Ultimate Ears Reference Monitor (UERM)

Good point.... It suddenly occurs to me that all this is doing is summing in the adapter instead of the amp

Soooo where can one get a balanced cable?

 

You could get the stock UE cable but with the 2.5mm trrs, and then buy a 2.5mm trrs to 4-pin xlr adapter.

 

The balanced cable from UE direct is only $49 and perfectly good. It's the 2.5mm AK balanced though so you'd need an adapter or re-do the end yourself.

 

Jinx!

 

Thanks for the help guys. I'll grab the balanced UE cable with a 2.5mm trrs to 4 pin xlr male adapter from moon audio. (unless someone can link a cheaper adapter option)

 

Oh- do make sure that the T-R-R-S out is the same for A&K that it is for the regular balanced pin-out. They seem to be different, here are some diagrams...
Conventional Pin Outs

A&K Pin Out


Something like this is made but $75:

http://www.norneaudio.com/litzheim/...Kern-ak240-ak380-ak120-ak-240-380-120-adapter

EDIT: Ah, I see you already found an adapter for $75 through Moon Audio while I was futzing around with my post.
http://www.moon-audio.com/custom-4-pin-xlr-headphone-adapter.html

 

Goodness, that price though. Twice the cost of the cable : /

But, seems like a good all in one way to be able to use the same cable on a balanced or SE connection, so you don't have to swap the cables.





Anyway, just realized I passed my 1 year mark with my UERM. I didn't think I'd ever buy a CIEM, but I splurged on the UERM. I don't think I'll buy a second pair, either. As much as I love the UERM, I don't think I've heard a CIEM that competes with a headphone at the same price.

However, the UERM really hits a special spot. The tonal balance is really something I've not found in any headphone, and I'm always surprised when I hear those tiny details I've missed before.

Definitely looking forward to years more with the UERM.

 

How is uerm/uerr when compared to spiral ears se5 ultimate?

Has anyone tried to compare?

 

I've got a second hand pair coming in this week, and am probably going to send them off to Inearz to be reshelled. Hopefully it all works out.

 

I just got in a pair of JH13ProV2. It has four wire per ear connectors and 10dB of bass adjustment.

I haven't spent much time with them yet but my initial impression is that with bass adjusted all the way up it's about the same level of bass as my K10. But it lacks the real high end sparkle of the K10 to go with it. That said, I'm not noticing that boosting the base up causes bleed into the mids.

Rob

 

Just got in my reshelled UERM from Inearz. The seal is just about perfect, and I'm quite enjoying the sound signature. There's a bit of a peak in the treble (I'm guessing around 10k or so?) but the rest seems pretty smooth. I've been going back and forth between the UERM, my HD600 and HD800, and the UERM is quite clean.

Not sure if the 3rd party reshell process affected the sound, but it seems much more smooth than the HD600 in the upper mid range, which I thought wouldn't be the case. I'll keep listening and see how I feel in a few days.

 

Cool! any pictures?

How was the inearz remolding process overall? I've been thinking about jumping into used CIEMs for remolding. The resell value on CIEMs is totally dismal.

 

It was pretty straight forward. I just mailed in my impressions + the IEM and they sent me back my finished pair in about 4 weeks. Was pretty smooth and the impressions turned out great.

Yeah, the used market is for CIEMs is a buyer's dream. I'm super happy for what you can get for the money right now, especially since Noble/64/etc seem bent of upping new prices.

 

Had to send my UERM in again, last week, for broken sockets on both sides. Get them back Monday. Wish these were a bit more durable and reliable. This is my 3rd set of sockets.

 

Do you remove your cables often? The stock connectors are pretty tight.

 

The initial fit was like they were almost glued in place. I have a balanced cable I also use them with, so I swap between the two. The main problem is signal connectivity. After the first time using a different cable, I had regular drop out problems with any cable afterwards and always had to pull the cable this way or that to get audio back. This is what broke the sockets each time. This time I will leave the cable alone and just not use my other cable. $100 repair each time adds up.

 

I'm planning on moving balanced with my UERM and I'm collecting up adapters so I don't swap the cables for this very reason. The connectors on all IEMs seem so fragile.

Bummer to hear about the troubles though.

 

Hmmm, there are two different diameters of pins on 2-pin cable connectors. Do you have a micrometer to measure by chance?

This is the issue I had trying to buy an aftermarket Triple-Fi 10 cable. Wouldn't fit in the sockets and others warned that if you could get it to fit, then you would stretch the sockets...

 

Interesting. I did not know that. It could be the case. Anyhow, I got them back yesterday and they are working fine now and I have no plans to pull the cables off.