Well I'm about to get my UE11s...

[DavidMahler]

A friend of mine lives in Irvine CA, and invited me there for a three day weekend. So I figured I'd go and of course being that she lives 20 minutes from the Ultimate Ears factory, I'd have to go there get a pair of UE11s made

I've only owned the UE10s for 2 months, so when I compare the two, it will be a fairly new comparison between the two. Something tells me I'm still going to prefer my UE10s but I'd be thrilled if the UE11s were better. I'm also really excited about seeing the Ultimate Ears factory in general, seeing how they make their amazing monitors........I was told by a staff member that they are a very small company of around 25 people (including all their customer service representatives and factory workers)....thats freakin' awesome because when you get a product made by them, you're not really getting a mass produced assembly line type thing, but product made by a bunch of people who know eachother on a first name basis and know what each person's about.

I will be receiving the monitors sometime during the weekend, possibly monday......and I plan to (after a week's worth of listening) write a long extended review comparing the UE10 and the UE11. I listen primarily to classical music, but I have a soft-spot for the Beatles, Bebop Jazz, Jeff Buckley, and some progressive rock. I will include some rap comparisons in my review, punk as well......and if you have a genre of music that you're interested please post it and I will look into comparing that as well.

Some people have already compared the two monitors and they've really done wonderful......in fact it is because of these reviews that I'm rushing to hear the 11s. The only difference I guess with my review (and I hope I can be even half as detailed as those other awesome reviewers)......is that my UE10s are so new to me that they're not "old news" yet..........I've put maybe 50 hours in to them. 50 hours may be wierd considering I've had them for over 2 months.........the thing is I've had them out of my possession for quite a bit of those 2 months because of fitting issues.

Lastly, people may be wondering if I just bought the UE10s why am I buying the UE11s and how the heck can I afford them........I have to admit I'm being a little excessive here, but I have a passion for ultimate Ears products, I think they are the finest company in audio reproduction.......I'm by no means wealthy and I had to sell a very nice American Stratocaster last week to up my funds for these 11s.

Feel free to contact me directly as well.

Dave

 

[Bolardito]

Thats great man, you won't be sorry. I haven't heard the UE10 but the UE11 is astounding, betiful. I posted a short review on the First UE11 Impressions thread you may want to read it!

Good luck and please report on your visit to their factory

 

[robm321]

I look forward to your impressions Dave.

 

[jinx20001]

nifty,some say the ue10 are better because of the more balance and neutral sound,the ue11 are apparently very warm but if thats the case i want some because i currently own the se530 and they are the perfect balance of sound for me!

 

[robm321]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif nifty,some say the ue10 are better because of the more balance and neutral sound,the ue11 are apparently very warm but if thats the case i want some because i currently own the se530 and they are the perfect balance of sound for me!

You are not alone. There seems to be a "UE10/11 are so much better than the E5x0" theme as of late, but that wasn't the case not all that long ago ->......<-

 

[jinx20001]

oh dont get me wrong im in deep love with my se530 and adore the sound ive had many many iems and none sound as perfect to me as the se530 but if i was ever to get customs,maybe sooner than i would like then it would be warmer rather than neutral sound i crave

 

[robm321]

From the review I took is as the UE10 might sound a bit analytical - which seems to be what problem the UE11 solves. I clearly think the UE11 will better the E5x0, but at a hefty price for small refinement.

 

[cmascatello]

Are you saying that you were at the factory this past (Labor Day) weekend and that your UE11s will be ready by the end of this week? A 1-week turn-around is very impressive for a custom-fit product.

I'm even happier b/c it would mean that my UE11s should be shipping in the next few days (they got my molds a week and change ago). Looking forward to it.

 

[Friskyseal]

please compare some bass-heavy music (pop or electronic...something with a bass beat) so you can say if UE11's bass becomes too much...

thanks, can't wait!

edit: oh, and could you try your hardest to pick a winner? as in, if you could only own one, which would it be?

 

[Spektrograf]

Hey Dave, sorry 'bout the selling of yer Strat... but congrat's on the UE11 purchase! Looking forward to your impressions between the two, esp. since you dig the HD650's. My own preference is with Sennheiser as well, specifically 580/600's. Will be curious to see if you can compare/contrast or create an analogy with your 650's.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Friskyseal /img/forum/go_quote.gif please compare some bass-heavy music (pop or electronic...something with a bass beat) so you can say if UE11's bass becomes too much... thanks, can't wait! edit: oh, and could you try your hardest to pick a winner? as in, if you could only own one, which would it be?

I will compare some bass heavy music for you. The closest thing I have to electronic music is some late madonna, kraftwerk, and some Party CDs and of course some hip hop. It's hard for me to determine for others if the bass is "too much"..........I'll try to explain what I consider too much bass.

I had the E500s for a while, and I even bought the E530s which I returned soon after, I was hoping the E530s would sound different. They don't sound different. I want to say that I don't think the E530's have too much bass. They just don't have enough highs or high mids. The E530s bass is pretty darn tight and very luscious. The mids are particularly good.

Whereas ,the UM2s I find ridiculously hyped in the low end.......I couldn't listen to classical music on the UM2s. You know how when a pianist plays a high note you can really hear two separate things happening - You hear the actual vibration of the string, but you also (in the background) can hear the key being pressed down making a slightly bassy thump. Well I found that the UM2s made that bassy thump actually louder in most cases than the string vibration. It was very disheartening to hear music this way. Another example is when you're listening to a string quartet, if there's two violins, a viola and cello.....you expect to either hear all 4 instruments equally, but your ear will gravitate towards the instrument carrying the melody and that is in more cases than not - the violin. In the case of the UM2s my ear gravitated towards the cello most of the time. And it wasn't because the low mids were so great, it was because the bass region kept peaking and blocking other instruments. Extremely annoying.

I find the UE10s by no mean analytical. Maybe in comparison to the UE11s I will be able to hear some analytical qualities in the UE10s. However I've never quite understood the term analytical. I mean, yes analytical is derogatory term (usually) used to describe a sound reproduction that is almost too focussed and overly clear, a sort of scientific reproduction lacking emotion. I don't hear any headphone this way. I may be in the minority, but if something is extremely clear, it doesn't negate the richness necessarily.

I have the sensaphonics 2xs as well and these have been regarded by numerous people as extremely warm, rich, and recessed ear monitors. I've been told of the possibility that Sensaphonics has changed its recipe for this model, however this has not been confirmed to me. If it is not the case, I can honestly say that I don't find anything about the sensaphonics to be warm, rich or recessed. I find it to be tinny, up front, piercing in the highs, and to be honest........the more I listen to them the more I hate them. I listen to them at a fairly low volume, and even still it makes my ear ring for a straight half-hour afterwards. I don't have tinnitus and no other headphone that I've tried does this to me.

The ER4P I've used though I don't own it any longer, but I actually prefered it to the E500. It lacks some bass impact, but I feel it lacks less bass impact than the E500 lacks clarity. The Ultimate Ears Triple fi's are nice balance of the two but they don't isolate nearly as well as either. Meanwhile you don't acheive the beautiful lush low mids of the E500 nor the dreamy high end of the Etymotics. But it has enough of both worlds to make it a superior ear monitor in my opinion.

The UE10 is in a whole other league. I will be posting in depth reviews about the UE10s and the UE11s next week. One thing I will say about the UE10s is that for my enjoyment it has a truer bass response than the E500, even though the E500 gives more bass. The UE10 has more dynamic bass....it can be just as visceral, but its extremely tighter, almost as present but more focused and the pitch comes across with more accuracy. Hopefully the UE11 won't change this too much, I can understand more presence but hopefully it will be of the same thread.

 

[pez]

i'd love you to try some metal...maybe?

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spektrograf /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey Dave, sorry 'bout the selling of yer Strat... but congrat's on the UE11 purchase! Looking forward to your impressions between the two, esp. since you dig the HD650's. My own preference is with Sennheiser as well, specifically 580/600's. Will be curious to see if you can compare/contrast or create an analogy with your 650's.

I've come to prefer my 600s quite often to the 650s, so im in the same boat. I feel a certain emotion in the 650s that isn't there in the 600s, but I feel a certain musicality in the 600s that isnt there in the 650s.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pez /img/forum/go_quote.gif i'd love you to try some metal...maybe?

Definitely. I don't own anything too hardcore......I can do some early Metalica, some Pantera?

I know its not considered metal by today's standards, but one of my favorite recordings to test equipment is Back in Black. Great drum sound on that record.

 

[MfiveM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cmascatello /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you saying that you were at the factory this past (Labor Day) weekend and that your UE11s will be ready by the end of this week? A 1-week turn-around is very impressive for a custom-fit product. I'm even happier b/c it would mean that my UE11s should be shipping in the next few days (they got my molds a week and change ago). Looking forward to it.

1-week turn around is very nice since I was quoted 3-weeks for mine....