Ultimate Ears super.fi Headphones Reviewed at The Two Inch View

[Damion Chaplin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.twoinchview.com/92-ultimate-ears-superfi-headphones' target='_blank'>http://www.twoinchview.com/92-ultimate-ears-superfi-headphones</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Headphones are one of the most important parts of any music listening experience – together with the audio player itself and the quality of the encoded music – but most digital audio players come with extremely cheap headphones. Perhaps it’s because the manufacturers know the first thing many people do is discard included headphones, and thus they don’t want to invest any significant money in the bundled headphones. Or, perhaps it’s because quality headphones cost money (which would raise the cost of the overall product), and a good portion of the public doesn’t know how good music can really sound with great headphones. Regardless of the reason why bundled headphones are usually of poor quality, if you’re still using the standard headphones that came with your Windows Mobile Pocket PC or Smartphone, your music isn’t sounding as good as it should. In my search for headphones to review, I came across Ultimate Ears – they’re a company that has historically made custom in-ear monitors (stage performance headphones) for professional musicians, and have recently taken that core technology and brought it down-stream to a line of consumer products. With the likes of Metallica and Third Day (check out the complete list) using their professional products, it boded well for the quality of their consumer products, so I was looking forward to checking out what they had to offer. I had initially wanted to look at the Creative Zen Aurvana headphones, but repeated requests for a pair were declined or ignored, so I looked elsewhere. Am I ever glad I did!"</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/ultimate-ears-superfi-3.jpg" /> <br /><br />Our very own Jason Dunn reviews the super.fi (not Super Fly) headphones by Ultimate Ears over at The Two Inch View. While I'm not a real fan of headphones that cost $100+ (that's more than 50% of what my player cost me!), these do look like some killer phones. Has anyone else tried these? I <i>might</i> be interested in them if the price were around the $80 range. And can someone please tell me why they insist on making so many model of headphones in white? Not everyone owns an iPod, you know. :roll: Thankfully, they also make them in black (and clear!), so us non reality-benders can hop on the bandwagon too!

[Jason Dunn]

Look, you're in luck:

http://thoughtsmedia.pricegrabber.com/search_getprod.php/masterid=14000419/search=ultimate+ears

$84.99 from New Egg...

[jeffd]

pretty sweet, now I know an in-ear plug I can shoot for. However the clinncher is, how do these stack up to traditional high end headphones that people like to use for mp3 playback in the $70-$100 range, the sennheiser 280pro or the grado 60/80s?

Also I thought his choice of playback hardware could have been better. An ipaq? ^^ Now I have no clue about the tech specs on it (I have been totaly out of the ppc loop for about a year now, though I do know dell's last generation of PPC had a high quality audio chip in it, much unlike the dell x5 I have) , it would have been nice if he used an ipod or other DAP that we know has a quality DAC in it.

[Jason Dunn]

Also I thought his choice of playback hardware could have been better. An ipaq?

The Two Inch View is a site dedicated to Windows Mobile devices, so what did you think I was going to use? ;-) I also tested with my Zen Vision:M and my laptop (which I mentioned in the review), and they sounded amazing on all of them.

[Damion Chaplin]

...what did you think I was going to use? ;-)

A pre-release Zune, of course! :wink:

[ale_ers]

Jason,

I know you have also used the Shure e2c from reading an earlier review (I think it was for your Zen). In your opinion, how do these stack up:

I have been going back and fourth...they both are abour $80 online and have many fit options. Which would you prefer?

[Jason Dunn]

I know you have also used the Shure e2c from reading an earlier review (I think it was for your Zen). In your opinion, how do these stack up...

I took a few minutes this morning and compared the super.fi 5's to my Shure E2C's - perhaps not a fair comparison given that they're in difference price categories, but remember in my review I had a hard time telling the difference between the super.fi 3's and the super.fi 5's...and the Shure E2C's sound like absolute crap. Honestly, the difference is stunning - everything sounds flat, there's much less bottom end, no punch in the midrange...man, I used to think my E2C's were AWESOME...and they are great, compared to regular headphones, but the super.fi headphones just kick the crap out of the Shure E2C's. And there ya go. ;-)