Customer Reviews

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio Earphones (White)

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(76)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(25)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I am a hi-fi fan and enjoy listening to classical music through my Senn HD-600 headphones and Grado HP-1000 headphones and, in the day time, through my JBL 4311 studio monitor speakers which is backed up by my McIntosh stereo system. I own about a dozen other headphones which are considered by many to be among the best. I even own Ultimate Ears UE-10 custom in ear monitors (IEM's).

I recently heard the super.fi 3 Studio at a local hi-fi meet. Coming from rather high end sources I wasn't expecting much from the super.fi 3 Studio since the source was only an iPod with lossless files. I doubted the super.fi 3 Studio could even come close to the Shure E3c. I couldn't be any further from the truth. Not only did the super.fi 3 Studio blow away the more expensive Shure E3c, it blew away many other in ear monitors which I heard that day. What is even more impressive is that the price is extremely affordable.

If that isn't enough, this little IEM can handle sound like few others can. It sounds great with almost everything you can throw at it, classical, hip-hop, rock, pop, electronica, etc. The only area where I find this little IEM lacking is clarity and detail but that is only because I am used to the UE-10. However, keep in mind that the UE-10 is a $1,000.00 IEM.

Given the price and considering the high quality sound output this thing has, it is a must have for anyone looking for a hi-fi alternative to their horrible sounding iBuds. Now add in the fantastic customer service that the folks over at Ultimate Ears are known for and you simply can't lose with this purchase. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

If you are looking for more information, feel free to check out www.headfi.org.

My music just got better - thanks to the pair of Ultimate Ears earphones that I got as one of the Christmas gifts this year from my wife. These were not the first earbuds that I've tried with my portable mp3 player. Prior to getting Ultimate's, I've also owned/tried a pair of Shure's E2C, and Sony Fontopia 81LP. So, my review will not only be a review of Ultimate Ears super.fi 3 earphones, but more of a comparison between them and the other two brands. This way I think a lot more people will benefit from my review and hopefully will make an educated purchasing decision. So, here it goes...

PROS:
Sound Quality - Outstanding!!! Crisp and clear! It does take a bit of an adjustment to get the right fit, but once you do, you can hear details that you've never heard before when listening to the same music using different headphones. So, how does it compare to Shure's and Sony's? Much, much better. I thought Shure's were lacking a bit on bass. Sony's sound quality was surprisingly good. Not quite as good as Ultimate's, but still good. The reason I didn't like Sony's is because they were literally hurting my ears, but we'll get back to that later.

Noise Isolation - "What?!" Yes, that's what I kept saying when I was wearing these headphones, and people were asking me something. It's blocking virtually all the noise around you. Perfect for when you want some piece and quiet. Driving in the car, studying at the library, whatever it is that you are doing, it's perfect for every occasion. Now, the Shure's and the Sony's - Shure's are probably just as good as Ultimate's. Sony's, however, are not even close. With Sony's on, I could hear surrounding noise just as well as without them.

Extras - It comes with 3 different sizes of ear tips. Experiment with each and see which one fits the best, and you are ready to go. For those of us with extremely sensitive ears, these earphones also come with foam tips, which provide an even a better fit, noise isolation, and sound. In addition, there is a very cool looking leather carrying case, and a small antistatic cleaning brush. What does Shure and Sony have to offer? Pretty much the same thing, but Ultimate's product quality is much better. Shure's are pretty comfortable as well. Sony's, on the other hand, hurt like hell. The stupid over the ear hook is also very uncomfortable and takes a long time to get used to.

CONS:
Cord Length - This is one thing that I wish could be different. It is just a few inches shorter than I want it to be. When I'm in the car, or at home, I don't have any complaints. But when I'm at work, I usually plug those in directly to my desktop PC. And, unfortunately, it's not long enough! I have to be very close to it, which is fine when I'm actually typing something, but if I'm just sitting in my chair, relaxing, the cord length is barely making it.

Price - They are certainly not the cheapest pair of earphones on the market. $100 is a lot of money for a lot of people, and if you want to save yourself a few bucks, I'd suggest you look some place else. Shure's, however, are in the same price range, so you're not going to win anything here. Sony's are a lot less expensive, although I can't really recommend them because of practically zero noise isolation, and, of course, for the fact that they were giving me a headache.

Summary:
Besides a few minor things, I think these headphones make a great choice. Once again, yes, they are expensive. But if you are serious about your music, and want to experience the Ultimate sound, they are very well worth the price. Recommended!

I like the product. It is everything I expected. I research the reviews extensively. I was quite surprised at the noise generated by the over-the ear style as they rub on my glasses. I didn't see a note on this in any of the reviews and thought someone ought to bring up this point. If you wear glasses you will hear noise unless you are absolutely motionless.

Something to consider...

.....but after wearing these for several days; I am blown away. I got these earphones to replace my shure e2's which I loved. I am the type of person to stick with something if I like it. I liked the way the shures sounded and how they felt in my ears. My only complaint was, that the wires never lasted and I ended up replacing them before a year was over. That got old and I decided to try something different.

I agonized for hours online; reading many different reviews on various types of earphones and I finally decided on the Super.fi 3 by Ultimate Ears. What caught my interest was the fact that you can replace the wires with new ones for only $20 from the manufacturer. Since this has been my problem with the Shures I thought that was awesome.

My biggest concern was the size of the buds themselves. They are larger and stick out of your ears, while the shures were pretty much hidden. Initially while trying them on, I had buyers remorse; because I thought, surely these won't work. But after getting them in (which wasn't hard) and securing the wire around my ear ( the wire is very stiff around your ears, so as to conform and stay in place; which worked quite well) I turned my Ipod on and was wowed. The sound isolation is superb, the earbuds stay surprisingly in place (I wear them while working out) and the sound is crystal clear.

I read many complaints over the lack of bass on this particular model and the shures, honestly, I think they sound great. I listen to alot of hip hop and I have no issue with the songs lacking in bass. These are earphones not a home sound system. I really do not expect to have my insides vibrate while listening to earphones. My ex was an audiophile and he would pay $300 extra to get a 'better' pair of earphones. I would listen to both, and unless I am partially deaf, I could barely discern a difference. Surely not a $300 one.

All in all, I think these are great earphones. They seem to have a good warranty system and their price is very affordable. If you are looking for quality sound and great noise isolation then look no further.

Previous reviewers complaining about the "stiff wire" and poor fit over the ears need to learn how to read a manual and exercise common sense. The wire contains a "memory wire" (think Gumby) that is moldable and stays in place. You bend it into the proper shape and it stays put, perfectly over the ear.

I, myself wear glasses, and have issues with wires hanging over the ear that get caught in my glasses, and rub against it, making microphonic noises. The Super.fi 3 has a "memory wire" (along with all Ultimate Ears products, Metro.fi being the exception) that stays where it should be, and is one of the most comfortable earphones I've ever used.

Also, as for the complaints of sound quality, have some realistic expectations. This is a sub $100 product. They fill their price point very well. Having a full sound, and not tinny, harsh sound many other ear buds have. They have a decent balance of sound. While not the most clear and detailed, you would have to spend hundreds of more dollars to get better sound. And I have spent far more on IEM's and Headphone than the Super.fi 3. The Super.fi 3 fits it's niche very nicely.

As for problems with UE customer service, was your Super.fi 3 under warranty? I have had my UE products sent in and they either fixed it, but usually they outright replaced it with a very quick turn around. If you have problems, give them a call. They will take care of you.

Listening to these earphones is like listening to music underwater. It's a different listening experience. You can still hear some of the ambient noise, but it is greatly reduced. If you want to listen to these while out in public, you'll have to be extra aware of your other senses in order to tell if someone is trying to approach you or if a car is about to pass in front of you while crossing the street.

Not everyone will appreciate the quality of these earphones. Not everyone has a trained ear like an audio engineer or an audiophile. These are meant to give you "Studio Monitor" quality sound reproduction. Studio Monitors are meant to give you a true reproduction of the sound -high fidelity- which is very flat. Many music producers and engineers listen to studio monitors while working in the studio.
I had forgotten how so many speaker systems have the bass levels turned up very high. I had also forgotten how the quality of a speaker system seems to be judged not by the fidelity of the sound but by how much bass it can deliver.
These earphones will deliver plenty of bass when the music has it, but won't embelish it.

If you want earphones which give you a very honest delivery of the sound, while blocking out most ambient room noise like air conditioning units, chatter or traffic noise, then these are for you.

If you want earphones with lots of loud, subwoofery bass, then these may not be for you.

The bass is lacking until you get a good fit. The best way is to use the foam tips, since they'll mold to your ear. Once you have a good seal they sound great. Very much worth the price.

My basic requirement for headphones or speakers is that they sound fabulous when my playback device equalization is set flat. I listen mostly to classical music, and I don't believe in juicing up my music with artificial sweeteners. I'm a purist. I want to hear recordings the way they were made. My Cowon IAudio7 player sounds superb with flat equalization through my Grado SR80 headphones, and I was hoping that the UE3 earphones would deliver similarly. Unfortunately, they didn't. The bass just wasn't there. I had to fiddle with the equalization (which the IAudio7 has in spades) to get the sound I wanted.

That said, I have come to love these little cans. I try to forget that my controls aren't precisely flatlined and just enjoy the music. Here are some of the many good points about these earphones:

1. Once I achieved the tonal equalization I wanted, I began to appreciate the clarity of the sound. These phones don't deliver conspicuous, hot sound. They are subtle and natural. They had to grow on me. Give them a week before you return them in disappointment.

2. They have a thick, stiff cord that doesn't get tangled so easily as other earphones. The cord seems pretty durable and less noisy brushing against the clothes than many others. Also, the V cord meets at the middle under the chin with a slide adjuster. I don't care for side cords. Additionally, the stiff cord doesn't flop around a lot when I'm on the treadmill. I usually run it under my shirt.

3. Inserting the earphones properly takes a little practice--the manual explains a "rock and roll" method to twist them into your ear canals. Once you select the appropriately sized pad from the enclosed selection and twist them in correctly, you will hear natural, tonally balanced sound (except for some bass deficit) and an effective soundstage. The snug fit blocks most outside sound, so you won't have to turn up the volume to dangerous levels to compete with the outside world. They sound great on the noisy city bus. I haven't tried them on a plane yet.

4. The stiff cords loop over the ears, increasing stability. I work out with these earphones all the time. They don't pop out. Occasionally, I get a pocket of sweat between my earpad and eardrum so that everything sounds a bit underwater. I don't know if there is any remedy for that, other than to stop sweating.

Here are some negatives:

1. The earpads are devilishly difficult to fit over the earphones. I was afraid I would rip them. The instructions say to twist them on gently. Gentleness didn't work for me. I had to struggle with them for quite awhile. In fact, I got to the point where I called the company to arrange sending them back. It was late at night, the phone support was off duty, so I struggled some more and finally got them on. The good news is that they're unlikely to come off in the ears, so hopefully you won't have to excavate earpads out of your ear canals with tweezers like I have had to do with my Sonys. I settled for the medium sized pads. I was afraid to remove them and try any other sizes. They fit snugly in my ears. Once you get this part worked out--suffer a little for your music--you will enjoy the results.

2. The bass. I'm not a hip hop listener, so I don't need to set off car alarms with my bass, but when I listen to an orchestra, I like to hear some chesty growl in the bass viols and cellos and a good visceral thump from the bass drum. I twiddled and eventually found my sound, but I think more low end should be the default.

Summary: A great sounding though bass shy pair of earphones that effectively block outside noise, making it possible to listen to music at comfortable, safe levels. Set up is a bother, but following that hurdle, and once you have mastered effective insertion techniques and perhaps run up the bass controls a little, you should enjoy accurate, balanced and comfortable listening through a sturdily designed and cool looking device.

Warning: Set the volume low the first time you listen through these earphones. They have plenty of natural gain and don't require a high setting. Depending on what you have listened through up till now, if you don't lower your volume setting, you may blast your eardrums the first time you use these. The manual includes this same warning. Pay attention to it.

I love these earphones! It is a little difficult to find the first fit... I kept switching tips for the first couple of days, but now that I have the correct fit, these things are great. The sound is wonderful and they allow me to keep the volume down on my ipod (with the ipod earphones, my volume was at the halfway mark most of the time, but with these earphones, the volume is hardly showing on the meter). The earphones do provide some sound isolation; if you are looking for something that completely blocks out noise, these probably aren't for you. However, I wanted something that could drown out most noise; now I can walk down the street and hear my music even if a bus or truck is rumbling by, and I can actually hear my music while on a bus. They also do a nice job of blocking out other people in the cubes--I can tell that people are talking but it's completely in the background now.

I just bought these phones a couple days ago. I already own Shure E2c's and honestly i don't see much of a difference between the two. I use the foam sleeves so comfort is not an issue. I haven't tried really any of the flex sleeves for the UE's besides the dual flange and i like those but at times they feel like they slip a bit so i like the foam better.

I am not sure if the UE's have a "burn in" period like the Shure's do. But listening to them right out of the package i have to say they sound very good. I bought these so I can keep my shure's at home instead of winding them up all the time and possibly damaging the wires. with the UE's the wire is replaceable so i find that really really wonderful!!!I'd hate to have to buy a whole new pair once the warrenty is over if something happens to the wires like on normal phones where the wires are not replaceable. the Phones themselves are under warrenty for 2 years which is wonderful!! i love those 2 year warrentys.

Another plus over the shure's are no need for wax guards, that added to more money i am shelling out even though my ears are very clean and i honestly don't get any gunk on the wax guards at all.
I just wish i could find sponge sleeves cheaper than on the website. (but one good thing is i tried the Shure's foam sleeves on the UE's and it's a little tight but they will work on the UE phones)