Introduction

Ultimate Ears where one of the first companies to introduce quality in-ear-monitors (IEMs) in the sub $150 category. Today I will be taking a look at their budget IEM called the Super.fi 3 Studio which cost a little over $100 which is to be considered cheap compared to other midrange IEMs. Even they don't come cheap they are still substantially cheaper than the competition's similar offerings. What you have to appreciate about the Super.fi 3 Studios is that they are based around a single precision balanced armature sound drive. This type of technology has until recently been limited to IEMs that are located in the $200+ price range. All of this has changed with the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio.

So what does this mean for the average consumer? For starters the balanced armature drive will deliver sound more precisely than most full sized headphones. This means that the definition of the music you are listening to will be better.

One of the most noticeable problems with IEMs is the fact that they need a tight seal against your ear in order to function as intended. Ultimate Ears have a slightly different method for getting a good seal compared to Shure or Etymotic headphones. Instead of making a complicated fitting, the Ultimate Ears are simply placed shallower in the ear allowing for better comfort and easier insertion into the ear.

There are several major advantages of using IEMs compared to traditional headphones and one of the most distinct is probably ambient noise attenuation. The Ultimate Ears that I am looking at today claim to attenuate about 26 dB which isn't as good as most Etymotic or Shure headphones, but what they lack in noise insulation they pack in the price performance category.

Specifications

These are the specifications listed on Ultimate Ears own homepage:

• Input Sensitivity: 115dB/mW
• Frequency Response: 20 to 13,000
• Impedance: 13 ohms
• Internal Speaker Configuration: Single full range precision balanced armature
• Noise Isolation: -26dB
• Input connector: 1/8" (3.5mm) gold plated
• Weight With cable assembly: 0.5 oz.

As you can see the specifications for these monitors are nothing out of the ordinary compared to similar offerings from other IEM producing companies. When it comes to weight the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studios are really light, weighing in at only 0.5 oz. The internal speaker used is as mentioned earlier a single precision balanced armature.

Considering their price of around $100 they do deliver in the “bang for the buck” category even though they aren’t exactly cheap.

The Package

The Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio IEMs I got for review arrived in a small plastic box. The box art is somewhat funky and it is clear that Ultimate Ears focuses on delivering a product that goes well with iPod and other flashy gadgets. The monitors that I will be reviewing today are held in a clean "iPod" white color which I have to say looks pretty damn good compared to normal headphones.


On the back of the package you can read a little about the specifications of the monitors and the technology applied in them. Another piece of important information on the back of the package is the recommended volume. This is important because you can seriously damage your hearing by listening at a high volume level over an extended period of time - this of course applies to all headphones.

According to the specs the cord length is 46" or approximately 117 cm which is a bit on the short side compared to other products in the same market segment.


The bundle that comes with the Super.fi 3 Studios is really neat. You get a lot of different sized ear fittings for the monitors and a little cleaning tool that you can use to remove ear wax from the ear conductor. Besides this you also got a small metal carrying case.

Even though you get an ear conductor cleaning tool it is still a good idea to clean your ears often while using these in-ear-monitors due to the fact that ear wax can enter more critical areas of the monitors if you have thin ear wax.


Since in-ear-monitors can be hard to mount properly and can seriously damage your hearing the user's manual is a good starting point if you have never tried in-ear-monitors before. One of the biggest problems with in-ear-monitors is that it can be difficult to get them to fit right. The entire concept is based around a tight seal between the monitor and your ear canal. This is largely because the audio drive inside the monitor is tweaked to reproduce music in a closed and small space.