Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Noise Isolating Earphones

by Ultimate Ears

Product Features

• Universal body are 3 individual speakers and an integrated passive crossover circuit board directs low-end frequencies to a dedicated speaker for bass
• The mid-range frequencies to a speaker for the vocals & the high frequencies to a speaker dedicated for treble
• changeable ear tips provide -26dB of isolation & passive noise cancellation
• Frequency - Response 10 to 17,000 Hz; Input Sensitivity - 117dB/mW; Impedance - 32 ohms
• Item may ship in non-retail packaging

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 5.5 x 6.5 inches ; 0.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0019RBJOE
• Item model number: IF-P7PSA0005-02
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (493 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 14, 2004

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Choice of 75% of the World's Top Touring Musicians*

The world's top performing artists choose Ultimate Ears custom in-ear monitors for one reason—they are made to deliver the best fit and sound reproduction available. Ultimate Ears represents the culmination of years of experience designing, testing and refining professional in-ear monitors. Ultimate Ears brings this experience to every pair of earphones that they make. The unique sound signature of Ultimate Ears earphones has been tuned to be sonically accurate, yet musically impressive. The earphone designs and ear cushions create a soft, snug seal for long wearing comfort and noise isolation. And Ultimate Ears' sleek, refined designs complement your personal style—instead of overwhelming it.

Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 – Studio-grade earphones with triple armature speakers. Triple because it directs the low, mid and high frequencies to a separate speaker, a total of three in each ear (that's patented, you know). That means you'll hear every layer of sound, every nuance, every detail. A musician's breathing. Fingers sliding across guitar frets. Yes, you'll hear all that just as if the artist were before you performing it live. It's the sonic equivalent of sitting in the world's best recording studio.

Pro-Audio Sound Quality Triple Armature Speaker Design with Passive Crossover: Three individual armature speaker drivers reproduce low, mid and high frequencies for a sonically rich experience. Integrated passive-crossover directs the sound frequencies (low to high) to the appropriate speaker. Audio filters shape the sound for the closest experience to custom personal monitors available. Immersion Sound Signature: Exclusive Immersion sound signature is tuned to provide a 3-D sound stage that makes you feel as though you are experiencing the quality, energy and emotion of a live performance. Noise Isolation: Armature speaker design allows the earphones to fit naturally and comfortably inside your ear to create a more secure seal to block outside noise by up to 26 dB. Frequency Range: Super broad frequency range of 10Hz – 20kHz delivers cleaner, clearer mid and high tones. Personal Style Finish: Gun metal blue earphone color with black cord for a unique and unmistakable appearance. Shapeable cord for a secure custom fit, like professional monitors. Long Wearing Comfort Customizable Fit: Shapeable cord can be worn over the ear for a secure customized fit, like professional monitors. Comply Foam Ear Cushions: Comply foam ear cushions provide maximum comfort and noise isolation. Available only on Ultimate Ears premium earphone models. Soft Silicone Ear Cushions: Includes small, medium and large silicone ear cushions to comfortably fit all ear sizes.

Convenient Features Flexible Listening: Can be worn comfortably down for casual listening situations such as sitting or walking, or can be worn over the ear to keep the earphones securely in place during running or exercising. Tangle-Resistant Cord: Durable cord is strong and does not tangle as easily as thinner ear bud cords. Cord length of 46” is specifically designed to prevent earphone fallout. Pocket-Ready Hard Case: Crush-proof brushed metallic hard case safely stores your earphones and slips easily into a pocket or bag.

Compatibility Audio Players* iPod and other MP3 players iPhone and Blackberry (audio only) Home audio Gaming consoles Video/portable DVD players Computers/laptops *with 3.5mm jacks

What's in the Box Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 earphones Crush-proof metallic hard case Soft, silicone ear cushions (S, M, L) Two sets of Comply foam ear cushions Cleaning tool Extender cable Airline attenuator for hearing protection 1/4 inch adapter jack Instruction manual 1-year limited hardware warranty

Find Your Ultimate Ears

Good

Better

Best

Model

Speaker Design

Noise Isolation

Comfort Features

Compatibility

		TripleFi 10	Triple Armature Speaker Full 3D Sound Stage, Closest Experience to Our Custom In-Ear Monitors	26 dB	Comply Foam & Silicone Ear Cushions Shapeable Cord for a Secure Custom Fit	Audio: iPod, iPhone, & MP3 Voice & Audio: (vi Version): iPhone, Blackberry and other Smart Phones
		Ultimate Ears 700	Dual Armature Speaker Optimized Frequency Response for More Precise Audio Reproduction & Punchy Bass	26 dB	Comply Foam & Tapered Silicone Ear Cushions Micro Design for Long Wearing Comfort	Audio: iPod, iPhone & MP3
		SuperFi 5	Single Top Fire Armature Speaker Extended High Frequency Response	26 dB	Comply Foam & Silicone Ear Cushions	Audio: iPod, iPhone, & MP3 Voice & Audio: (vi Version): iPhone, Blackberry and other Smart Phones
		SuperFi 4	Single Armature Speaker Crisp Full Sound & Improved Noise Isolation	26 dB	Comply Foam & Silicone Ear Cushions	Audio: iPod, iPhone & MP3
		MetroFi 220	Single Titanium Coated Diaphragm Speaker Authentic Sound with Improved Clarity	16 dB	Silicone Ear Cushions	Audio: iPod, iPhone, & MP3 Voice & Audio: (vi Version): iPhone, Blackberry and other Smart Phones
		MetroFi 170	Single Diaphragm Speaker Tuned for Authentic Sound Quality	16 dB	Silicone Ear Cushions	Audio: iPod, iPhone, & MP3 Voice & Audio: (vi Version): iPhone, Blackberry and other Smart Phones

*Pollstar Top 100 Touring Artists.

Product Description

Ultimate Ears Cardboard Box Packaging Gunmetal Blue In-ear earphones metallic travel case 1/4" adapter jack attenuator cleaning tool kit kit Extender Cable Housed within the universal body are three individual speakers and an integrated passive crossover circuit board that directs the low-end frequencies to a dedicated speaker for bass the mid-range frequencies to a speaker for the vocals and the high frequencies to a speaker dedicated for treble. The changeable ear tips provide -26dB of isolation and passive noise cancellation.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

257 of 291 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Cable wears out quickly September 18, 2009

By whatever

I use these on my commute- <2 hours a day and treat them gingerly, like the expensive, easily breakable items they are.

I'm now going on my 2nd pair and 3rd cable set.

In about 3-4 months you'll notice that one of your channels has lost all or most of its volume.

Then when you continue to use it, you'll notice that the sound completely cuts out between steps as you're walking.

Eventually, nothing brings the sound back and you pay $20 for a new cord. Disconnecting and then reconnecting the cable to the buds will not do anything.

The problem is that the area where the jack transitions to the cord (the strain-releaf) is VERY WEAK and eventually the wire breaks inside. On my next cable (currently awaiting its arrival), I'll use some heat-shrink in that area to try and bolster it, but for $400, why am I engineering a fix?

I also have a coworker whose first pair broke where the bud meets the shapeable wire that goes over your ears. I'm sure this will eventually happen to me and then I'll no longer buy anything from this company.
My $100 Shures Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones are just about as good, isolate about the same and I can buy 4 of them for the cost of one of these.

Also- if you want a GOOD seal, you need to get the replacement (or 3rd party) foam tips. The foam tips that came with both of my pairs was not the same, and inferior to, the replacements.

90 of 101 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best earphone i've ever owned October 6, 2009

By Travis Dockweiler

First, let me mention that i've tried earphones out in the past and found them to be extremely uncomfortable in most cases. The Bose earphones are comfortable, but they don't go very far in your ear. The Shure E3C didn't sound good and they hurt so much they were unusable. After that experience I skipped out on earphones for a long time.

For the past few years i've been trying and using many different headphones. My favorite of the last year has been the AKG 701. They're huge and really need a good headphone amp. Don't laugh, but my main source of audio is an ipod touch using a headphone amp and Lossless audio. WAV format or Apple Lossless. If it's MP3, it's 320kbps.

I wanted to downsize my setup a bit for some uses, so I needed something smaller that could work well without a headphone amp.

Did maybe two days of research and found these and was shocked at how many good reviews on Amazon there was for these (the old listing). That's not very common with earphones it seems. It was a hard decision to go with these over a similar Shure model. The size of these ALMOST made me not get them. Please don't let the size keep you from getting them. It's not a problem. The other Shure model also seemed to have more Bass (according to reviews). That's a negative for me. I don't like any extra bass usually. That's one reason I love the AKG 701's. They have a perfect balance of everything.

Ok, with that out of the way I bought these and immediately found that even the smallest ear piece was too large and hurt my ears after just a few minutes of use. I'm not really a small person, but I was surprised that the small ear piece was a tight fit. Sony earbuds come with a small sized one that would work perfect, but I didn't want to risk it....

I tried the (old, not Comply) foam piece and it was defective! The foam was not glued on properly to the plastic insert. Imagine if I did not notice this! I'd be prying that thing out with tweezers perhaps. UPDATE: Ultimate Ears now includes Comply Foam inserts. Those things are the best! ZERO pain at all EVER. Not once in a year. Previously they were a separate purchase.

Be sure that when you use these to make sure the wire goes on TOP and back around the ear! It's a bit different than other earphones. They have a video on their website of how to insert them properly. It actually helps! Bring them from back behind the ear FIRST.

The nice thing about these is that they feel like an earbud with the ear clip. The wire that goes above and around your ear is really stiff and kind of keeps the earbuds in your ear.

I'm not good at describing the sound, but with earphones or headphones it's best to pick something that sounds good to YOU. Many times i've picked up headphones based on suggestions and they just didn't have my preferred sound. They either had too much bass or were too bright or had too much coloration. To me the sound from these just sounds perfect. Not to sound corny, but the sound is pleasing to the ears and there's not too much of anything at all. Perfect everything. To me, the sound is almost similar to that of the AKG 701, which is probably around the same price. With these those you really feel like your right there in the studio. I can't say that about any other headphone/earphone. Not even Grado stuff.

If your wondering what else i've tried before getting these. I've owned Sennheiser HD-555's, 580s and 650's. Beyerdynamic DT-990s, Grado SR-60, Grado 325i, AKG 701 and lots of other's.

For portable use SR-60's are good for some types of music, but I don't like the design, although it was my preferred headphone for portable players maybe.

AKG 701 was without a doubt my favorite headphone. Some may not like them, but it's my preferred type of sound. Second favorite were the Beyers of course.

Purchased the Grado 325i two months before the Ultimate Ears and thought they were good on some music, but terrible on others. They stress my ears out too much and I can't wear them for more than an hour. I think there can be such a thing as too much detail!

So now these are my new current main earphone/headphone. Believe it or not they can be used on an Ipod or Sansa View without a headphone amp. Of course they will sound better with an amp, but it's not always needed. Thanks to these new earphones i've now converted some of my old CDs that were ripped to mp3 back to WAV or Lossless.

Is the price too high? I don't think so at all. Never once felt like they were too expensive after using them for a week. I've compared them to many other headphones/earphones and they sound just as good as any other similar priced model.

Had the foam insert defect and that isn't enough to knock off a point. I've used these since July of 2008 and the build quality has been perfect. Only a month ago did I realize that the cable is user replaceable. I did not even realize this until I pulled it apart myself and plugged it back in. I seriously think if these ever die, i'll just replace them with the exact same thing. I like them that much. All music sounds good with these, but i'd like to try a similar Shure model just to compare them. On my new Ipod Touch they sound fine without a headphone amp. Using an amp makes them sound ever better, but it's not needed. Just a note, if you use a headphone amp with these, don't use rechargeable batteries. It degrades the sound quality. No lie!

I'm sorry, but as much as i'd like to come up with some more negatives, I can't. These are very good! Best i've tried yet. After hearing these I doubt i'll ever go back to regular headphones.
UPDATE: After a year i've now finally come up with one extremely minor negative. They are a somewhat big. Maybe in a few years UE can do a redesign and find a way to make them smaller. It's not a big deal. Read more ›

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic (and a tip on saving some money) November 20, 2011

By J. Stephen

Amazon Verified Purchase

I think these are as great as the other reviews are saying, so I won't wax on with more glowing remarks about the incredible sound quality, the comfort, the ability to block noise, the changeable tip for the buds or all the other things great about them (though all of those things are true).

I do have a tip for the frugal though: if you're looking at the vi model (the one for iPhones), compare the price to the non-iPhone version. The two versions are identical except for the cord so you can save some bucks by buying the regular version and then buying a replacement cord for the iPhone version for about $30 from Logitech's store (Logitech bought the company that makes these). Swap in the vi's cord and your regular ones become the vi model!

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Sound amazing, but make sure they fit. August 19, 2009

By Brent

I upgraded to these from a pair of $100 Shure earbuds. The sound quality improvement was amazing, they sound awesome. The clarity is amazing, and it brings to light many musical details that I had never heard before. I immediately re-listened to many of my favorite albums and heard them in a whole new light.

However, it takes a few swaps of the included eartips to find the right fit, and they have never given me quite as good of a fit as the Shures did. They also stick straight outwards from your ears, whereas the Shures fit up into your ears. This means that they can be a bit uncomfortable when trying to rest the side of your head against something.

I've owned these for approximately two years now, and use them almost every day, whether while at the gym, at work, or while traveling (make sure to look for cars before crossing the street, you can't hear them coming!). They have broken twice in that time, once due to getting caught on something, and once with the buds themselves splitting apart and the wires snapping, but both times UE's customer service was extremely helpful and replaced them under warranty very quickly.

If I were to break these again now that the warranty period has expired, I would definietly miss them, but I would also take a very hard look at the comparably priced Shures before replacing them.