Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 Thread

[geekchic]

Thanks for the replies.
Rogue Trader - I too have the crackling on old songs. But yeah, good recordings sound butter smooth. Listened to Santana and Eric Clapton yesterday - simply out of this world. Trips do such a great job with guitar string sections, it's criminal

Stevie - I'm puzzled about the hissing myself, because it shows up on high-bitrate songs as well as low ones. Maybe part of the recording as you said? does not bother me too much but I notice (with the Triple's I notice much more than is good for me, I think)
alitomr - I was the one who asked for % improvement and I have a reason for asking. I was chatting with a friend who used to market high-end speakers and he told me that in hi-end audio, beyond a certain point, the law of diminishing returns comes into play. Ie. you might spend 50% more for a 20% increase in quality. That's why I am wondering - if I am a relative newbie to high-end audio, how much (audible) difference will the amp make to my triple fi experience? It's already like, 100% better than the cheap phones I used earlier.
Look forward to hearing from all of you

 

[geekchic]

sorry repeat post

 

[steviebee]

I think that amping can bring changes & improvements to the sound, gc. A D2-owning friend (who has no intention of amping) was impressed with the Xin SuperMicro IV & his player - using SE530 & Triple Fi/FLAC. It hasn't persuaded him to amp tho!

But I can't agree that it is a 50% improvement in Triple Fi as alitomr stated. However, I'm not sure how great his sources are, so maybe for him....but 50%? Sounds like poor sources, tbh. I am a bit biased against laptop sound, so this is not gospel! In any case, percentages are weird - how does one decide it's 66% vs 65/70%? And yes, the law of diminishing returns can certainly apply.

How about I loan you an amp so you can try it out for yourself? I have a T&D X1 Pro doing nothing -it'd appreciate the holiday! It's not a great amp but it is not at all bad in its pricepoint...Check Skylab's review.

 

[hatethatgiraffe]

I too tend to use my headphones amped and much prefer the warmth and rounded sound that it acheives!
Have used the trips straight from the headphone jack of my iPhone and although sound wasn't bad I'm excited about the potential of amping my iPhone once the neccessary LOD arrives soon

 

[channum]

Don't agree with alitomr's percentages either since I don't think there's a 100% improvement going going from $10 unamped JVC earbuds to $300 amped triple.fi. This is all a matter of chasing improvements on a logarithmic curve, and each progressive increase in quality is, generally, both more expensive and less dramatic than the last. The only question is how much are you comfortable spending for just how much of that "chasing the dragon" curve.

That said, triple.fi did need amped to really kick them into gear. Without an amp they were more unbalanced in the sound spectrum they presented; amped with enough juice to go around and they came alive across the whole spectrum without needing to crank the volume up too loud. I think my earlier comment summed it up best: without an amp, they just sound like very good IEMs, with an amp they start to sound like something you'd pay $300+ for.

 

[PixelSquish]

i did several days of extensive comparison with the triple.fi's out of the zune headphone out and then from the boa with the headphone out at 20 on the zune to the boa

there was a negligible difference. u need a line out or a crappier headphone out to notice the diffference. the zune headphone out is pretty respectable.

im holding out for a line-out though and to save up for a predator to get the benefits.

 

[geekchic]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steviebee /img/forum/go_quote.gif How about I loan you an amp so you can try it out for yourself? I have a T&D X1 Pro doing nothing -it'd appreciate the holiday! It's not a great amp but it is not at all bad in its pricepoint...Check Skylab's review.

Stevie, thanks for the extremely generous offer! Would love to take you up on it. But right now, I know literally nothing about amps - is it OK if I do some reading (and asking) first and learn a bit more and then borrow it? Thanks again! And yes, your amp will certainly get a holiday if it travels all the way to India!!

I found it interesting that your friend opted to use the D2 unamped. It's a player that allows a helluva lot of tweaking so you can get a really individualistic sound.


Quote:

Originally Posted by channum /img/forum/go_quote.gif Don't agree with alitomr's percentages either since I don't think there's a 100% improvement going going from $10 unamped JVC earbuds to $300 amped triple.fi.... I think my earlier comment summed it up best: without an amp, they just sound like very good IEMs, with an amp they start to sound like something you'd pay $300+ for.

Your points illustrate to me that only experience can help me to truly assess the value of an upgrade. For instance, i would say the umamped Triples are 100% better than my 30$ Sony MDR EX71. Simply because I have no other benchmarks for comparison. But when I hear my next high end phone, I would probably be able to recalibrate my assessment. In that sense I guess I should not have asked for % improvement, because everyone will have a different scale. You have a very clear idea of how a 300$ + phone should sound whereas I can only say "They sound so good, they're worth every cent I paid".


Quote:

Originally Posted by idiotekniQues /img/forum/go_quote.gif i did several days of extensive comparison with the triple.fi's out of the zune headphone out and then from the boa with the headphone out at 20 on the zune to the boa. there was a negligible difference. u need a line out or a crappier headphone out to notice the diffference. the zune headphone out is pretty respectable.

Thanks for the info. My D2 has only a HP out. Does that somewhat neutralize the effect of an amp? I guess I will check over at iaudiophile also...

Thanks again to everyone for your replies!

 

[McCol]

Well after a couple of weeks of having sore ears and bad fit with the TF's i've put them up for sale/trade.

I really do love the sound, esp through my D2/Hornet combo but i just cant seem to get a nice comfortable fit. I've tried all the flange's and the comply's but to no avail.

Just got the sleek sa6's today and although they dont have the soundstage of the TF's they are still a nice sounding iem. May well give the Shure SE530 or UM2 a go, anybody give me an idea on how they compare to the TF's?

 

[steviebee]

Sad to hear that, McCol...hope you find a better fit elsewhere.

Don't get me started on the SE530s -I'm not exactly their biggest fan. I'll let someone less turned-off by their sonic presentation fill you in

 

[western120]

what's the best place to buy shure olives ?

 

[McCol]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steviebee /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sad to hear that, McCol...hope you find a better fit elsewhere. Don't get me started on the SE530s -I'm not exactly their biggest fan. I'll let someone less turned-off by their sonic presentation fill you in

It is a bit sad, as i really do love the soundstage and sound from them, but these sleeks are getting better the more i listen.

I'm not sure about the se530's, hear so many conflicting views on them, i'd gathered from previous posts that your not their biggest fan!

 

[PixelSquish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by geekchic /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for the info. My D2 has only a HP out. Does that somewhat neutralize the effect of an amp? I guess I will check over at iaudiophile also... Thanks again to everyone for your replies!

im not an expert on this at all but from the responses to threads in the amp forum while a couple of people claimed to hear intense differences with the boa out of the zune headphone out - but on the flip side, many said that when a headphone out is good you really wont get much out of an amp.

certainly nowhere near enough to warrant the price of an amp - and the boa is not exactly a pricey amp, though not super cheap either. some said there would be barely any difference at all since the zune headphone out is quite potent. i think they were spot on.

i really wanted to hear a difference but when i kept switching the same passages of music back and forth and was honest with myself, there really wasnt much of anything to notice. i tried electronic, classical, jazz, rock.

not sure how that translates to the D2 headphone out but one thing is for sure - just about everyone agrees to really get the benefit of an amp exposed you need a line-out.

if there is no zune line-out by the end of the year and i have money to burn, i will probably get an ipod and a boa and give it a shot again. but for portability, you cant beat just carrying a DAP and IEM's. its unbeatable.

 

[Aevum]

the E2c silicon flex tips arrived, im disapointed that one of UE´s main competitors actually makes the perfect tips for their headphones,

 

[Elluzion]

what are views on the tripple fi vs UM2?

 

[steviebee]

BTW, geekchic -the D2 has a pretty good, make that very good, HP out. Lots of oomph if I can get technical

Aevum, did you get the flex clear or soft flex black? I've only tried the clear but must give the black a go...despite my feelings towards 530, I've always liked Shure's tips -apart from one fershlugginer stubborn foamie.