Ultimate Ears UE PRO 18+ Discussions and Impressions
Jul 22, 2018 at 11:09 PM Post #316 of 462
Can you please tell me where will I be able to reshell one? How much did the sound differ from the demo unit?

crinacle - could you tell us about the reshell process?

I contacted a DIYer friend who reshelled my universal UE18+ into another universal with more comfortable shell (and much better looking faceplate). I don't know if he's taking requests from the general public at the moment, but for those that do you can try your luck with AAW, Lear or Perfect Seal just to name a few.
 
Jul 22, 2018 at 11:42 PM Post #318 of 462
I contacted a DIYer friend who reshelled my universal UE18+ into another universal with more comfortable shell (and much better looking faceplate). I don't know if he's taking requests from the general public at the moment, but for those that do you can try your luck with AAW, Lear or Perfect Seal just to name a few.
Thanks, crinacle.
 
Jul 25, 2018 at 7:57 AM Post #319 of 462
I did a comprehensive 3 hour A/B testing of the V3, V2 and my own CIEM at my local store yesterday. However, I am not a professional or even avid reviewer/commenter, so please forgive my lack of know-how to describe what I feel, especially in the technicalities.

Before I launch into what I think of the V3, I shall preface by saying that I've been/still am, a daily user of the Heir Audio 8As. Dark, bass heavy and warm is what I have been listening to daily for coming on about 7 years now. I also own the UE Superfi.5 EBs and VE Monk IE, and have owned a lot of others in the past. I always buy and sell earphones to experiment with what I like.

I am currently using a Sony ZX300, and use a mix of hi-res and standard mp3 to test. I tested both with the 3.5mm jack.

Initially, at CanJam Singapore 2018, I was interested in the V2's because they were very different from what I had been listening to for years. What I feel about the V2's is exactly the same as what crinacle feels about them, so I'll not describe them here. However, I'll mention that the mid range is what drew me to the V2s. It was different, and while it took me a while to like them as a whole, probably due to my long-term exposure to the Heir Audio 8As, I eventually succumbed to the magic of the V2's midrange.

Another worth mentioning here is that I benefited A LOT from tip rolling. I found the M SpinFits to be the best for testing as they allow me to insert the V3 deeper than foam, hybrids or any other I've tested. The depth of insertion, too, played a part, and thus is something to keep in mind, especially since I am considering the custom version and not the universal.

V3, to me, was markedly different from the V2. I wouldn't go so far as to say they are completely different earphones, but they are certainly different enough that I could tell them apart from the moment I hit the play button. I would say that I could immediately tell that they are built from the same base, and that they did something about the tuning. The part of the tuning I felt that they touched the least, is the bass. I would say this part is close to untouched, and this is from coming from a guy who enjoyed quality(?) + quantity bass from my Heir Audio 8As.

The V3 vocals are a lot more forward sounding to me. I used Jay Chou's Qing Hua Ci to test vocals and strings. For vocals, I felt that the V3, in my mind, is probably better for the stage; I could more closely monitor my voice, and they felt more like a part of the music in terms of coherency, if that makes sense. I felt that the V2's vocals were a little far away, introducing a sort of 3 dimensional break from the instruments. Like a small, not very exciting artificial soundstage.

The gu zheng in the track, however, is what I felt was the big biggest difference. The V3 sounded very full bodied, and I found that I could almost feel the plucking of the strings from the moment the fingers touched the string till the finger leaves it. The V2 does strings exceptionally well as well, but in my honest opinion, was a little too laidback, and thus lacked the full-bodiedness of the V3.

In my 3 hours of continuous A/B, these are the two main differences I could pick out immediately. The rest are not as obvious to me, but I firmly believe that music is presented and should be judged as a whole package, but just from specific parts.

Another point I would like to raise is when trying out electronic music and J/KPop. I tried multiple tracks, and found that the V2 were not as aggressive as the V3. Actually, if I would make a sweeping judgement on the difference between the two, the V2 is not as aggressive as the V3 is what I would say.

Something that I noted is that when I did A/B with my Heir Audio 8A against the V3, then the V2, I found the change between the V3 and the 8A to be less jarring. Again, take that as you will.

I will go back to test them again soon to more correctly make a decision as to whether I want the V3 in the end. For now, I am still hopeful that the V3 will remain on my wishlist. They are different, for sure, but I do believe that they appeal to almost entirely different crowds.

If anyone is interested in wanting to know specific differences, I try my best to do so in my next testing session. I will be making a decision as to whether I want the V3 or not by the 13th, latest.

Another thing, for anyone who haven't seen the IPX connector and have doubts about the build, don't worry. The connector is the best IEM connector I have seen to date. Also, the V3 universal shell seems a lot smoother and smaller than the V2 universal.

P.S. When I asked the staff, he mentioned to me that some guy recently got the custom V3, tested, and didn't mention anything about the difference between the display(V2) unit and what he got. Also, another shop's staff told me that the V3 benefits a lot from burn-in. I believe in brain- burn in, but not so much of the drivers' burn in. I hope this information helps as well.

Thank you for your post. I am interested what you ended up deciding? It is not entirely clear from your post exactly which of the V2 and V3 you actually preferred?

It is hard to get any good information re the V3 (vs earlier versions). So if anyone else has anything to add, that would be great too.
 
Jul 27, 2018 at 2:23 AM Post #321 of 462
Thank you for your post. I am interested what you ended up deciding? It is not entirely clear from your post exactly which of the V2 and V3 you actually preferred?

It is hard to get any good information re the V3 (vs earlier versions). So if anyone else has anything to add, that would be great too.
I went with the v3s. I didn't entirely dislike the sound signature, and I am hoping that with a custom fit, it may sound better than the experience I had with tip rolling the universals. Besides, I might get a second hand v2 to play around with as well.
 
Jul 27, 2018 at 3:31 AM Post #322 of 462
I went with the v3s. I didn't entirely dislike the sound signature, and I am hoping that with a custom fit, it may sound better than the experience I had with tip rolling the universals. Besides, I might get a second hand v2 to play around with as well.
Thank you very much for your impressions which helped my decision to go with the v3s. I really hope I will enjoy it as I really loved the v2s.
 
Jul 27, 2018 at 11:43 PM Post #325 of 462
I'll like to spend more time with them before I make a proper impressions reply on them, but for now I will say this: some of the sibilance I got when tip rolling is now gone. Very smooth sounding and IMO laidback. Again, very different from my heir audio 8A. :wink:
 
Aug 8, 2018 at 3:06 AM Post #327 of 462
I just recently received my v3, but looking for a 2.5mm or 4.4mm cable. Has there been any news on a release of an aftermarket option?

I would like to know the answer to that too. I did notice there are four conductors before the split so for somebody brave enough it should be quite easy to cut and DIY a 2.5mm balanced plug onto the cable it comes with.
 
Sep 8, 2018 at 11:35 AM Post #328 of 462
A modification not for the faint hearted but I now have a balanced cable. :)

20180908_162832_HDR.jpg

Its a 2.5mm plug for now but I will swap the plug to a 4.4mm eventually.
 
Sep 10, 2018 at 4:47 AM Post #329 of 462
A modification not for the faint hearted but I now have a balanced cable. :)



Its a 2.5mm plug for now but I will swap the plug to a 4.4mm eventually.
I'd be interested in finding out how you did this. I've got a DX200 with Amp 8 which is 4.4 balanced and I'm due to receive a set of UE18's in the next week or so.

I've bought a spare cable with the intention of turning it into a balanced version. I may ask @Matez at Forza Audioworks to take a look at it for me if it's too complicated for me to do.
 
Sep 10, 2018 at 5:04 AM Post #330 of 462
I'd be interested in finding out how you did this. I've got a DX200 with Amp 8 which is 4.4 balanced and I'm due to receive a set of UE18's in the next week or so.

I've bought a spare cable with the intention of turning it into a balanced version. I may ask @Matez at Forza Audioworks to take a look at it for me if it's too complicated for me to do.

Its fiddly rather than difficult if you have the soldering skills. The most scary thing is cutting the old plug off, then you are beyond the point of no return.

The wires have a memory effect so tend to curl back where they came from, stripping them is difficult without a pair of good quality wire strippers too. I tried to do it without wire strippers first, I can honestly say don't try it, that was my main issue. :)

The wires are not identified so you will need a meter to identify which wire goes where, once they are identified you can cut them to the correct lengths for your choice of plug and strip them back.

Then you need to separate out the reinforcing strands within the copper? strands using whatever method you choose but get an illuminated magnifier to help with this and the soldering.

You can burn away the reinforcing strands with a lighter and then tin the wires through the enamel coating with a soldering iron before tinning the solder points on your plug and soldering the wires in place. The wire coating does melt if you use too much heat so be careful.

Cover the wires with heat shrink and add a little strain relief, after a quick test, I used some silicone and you are done.

Good luck if you decide to do it yourself.
 

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