all musical genres. The company also offers custom-molded consumer earphones as well as off-the-shelf super.fi products for the high-quality universal-fit market. For more information, visit www.ultimateears.com.
THE CANALPHONES:
Super.fi Pro’s
Suggested Retail Price: $250.00
PACKAGING:
My Super.fi Pro’s were supplied by Mike Dias from UE. They came in what I consider a very attractive and very functional package. The entire packaging was housed in an aluminum case which contained the earphones, 5 different ear tips (small, medium, large, double flange and foamies) for a great sealed fit. It also came with a metallic storage case with cable management system, a cleaning tool, ¼ inch gold plated adapter jack, a nice and classy black leather travel case and a sound level attenuator. This last item really caught my attention. The sound level attenuator is a plug which you use with an unfamiliar source or an unstable sound system (i.e. airplanes). This helps protect your valuable headphones and ears from bursts of loud sounds.
Rating 10/10
SOUNDQUALITY:
(note: These are canalphones and as such, obtaining a good seal is essential to obtain the best sound quality.)
TRACK 1: This track contains a Concert-tuned bass drum at 0 dB and is typically used as an amplifier clipping and woofer excursion test. If you have ever been to a concert you definitely know how deep the timpani can go. The ability to reproduce the bass drums timbre, tone and low bass accurately is very difficult for a vast majority of speakers and headphones.
- The super.fi Pro’s handled this extremely difficult task very well and currently are the best canalphones I have heard while listening to this track. While they do not produce the extremely deep bass which this track contains as well as speakers, or other headphones, the Super.fi Pro’s certainly do not produce shabby bass. What bass they did reproduce sounded natural and very nice and deep.
Performance Rating: 8/10
TRACK 2: Fleetwood Mac - Gold Dust Woman. This track has excellent shimmer on the rides, and an airy hi-hat which is also difficult to reproduce accurately and clearly.
- The Super.fi Pro’s had no difficulty reproducing the sound in this track. The airy hi-hat came across exactly as it should and the shimmer came across effortlessly.
Performance Rating: 10/10
TRACK 3: Count Basie - Gone and Git Y'all. Once again, a very difficult track to be reproduced correctly stereophonically. The most difficult aspect here is that of the saxophones as they should be individually recognizable, not mushed together. Also, the click of the stick against the rim of the snare and the "air" of the hi-hat should always be discernable, even in the midst of the loud horn parts. The snare hits at the end should make you blink with their clarity and presence.
- The Super.fi Pro’s definitely did a good job here. Not the best I have heard, but definitely the best I have heard from non-custom canalphones. The click of the drum stick was fast and tight and the airy hi-hat was definitely there. However, the saxophones where definitely a bit mushed together.
Performance Rating: 7/10
TRACK 4: Ella Fitzgerald - Them There Eyes. In this track one should be able to reach out and hug Ella. It should be apparent that you are looking down on Ella as it was recorded with the use of a boom mic. It should also be obvious that the guitar is being strummed with fingers and not with a pick. The piano has good "bite", probably a Mason & Hamlin 58. AUDIOPHILE ALERT: Listen for the squeak of the piano bench.
- The Super.fi Pro’s did a notable job in this track. I was not exactly looking down on Ella but I did feel like I could reach out and touch her. The finger strumming came across extremely well and the squeak of the piano bench could be heard very clearly.
Performance rating: 9/10
TRACK 5: Fairfield Four - Lonesome Valley. This is a track for midrange coloration test as it contains vocals in a small, live room. The vocals should not come across as "woody" or "chesty" sounding and all voices should be clearly and individually defined.
- WOW!!! The definite strength of the Super.fi Pro’s so far!! All the voices sound very natural and it felt like the Fairfield Four were right across from me recording. I could tell exactly where they were standing and all the voices came across clearly and were extremely well defined.
Performance rating: 10/10
TRACK 6 - Bruce Hornsby - Long Valley Road. Here the Dobro being played should be clean and not be buried in the mix as there is lots of percussive pitter-patter all throughout the song.
- Was the Dobro there? YES! Moreover, all the percussive pitter-patter was also there and boy did it all sound clean. You can definitely get better reproduction from other headphones but you really can not get more clean reproduction from canalphones except maybe from the UE-10’s but there is a considerable price difference between the two. All in all I was extremely impressed by how well the Super.Fi Pro’s handled this track.
Performance Rating: 10/10
TRACK 7 – Danny Elfman - This Is Halloween. How much CAN you hear in this track? There is SO much going on in this... voices, percussion, instrumentation, effects... DEFINITELY one of the most complex, lush, and detailed productions I have ever heard.
- So how do the Super.Fi Pro’s compare? Well, I was able to CLEARLY distinguish the voices on the "in this town, we call home" parts which in and of itself is very difficult to do. I definitely know the Super.Fi Pro’s did an amazing job at reproducing all the lush detail within this track. Once again, not the best I have heard but the definitely the best among consumer canalphones.
Performance Rating: 9/10
TRACK 8 – Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C sharp major. This track contains some great organ pedal tones, and the piano is extremely delicate yet is should be clearly visible and discernable within the work.
- Once again the Pro’s were up to the task. Very natural sounding deep bass and the piano came across very clearly.
Performance Rating: 8/10
TRACK 9 – Styx - Pieces Of Eight. Another bass track which is hell to reproduce as it contains good synthesized and SUSTAINED low frequencies.
- Well, the Super-Fi Pro’s weren’t that bad but extreme low bass is definitely not it’s strongest point However, the bass did sound great but don’t expect your head to be crushed by powerful synthesized bass with these.
Performance Rating: 7/10
TRACK 10 - Ray Charles – I Got A Woman. This is a completely dry recording. What do I mean by dry recording – It contains NO compressors, NO EQ, NO effects, NO anything, just Ray Charles and a microphone. He should absolutely JUMP out of the speakers/headphones.
- Another wow for the Super.Fi Pro’s! RAY CHARLES WAS IN MY HEAD!!!! Ray Charles has rarely sounded better to me. The Pro’s did such a great job with this track.
Performance Rating: 10/10
TRACK 11 – Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite, Morning – This track contains more great deep organ pedal tones.
- Once again, very good natural sounding bass but nothing that will crush your head, much less come close to the actual live feel of low bass noted from an organ.
Performance Rating: 8/10
OVERALL SCORE: 96 out of 110 = 87% with an average score of 8.7 or 9 rounded up.
CONCLUSION:
At $250.00 the Super.Fi Pro’s are not cheap and they are definitely not for casual listeners who are just looking for “good” headphones to simply replace their white iPOD earbuds. Also, if your into Hip-Hop or are a bass head, these may not be your exact cup of tea as they do not reproduce earth (or head) shattering bass. They are also definitely not for someone looking for a great home-rig setup as there are definitely better headphones out there in terms of sound quality. However, the Super.Fi Pro’s are definitely GREAT headphones for the audiophile looking to get the best performance from an iPod, walkman or other source while on the go. They especially seem to be made for the iPOD as the iPOD can easily drive these to very high volumes and they sound great without an amp. If you are looking for detail, clean, crisp mids and highs and deep natural sounding bass then these are for you. They seem to be great all-round performers but I think jazz fans and classical music fans will be most pleased with their sound quality. They are extremely portable and the sound is excellent and refined. The sound quality combined with the excellent reputation and customer care which Ultimate Ears is known for make these an excellent choice when looking at headphones or canalphones under the $400.00 price range. To me, they are the best sounding canalphones which I have owned and listened to hands down.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
- LFF
First of, I am in no way employed or related to anything I may review. My review is strictly for the public domain and for those here at Headfi. My intentions are to provide a comprehensive review of a product by paying attention to detail and overall sound performance. Overall impressions are strictly my opinions and should be taken as such. If you have any questions, please post or send me a private message.
I will always use the same reference disc for all products. This reference disc was provided to me by a high profile professional recording engineer who shall remain un-named at his personal request. The CD contains 11 tracks which were hand picked to provide hell for any stereo equipment, particularly headphones and speakers. Now – onto to the review…
EDIT: There seems to be some interest in the review music I used. If your interested, please PM me for more details.
EDIT: This review covers only my INITIAL impressions. Will edit further is my opinons change.
THE COMPANY:
UE aka Ultimate Ears
Ultimate Ears® is the leading supplier of in-ear- monitors for professional musicians, with an 80% market share, and an emerging provider of premium earpieces for the consumer market. Founded in 1995, the firm supplies custom-molded earphones costing up to $900 per pair to a Who’s Who of performers in all musical genres. The company also offers custom-molded consumer earphones as well as off-the-shelf super.fi products for the high-quality universal-fit market. For more information, visit www.ultimateears.com.
THE CANALPHONES:
Super.fi Pro’s
Suggested Retail Price: $250.00
PACKAGING:
My Super.fi Pro’s were supplied by Mike Dias from UE. They came in what I consider a very attractive and very functional package. The entire packaging was housed in an aluminum case which contained the earphones, 5 different ear tips (small, medium, large, double flange and foamies) for a great sealed fit. It also came with a metallic storage case with cable management system, a cleaning tool, ¼ inch gold plated adapter jack, a nice and classy black leather travel case and a sound level attenuator. This last item really caught my attention. The sound level attenuator is a plug which you use with an unfamiliar source or an unstable sound system (i.e. airplanes). This helps protect your valuable headphones and ears from bursts of loud sounds.
Rating 10/10
SOUNDQUALITY:
(note: These are canalphones and as such, obtaining a good seal is essential to obtain the best sound quality.)
TRACK 1: This track contains a Concert-tuned bass drum at 0 dB and is typically used as an amplifier clipping and woofer excursion test. If you have ever been to a concert you definitely know how deep the timpani can go. The ability to reproduce the bass drums timbre, tone and low bass accurately is very difficult for a vast majority of speakers and headphones.
- The super.fi Pro’s handled this extremely difficult task very well and currently are the best canalphones I have heard while listening to this track. While they do not produce the extremely deep bass which this track contains as well as speakers, or other headphones, the Super.fi Pro’s certainly do not produce shabby bass. What bass they did reproduce sounded natural and very nice and deep.
Performance Rating: 8/10
TRACK 2: Fleetwood Mac - Gold Dust Woman. This track has excellent shimmer on the rides, and an airy hi-hat which is also difficult to reproduce accurately and clearly.
- The Super.fi Pro’s had no difficulty reproducing the sound in this track. The airy hi-hat came across exactly as it should and the shimmer came across effortlessly.
Performance Rating: 10/10
TRACK 3: Count Basie - Gone and Git Y'all. Once again, a very difficult track to be reproduced correctly stereophonically. The most difficult aspect here is that of the saxophones as they should be individually recognizable, not mushed together. Also, the click of the stick against the rim of the snare and the "air" of the hi-hat should always be discernable, even in the midst of the loud horn parts. The snare hits at the end should make you blink with their clarity and presence.
- The Super.fi Pro’s definitely did a good job here. Not the best I have heard, but definitely the best I have heard from non-custom canalphones. The click of the drum stick was fast and tight and the airy hi-hat was definitely there. However, the saxophones where definitely a bit mushed together.
Performance Rating: 7/10
TRACK 4: Ella Fitzgerald - Them There Eyes. In this track one should be able to reach out and hug Ella. It should be apparent that you are looking down on Ella as it was recorded with the use of a boom mic. It should also be obvious that the guitar is being strummed with fingers and not with a pick. The piano has good "bite", probably a Mason & Hamlin 58. AUDIOPHILE ALERT: Listen for the squeak of the piano bench.
- The Super.fi Pro’s did a notable job in this track. I was not exactly looking down on Ella but I did feel like I could reach out and touch her. The finger strumming came across extremely well and the squeak of the piano bench could be heard very clearly.
Performance rating: 9/10
TRACK 5: Fairfield Four - Lonesome Valley. This is a track for midrange coloration test as it contains vocals in a small, live room. The vocals should not come across as "woody" or "chesty" sounding and all voices should be clearly and individually defined.
- WOW!!! The definite strength of the Super.fi Pro’s so far!! All the voices sound very natural and it felt like the Fairfield Four were right across from me recording. I could tell exactly where they were standing and all the voices came across clearly and were extremely well defined.
Performance rating: 10/10
TRACK 6 - Bruce Hornsby - Long Valley Road. Here the Dobro being played should be clean and not be buried in the mix as there is lots of percussive pitter-patter all throughout the song.
- Was the Dobro there? YES! Moreover, all the percussive pitter-patter was also there and boy did it all sound clean. You can definitely get better reproduction from other headphones but you really can not get more clean reproduction from canalphones except maybe from the UE-10’s but there is a considerable price difference between the two. All in all I was extremely impressed by how well the Super.Fi Pro’s handled this track.
Performance Rating: 10/10
TRACK 7 – Danny Elfman - This Is Halloween. How much CAN you hear in this track? There is SO much going on in this... voices, percussion, instrumentation, effects... DEFINITELY one of the most complex, lush, and detailed productions I have ever heard.
- So how do the Super.Fi Pro’s compare? Well, I was able to CLEARLY distinguish the voices on the "in this town, we call home" parts which in and of itself is very difficult to do. I definitely know the Super.Fi Pro’s did an amazing job at reproducing all the lush detail within this track. Once again, not the best I have heard but the definitely the best among consumer canalphones.
Performance Rating: 9/10
TRACK 8 – Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 in C sharp major. This track contains some great organ pedal tones, and the piano is extremely delicate yet is should be clearly visible and discernable within the work.
- Once again the Pro’s were up to the task. Very natural sounding deep bass and the piano came across very clearly.
Performance Rating: 8/10
TRACK 9 – Styx - Pieces Of Eight. Another bass track which is hell to reproduce as it contains good synthesized and SUSTAINED low frequencies.
- Well, the Super-Fi Pro’s weren’t that bad but extreme low bass is definitely not it’s strongest point However, the bass did sound great but don’t expect your head to be crushed by powerful synthesized bass with these.
Performance Rating: 7/10
TRACK 10 - Ray Charles – I Got A Woman. This is a completely dry recording. What do I mean by dry recording – It contains NO compressors, NO EQ, NO effects, NO anything, just Ray Charles and a microphone. He should absolutely JUMP out of the speakers/headphones.
- Another wow for the Super.Fi Pro’s! RAY CHARLES WAS IN MY HEAD!!!! Ray Charles has rarely sounded better to me. The Pro’s did such a great job with this track.
Performance Rating: 10/10
TRACK 11 – Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite, Morning – This track contains more great deep organ pedal tones.
- Once again, very good natural sounding bass but nothing that will crush your head, much less come close to the actual live feel of low bass noted from an organ.
Performance Rating: 8/10
OVERALL SCORE: 96 out of 110 = 87% with an average score of 8.7 or 9 rounded up.
CONCLUSION:
At $250.00 the Super.Fi Pro’s are not cheap and they are definitely not for casual listeners who are just looking for “good” headphones to simply replace their white iPOD earbuds. Also, if your into Hip-Hop or are a bass head, these may not be your exact cup of tea as they do not reproduce earth (or head) shattering bass. They are also definitely not for someone looking for a great home-rig setup as there are definitely better headphones out there in terms of sound quality. However, the Super.Fi Pro’s are definitely GREAT headphones for the audiophile looking to get the best performance from an iPod, walkman or other source while on the go. They especially seem to be made for the iPOD as the iPOD can easily drive these to very high volumes and they sound great without an amp. If you are looking for detail, clean, crisp mids and highs and deep natural sounding bass then these are for you. They seem to be great all-round performers but I think jazz fans and classical music fans will be most pleased with their sound quality. They are extremely portable and the sound is excellent and refined. The sound quality combined with the excellent reputation and customer care which Ultimate Ears is known for make these an excellent choice when looking at headphones or canalphones under the $400.00 price range. To me, they are the best sounding canalphones which I have owned and listened to hands down.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
- LFF
