Ultimate Ears UE-10 PRO ~Worth the $$$~
May 19, 2004 at 8:46 PM Thread Starter Post #1 of 23

PedigreeE

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Hi folks, my second thread! Woot! Once again I'd like to say that this forum is absolutely amazing in regards to knowledge and support. After thinking about upgrading my home system I decided to create the ultimate portable setup, within reason.
I will use a NJB3 most likely, but the Ipod, Ihp, and Zen are still in the running. For headphones I will use one of my three pair, the HD650's, the rs-2's or the MDR-CD3000's with a portable amp, or the Ultimate Ears UE-10 PRO (the point of the post.) I do not want a DAC, since I have heard that adding a dac to a portable setup is a bit of a waste, but if you can convince me otherwise, please do.
My dilemma is whether to spend nearly $1000 dollars on the EU-10 PROS's. If I decide to get them, I would not have money for an amp for quite some time. But, if I use my CD3K's I would buy an amp for the NJB3.
Clearly, the question is if the UE-10 PRO's are worth the money. Will they sound better than the amplified CD3Ks? Do they have bass that could even compare to the CD3K's? Or would I be happier with my CD3K's and an amp, and maybe a pair of Etymotic ER-4P's. Thanks again for any insight you may offer
 
May 19, 2004 at 8:51 PM Post #2 of 23
How portable of a set-up are you talking about? Personally, I'd be scared if I saw someone walking around with CD3Ks.
biggrin.gif
But then again the NJB3 isn't that portable either. This is just my experience, but the NJB3 doesn't have as "clean" of a headphone out as the iPod which may be a problem. As in clean, I mean that there's a bit more hissing. Just my experience with a 2nd gen iPod and a NJB3.

I just can't help but wonder...what are you using this setup for? The NJB3->amp->CD3K route seems pretty hefty to me. If this for walking around typish use or moving from office to home type portable use?
 
May 19, 2004 at 9:54 PM Post #4 of 23
Quote:

Originally Posted by PedigreeE
Hi folks, my second thread! Woot! Once again I'd like to say that this forum is absolutely amazing in regards to knowledge and support. After thinking about upgrading my home system I decided to create the ultimate portable setup, within reason.
I will use a NJB3 most likely, but the Ipod, Ihp, and Zen are still in the running. For headphones I will use one of my three pair, the HD650's, the rs-2's or the MDR-CD3000's with a portable amp, or the Ultimate Ears UE-10 PRO (the point of the post.) I do not want a DAC, since I have heard that adding a dac to a portable setup is a bit of a waste, but if you can convince me otherwise, please do.
My dilemma is whether to spend nearly $1000 dollars on the EU-10 PROS's. If I decide to get them, I would not have money for an amp for quite some time. But, if I use my CD3K's I would buy an amp for the NJB3.
Clearly, the question is if the UE-10 PRO's are worth the money. Will they sound better than the amplified CD3Ks? Do they have bass that could even compare to the CD3K's? Or would I be happier with my CD3K's and an amp, and maybe a pair of Etymotic ER-4P's. Thanks again for any insight you may offer


As Random Person said in his opinion of the UE-5c that the people at Ultimate Ears recommended she stick with the cheaper UE-5c rather than the UE-10 Pro for DAP usage. That has been my experience too. It is difficult to justify spending the extra $400 just to get a soft phone and an extra driver. The FR chart is almost identical. The biggest bonus is the UE-5c are specially tunes for mastered vs live recording.

E-mail Ultimate Ears and ask about comparisons. They are really helpful and answer your questions really promptly.
 
May 19, 2004 at 10:08 PM Post #5 of 23
One poster brought up this point earlier. Remember all Ultimate ear canalphones are custom fitted. That means each piece has absolutely no resale value. You'd better make sure you LOVE them.
 
May 19, 2004 at 11:20 PM Post #6 of 23
Can anyone find this post? I called ultimate ears and almost fell off my chair when a person answered. I was treated like a rockstar. The service was a 1000000000000 times better than anyone I have ever dealt with. I looks like I will be getting a pair, I hope I like them. When they come I will write up one killer review of them since there is not a whole lot out there. Any other comments?
 
May 19, 2004 at 11:39 PM Post #7 of 23
IME most of the companies centered & talked about on Head-Fi are top notch. Headphone.com, toddthevinyljunkie.com, idealsound.com.... these companies all offer top notch service & support. I just ordered some ER4's from idealsound and Paul simply could not have been nicer. Same way with Todd when I bought my HD600's. There are a lot of other market segments out there that could use vendors like these.
 
May 20, 2004 at 2:18 AM Post #8 of 23
Ultimate Ears is also another top notch company serving the professional musician, professional audio, and audiophile headphone communities. Their outstanding level of customer service is top notch too. Let's add their name to the pot.
 
May 20, 2004 at 1:00 PM Post #10 of 23
I will probably go with Ultimate Ears and yes i believe their customer service is probably very good. However there seems to be one failing. They have no facilities for electronic payment. They could at least make Paypal payment available. When i communicated with them by email a while back (I am in the UK) I had the choice of emailing my credit card details to them or writing it on my impressions box which is far from satisfactory.

Incidentally i have been trying to email Sensaphonics to enquire about the 2X-S and i got a very terse one line reply after i sent a chaser email as my first email never even got responded to. So Sensaphonics, I won't be doing business with you !!!!
 
May 20, 2004 at 1:06 PM Post #11 of 23
Incidentally mods, this is in the wrong forum. Can you move it please !
 
May 20, 2004 at 4:13 PM Post #13 of 23
The context is an audio portable system but the subject is UE-10 earphones.
 
May 20, 2004 at 8:49 PM Post #14 of 23
Sensaphonics don't mass-market themselves to the normal public... unlike Ultimate Ears (they marketed themselves very, very aggressively on iPodlounge)....

They're very responsive on phones when you call them, but they barely respond to emails at all... they're internet-challenged.. hehehehehe...
 
May 20, 2004 at 9:12 PM Post #15 of 23
Quote:

Originally Posted by lindrone
Sensaphonics...(snip)...
They're very responsive on phones when you call them, but they barely respond to emails at all... they're internet-challenged.. hehehehehe...




Totally agree! Claudia is a delight via phone, and they take major credit cards.
 

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