Ultimate Ears build quality issues
Apr 27, 2011 at 9:22 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 10

captian73

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I went to buy a pair of UE 200's on amazon.co.uk today, however I saw far too many 1 star reviews, most complaining about build quality issues. I Know that Logitech took over a few years ago, and mnay compained about the poor customer service, has anyone had any (more) bad experiences ... or good experiences?
 
Apr 27, 2011 at 11:15 AM Post #3 of 10
i cant really speak to much about build quality the UE line of earphones has seemed pretty sweet to me, the super fi 5 pro cable was a bit scruffy and thin and the triple fi 10 cable hasnt been the most reliable or comfortable but the earphones themselves are all good ( dont know about lower end models ).
 
in regards to logitech taking over i dont think they are anywhere near as friendly as the old team, i havnt received a reply off them in a long time, ive asked numerous questions about the technology and help with stuff to do with the earphones but have not had one single reply, i bet if i was putting an order in tho id be the first to get a reply, does that sound like great customer service to you?
 
in contrast shures customer service is some of the best ive ever had the pleasure of dealing with, i have since sold my se530 and moved onto some cheaper (here in UK anyway) sennheiser IE8, brilliant headphones for me but you know what i havnt heard much off them either, peace.
 
Apr 27, 2011 at 11:27 AM Post #4 of 10
i cant really speak to much about build quality the UE line of earphones has seemed pretty sweet to me, the super fi 5 pro cable was a bit scruffy and thin and the triple fi 10 cable hasnt been the most reliable or comfortable but the earphones themselves are all good ( dont know about lower end models ).
 
in regards to logitech taking over i dont think they are anywhere near as friendly as the old team, i havnt received a reply off them in a long time, ive asked numerous questions about the technology and help with stuff to do with the earphones but have not had one single reply, i bet if i was putting an order in tho id be the first to get a reply, does that sound like great customer service to you?
 
in contrast shures customer service is some of the best ive ever had the pleasure of dealing with, i have since sold my se530 and moved onto some cheaper (here in UK anyway) sennheiser IE8, brilliant headphones for me but you know what i havnt heard much off them either, peace.


How do the SE535 stack up against the IE8?
 
Apr 27, 2011 at 11:54 AM Post #5 of 10


Quote:
i cant really speak to much about build quality the UE line of earphones has seemed pretty sweet to me, the super fi 5 pro cable was a bit scruffy and thin and the triple fi 10 cable hasnt been the most reliable or comfortable but the earphones themselves are all good ( dont know about lower end models ).
 
in regards to logitech taking over i dont think they are anywhere near as friendly as the old team, i havnt received a reply off them in a long time, ive asked numerous questions about the technology and help with stuff to do with the earphones but have not had one single reply, i bet if i was putting an order in tho id be the first to get a reply, does that sound like great customer service to you?
 
in contrast shures customer service is some of the best ive ever had the pleasure of dealing with, i have since sold my se530 and moved onto some cheaper (here in UK anyway) sennheiser IE8, brilliant headphones for me but you know what i havnt heard much off them either, peace.


In all fairness, technical support for Logitech with regards to repairs are top-notch in my books.
 
 
Apr 27, 2011 at 12:36 PM Post #6 of 10
Don't know about their lower-end products. But the follow things (not limited to) may happen to the Triple.Fi-10 (not limited to):
1. Complete destruction of the earpiece when removing cable. In the very worst case a driver unit was pulled out with the cable. Otherwise the base socket may be pulled out.
2. Destruction of the cable when attempting to pull it out. One or both pins may be left in the socket or the cable simply shears off at its entry point to the earpiece connector.
3. When removing ear-cushions, the nozzle may be removed with the cushion. This however may be glued back on without affecting performance.
 
Apr 27, 2011 at 1:34 PM Post #7 of 10


Quote:
Quote:
i cant really speak to much about build quality the UE line of earphones has seemed pretty sweet to me, the super fi 5 pro cable was a bit scruffy and thin and the triple fi 10 cable hasnt been the most reliable or comfortable but the earphones themselves are all good ( dont know about lower end models ).
 
in regards to logitech taking over i dont think they are anywhere near as friendly as the old team, i havnt received a reply off them in a long time, ive asked numerous questions about the technology and help with stuff to do with the earphones but have not had one single reply, i bet if i was putting an order in tho id be the first to get a reply, does that sound like great customer service to you?
 
in contrast shures customer service is some of the best ive ever had the pleasure of dealing with, i have since sold my se530 and moved onto some cheaper (here in UK anyway) sennheiser IE8, brilliant headphones for me but you know what i havnt heard much off them either, peace.




How do the SE535 stack up against the IE8?



they stack up fairly well to be honest, the shures certainly sound more... defined i guess, a bit more professional and acute, the sennheiser extend a bit better in the highs but its not massively noticeable, the mids certainly dont seem nearly as forward as the shures but i have to admit the soundstaging does take a hit with the shures, side by side the shures forward mids make them seem so much more stuffier and enclosed, detail is top notch but i guess that is the downside, smooth with the rough i guess. the bass is nice with the shures but the sennheiser will certainly rock your head. it really does come down to the sound you want, this is the great thing about high end earphones they all perform admirably with distortion and quality of sound its really all about what sound you want, to sum up id say if you want a more pro sound the shures do it better, if your just somebody that enjoys listening to music rather than how the music sounds the senn's rock. im a massive shure fan but the IE8 suit my tastes a little better and the replaceable cable is a massive deal for me.
 
apologies, this was a comparison to the se530 not 535. the se535 cable looks sweet but its still unproven over time like the IE8.


Quote:
In all fairness, technical support for Logitech with regards to repairs are top-notch in my books.
 

i couldnt say in regards to repairs but thats certainly good to hear.
 
 
 
Apr 27, 2011 at 6:53 PM Post #8 of 10
Don't get me wrong, I love UE. I've owned the metro.fi 100, 2 pairs of Metro.fi 2 (200) super.fi 5EB and Triple.fi 10. I was looking at the new 200's, but like i said, i see a lot of 1 star comments.
 
Apr 28, 2011 at 12:32 AM Post #9 of 10
My TF10s have held up pretty well but then that's just because I avoid using them due to horrendous fit complications...
 
Anything else I've had from UE has not lasted more than 3 month...these include two super.fi 5 pros, two UE700s, and cheaper stuff like the 400 and stuff. 
 
As to Logitech customer service, I had a wonderful experience with the warranty claim on my UE700s, everything was done properly as you'd expect from a big company. Dial the number, get transferred to the proper department, told them the issue, they gave me a case number, emailed tracking and return shipping label, etc. I received a brand new replacement set within the week.
 
 
 
 
 
May 1, 2011 at 8:27 PM Post #10 of 10
In my experience the older/higher end phones are average to better then average in terms of build quality & reliability and the newer/lower end phones are terrible.  I still have a pair Super.fi 5 Pros and 2 pair of EBs that have been very reliable, including the cables, for years.  The cable on one set of EBs just gave out a month ago, and it's a bonus that they're replaceable.  On the other hand, I have not been able to keep Super.fi 4vi or 5vis working for more than 3-4 months.  I've had 4 pair with premature cable failure, and 2 pair (of the 5vis) where the housings just came unglued and fell apart.
 
As for the customer service, I find it sleazy that they are always "out-of-stock" on the vi replacement cables, likely in order to keep folks with older Pro series phones from using them with iPhones.   
 

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