TechnoScore: 4.6
1 = Lowest Possible Score; 5 = Highest Possible Score
Everyone likes extravagances, but not everyone agrees on which ones merit the cost and which ones don't. I consider high-end earphones critical whereas most people do not. You've been warned.
I favor so-called in-ear earphones because they're portable and block external noise (sound isolation), enabling you to protect your hearing by playing your music at low volume. If you don't like earplugs, you won't like in-ear earphones because they operate on the same principle.
(Yes, I know about the Bose Quiet Comfort headphones, which many lawyers like, but they are not portable. I define portability as weighing less than 1 ounce and fitting in your pocket.)
Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 pro: An Overdue Apology
I initially purchased the Ultimate Ears super.fi 5 pro in 2006 and complained about them in a blog post. I regret writing that post because the hum I complained about was caused by my iPod, not by the earphones.
Furthermore, given what lay ahead of me, I didn't realize how good I had it. I now believe Ultimate Ears makes the best in-ear earphones.
A Shure Thing?
The super.fi 5 pro served me well, but when I switched from an iPod to an iPhone in 2007, I began searching for a replacement so that I could take advantage of the iPhone's features — answering calls and changing tracks without having to fish the iPhone out of my pocket. iPhone-compatible earphones have a microphone and clicker in the cord to handle these functions.
My search lasted one year!
During that time, I continued to use the super.fi 5 pro, which proved remarkably durable. I wore them in the rain and snow. I wore them in 95 degree heat and in near-zero wind chills. I never used the protective case, but instead just stuffed them in my jacket or shirt pocket. Nothing fazed them. They are the Energizer Bunny of earphones.
When I purchased my iPhone, I also purchased the Shure SE210 earphones and Music Phone Adapter. I was excited because Shure makes the best foam eartips. They're incredibly comfortable.
But as I quickly learned, Shure also has a manufacturing problem. On two sets of these earphones, the eartips were fused onto the post and would not come off without shredding, leaving half the material on the post. The eartips are supposed to have a plastic sleeve inside that glides off, but these did not.
A Shure executive acknoledged the problem, apologized, and sent me a third pair as well as a pair of higher-end SE420 earphones. I just couldn't stomach the possibility of another return so I sold both pairs on eBay and continued using my trusty super.fi 5 pro.
I let eight months pass, thinking that Shure would iron out its manufacturing problems. This time, I bought the SE530, Shure's top-of-the-line model.
Same defective eartips! I couldn't believe it. You know what they say about being twice burned. I returned them for a refund.
Back to the super.fi 5 pro.
007, Do Be Careful With These q-JAYS
I then delved into some research. Most earphones use only a single armature to produce the sound. Because the super.fi 5 pro uses two armatures, I felt I had to find a model with at least two. That ruled out most earphones, including the stylish Klipsch Image X10 (which I hope to try someday).
After reading countless reviews, I settled on Jays' q-JAYS. Though they didn't have an iPhone-compatible microphone and clicker, they addressed another drawback of the super.fi 5 pro — size. The super.fi 5 pro are among the larger in-ear earphones. They make you look like Frankenstein. The q-JAYS are tiny and virtually disappear into your ears. If it weren't for the cable, they could serve as one of Q's cool gizmos in a James Bond film.
But I quickly discovered that the q-JAYS have a drawback of their own. They use filters — as do a growing number of in-ear earphones. The filters protect the earphone mechanism by blocking earwax. But they also exist to separate you from more of your cash since you have to keep replacing them. I found it more difficult to replace filters than to clean my super.fi 5 pro.
I never really got a chance to audition the q-JAYS because they arrived with a defective left channel. At first it was weak and then it went completely silent.
While I awaited my replacement from Sweden, I returned to the super.fi 5 pro. Again.
The Triple Was the Charm
A few weeks ago, I received an email advertisement from Earphone Solutions with a special offer for the Ultimate Ears triple.fi 10 vi.
The what?
Lo and behold — Ultimate Ears had just shipped its high-end triple.fi model in a special iPhone version. I pounced on the special offer and bought them for $371 (they usually sell for $419).
This was no impulse purchase. Remember, I had been searching for a year. The right product finally hit the market and I knew it immediately thanks to my previous experiences.
I finally put my super.fi 5 pro out to pasture.
My Review of the triple.fi 10 vi
The triple.fi 10 vi are even larger than the super.fi 5 pro, but I don't mind for two reasons. First, although they use the same eartips as the super.fi 5 pro, they seem to fit better because the housing is more ergonomic. The sound isolation is very good thanks to the fit. You have a choice of three silicone eartips (small, medium, large) or a foam eartip.
Second, as the name suggests, they have three armatures. I can best describe them with one word — wow! With good recordings, they sound much better than the super.fi 5 pro. They have noticeably better imaging and more punch. One day after listening to some music with the triple.fi 10 vi, I switched to the super.fi 5 pro. I couldn't believe how lifeless they sounded by comparison. Be warned — there's no going back. Do not try them unless you plan to buy them.
Back to the size issue, do I wish Ultimate Ears could package three armatures into a smaller package? Yes. But thanks to engineering hurdles, I don't think that's possible in 2008. Ask me again in 2011.
What else do I like? The cable. The length is perfect for those of us who carry our iPhone in a jacket or pants pocket. At the end of the cable you'll find a straight connector, which I prefer over the super.fi 5 pro's angled connector. And on an odd note, the triple.fi 10 vi cable behaves as you would expect a cable to behave. For example, if you wrap the cable to store the earphones, you don't have to straighten the cable when you use them again. By contrast, the super.fi 5 pro use a strange cable that retains its shape, often requiring re-straightening.
The build quality of the triple.fi 10 vi looks good, but I've had them for just a few weeks. We'll see how they hold up this winter. The clicker works like a charm to skip to the next or previous song or answer a call. Also, no filters!
If you have an iPhone, consider high-end earphones a worthy extravagance, want to take your earphones everywhere you go without weighing you down, and don't mind looking a little dorky, I highly recommend the triple.fi 10 vi.
That said, I'm keeping my super.fi 5 pro earphones as a backup.
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A TechnoEditorial is the vehicle through which we opine and provide tips of interest to managing partners, law firm administrators, and others in the legal profession. TechnoEditorials appear first in TechnoGuide, and later here in TechnoLawyer Blog. TechnoGuide, which is free, also contains exclusive content. Please subscribe now.
