|
|||||||||
Introduction We continue our series of ear phone tests here, with the Shure E2c, E2g, E3c, and Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio. Fourth on the list is the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3 Studio (the E2c review is in Part I of this review set, the E2g review is in Part II, and the E3c is in Part III), which has an MSRP of $99. The UE 3 Studios use balanced armature drivers, which are considered to have low mass. The Sound The 3 Studios had plenty of output at the same volume setting that I used for the other phones. Their higher sensitivity is responsible for that. They sounded relatively clean, but not as clean as the Shure E2c and E2g. Even though they are curved, they fit fairly well, probably because they are very light weight. On the Bench The frequency response, without EQ, is the best of the four phones tested in this review. The peaks that tend to show up at 2 kHz and above are not nearly so high as with the other phones.
Unfortunately, IMD was rather high, definitely more than with the Shure E2c and E2g.
On the other hand, THD+N at 20 Hz was reasonably low.
At 1 kHz, THD+N was 0.62%.
At 10 kHz, THD+N was quite low.
Conclusions I gave the UE 3 Studios a 7 for fit, and a 7 for sound. They are the same price as the Shure E2c and E2g, but the Shures edge these particular Ultimate Ears phones out on sound quality. However, without EQ, the UE 3 Studios sounded the most natural, because the peaks above 2 kHz are not as high as with the other phones.
- John E. Johnson, Jr. -
|