UE-10 Pro First Impressions

[doobooloo]

So they finally came! Wonderful service, came earlier than expected!

I'm out right now so no photos or anything yet, I'm running them off my IBM T41 laptop without amplification at the moment.

Fit is fine, I'll have to see if there are any issues after a few days of use. It seems to take a few minutes for the seal to settle in but once the seal has been made it's hard to break. It's kind of hard to pull these things out of my ears as well!

No complaints here so far.

The customized aluminum case seems like it's been tossed around quite a bit before, one of the two hinges is actually missing a rivet. That aside, the case is rather scratched up and has spots of sticky gunk (stuff after tape or sticker has been removed) here and there. I'm going to call up UE and see if I can get a replacement box, I don't really mind the gunk and scratches but one of the hinges look like it'll fail anytime soon...

Anyway, regarding the sound... *drumroll* it's really disappointing!

There are lots and lots of smudged bass and very recessed mids. The sort of speed and attack of the Etys that I thought would be improved by the UE-10 Pros are just not there. The fat bloated bass is just overwhelming everything. Things sound quite nice when I jack up the 2~4KHz band by about six decibels and tone down bass about 2~3dB from around 100Hz downwards, but otherwise everything sounds just strangely distant and mushy. If I had a thought of what the Shure E5's would sound like (and it was disgusting to just think about it, no offense), this is it.

The bass isn't very defined either, I feel like I'm listening to a pair of $20 Coby phones. Hmm...

Reminds me of the HD650s... Murky and distant, not very involving at all.

But this could just be because of the poor headphone out of the laptop which may not be able to handle such low impedance phones well. The UE-10 Pros have a very low impedance of 13.3 Ohms, probably not the easiest load to drive due to the passive crossover network. I'm going to go home soon and try the UE's out of my Edirol UA-25, hopefully it will be noticeably better that way.

Will burn-in have any effects? I thought IEMs didn't really require much burn-in.

Anyway, I'll keep this thread updated with photos as soon as I get back home and some more listening updates with a better source/amp. Until then...

If any previous or existing UE-10 Pro users can chime in with some experiences or thoughts, I would greatly appreciate it!

 

[Sweet Spot]

*Waits for uncomfortable moments to pass*

 

[toaster]

i think your source is 100% responsible for your shytty impressions.

get back to us once you try your iems on a real source.

 

[crypt@]

T41, very very nasty. The card picks up every electrical interference on its path from cdrom to hardisk.

I was disappointed with the ety and AT coming out of it, so it is not surprising you will be with your UE. But never fear, like toaster22 posted, wait till you plug them into a better source.

 

[plainsong]

Reading the good and the bad about the UE10's makes me not regret my choice of the Sensas. That's all I can say about the UE sound, having not heard it obviously.

But having said that, I know these IEMs can be powered by "anything" but maybe the thinkpad takes the definition of "anything" too far. Try plugging into a dap or greater and then let us know.

 

[random person]

Plugging UEs into a ThinkPad??? Oh, the Horror! Of COURSE the sound sucks!

Try them with just about anything else and then let us know what you think!

 

[Zoide]

Dude.... source!

I can't even listen to music on my laptop with the Sensas because there is so much noise that it overpowers the music unless it's cranked pretty loud. I can imagine it must be similarly bad with the UE's.

 

[Blitzula]

Quote:

Originally Posted by doobooloo It seems to take a few minutes for the seal to settle in...

In addition to all the source comments, I wonder if that's an issue too. My custom ear plugs don't take any time to establish a great seal, which is consistent with what UE/Sensa owners say about their IEMs.

 

[ProleArtThreat]

And of course I'll chime in here with the standard "give yourself some time to get mentally acclimated to the sound signature," especially with a custom IEM. Although I do understand where you're coming from as my ear impressions are off the Sensaphonics so my 2X-S should be here in a couple of weeks. I'm actually slightly concerned that my expectations for a custom IEM that cost me almost as much as a month of rent will be so high that I will be disappointed when I first try them on.

Of course, all those fears dissipate when I read through the reviews of any custom IEM on here, the vast majority which seem very positive, even if it was after a few weeks of waiting in-between refits.

But I'll also join the chorus building here and throw suspicion on using a laptop as your source to be the most likely reason why they haven't blown you away... yet.

 

[catscratch]

Using a UE10 Pro out of a subpar laptop soundcard is like using a Ferrari to tow a trailer. The UE10's are designed to give you as literal and accurate impression of your source material as possible, and if the source sounds subpar, well, the overall sound will be very subpar.

However, it does sound to me like you're not getting a good seal. I would a) check them on a good source, and if the sound doesn't improve, I'd b) have your ear impressions re-made and the UE10's refitted.

 

[plainsong]

I don't think this is possible with hard acrylic, but when I got the Sensas, I put them in, plugged into my setup, and ... well, very honest... but ouch! Sssssssibilant! No one mentioned this!

That and they would actually pop out if I turned my head.

But I chalked this up to adjustment time and when my husband got home from work, I was showing him how you put them in. I kept twisting and then I felt that "they're in now" feeling you get once you took under the top flap of your ear. They suddenly felt more secure. No popping out if you looked at them wrong.

I figured this must effect the sound, so I ran back in the living room to check, and lo and behond it did! Same truth, minus sssssssssibilance. So unfortunately I missed the wow factor. I got more of a sneak peak and then eased into it.

Again, this may be more of a Sensa thing, because I can't imagine how you'd not know the hard acrylic wasn't in there right. But it was the outside flap that I'm talking about so who knows, if it's not in there all the way, it'll effect the sound.

Directly out of the ibook, it's hiss-city with some included harshness, but I've heard a source sound worse, so in a bind I could plug directly into the ibook and groove away. It wouldn't be my first choice though... or second... or third...

 

[mbk]

Yeah I've yet to find a laptop that I can listen to my UE5c's from without excessive noise. They're just way too sensitive for such noisy sources.

I'm also skeptical about your seal. It should not take time to settle in... they should seal immediately once the phone is seated.

 

[Construct]

Two words: Echo Indigo.

(You didn't really think you could escape without any more purchases, did you?)

 

[gords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Construct Two words: Echo Indigo. (You didn't really think you could escape without any more purchases, did you?)

LOL...we're all eventually doomed to buy the Orpheus! Didn't you read the license agreement when you signed up for head-fi??

 

[rsaavedra]

A bad seal can give you the impression of missing/weak/poor bass, but not bloated or exaggerated, so I don't see how people are correlating a bad seal with a bloated bass. Also, the UE10's are allegedly very flat, not having any particular bass bump. So I'd blame the source as many others are. Give them a change with a high end source and an amp that can drive such low impedances and let us know your thoughts again Doob.