Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170 Noise Isolating Earphones

Other products by Ultimate Ears

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 8.3 x 1.3 inches ; 3.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001NTDGQC
• Item model number: IP-P1SSB0017-02
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank

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  Electronics > Accessories & Supplies > Headphones > Earbud Headphones

• Date first available at Amazon.com: January 6, 2009

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 MetroFi 170 – Be excited by your music, not distracted by your earphones. If you're looking to upgrade your music experience and comfort level from stock earbuds that came with your MP3 player or other portable music device, Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170 earphones are a great choice. With a lightweight design and three different sized silicone ear cushions that let you pick your fit, Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170 earphones are comfortable enough to put them in and listen for hours. Get seriously clear sound that doesn't need to blast your ears in order to hear every note, or every car horn.

		Personal Style Finish: Black earphone color with black cord provides a neutral color palette that doesn't overwhelm your own personal style. Comfortable Fit Light Weight: Secure fit and lightweight (12.4 grams) means you can wear them for extended periods without experiencing fatigue. They're perfect for walking, jogging or workouts at the gym. Soft Silicone Ear Cushions: Includes small, medium and large silicone ear cushions to comfortably fit all ear sizes.
		Authentic Sound Single Diaphragm Speaker Design: High quality single diaphragm speakers are tuned to deliver clear, authentic sound quality. Noise Isolation: Earphones fit comfortably inside your ear to create a secure seal to block outside noise by up to 16 dB. Frequency Range: Frequency range of 20Hz – 20kHz accurately and authentically reproduces your favorite music.

Convenient Features 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: Black flip-top pocket-ready 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 MetroFi 170 earphones Pocket-ready hard case Silicone ear cushions (S, M, L) 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

Listen to your personal soundtrack as you commute, run errands or do whatever it is that makes you ¿you.¿ With MetroFi 170 earphones, you get three different-sized ear cushions to customize your fit that delivers clear sound that doesn't need to blast your ears in order to hear every note. Durable and practical, simply put them in and forget them. Hear your music as it was meant to be heard, with clarity, smooth range and a clean thump. 75% of the top touring musicians use Ultimate Ears Custom Earphones, now you can experience the same quality of sound in an earphone created with you in mind. For people who take their music everywhere they go, the MetroFi products are designed to fit into a busy life. Ultimate Ears by Logitech. How music is meant to be heard.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Top notch in-ear headphones, better than more expensive models., August 27, 2009

By	Bearcat (Ohio) - See all my reviews

I have been putting the MetroFi 170's through their paces and I must say I'm impressed. For comparison purposes I used a similar quality set of Altec Lansing earbuds and a pair of Shure 110 earbuds. The Shure 110 earbuds are typically regarded as excellent and the Shure name is highly regarded. With that being said these Ultimate Ears actually sound better to me than the Shure set. The mids and highs seem crisper and clearer. Bass is about the same between the two. The biggest difference here is the price. The Ultimate Ears cost about half of what the Shure's cost and for that difference alone I recommend them over the more expensive Shure's. The Altec Lansings are very good earbuds as well but can't quite keep up with the Ultimate Ear's.

The MetroFi 170's are made with high quality materials and I would imagine they will take some abuse. I dropped them several times from about 5 feet onto hardwood floors and they came out unscathed. Two things I particularly like about the MetroFi's is that the right earbud has a red color which immediately identifies it to you as the right ear piece. Very convenient. Also, the included hardcase is a nice addition. Many times I throw headphones into my gymbag or laptop case and I am always a little concerned even with headphones that feature a softcase. This hardcase is nice and I don't have to worry about the earphones when I am travelling.

One thing to keep in mind. These are noise isolating headphones not noise cancelling. There is a difference. These go into your ear to help block out outside noise and isolate sound. Noise cancelling headphones require batteries and typically have a noise cancelling type of "white noise" when turned on. Just wanted to make sure everyone understood that. Overall a great set of earphones for the price.

18 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not music to my ears., September 13, 2009

By	I. R. Smart. "Tzu Crazy" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

Earphones are always, always going to be extremely personal things. One person's excellence is another's mediocre. In the case of these Ultimate Ears (Logitech) MetroFi 170 Noise Isolating Earphones, from this person's standpoint (and from the wife's!) they're just not good quite enough.

Since there are several other reviews, I'll break it down for easier reference.

Pros:

1.) Nicely packaged. No scissors required (thankfully).

2.) Nifty little plastic carrier to store your earphones in when you're done with them.

3.) Three different size earpieces for the smaller, medium-sized, or larger ears.


Cons:

1.) While using a red color on the inside of the earphone to distinguish it as being the one that goes in your right ear, it's really not obvious in a darker environment which earphone is which. The red doesn't stand out well at all. It would have made a lot more sense for the white rubber inserts to be a different color instead, or to still have the white L and R symbols on the earphones, which would contrast well with the black material of the phones. My wife and I both tested these earphones, so for those worried about fashion you can't see the white rubber inserts when they're in your ears. So why not make one of them red?

2.) The actual cord is a very unfortunate, rubbery, stiff material. This doesn't lend itself well for casual wear. It's just not very ... malleable, for lack of a better word.

3.) Because the cord is very stiff, you can hear it moving even when you're listening to music at moderate levels. If you're using these on a treadmill or while running, and your music isn't VERY loud, you'll hear the constant sound of the cord movement. Very annoying!

4.) The sound. Notice I get to this last, because it's not something that stood out very well. The problem with these earphones is that they're designed for the high-end of the scale, i.e. if you like classical music, you'll dig these. If you like R&B or hip-hop, you'll be disappointed by the lack of low-end. I found the sound a little too "screechy" for my taste, with the high-ends giving me a bit of a headache. For the price, I'm just not super impressed.

Overall, just not quite good enough. From a design standpoint to a sonic standpoint, my wife and I both came away underwhelmed.

3/5

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good sound isolation, and they fit my hard-to-fit ears. Ok fidelity., August 31, 2009

By	Jessica Weissman "poet and computer programmer" (Silver Spring, MD USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I used to travel for a living, and had an expensive, large, and cushy pair of Sony sound isolating headphones - huge rubber earcups, and some nifty sound neutralizing technology. They were a pain to travel with, as they took up a lot of room and only really worked with batteries in. But they made it possible to hear music or podcasts on the plane, and reduced travel fatigue to a manageable level.

Unfortunately they were delicate. So rather than replace them, I tried a series of other phones. Most of the big ones were either more expensive than my Sonys or worked less than half as well. Earbuds, even the ones with variable-sized tips, just popped out of my left ear. Still I wanted a pair of convenient, lightweight headphones with enough sound isolation to be useful on a plane.

I was pleasantly surprised when I tried Logitech's MetroFi 170 earbuds. They work. Music and podcasts from my iPod were audible on a plane without cranking the volume up to dangerous levels. Even the armrest audio programming was tolerable through these.

You don't get the highest sound quality for this price, and I heard hiss behind a couple of string quartet and piano recordings. But they did the job, and they stayed in my ears. I don't know why they stayed - they don't look so different from other earbuds I've tried.

So if you want functional lightweight sound isolating headphones, and you have lumpy or odd ear canals, try these. Totally worth it. Just don't expect great musical fidelity. They're good enough for noncritical listening.