[penbat]

Welly Wu and me have ordered hard acrylic earpieces. What have the rest of you ordered ?

 

[KPOT]

I've ordered ue10pro with full-soft option. I'm going to listen to music for 5 hours a day, so I need maximum comfort.

 

[utdeep]

I got the hard acryllic. I had it with the UE5cs and it was awesome. Coming from Etys, which over time I found comfortable, I could easily sleep with my UE5cs on. If I had to compromise durability for comfort with the softer material, I would rather have the hard stuff!

 

[iamdone]

I'm going to order the hard option. I need to be able to insert and remove the as quickly as possible for work. I find the etys comfortable as well but I can't lay on my side with them. I big plus with the ue's.

 

[Big D]

I have the full soft acrylic and I have to say it only takes 5-10 seconds to get each ear fitting correctly and 2-5 seconds per ear to take them out. Bear in mind I haven't even had them 2 full days yet. Maybe I can get them in and out quicker with some practice.

 

[penbat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big D I have the full soft acrylic and I have to say it only takes 5-10 seconds to get each ear fitting correctly and 2-5 seconds per ear to take them out. Bear in mind I haven't even had them 2 full days yet. Maybe I can get them in and out quicker with some practice.

So maybe the insert/removal issue is contentious. What about the other points, that hard acrylic is more durable and better able to withstand knocks ?

 

[Big D]

Quote:

Originally Posted by penbat What about the other points, that hard acrylic is more durable and better able to withstand knocks ?

I'm not so sure it is. Obviously I've never felt the hard acrylic except on the outer part of my phones. The "soft" acrylic really isn't that soft. At room temperature of 20C it is quite firm. It is only once it reaches body temperature of 37C that the soft material displays that property and becomes a bit more malleable. The phones are easier to insert once they are warmer, but harder to remove.

 

[Welly Wu]

I had both the Ue-10 PRO full-soft and hard acrylic materials. To my ears, it is a matter of personal choice: I firmly believe that the level of comfort is derived from the quality of the ear impressions. The full-soft material has the advantage of a slightly fuller fit 'n feel in both of my ears and slightly more sound isolation (though I must adamantly warn members that I have no scientific facts nor tools with which to come to such an absolute conclusion). Furthermore, the full-soft material is designed for professional musicians because the softer acrylic material is more pliable and flexible; hence, professional musicians who need to contort their faces while singing and dancing on stage prefer it. As to the sound difference, the full-soft material sounds rounder and softer. However, this comes at a cost: I found the full-soft material to be less durable and I was responsible for causing accidental nicks and abrasions to the full-soft material while I used the wax loop end of the double tipped cleaning tool. After discussing this phenomenon with Ms. Harvey, she recommended the hard acrylic version because I am not a professional musician. I took her advice. I now have the hard acrylic version of the Ue-10 PRO. The biggest difference that I noticed is that the entire surface of both earpieces are smooth to the touch and harder. As a result, I have no problems using both my double tipped cleaning tool or Tech-Care Clean-Wipes on the surface of the hard acrylic earpieces. There are no nicks, cuts, or abrasions whatsoever. The other big difference is that the hard acrylic material is a better fit in both of my ears. In other words, the hard acrylic material feels less full in my outer and inner ears. As a result, it feels like a more contoured fit and it is much easier to slip in and out of both my ears. In fact, I can do so with only one hand in under one second flat. I also do not experience any pressure points exerted on any part of both my ears. The biggest sonic differences are that the hard acrylic material sounds even more extremely accurate in terms of sharper precision, greater details, and a fuller sound stage. As to why, I simply do not know as I mean only to report my findings.

Ultimate Ears has decided it prudent to recommend the hard acrylic material for the non-professional musician market and the full-soft material to the performing artist. I concur with their wise decision. The greater durability of the hard acrylic material has the distinct advantage of more longevity and lower total cost of ownership because audiophile headphone owners need not resent their UE products back to the company for repairs or maintenance under normal real-world applications. Furthermore, it should be noted that there are perceived sonic differences between both the hard acrylic and full-soft material as mentioned in the above paragraph. Lastly, comfort is the direct result of the quality of your audiologist's ear impressions and I find the hard acrylic material to be equally comfortable as the full-soft material but it possesses the distinct advantages of far greater durability, longevity, and easier maintenance.

I want to make my findings public because there is a definitive trend toward purchasing custom IEMs within the audiophile headphone circles. To that end, I want to present an articulated, balanced, and objective statement. Please feel free to contact me with private messages or replies within this thread. Thank you very much.

 

[Shurenuff]

Great post Welly Wu! I've always wondered what the true advantages/ disadvantages of both the full soft and hard acrylic materials. Your post was very informative and helpful. While I was leaning towards the full soft material, you may have changed my mind (and saved me $50

)

 

[Wmcmanus]

Thanks, Welly. I just ordered my UE-10 Pros the other day with the full soft option, but I think I'll change the order based on the logic in your post. Not that I'm taking your word as Gospel, it's just that what you have said based on your experience makes a lot sense. I'm not getting my impressions done until next Tuesday, so I can't imagine it will be a problem to change my order at this point.

 

[Welly Wu]

Wmcmanus:

It is not too late. Be prepared to have your highest expectations for sound quality from a pair of earphones and customer service exceeded!

 

[Big D]

I think anyone who is looking at getting these should listen to Welly Wu's opinions and decide whether they will apply to them.

Personally I don't think I've made a mistake with getting the full soft option. I will be listening for quite extended periods and I will really look after these - they live in the case when I don't use them. Remember also that Welly had a lot of problems with earwax blocking the bores that required a return to Ultimate Ears. He may well have been putting it in far further and digging around more than the average person would, resulting in the damage. I have yet to get any wax near the bores but do just run the wax loop around the top of the bore in the evening which certainly hasn't caused and nicks or cuts yet.

 

[KPOT]

I think sound differs from person to person cause of different ear-canal shape. Material brings minimal distortion. I remember many people said triple-flanged eartips sounded more accurate than foam eartips (etymotic er-4) But for me foam eartips sounds better...

 

[gpalmer]

My lord, all these posts represent a lot of UE-10 Pros. That evil lindrone!

 

[iamdone]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gpalmer My lord, all these posts represent a lot of UE-10 Pros. That evil lindrone!

I actually think we have Welly Wu and gorman to thank for this. Lindrone went with the Senaphonics first, and there wasn't a big following. Plus lindrone hasn't even got his yet. I'm sure if he writes a positive review they'll be another wave of people getting the ue10 pros.

By the way, I've met lindrone and he is quite evil

but somehow a nice guy at the same time.