Roughly 12 months back I wrote about my hunt for a new pair of quality IEMs (view post here). I’m pleased to report that I have found and purchased something I really like. It certainly took a while but after trying out IEMs the likes of AKG’s K370, Sennheiser ‘s CX 400 II, Klipsch’s Image S4, Monster’s Turbine & Beats and Ultimate Ears’ SuperFi 5 & UE700, I finally made up my mind to go with the UE700 and I’m genuinely pleased with my purchase. Hit the jump for a mini review.
Like I’ve said many times before, I’m a sucker for aesthetics. So if it looks good, my first impulse is to get it. This time however, I took my time and I’m glad I did. The other IEMs did look and sound good but the dual micro drivers of the UE700 just sounded more refined to me and looked amazingly simple & minimalistic. They’re tiny and I’m quite simply amazed as to how those crazies at Ultimate Ears have managed to squeeze two drivers into a casing the size of a peanut. The casing itself is plastic and is painted a darkish metallic colour that looks quite classy and the metallic paint doesn’t look like it’ll scratch out like other metallic painted plastics. Nice.
However, the cables look like they’d snap out of the casings if not handled with care. I guess a little sleeve would have made it sturdier but unfortunately that’s how they left it at. But the cable itself is quite rigid and capped with a gold plated mini connector – pretty standard these days. Besides the IEMs, the box contains 5 sets of silicon ear tips, 2 pairs of Comply foam tips, a small plastic case (why did they stop giving out the metal ones?) and a line attenuator – something I won’t be using at all. I was a little disappointed that the accessory kit didn’t include the cleaning tool but I guess I can improvise.
It reproduces crystal clear highs though quite prone to sibilance and a solid enough mid, just the way I like it. This is all good as my music don’t sound as though they’re under water as it did with me old Sony MDR EX71s. The only reason I kept on using it was because it came with the Walkman I bought yonks ago. The only part lacking for me in the UE700 is its bass. Now don’t get me wrong, the UE700 is capable of some serious punch – the problem for me is my source as I’m using me Vaio to drive these IEMs – while acceptable was kinda lacking in the bass department. The moment I tweaked the EQ in Winamp, I noticed the potential the UE700 can bring to my ears. After driving them through the FiiO E5 however, the overall quality of these amazing little beauties started to shine! The UE700 has fairly low impendence so it doesn’t take much to drive them but if you own a pair of UE700 and a headphone amp, I suggest amping them up and hear the difference. It opens up the soundstage and gives better sound reproduction overall – well at least to me.
Overall I’d recommend these to anyone looking for a quality pair of IEMs. Go get it.
