[robm321]

Thanks for the review (no Imod with that hard core travel rig

)

I guess there's no way around the UE11 being the best IEM now

 

[perfectfifth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the review (no Imod with that hard core travel rig ) I guess there's no way around the UE11 being the best IEM now

oh i sure you find some people who will prefer ue10. personally, i prefer ibud.

 

[wakeride74]

Quote:

Originally Posted by perfectfifth /img/forum/go_quote.gif oh i sure you find some people who will prefer ue10. personally, i prefer ibud.

Then why hang out in a headphone forum?

 

[Julien]

My impressions arrived yesterday and I emailed UE this morning asking about getting the R translucent red and the L translucent blue, plus change my cord color to white. Keep checking my email hoping for a speedy reply. Well I guess it just like TP says: "The waiting is the hardest part".

Also UE's please hurry up with an iPhone cable.

 

[PiccoloNamek]

jude: Did you notice any phase problems caused by the crossover network?

 

[he46570]

Julien,

I'm ordering basically the same specs as you, although I'm also asking for the titanium plate (which can also be directly etched, by the way). So the casing will be translucent red and blue, although the metal plate will be placed under the casing and will have a logo etched onto it.

Limitations are:
Etching onto the titanium plate can only be in black
You can have both clear or the translucent colors over the titanium plate
You can etch both the titanium plate AND the outer casing, although I'm guessing alignment may be an issue...

Hope this helps.

Robert

 

[enzoferrari650]

Great review jude. Now I'm even more excited for my UE11's to come. They should be here at the end of next week. I'm hoping the fit will be perfect first time around.

 

[jude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by yellafella321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif would you be able to comment as to how these sound compared to the GS-1000?...

That's an interesting comparison request. Well, the GS-1000 remains one of my current two favorite headphones at home (the other being the HD650). The GS-1000 is a picky headphone, being much more challenging to match up properly with an amp than, say, the HD650. So you have a reference point for my GS-1000 experience and use, I use it with a Meier Audio Corda Prehead MkI, a HeadRoom Max (two generations ago), and love it with both of those amps. The best I'd ever heard it sound was out of a B-52, but that's quite a bit out of my audio budget. I'm sure there are other great amp pairings for it, but those are the ones I've used most with the GS-1000.

Okay, that all being said, the GS-1000 has some very key advantages, the first and most obvious of which is its big and airy soundstage--hard, if not impossible, to match in an IEM (without some sort of DSP that probably doesn't exist yet). The GS-1000 can play in the deep bass range, but it just doesn't have the overall definition and detail in the lower registers as the UE-11--no other headphone I have right now does.

For home listening, I generally do not want the isolation I get with IEMs (so I can hear my wife and son), and I also find the soundstaging I get from the HD650 and GS-1000 to be tough to turn down when I don't need the isolation.

Tonally, the GS-1000 does present more treble energy than the UE-11--in most cases, I prefer the treble presentation of the UE-11 better, on balance, than either the GS-1000 and HD650 (two rather different headphones, to say the least).

Sorry if my answer isn't helping you--we're talking two very different pieces and form factors here, though.

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....So you have two UE11Pro now?

Yes I do.

And though both are great, again, there's enough difference between the two I've got to have me listening to my new blue ones exclusively.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....is it me or does that cable on them earphones look huge and unmanageable,na they are superb im just trying to make my self feel better

It seems to be the same cable that the UE-10 Pro uses.

The part just aft of the earpiece includes a length of memory wire covered with another layer of clear tubing--that's probably why it looks as thick as it does. As any UE-10 Pro owner will tell you, however, it's not huge and unmanageable at all--it's very comfortable, actually (although, ideally, I'd prefer a cable as supple as the one on my Westone UM2).

Quote:

Originally Posted by digihead /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....I have really enjoyed the UE10pro, however I find there to be quite a bit of sibilance. Have you noticed any sibilance with the UE11?

digihead, this is a tough one for me to answer for you, only because I've never once thought of my UE-10 Pro as sibilant. The UE-11 is, to my ears, not sibilant at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the review (no Imod with that hard core travel rig )....

I know. I'm seriously considering one--I've never heard the iMod, but the reviews of it seem almost universally positive. I just love the compactness of my nano-based rig, but know fully that there's better sound to be had.

I'm on the fence on the iMod right now, mostly due to expense, and a wee bit due to size.

Quote:

Originally Posted by robm321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif ....I guess there's no way around the UE11 being the best IEM now

I can't answer that for everyone, but it certainly is, to my ears, the best I've used so far.

Quote:

Originally Posted by PiccoloNamek /img/forum/go_quote.gif jude: Did you notice any phase problems caused by the crossover network?

PiccoloNamek, I haven't noticed any phase problems caused by the crossover network. I was worried about cohesiveness when I read that Westone was producing a true three-way universal fit, but then I heard it briefly at HeadFest 2007, and my fears about that dissipated immediately.

I was also worried about it when I was told by Ultimate Ears that the UE-11 would sport four drivers and two distinct crossover points (as opposed to one crossover point on the UE-10 Pro). But, again, they achieved something just as cohesive and seamless, to my ears, as their venerable UE-10 Pro.

By the way, I've received several PMs and a couple of e-mails asking me what the difference is between my beta UE-11 and production UE-11. Truth be told, I have no idea. Here's what I can say:

1. They sound mostly the same, but different enough (all positive for the production unit) to matter.
   
2. The beta UE-11 I had fit a bit more snugly than my UE-10 Pro. I mentioned this in the beta evaluation form, in case they thought that could account for any sonic differences I might be hearing. I have no idea if they took it into account when they made my production UE-11, because this one fits a little more like my UE-10 Pro (a little less snug inside than the beta UE-11 in both ears). When I first received the beta UE-11, I thought I preferred the increased snugness, but, after longer-term use, decided that it was a smidge less comfortable overall (versus my UE-10 Pro). Long story short, I prefer the fit of my production UE-11 to my beta UE-11 (again, it's just a touch less snug in both ears, sort of slotted between my UE-10 Pro and the beta UE-11 in this regard). Could fit account for any differences I'm hearing? Perhaps. I don't know enough to answer that.
   
3. The cable on the beta UE-11 was quite different--thinner, more supple. The cable on my production UE-11 looks identical to the one on my UE-10 Pro. Would this affect sound? I don't know. I don't think I want to swap cables either, preferring to detach the cables on these little IEMs only when absolutely necessary.

 

[Julien]

Quote:

Originally Posted by he46570 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Julien, I'm ordering basically the same specs as you, although I'm also asking for the titanium plate (which can also be directly etched, by the way). So the casing will be translucent red and blue, although the metal plate will be placed under the casing and will have a logo etched onto it. Limitations are: Etching onto the titanium plate can only be in black You can have both clear or the translucent colors over the titanium plate You can etch both the titanium plate AND the outer casing, although I'm guessing alignment may be an issue... Hope this helps. Robert

Are you having art work added and does the plate cover the whole of the outside? I'm not much for art work so I asked for them to just put "UE" and "11 Pro" on them. Still have not heard back and they've had my impresions for 24 hours. Somone call 911.

 

[he46570]

Hey Julien.

The plate looks just like the one here by The Monkey:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=189503

It is actually molded into the case, so there is acrylic covering the plate also. It's purely decorative as far as I know, and another head-fier has noted that it does add to the bulk and weight...

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jude /img/forum/go_quote.gif Versus the UE-10 Pro, more bass. At first blush, maybe too much--I mean, the UE-10 Pro had pretty much been my primary headphone for months, due to my more portable lifestyle lately. Midband was freer, more airy, effortless--with almost everything I listened to, I could experience more of what lived in the midrange than with even the very revealing UE-10 Pro. Treble was also a wee bit improved versus the UE-10 Pro, but I could have used even a little more up there if I was being asked to state the ideal. I realized I missed that beta UE-11 bass. A lot. This reminded me very much of how I felt when I went from the Sennheiser HD600 to the HD650, and then back to the HD600--I missed the HD650 (and it remains my choice between the two today). One doesn't often read of bass detail. Usually it's midrange detail, detailed treble; but not often much discussion of bass detail--bass usually just gets the "controlled" or "loose" adjectives. Well, bass detail and resolution very much came to mind when I got my ears on the beta UE-11, because I heard things going on in some of my favorite bass-containing tracks that I didn't realize were going on. One of my reference CDs is Andre Previn and David Finck's We Got Rhythm: Gershwin Songbook--it's just Previn on piano and Finck on double bass, knockin' out some fantastic Gershwin. Love it. There was more resonance and sonority--more bass detail--with the beta UE-11 than any other headphone I've got. And, yes, it was controlled, it was taut. I just wanted a wee bit less overall bass amplitude.

Nicely said, I couldn't agree more.

I find the high in UE11 is a big improvement also over UE10. It is much more extended and noticeable. You could actually hear sparkles.

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif godsend,gosh jealousy kicks in is it me or does that cable on them earphones look huge and unmanageable,na they are superb im just trying to make my self feel better

Yes the cable is huge,stiff and horrible. I swapped mine with a thinner cables. Basically UE offers 2 types of cables. The bigger one like you saw in the picture and the smaller one like the ES2's

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jude /img/forum/go_quote.gif [*] The cable on the beta UE-11 was quite different--thinner, more supple. The cable on my production UE-11 looks identical to the one on my UE-10 Pro. Would this affect sound? I don't know. I don't think I want to swap cables either, preferring to detach the cables on these little IEMs only when absolutely necessary.[/list]

I own both UE cables the thick standard, and the thin version like the Westone one. I tried to compare sonice differences between both, and I didn't hear any noticable difference between the two. But Comfort wise, the thin one is so much easier to manage plus, it's a lot less bulky. I tried to use the thick cable for 2 days until I decided to order the thin cable version.

 

[wsilvio]

JLingo,

I notice in your signature that you own both the sensaphonics 2x-s and the UE-11's. Do you find any difference is isolation between the two? I think some audiologist feel that the silicone seals better giving better isolation and therfore allowing the listener to listen at a lower volume.

I'm considering ordering the UE-11's. I currently have custom sensaphonic sleeves on my e500's. They work great and probably seal the same as the 2x-s. Also I too am using a millet hybrid portable and am wondering which attenuator if any you use with the UE-11's

Thanks.

will

 

[jlingo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wsilvio /img/forum/go_quote.gif JLingo, I notice in your signature that you own both the sensaphonics 2x-s and the UE-11's. Do you find any difference is isolation between the two? I think some audiologist feel that the silicone seals better giving better isolation and therfore allowing the listener to listen at a lower volume. I'm considering ordering the UE-11's. I currently have custom sensaphonic sleeves on my e500's. They work great and probably seal the same as the 2x-s. Also I too am using a millet hybrid portable and am wondering which attenuator if any you use with the UE-11's Thanks. will

Ultimate Ears sell their own Volume attenuator for USD$20.-You could inquire about this when you order your UE-11.

Acrylic should technically seal as good as Silicone material provided that your acrylic IEM has a perfect fit.

With Sensaphonics, even if you don't have a perfect fit, you still can push it in and the rubbery material will try to contour and follow your ear curvature, providing better seal.

However, You cannot do the same thing with Acrylic IEM due to a harder material being used. Without a perfect fit, practially you WILL lose some isolation. and if you try to push forcefully your Acrylic IEM into your ears, you may experience discomfort as pressure points start causing problems.

I hope this helps.