[dj nellie]

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^  I'm surprised your ES5's still sound muffled.  I can swap back and forth right away between the two w/o noticing that muffle/veil anymore.

Hmm, I don't think it's an issue of my ES5 needing more burn-in to remove the veil, since I've been using them for several months.  IMO, the ES5 is a great headphone, it's just warmer and has less instrument separation and clarity than the UERM.
 
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@DJ Nellie or ANYONE ELSE with UE RM...four questions:
 
...  

I don't think the UERM's treble increased noticeably to me since I first got them.  If anything, the UERM's treble presence and crispness were some of the things I was most impressed with in my initial listening sessions.
 
I haven't tried the AMB or Pico Slim (I plan to get a Slim eventually), but I have had the CLAS for a few months.  Not sure if you have any specific questions about it, but if you're already heavily invested into compatible iDevices and either have a large library of ALAC or don't mind converting to that format, then for me it's almost a no-brainer.  If not, then it seems there are several other very good portable sources, of which I've only heard the HM-801 and WhipMOD.
 
I'm still planning on writing a more detailed comparison of my customs one day, but for now I don't feel any particular urgency because I'm so satisfied with the presentation and detail retrieval ability of the UERM.  For the first time in a long while, I've gone a few months without feeling a strong itch to demo or try another headphone.  Even the JH3A's siren call hasn't been particularly seductive to me.  How long will it last?  Who knows, but to a compulsive upgrader like me, it seems to be a strong indication that the UERM is the custom I was looking for all along--and I would have never guessed it without hearing the demo.

 

[shane55]

The UE-4 came back and this time the fit was very different. They had added material to the outer perimeter of the tips making them more difficult to get in (and out). This did a few things... one actually was good.
 
The on-and-off sound was minimized. So the effect of the music changing volume, tone or just shutting off when I turned my head, opened my jaw, raised my eyebrows, etc. was greatly decreased. This was a very good thing.
 
However, one negative affect of the thicker eartips was that it greatly increased the 'bone conduction' and microphonics. It also became very painful to have them in my ear for more than 45 minutes or so. Ugh...
 
I did however, get to give them a couple very good listening sessions now that the actual 'sound quality' was more stable. The sound of the UE-4 Pro is very good. It's very sweet and refined. It's also somewhat mellow and laid-back.
The highs are subdued and not as forward as the DBA-02, though not rolled off like the UM-2, and far from deadened like the SM3. The upper register is well represented, but just slightly suppressed. The lows are good, but not punchy.
 
These IEM's are what I had hoped the SE535 would be. They are very mid-centric and outrageous for vocals and some instruments. They are good with much of the classical and acoustic music I have, but also work well with Jazz and vocals or works with horns.
They are not punchy like the DBA-02, or as crisp, but certainly are very good in their representation of the music. I didn't notice any undue spacial qualities (what some might call 'soundstage'). It seemed pretty straight forward and direct.
 
So, back they go... we'll see if the third time will actually be the charm.

 
Cheers.
 

 

[CEE TEE]

@melomaniac:  hope you might make it to a portable mini-meet that is starting to come together on July 17th in Mountain View.  Would like to check out your HiFiMan.  Thanks for your responses!
 
@DJNellie:  I had a chance to listen to the Regular Pico and CLAS/Rx against the mini^3 today (I also have iBasso D12).  
 
With my UE RM I think I still prefer or like my mini^3 at least as much as the Pico and/or CLAS/Rx with the iPhone.  This was a big surprise and actually nice (since the mini^3 is much less money).  Regular Pico was nice but a little warmer presentation.  By that, I don't mean "darker" but a tiny bit more "full" or "smooth" sounding.  If I spent more time with the CLAS/Rx I might find it more "extended" or "detailed" or "flat" but with some listening back and forth I still really enjoyed the punchy sound, clarity, and midrange (vocals in the mix) of the mini^3.  The CLAS is larger than I thought it would be and the Pico is smaller even though it is not the Slim. 
 
Some might say the CLAS/Rx combo is "more detailed" and some might say it is "more digital" sounding than something like the Pico.  Seems like more of a preference at the most to my perception.  (I couldn't really tell much of a difference between using the CLAS DAC <only> in between the iPhone and mini^3 or not using it, BTW.) 
 
I had been very interested in the Pico Slim- it might be smaller and might have better volume control but the RM aren't as sensitive as other iems so not sure it is quite as important with them.  But I don't think I could be missing THAT much now that I have heard Pico and CLAS/Rx in comparison to what I have.  I'm happily surprised and plan on building a couple mini^3's for fun/learning now...would love to find out what you think of one.  
 
Another observation that I had was that at the level of Pico/CLAS&Rx/mini^3 with UE RM they were all wonderful and I think I could be happy with the sound quality or sound signature of any of them.  Each did seem a little different but not "night & day"- the differences were more along size/cost/form factor.  After hearing them all side-by-side I no longer have to wonder if I am not feeding the UE RM properly.  That's a great feeling!!
 
@shane:  Sorry your fit is taking extra effort- hopefully that is resolved very soon.  When it is, we'll call an East Bay get-together and bring you amps that you can try with your UE-4.  That should give them more punch. 

 
...or we'll just spike your punch...

 

[melomaniac]

Quote:

@melomaniac:  hope you might make it to a portable mini-meet that is starting to come together on July 17th in Mountain View.  Would like to check out your HiFiMan.  Thanks for your responses!
 
@DJNellie:  I had a chance to listen to the Regular Pico and CLAS/Rx against the mini^3 today (I also have iBasso D12).  
 
With my UE RM I think I still prefer or like my mini^3 at least as much as the Pico and/or CLAS/Rx with the iPhone.  This was a big surprise and actually nice (since the mini^3 is much less money).  Regular Pico was nice but a little warmer presentation.  By that, I don't mean "darker" but a tiny bit more "full" or "smooth" sounding.

hey, thanks @CEETEE, I am actually in palo alto right now, for a few days. and I have my Hifiman HM601 with me, as well as my 11pros.
 
no Pico though - I'm using that almost only in the office these days. send me a PM if you're around between now and wednesday afternoon. I think your description of the Pico sound is something I can agree with, although I should admit that I haven't heard a mini^3 in way too long to tell.
 
alas, july 17th is not going to work for me - I'll be far from here. I'm in the bay area less often these days, and when I do come through, it tends to be the east bay more than this side.

 

[danmagicman7]

My UERM's
 
Pretty happy with the sound...and the look xD
 

 

 

 

[Tetsuma]

Couple questions:
I'm thinking about getting a pair, most likely the 5s. I can't many impressions about their sound. Should I expect neutrality or something bass oriented like the 7s?
Second, how is the custom art work done? Do I send in a quick photoshop mock up and they take it from there?

 

[tengen]

I can't say anything about the sound, but for the custom art I sent in a mock-up, and the individual art itself in a high-res .tif file.
 
From Todd Hernandez (when asked about templates for the art):
 
 

We don't have a template for people to use though we have talked about it in the past. The comp you provided would be enough for our art group to understand size and placement of the art you desired. In terms of file formats, we can work from just about anything. Hi-res is great but we don't need super hi-res files. If you send something like an EPS, just make sure to also send a low-res version so we can print this and some members of our group don't have photoshop.

 

 

[Tetsuma]

I can't say anything about the sound, but for the custom art I sent in a mock-up, and the individual art itself in a high-res .tif file.

From Todd Hernandez (when asked about templates for the art):

Excellent, thanks.

 

[hburks]

These look excellent - can I ask you what color of the custom colors this is ? Blue 04, Blue 028, etc? I'm shopping and the only pics are the ones on the site and I'm concerned they make them look darker than they are.
 
   Thanks!
 
       Harry

 

[hburks]

Sorry I was addressing Diago and is UE 11's on page 2 of this thread - but any color pics of the blues and their color code appreciated. Thanks!

 

[PANGES]

I have been speaking back and forth with UE a bit and figured I'd post in here, since UE seems to have a bad rep for having crappy customer service.
 
This is the 2nd time I've dealt with UE for customs warranty (once with my UE4 and this time with my UE11), and they have been nothing but awesome throughout both instances. With my UE11's, there has been a weird static/crackling sound coming from the left IEM somewhere in the high mids/ low highs region, and I just got an email today from Jen of UE letting me know that they're replacing all of the drivers on the left IEM. 
 
With my UE4's, the drivers on the left side came off from the glue, and they rewired and re-glued the drivers back on, no questions asked. I almost expected an email trying to blame me for dropping the IEM's or something, but no such thing happened. 
 
I don't know why people have been reporting bad customer service, but I've sent back for refits and repairs multiple times with nothing but positive results. 

 

[tengen]

I've had my UE18s serviced once (bass just went poof) and it was pretty quick service. I think most of the flak comes from either universals or out-of-warranty service, the former which I had experience with and was quite terrible.

 

[PANGES]

Quote:

I've had my UE18s serviced once (bass just went poof) and it was pretty quick service. I think most of the flak comes from either universals or out-of-warranty service, the former which I had experience with and was quite terrible.

Ahhh. Mine were done within warranty... perhaps the out of warranty stuff is more headache then... I would imagine out of warranty issues would still be taken care of through Jen, who I find rather helpful though.
 

 

[CEE TEE]

So far, my Dad has been happy with the fit of the UERM I got him! (Phew, he has BIGGER ears than I do OR mine are gonna KEEP growing!!)

Because he has hearing difficulty, I'm really excited to see if he will start/keep enjoying listening to music a lot/again...

Now with my mini^3 and Sparrow on his desk, he's got plenty of power.

(Got him some tix to see the Beach Boys with Brian Wilson too!!)

 

[danmagicman7]

I've had to send my UERM's in for a refitting, and couldn't be happier with the service and attentiveness I received.