Ultimate Ears UE PRO 18+ Discussions and Impressions

[rantng]

Don’t get the 3rd gen expecting an “upgrade”. I’ve owned both and they have different sound signatures. The 2nd gen has a smoother sound with more forward vocals, while UE went with a more “audiophile” sound on the 3rd gen, with slightly extended treble and a slightly wider soundstage (in my opinion neither version has what I would call a wide soundstage, especially compared to other IEMs in the price range).

 

[ejong7]

I have a 2nd gen with IPX cables as well. UE decided to replace my cables to the new system when I sent mine in for repairs on the old cable.

So the real identifier is the filter.

 

[royneo]

I have a 2nd gen with IPX cables as well. UE decided to replace my cables to the new system when I sent mine in for repairs on the old cable.

So the real identifier is the filter.

Interesting, could you share some pics of your high freq drivers please?

 

[seedubchris]

I use Ted allen pure silver litz type 2. Extends the highs on the 18+pro.

 

[royneo]

It seems like there's a green filter in one of my UE18+'s bore and my IEM uses the IPX connection. Any idea if it's the 2nd or 3rd gen?

 

[rantng]

It seems like there's a green filter in one of my UE18+'s bore and my IEM uses the IPX connection. Any idea if it's the 2nd or 3rd gen?

I am a Malaysian
And while I was visiting the UE factory - the technicians told me that the V3 had green filters for the highs - and other than using a microphone and reading the freq chart - that is the only other way to tell.
Hope that helps.

 

[royneo]

Thank you, Joshua's post was in fact a reply to my earlier query.

Here lies my confusion: I contacted UE Support recently regarding the version of my UE18+ and using the serial no of my IEM, they said that my IEM uses True Tone Drivers. If I'm not mistaken, that means my IEM is the 2nd gen version. However, I noticed the green filters in the bores of my IEM and I'm now totally lost as to which version do I actually own.

 

[rantng]

Thank you, Joshua's post was in fact a reply to my earlier query.

Here lies my confusion: I contacted UE Support recently regarding the version of my UE18+ and using the serial no of my IEM, they said that my IEM uses True Tone Drivers. If I'm not mistaken, that means my IEM is the 2nd gen version. However, I noticed the green filters in the bores of my IEM and I'm now totally lost as to which version do I actually own.

Unfortunately, I have no idea then. It doesn’t help that UE never informed anyone they would be making these changes. I believe there were some who had actually purchased the 2nd gen one month prior who weren’t informed, although again, with the different sound signatures between the 2nd & 3rd gen this may or may not have worked out in their favor.

I guess the main thing is, are you enjoying your UE18+? What is your preferred sound? Because odds are, if you really like the smoothness of the 2nd gen, you probably wouldn’t like the 3rd gen, vice versa.

 

[royneo]

Unfortunately, I have no idea then. It doesn’t help that UE never informed anyone they would be making these changes. I believe there were some who had actually purchased the 2nd gen one month prior who weren’t informed, although again, with the different sound signatures between the 2nd & 3rd gen this may or may not have worked out in their favor.

I guess the main thing is, are you enjoying your UE18+? What is your preferred sound? Because odds are, if you really like the smoothness of the 2nd gen, you probably wouldn’t like the 3rd gen, vice versa.

My preferred sound signature seems to be somewhat neutral. It seems that my UE18+ performs quite admirably in the treble region and I understand that the 3rd gen UE18+ was tuned for better treble response. I'm just personally really curious as to if the UE18+ I have is as smooth as it gets (gen 2) or if it can be any smoother.

 

[ForceMajeure]

The UE18+ 2nd gen also has a green damper but it's used for the lows and mids.

Now that theory about the highs on the 3rd gen using a green filter means there should now be 2 green dampers one next to the other if they didn't change anything damper-wise for the low and mids.

I doubt it's the case.


How can you know if the green is for the mids and lows? just look at the picture here. if one tube has the white tube inside it means it's the lows and mids path

this is a 2nd gen ue18+. thus the green damper on the lows and mids and the white damper for the true tone highs.

My guess is that the difference between 2nd and 3rd gen is not discernible by the dampers and both still have the same dampers for the same audio path.

The difference is probably due to a different crossover values or new gen of drivers for the highs or a combo of both.

 

[royneo]

The UE18+ 2nd gen also has a green damper but it's used for the lows and mids.

Now that theory about the highs on the 3rd gen using a green filter means there should now be 2 green dampers one next to the other if they didn't change anything damper-wise for the low and mids.

I doubt it's the case.


How can you know if the green is for the mids and lows? just look at the picture here. if one tube has the white tube inside it means it's the lows and mids path

this is a 2nd gen ue18+. thus the green damper on the lows and mids and the white damper for the true tone highs.

My guess is that the difference between 2nd and 3rd gen is not discernible by the dampers and both still have the same dampers for the same audio path.

The difference is probably due to a different crossover values or new gen of drivers for the highs or a combo of both.

Hi there,

Thank you for your detailed write-up. Quite interestingly, I'm unable to find dampers of any sort for the low & mid drivers (white tube). However, there seems to be green dampers for the high drivers (transparent). Quite speculative on my part, but could the difference between 2nd & 3rd gen lies with the 2nd gen having green dampers for the lows & mids while the 3rd gen's green dampers are for the highs? I also noticed that your 2nd gen seem to have dampers for both your bores, whereas there's only 1 damper (for the high drivers) on mine. The other difference that I could think of is 2nd gen using True Tone Drivers while the 3rd gen uses True Tone Plus drivers but of course, I don't think this difference can be discerned visually.

I took a picture of my IEM so that visual comparisons can be made. Apologies for the low-quality photo but it's the best my smartphone camera could do.

Really interesting insights garnered so far, let's keep it going guys!

 

[ForceMajeure]

Hi there,

Thank you for your detailed write-up. Quite interestingly, I'm unable to find dampers of any sort for the low & mid drivers (white tube). However, there seems to be green dampers for the high drivers (transparent). Quite speculative on my part, but could the difference between 2nd & 3rd gen lies with the 2nd gen having green dampers for the lows & mids while the 3rd gen's green dampers are for the highs? I also noticed that your 2nd gen seem to have dampers for both your bores, whereas there's only 1 damper (for the high drivers) on mine. The other difference that I could think of is 2nd gen using True Tone Drivers while the 3rd gen uses True Tone Plus drivers but of course, I don't think this difference can be discerned visually.

I took a picture of my IEM so that visual comparisons can be made. Apologies for the low-quality photo but it's the best my smartphone camera could do.



Really interesting insight garnered so far, let's keep it going guys!

Ok then I think you've cracked it haha

also the picture I posted above is not my pair, it's twister's picture.

I have just been looking around for certified 3rd gen pictures of the ue18+ and here you can see from this selling ad (thanks to rantng) that indeed the 3rd gen seems to be using only one damper for the highs and it's green since you say so.

So, my assumption of the 3rd gen having the same dampers as the 2nd gen was wrong. I can also spot a new cap in there. Thus there is probably a change in crossover value for certain drivers.

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/fs-ultimate-ears-ue-18-pro-3rd-gen-universal-ue18.892472/

Here is another picture of the 3rd gen ue18+

You can see the green damper for the highs and no damper for the low and mids. another thing I can spot is a 10ohm resistor. The 2nd gen didn't have a 10ohm resistor.

I think it's case closed Inspector Clouseau.

 

[royneo]

Ok then I think you've cracked it haha

also the picture I posted above is not my pair, it's twister's picture.

I have just been looking around for certified 3rd gen pictures of the ue18+ and here you can see from this selling ad (thanks to rantng) that indeed the 3rd gen seems to be using only one damper for the highs and it's green since you say so.
I think it's case closed Inspector Clouseau.

Wow, I think this echos @joshuachew's report of the UE18+ gen 3 using the green dampers. It's all starting to make sense now.

Thanks for sharing all these pictures, they have been really helpful in determining the gen of my UE18+.

 

[hanmq1]

I'm seriously considering purchasing the UE 18+ Pro, however, it no longer comes with the bluetooth cable anymore, nor do they sell it on the website. Also I don't think I'll purchase the CSX version of the 18+ just for the bluetooth cable because I don't think the sound isolation and fit will be as good as the true custom version. What do you guys think?

 

[joshuachew]

I'm seriously considering purchasing the UE 18+ Pro, however, it no longer comes with the bluetooth cable anymore, nor do they sell it on the website. Also I don't think I'll purchase the CSX version of the 18+ just for the bluetooth cable because I don't think the sound isolation and fit will be as good as the true custom version. What do you guys think?

Do you need to have the Bluetooth?