[Kataphraktos]

I remember all the fanboys pouncing on me when I dared to criticize the build quality of these IEMs. I'm on my third pair, and they just fell apart the other day. Should the casing of a $400 pair of IEMs come apart after 4 months? My assortment of crappy $20-$60 sport headphones, which I have owned for 1-3 years, are all in near new-in-box shape after having been sweated into, tossed around, and sat on.
 
Pity, because my TripleFis were built like a tank.

 

[Spyro]

I had problems with 3 different pairs I tried from 3 different lots.  That was enough for me.  For $399 the Grado GR10 is better across the board and more fun to listen to.

 

[tinyman392]

  I remember all the fanboys pouncing on me when I dared to criticize the build quality of these IEMs. I'm on my third pair, and they just fell apart the other day. Should the casing of a $400 pair of IEMs come apart after 4 months? My assortment of crappy $20-$60 sport headphones, which I have owned for 1-3 years, are all in near new-in-box shape after having been sweated into, tossed around, and sat on.
 
Pity, because my TripleFis were built like a tank.

 
We never attacked you, we just made the statement that UE could be fixing the issues.  The last IEM that came apart above (that was pictured) was by fault of owner.  No IEMs are expected (ever) to survive being run over by a 1 ton vehicle   It is a shame that the UE 900 does have spotty build issues. 
 
The TF10s also had well known build issues as well.  I remember hearing stories of housings that came apart, etc. 
 

  I had problems with 3 different pairs I tried from 3 different lots.  That was enough for me.  For $399 the Grado GR10 is better across the board and more fun to listen to.

 
That's too bad to hear about those issues   I haven't heard the GR10, they do measure more linearly though.  One of the primary reasons why I use the UE 900 often is because it has a remote and mic. 

 

[a_recording]

It would be nice if the first post in this thread was updated with some information about this issue...

 

[Kataphraktos]

   
We never attacked you, we just made the statement that UE could be fixing the issues.  The last IEM that came apart above (that was pictured) was by fault of owner.  No IEMs are expected (ever) to survive being run over by a 1 ton vehicle   It is a shame that the UE 900 does have spotty build issues. 
 
The TF10s also had well known build issues as well.  I remember hearing stories of housings that came apart, etc. 

 
Fact is, basic testing would have caught these issues. Ten beta testers in a room for one weekend with 20 sets of headsets, they would have caught this glaring issue with the connectors and addressed it before releasing to production.

 

[TealRice]

   
http://www.head-fi.org/ultimate-ears
 
Mike Dias seems to be an "Industry Insider" (possibly for UE, maybe others).  CEE TEE seems to be the Ultimate Ears Sponsor for Head-Fi.  Good luck getting a replacement. 

 
if i cant get help im most likely gonna get the sony xba h1 and a vmoda m100 with the xl pads :O, RIP UE

 

[tinyman392]

   
Fact is, basic testing would have caught these issues. Ten beta testers in a room for one weekend with 20 sets of headsets, they would have caught this glaring issue with the connectors and addressed it before releasing to production.

 
That's true.  I'm still unsure what exactly is causing the issue... 
 

   
if i cant get help im most likely gonna get the sony xba h1 and a vmoda m100 with the xl pads :O, RIP UE

 
Sounds like a plan.  The M-100s are great headphones. 

 

[TealRice]

I

That's true.  I'm still unsure what exactly is causing the issue... 


Sounds like a plan.  The M-100s are great headphones. 

mean the Sony xba h3

 

[adrockthewalrus]

it's taken me over a week of idle browsing, but today i managed to finish reading this thread
 
thoughts, before my imminent UE 900 purchase:
1. Did anyone ever find/write a guide to clearing out the smaller bore hole?
2. The scratching on the back of the ear pieces, while not a big deal to me, would a light coat of clear gloss nail polish help prevent that, or would it likely affect the sound?
3. Deoxit, is there a specific type i should be looking for for cleaning the contacts? (I also need to clean contacts on an old amp, if I can get one thing to do both jobs).

 

[MoonYeol]

  it's taken me over a week of idle browsing, but today i managed to finish reading this thread
 
thoughts, before my imminent UE 900 purchase:
 
1. Did anyone ever find/write a guide to clearing out the smaller bore hole?
2. The scratching on the back of the ear pieces, while not a big deal to me, would a light coat of clear gloss nail polish help prevent that, or would it likely affect the sound?
 

 
1. Don't know. I cut a cable and twisted a few strands of wire to fit into the hole. Using a needle won't work as that hole is about the same size as a regular needle. Just be careful about pushing something into that hole. It's a bit like your ear canal. Don't want to push it further in. You could probably use some solution for dissolving ear wax in your ears and dip it 1-2 mm into that. 
2. It should do the trick. That should only be a plate with no bores adjacent. So covering it should not affect the sound. Smart move about the nailpolish.

 

[pacman46]

Wow after reading this stuff I would NEVER buy the ue 900 ever.. That's crazy to spend this kind of money on these and they fall apart like that that's use just bad.. for ue not to fix the problems and even come on here and reinsurer the problem is fixed.... I'm sorry if they did and I didn't read that.. But they should.. I was really thinking about buying them cause from what I have read I would probably like the sound of these... Man of man they really need to do something about this... I may be wrong but I really don't think they care and who ever is on top calling all the shots should most definitely be fired.. I know there is warranty and they might be good at replacement but for this kinda money there is no way they should fall apart like that... And I'm guessing that would just be a big pain in the ass sending them back all the time... Sorry for the rant but people are are getting ripped off and that pisses me off.. Really not a lot of theses item's are really worth the price we pay as consumers but we do cause if we want to play we have to pay I get it but this is unexceptable Imo....

 

[FangJoker]

I've never had a problem with them and really like them.  The only problem is that I don't own a portable music player other than my phone and I don't listen to music on  my phone.  I work from home so I decided to buy full sized headphones last month so I have no need for my ue 900 anymore.  Now if I was 25 years younger and back in college, I'd use them a lot more. But they will be up for sale on ebay.  My new senn hd650 and schiit amp and dac combo is really perfect for me as I only listen to music on the computer.  

 

[jayaudio116]

@pacman. They might be fixing the problem. I did receive a pair with slight differences. But I'm not sure what the reason for it is because I did not get no explanation for the reason why the 900 from batch 1327 is different

 

[a_recording]

My pair was from batch 1425 and still had issues.

 

[jayaudio116]

@a recording dose your pair has a red filter in the large bore or do you even see anything red at all in there? If not then they must be at the very least trying to correct to issue. If you do have red filter then I have a defective pair again...but then idk it did say tested on the gray cap that cover the end part of the wire