[freeflyer14]

So I just received my UE Fi 4 vi from earphonesolutions, this is my second pair of "decent" IEM's. My previous pair were Shure E3's (no longer with me, left in the seatback pocket of an airplane...

) I wanted something to use in my Creative Zen mp3 player. These will serve double duty for use with my blackberry pearl, for making calls and for using the pearl's multimedia functions, I am getting the 8gb micro SD card to turn it into quite a nice little multimedia device. I am happy to report the phone functions are very nice. Callers on the other end report my voice as very clear, they say it does not sound like I am on a headset, microphone, etc. Their sound on my end is very clear as well, it is very nice to be able to have sound in both ears, although this makes it a little weird since you cannot hear your own voice. I am experimenting with using only one side and it will take some time to figure out which way I prefer. The little button on the cord does work with the pearl, it acts as a mute function. I am not sure if this is the purpose when used with the iPhone. The mic is on the cord after the split to your right ear, it hangs somewhere near your neck/chin area. I am not a fan of any of the sleeves sent from UE in the fit kit, (very uncomfortable) but I did have some comply tips still hanging around from when I had my Shure E3's. They obviously don't fit the base for these earphones, but you can remove the plastic insert and then they work perfectly, and provide great isolation, sound, and bass. I think this is the perfect solution as far as sound goes, but I am wondering how long they (the comply tips) will last if I use them for the phone, as they will be inserted and removed a whole lot more often that if they were just being used for the mp3 player. In this case the silicon tips will last much longer.

Now onto to the full on sound review. This is my very first post on here and first review of any IEM in writing, so bear with me and I will try to answer any questions that come about later on. I used the Shure E3's for about 2 years, was happy with them, although I was definitely in the market for something with better bass, I always found it lacking in that department. Before I got my pearl, I was looking into the E4, the Super fi V EB, UM 1, etc etc,. I used to DJ for a long time as well, and the Sony MDR 7506 (decent, great for DJ'ing, great isolation, great in a club enviroment) and Pioneer SE DJ 5000 (eh..

) were my cans. But since I got the blackberry (love it by the way), I wanted an "all in one" solution in an IEM with great sound, and a mic for the calls. The only options were the Moda, and UE 4vi, and putting an aftermarket mic adapter like the shure mic on an existing IEM (didn't really want to go this way.) I am listening to them right now through a Creative Soundblaster card in my laptop, and all I can say is wow. The bass is soooo much nice than my E3's, not just more pronounced, but tighter and cleaner as well. The highs and mids are very comparable, I wish I still had my E3's so I could compare better, it is hard to remember exactly how they sounded... These sound very clear across the spectrum, just a little less clear than my sonys and E3's on the highs. Just not as "bright" sounding, with a little EQ it helps, but we'll see. The bass is more pronounced, and results in a lower end heavier sound, if I want to nit pick (I am guessing they sound more like the super fi V EB than the non EB?) I can say that without these comply tips however, they bass was much muddier, I just couldn't get a perfect seal, the silicon tips just didn't do it for me. I hope I helped anyone looking into these, I am wondering how much these will burn in, if any, for now I am extremely happy with them, and they will serve me well until I start looking into the next level of sound (and price).

the pics are with the modified comply tips on...

 

[IEMaddict]

They probably have about the same amount of bass as the super.fi 5 pro or triple.fi, or perhaps somewhere in between. Super.fi maybe a little bit heavier in the bass response.

 

[sandino]

I'm currently a Shure person... Should I look up UE's?

 

[SBD]

Thanks for your review freeflyer

 

[Aevum]

the SE series from shure is a bit overpriced in my opinion,