Ultimate Ears…the gold standard of in-ear monitoring!

Simply put the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Pro are the best high-end in-ear monitors you can buy. PERFECT for your iPod or mobile media player. The overall performance, quality of craftsmanship, and ergonomics is without compromise and lives up to the Ultimate Ears already stellar reputation. I’m an audio professional so this review will detail everything you would want to know about the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Pro in-ear monitors.

First, when you put these babies in you will be amazed! The sound is unbelievable and very clean and crisp. For those that don’t know Ultimate Ears has been around for a long time. They have been making custom in-ear monitors for musicians for years and are the preferred brand amongst most professionals. As soon as they came out with a ‘semi-pro’ line of in-ear monitors I knew I had to get a pair and take them for a detailed ride.

Most consumer headphones/ear-buds are targeted to what consumers THINK they want. Consumer electronic manufacturers specifically design most of their products for audio to do two things; boost the highs (treble) & boost the lows (bass). Accuracy is out the window; what is actually on the CD or media being played is now being augmented and looses the originality. That is why most people listen to certain genres on particular equipment, headphones, speakers, ear-buds, etc. Ever wonder why your favorite artist sounded so good only on that one brand of headphones and wonder why other artists, music, genres sound bad? That is why; accuracy. You go out and by a pair of Sony DJ headphones and you are going to have bass blasted in your ear no matter what and thin sounding mids and highs. Now you DON’T want gear that makes everything sound the same; I am NOT saying that! What you want is accuracy and something pure without augmentation and distortion. That is what you get with the SuperFi 5 Pro monitors. What you will hear from your iPod or other media player is what is intended to be heard. Now they are not flat-response professional monitors, they are just not boosted considerably like consumer gear. The lows are present, the mids are clean, and the highs just shimmer. WARNING: If you are going to use this on a portable media device such as an iPod, Zen, Zune, etc. pay special attention. If you encode your media as an MP3 these monitors will enlighten you to what file compression sounds like; it will be VERY obvious if you use anything lower than 256 kbps MP3. You will THINK these monitors sound horrible! Most consumer gear will cover this up because of the boosting of lows and highs but especially the quality in which those products are designed and manufactured. Now you will say you will just stick with getting those $99 Sony ear-buds. Well, you don’t know what you are missing in your music!

Ultimate Ears cuts no corners, which is why I love their products! What is important with these monitors is that you have a good seal once the bud is in your ear. One, this is part of the noise-reduction feature that lowers outside noise by -25db; so don’t wear these if you really need to be aware. Now that environmental noise is lowered so dramatically you can hear your music easier and won’t have to turn up the volume so loud! You will be able to listen longer without damaging your hearing and without ear fatigue. The other reason for having a good seal is that you will loose your lows (bass) without it. No worries though. Ultimate Ears give you a plethora of different ear bud sizes, shapes, and textures. You will take a little while to find which size and shape is perfect for you ear. A big problem with consumer gear is that they employ a one size fits all approach to ear-buds. The size and shape of everyone’s ear is hardly the same. This way you will enjoy the best sounding listening experience possible, courtesy of Ultimate Ears.

Remember when I mentioned the quality of craftsmanship at the beginning? I’ll prove why Ultimate Ears thinks things through. Let’s say you by a pair of nice headphones or ear-buds. Next you do what everybody does eventually and you are devastated, you somehow run-over, squash, fray, fracture, rip, or tear the cord to your $250 investment. Now you are thinking, ‘GREAT now I am out $250!’ WRONG. The cord to the Ultimate Ears may look thin but its performance is just fine. Besides the thicker cords can give you a weighted-down feeling and you don’t really want to know your ear-buds are there; that’s the best part about in-ear monitors! But yeah, you kill the cord, no worries. The SuperFi 5 Pro was designed so that just the cord can DETACH and be replaced for a minimum of cost! This is a feature that is found on most professional headsets and in-ear monitors that Ultimate Ears decided that the public should also benefit from. This means they really care. Most manufacturers want their product to be destroyed, broken, or brought in for repair; that is where they make their money. Either you pay to fix it or you just buy a new one. Well, when you pay $250 for a set of in-ear monitors you want no corners cut; well, you got it. Worried that you might crush or damage your SuperFi’s while they are not in use and being carried around in your backpack, briefcase, etc.? Again, Ultimate Ears has you covered. Other high-end in-ear monitors give you a soft case, Ultimate Ears give you a sturdy metal case that is easy to wrap-up and store your SuperFi’s. Oh, and don’t forget the 1/8” plug lays flat so that it does not stick out straight; it’s more like an ‘L’ shape. This design is a wise thing to employ because you would be surprised how things can get caught when they stick out; especially on a portable media device. And unlike other in-ear monitors the SuperFi’s cord flexibly goes over and behind your hear instead of just hanging. This way you can walk or run about and still have them securely in your hear. And when I say, secure, I mean secure. Trust me; there is nothing more annoying than just waking through the parking lot and having your ear-buds pop out just because of the weight of the cord giving into gravity.

Do I really have to convince you further?!? The Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Pro are the hands-down best buy for your portable media device or listening pleasure. They sound amazing and are a great value to which you will concede upon giving them their first listen. Good for any type of music. These are a much better buy than spending the extra money on the top-of-the-line Shure model.