Features and specs:
·
Input sensitivity:
100 dB @ 1 kHz, 100 mV
·
Frequency response:
5 Hz – 22 kHz
·
Noise Isolation:
-26 decibels of ambient stage noise.
·
Impedance:
37.5 Ohms@ 1 kHz
·
Internal speaker configuration:
6 balanced armatures and 4 passive crossovers.
·
Input connector:
1/8” headphone jack; compatible with all systems
·
Warranty:
1-year
With the Ultimate Ears UE 18+ being custom IEMs, I was
custom fit by an Audiologist. They actually used a laptop and a handheld
digital scanner, to scan my ears and create a digital 3D map of my ear canal.
It was really cool, and worked extremely well. The digital scan was used to
make my custom fit UE 18+. And the fit is
perfect.
Since the UE18+ was custom made for me, they were shipped
straight to me in a standard cardboard box. Opening the box revealed a simple
and elegant black box. On the side of the box was a certificate of Authenticity
sticker. It had my name, the model number, the serial number, and an initial by
who inspected it. Opening the box showed an aluminum case held in black velvet.
The top of the hard cylinder case showed the Ultimate Ears logo, and under it
inscriber “handcrafted for Jeff Roy.” Pretty cool! Removing the round lid
revealed a rubber ring around the cylinder to help seal them. Although I
personally wouldn’t toss it in water. LOL. Looking in I saw the custom UE18+.
Included with them was a wax tool and owner’s manual. Materials used in the
construction was mostly plastic, with some metal. Quality of materials used was
excellent. The quality of construction, and fit and finish was just as
excellent. I loved the fact that I was also able to design them with the colors
I wanted. I choose a clear, light blue end piece and clear white plastic for
the rest of it, so I could see the internal drivers, wiring and crossover
network.
So we know the products look good, and they have some pretty
good specs. Many of them have multiple
sound filters, so you can customize the sound.
But how do they really sound?
Let's find out. For those with
multiple filters, I kept it at the neutral sound filter. And to test different sounds, we went with a
few different sounds from different genre.
First will be Twenty One Pilots: Heathens, followed by Kansas: Carry On
Wayward Son, and lastly Fresh Aire: Going To Another Place. And we will work our way in the same order
with Echobox Finder X1 first, and work our way up to the Ultimate Ears UE18+.
First up is the Echobox Finder X1. Twenty One Pilots: Heathens, percussion was crisp, dynamic, and
a bit bright. Piano sounded
natural. Bass beats were nice and deep
with good output and just a tad muddy.
Vocals had sufficient resolution.
Kansas: Carry On Wayward Son, vocals were fairly smooth. Percussion was very crisp, dynamic, and a bit
bright. Kick drum had nice depth and
output. Fresh Aire: Going To Another
Place, strings were crisp and clean, dynamic, with good resolution, and were a
bit bright. Flute
was smooth with good air. Keyboard
sounded natural. Bass drum had nice depth
with good authority.
Next up is the AKG N40.
Twenty One Pilots: Heathens, percussion was crisp, clean, with good
resolution and dynamics. Bass was very
deep, tight, with lots of authority.
Piano sounded natural. Vocals
were natural with nice timbre and texture.
Imaging was good, and they threw a big soundstage. Kansas: Carry On Wayward Son, vocals were
nice and smooth with very nice texture and harmonics. Percussion was crisp and dynamic. Keyboard sounded natural. Kick drum had nice low end extension. They actually threw a nice sized soundstage
with good imaging. Fresh Aire: Going To
Another Place, had very good resolution of the strings, with a crisp clean
sound. Flute was smooth with lots of
air. Piano sounded very natural with
good harmonics. Kick drum had nice tight
impact that had good depth and authority.
Now it's Audiofly's turn for their AF1120. Twenty One Pilots: Heathens, percussion was
very crisp, clean, and dynamic. Vocals
are silky smooth, with very good texture.
Keyboard sounded very natural with nice low level harmonics. Bass was very deep, full, and hit really hard
with clean tight impact. Kansas: Carry
On Wayward Son, vocals sounded very natural, silky smooth, with a lot of
texture and resolution of the timbre.
Keyboard sounded very natural with good harmonics. Percussion was crisp, clean, and very
dynamic. Kick drum had very good low end
extension, with great clean impact and authority. Soundstage was big and imaging was spot
on. Fresh Aire: Going To Another Place,
strings were very crisp and clean with very good resolution. Kick drum was very tight, clean, yet very
full with good depth and authority.
Flute was very smooth with good air, and with enough resolution to make
out the tonguing technique. Piano
sounded very natural with nice harmonics.
The Beyerdynamic Xelento Remote is next in line. Twenty One Pilots: Heathen, percussion was
extremely crystal clear, crisp, and clean, with high dynamics. Vocals were smooth, refined, extremely
natural with tons of resolution that revealed details not previously
noticed. Piano was pleasantly natural
with very nice harmonics. Bass was very
deep, full, and played with lots of authority, and not only really clean but
hit really hard! Kansas: Carry On
Wayward Son, vocals were very natural with excellent texture and timbre with
resolution to hear the breathing technique.
I felt like I was right there in the recording studio with them. Kick drum had excellent depth and fullness
with tight clean bass that played with tons of authority. Keyboard had excellent harmonics. Percussion was crisp and dynamic. I wasn't expecting this level of realism from
a single dynamic driver. But since it's
Beyerdynamic, I should have! Fresh Aire:
Going To Another Place, strings were so crisp and clean, with excellent
resolution, being able to hear the decay of the string. and was just a tad
bright. Flute had excellent resolution,
being able to make out the tonguing technique.
Kick drum was very tight, and hit clean, yet was very full with great
depth and resolution in the midbass, and played with lots of authority. Piano was very natural with great harmonics. Cymbals were crisp and very dynamic.
Next in line is the is the Westone Signature Series
W80. Twenty One Pilots: Heathen, vocals
were so clear and clean it was like I was right there in the recording
studio! Timbre and texture was
excellent. Percussion was dynamic and
crisp. Piano sounded very natural with
excellent harmonics and spot on imaging.
Bass was tight with very good low end extension and played with
authority. Kansas: Carry On Wayward Son,
vocals were extremely natural and smooth like honey, with tons of
resolution. The texture of the timbre
was out of bounds! And the realism was
just bananas! Why go to a concert when you
can have this kind of aural bliss as if you were just feet away from them. Keyboard was very natural with excellent
harmonics. Soundstage was large and imaging
was just as it should be. Bass had very
good depth and extension, with clean tight punch with good authority. Fresh Aire: Going To Another Place, strings
were extremely crisp and clean with excellent resolution, hearing the decay of
the strings and cymbal, and very dynamic.
Kick drum was tight with good depth and played with sufficient authority.
Flute was silky smooth with plenty of resolution to hear the tonguing
technique. Piano was very natural with
very pleasant harmonics.
Last but not least is the Ultimate Ears UE18+. Twenty One Pilots: Heathen, percussion was
extremely crisp and clean with resolution so good I could hear the contact and
slide across the snare drum. Vocals were
smooth like honey, with excellent texture detail. Piano was extremely natural sounding with
excellent harmonics. Bass was very deep,
very full, hit very cleanly with lots of authority. This aurel nirvana provided details I had not
noticed before. Kansas: Carry On Wayward
Son, vocals were extremely natural and so silky smooth! And provided tons of resolution, being able
to hear the tonguing technique.
Percussion was crisp and dynamic.
Keyboard was very natural with excellent harmonics. The soundstage was nice and big, and imaging
was spot on, with the realism of being in the studio. Kick drum had very good low end extension,
with big full sound and clean tight bass with lots of authority. Fresh Aire: Going To Another Place, strings
were extremely crisp and clean, with excellent resolution, being able to hear
the pic on the strings and their natural decay.
Kick drum was very tight and clean with excellent low end extension and
resolution in the midbass, playing with very good authority. Flute was so silky smooth, and had excellent
air with plenty of resolution to hear the tonguing technique. Piano was very
natural and had harmonics that was nothing short of aural candy!
This has been one of the most difficult Headphone Shootouts
that we have ever done. These are some
excellent products, especially the higher priced models in this part of the shootout. Many of the performances really were
splitting hairs. And some was just a
matter of having a different sound signature.
The Echobox Finder X1 had an overall sound that was a bit bright, with
good resolution. The AKG N40 had better
resolution, and improved bass response, thanks to the hybrid design that uses a
dynamic driver for the bass. The
Audiofly AF1120 kicks things up a big notch, with the use of six balanced
armatures. The sound was more neutral
that at times was just a tad on the bright side. At this level is where the sound gets really
good. Next is the Beyerdynamic Xelento
Remote. And this product got things
really exciting with it's sound. It's
sound was actually fairly neutral and at times got a touch on the bright side. They
take resolution in the mids and highs to an absolute crazy level for a dynamic
driver. The sound is just nothing short
of bananas. The level of realism is out
of bounds! And the resolution was almost as good as the best balanced armatures
available. Bass response was beyond
stellar. Next up
is the Westone Signature Series W80. And
here Westone took the sound up a notch to a level I had not experienced
before. Having an extra pair of drivers
for the highs, I was expecting the W80 to be more on the bright side. But it wasn't. The sound was more neutral, and the focus was
more on the mids and highs frequencies with the quad drivers for the
highs. The bass response was good, but
the output and fullness was not quite as big as some others like the
Beyerdynamic Xelento Remote.But the level of realism was at a level I had never
heard before in a pair of IEMs! And
unlike a savory rich desert that is just too rich to have much of, there's no
having too much of the Westone W80's!
And then last but not least it the Ultimate Ears UE18+. The UE18+ had a bit more of a warmer, more
refined sound. The level of resolution
was also stellar, as was the level of realism.
Bass response was also good, just not up to the level of the
Beyerdynamic Xelento Remote. And I
absolutely love them being custom made for my ears, way too cool!
As I previously stated, this was an extremely difficult listening
session. They all sounded good. But some of these sounded so amazingly good,
the best word to describe it is magical.
And for the top products, top award of Editor's Choice just doesn't seem
good enough. Based on their design,
features, quality, and performance, the Echobox Finder X1 has earned our Value
Award. The AKG N40 has earned our Highly
Recommended Award. While the Audiofly
AF1120 was just a tad under the sound performance of the other three, at it's
$699 price point, it truly aimed at the audiophile on a budget. And Highly Recommended just wasn't quite good
enough for it. The Audiofly AF1120, Beyerdynamic
Xelento Remote, Westone Signature W80, and Ultimate Ears UE18+ has earned our
Editor's Choice Award. For more info and
complete specs, check out their website at www.echoboxaudio.com, www.akg.com, www.audiofly.com,
www.beyerdynamic.com, www.westone.com, www.pro.ultimateears.com.
