[gorman]

After a month or so of owning my new pair of UE-10 Pro I feel I'm ready to express my opinion on them, compared to my previous "full soft" model.
To keep it short. They rock!

Everything that I liked about them (plenty, as you can read in my previous review) has remained, but the comfort I am now convinced has gone up. Having them in your ear is like not having them sitting there... when you move your jaw, you feel them there, but you don't lose the seal (I'm trying right now some extreme, really extreme movements, but I can't break the seal).

I believe this is due in part to me suggesting some small modification to Ultimate Ears when they were remolding them. This has helped in having the perfect fit, so to everybody who owns or plans on buying IEMs I can only say: never, ever, settle for a less than perfect fit. You'd be missing out.

Speaking of comfort, I can't really stress enough how much easier it is to insert and remove these puppies and get a perfect seal in a matter of 1-2 seconds. As I mentioned in another thread, I believe the only way to properly illustrate this is with a small movie.
You can download it by clicking here. Quicktime is required to watch it.

Furthermore they are so easy to clean that I can't imagine going back to the full-soft thing. UE was right in suggesting acrylic for consumer, prolonged use. I should have listened to them in the first place (and to Welly Wu, to be honest).

One thing regarding sound quality: since writing my review, I've bought the Legacy Edition of Grace, by Jeff Buckley, which has been completely remastered. And... well the sibilance I was mentioning in "Lover You Should've Come Over" has mostly disappeared. I'm now convinced that UE-10 were just being faithful to what was on the record when transmitting to me Jeff sibilance in that specific passage.

100% satisfied. Nothing more to add.

 

[Kurt]

Hey, that's quick!
Enjoy.

 

[NightWoundsTime]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorman One thing regarding sound quality: since writing my review, I've bought the Legacy Edition of Grace, by Jeff Buckley, which has been completely remastered. And... well the sibilance I was mentioning in "Lover You Should've Come Over" has mostly disappeared. I'm now convinced that UE-10 were just being faithful to what was on the record when transmitting to me Jeff sibilance in that specific passage.

I've noticed this sibilance also with Grado SR-225 and Senn HD-600, so you're not alone. I also own the Legacy edition and it is indeed a lot cleaner than the original.

 

[gorman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NightWoundsTime I've noticed this sibilance also with Grado SR-225 and Senn HD-600, so you're not alone. I also own the Legacy edition and it is indeed a lot cleaner than the original.

Happy this is the case. Back at the time of my review I thought it was UE-10's fault, whereas it appear that they were just offering a faithful reproduction of what was thrown at them.

 

[random person]

Hi Gorman!

You are confirming my own experience with UE's hard acrylic (although in my case with the UE5c, not the 10Pro.). They are incredibly comfortable and I cannot break the seal at all, regardless of facial or other contortions, unless I tug on the lower part of my ear. The fit is that good -- and I didn't have mine built up!

As for durability well I have already dropped mine twice onto a hard gym floor -- plus managed to yank them out of my ear at the gym by managing to wrap the cord around the back of a weight bench as I was sitting up, and I also yanked them out of my ears by wrapping the cord around a doorknob as I was wandering around the house, again throwing them onto the floor. Despite all this unintentional abuse, they are as good as new -- no cracks or other problems.

Indeed, UE's durability was exactly what I was hoping for. I'm not using this rig in a pristine environment as part of a reference home system. I run with these and sweat like a beast -- with no shifting, no breaks of seal, no discomfort. I weight train with them and yank them this way and that. And yes, while I'm not proud of it, I have already dropped them without incident.
My intended use (workouts, traveling, etc.) dictated my selection of hard acrylic as the material of choice, as well as my price point (let's face it -- if I wreck a $550 product I won't feel as bad as if I'd wrecked an $800 or a $900 product.)

Cleaning is ridiculously easy and they positively sparkle with only minor attention. And yes they take about 2 seconds max to insert -- because there is no give anywhere, you don't have to worry about squishing them in, getting the orientation wrong, etc. They only go in the one way -- as a result, insertion is incredibly obvious and easy. You can get them out equally easily.

Really while I am certain that the Sensa product may be even more comfortable I suspect that the acrylic is a less "finicky" material -- easier to insert, easier to remove, easier to clean. And possibly easier to get a better fit. In any case it has certainly been the right choice for me.

And you gotta love that gorgeous crystal blue color that we both have!

 

[dmt1]

I prefer the Hard acrylic to the silicone Westone earmolds I had by a large margin; one of the reasons I went UE was specifically for the hard acrylic--just my personal taste.

Glad you like them!!

You're going to have to update your Avatar picture now though...

 

[gorman]

Quote:

You're going to have to update your Avatar picture now though...

Will do in the near future. I'm proud of my new babies!

 

[gorman]

I feel this is relevant due to the high number of people inquiring about IEMs... so I bump it once.

 

[vienna]

how do you like them compared to the UE5c ? I just ordered the 5c and am planning on getitn the 10pros for christmas

 

[dmt1]

I've owned both the UE10PRO and UE5C, and I prefer the UE10PRO by a substantial margin, BUT with the caveat that I prefer the sound signature of the UE10PRO. The bass on the UE5C was overwhelming to me; it really masked the mids too much for my taste. If I eq'd the UE5C, I could get it to sound great--still not quite as good as the UE10's, but still, very, very good.

Straighy out of the UE10's bass is less pronounced, but more accurate. The mids are not hidden by the bass at all, and the highs seem to be a bit more extended and accesible--but this may be partly due to the less overwhelming bass. The vocals are much, much more forward than the UE5C's, which is what I prefer--though not everyone else does. The UE10's have killed my upgraditis, which has been very nice.

 

[gorman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by vienna how do you like them compared to the UE5c ? I just ordered the 5c and am planning on getitn the 10pros for christmas

??? Why did you do this? Spending $550 now when in less than two months you are going to have the UE-10???

 

[vienna]

one for the gym and biking (I know, don;t flame me about the bikig thing) . The other for home hehehehe

great to be single and have no kids huh !!!

 

[wolfen68]

I agree that the hard acryllic has been A-O-K.

Vienna....you need a two for one deal at UE

....at least you'll save money on impressions.

 

[penbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gorman I believe this is due in part to me suggesting some small modification to Ultimate Ears when they were remolding them.

Cany you say something about your suggested mods ? It is my understanding that the exact length of the stem is not critical for the sound quality, more for comfort. So if the stems are shortened they are less likely to dig into the ears and cause discomfort.

I would have thought that it is thickness of the stem that it is important to create a good seal. So if there is not a good seal, thickening the stem (maybe with acrylic paint) would help.

 

[gorman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penbat Cany you say something about your suggested mods?

Yeah, sure. I asked them to thicken the right stem. That has helped in getting a tighter seal on the right earpiece.