Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 39
 Simple & Sweet July 21, 2010
J. Valinski (LA, CA United States)
I'm no audiophile but I can say this - these earbuds sound amazing. They are light weight, super small, stay comfortably in my ears and sound good - what else do you want?
The small size is what really wins me over with these. I hate looking like Uhura from Star Trek or worse... one of those people with a large, annoying bluetooth things in my ear. I simply want to listen to my music without looking like a clown with some large uncomfortable chunks of rubber & plastic sticking out of the side of my head. With these, problem solved. I can't recommend these enough!
 Almost Perfect May 29, 2010
Seth - The GR Review (Grand Rapids, MI United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this pair of earphones after owning the Ultimate Ears SuperFi 5 Pro Noise Isolating Earphones (Black) for about 2 years. I had been very happy with the SuperFi 5 earphones until the wiring finally gave out and I lost all sound in the left ear. This was disappointing, but they definitely didn't owe me anything as they had provided me with thousands of hours of incredible listening enjoyment.
As I was looking for a pair to replace my first UE purchase, I decided to buy the 700 series for 2 reasons:
1) I wanted the same kind of sound quality that I was accustomed to from the SuperFi 5
2) I wanted something that would fit futher into my ear so I could listen to music while laying my head on a pillow (this was not possible with the SuperFi 5 Pro)
After using for several weeks, I concluded that the fit was definitely better, and the sound quality was almost identical to the SuperFi 5 earphones. Overall, it's a great set of earphones and I would highly recommend them to any serious musician or audiophile.
Pros:
- Excellent sound and VERY impressive bass/low end.
- Very comfortable fit, stays in when running, comfortable while sleeping, etc.
- Ultimate Ears provides outstanding customer service. Any issues with the product will be fixed quickly & free of charge (see below).
My only complaints are:
- Considering the price tag on these earphones, they have surprisingly cheap wiring. You need to be very careful not to put ANY undue stress on any of the cords, or it will very likely damage the unit. I owned these earphones for about 5 weeks when the plugin jack almost broke off. What was I doing to cause such damage to the jack? Did I drop it off a cliff? Did I drive over it with my car? No. I was holding it in my hand with the jack pressed firmly against my palm for about 2 minutes. I simply HELD it. I don't know why a $200 set of earphones would have such cheaply designed wiring, but it's something you should be aware of BEFORE you purchase these. That being said, Logitech was extremely accomodating and provided unsurpassed customer service. They gave me an entirely new set of earphones in less than 2 weeks (and they paid for all postage). Given this, it's hard to stay mad about the incident.
- When these earphones are referred to as "noise isolating", that is only a half-truth. They do a great job of isolating noise for the listener, but if you have your volume turned up to 50% of higher on an ipod, anybody who is sitting next to you will hear everything that is being played. I never had this problem with the SuperFi 5 Pro earphones (which didn't fit quite as well), but it seems to be an issue with these. When I'm laying in bed at night, I literally have to have my volume at 25% of lower because if it's any higher, it will wake up my wife. Is this a huge problem? Not really, and it probably wouldn't affect my decision to purchase again. It was just a slight annoyance when I was expected to have TRUE noise isolation from both ends.
Exceptional sound quality and design; almost perfect May 23, 2010
Function
Pros
Incredible sound quality. If you can get these at the right price, don't think twice
Incredibly small and stylish. You can't beat the look and size.
Comfortable to wear for hours on end. Your ears remain comfortable (physically) and the sound is so clear that you don't feel "overloaded" with music as with most headphones
Great to sleep in
Cons
Thin chord means LOTS of cable noise. This is a real consideration if you do a lot of physical activity or listen to music very quietly
Thin chord also means the durability and life of the headphones is not too long. Sooner or later it will split so extra care needs to be taken to store them securely and use them in environments that are not demanding
Terrible carry case. The plastic hinge will break within a month, if you plan on using it
The reviews prior to mine have highlighted the strengths of these headphones numerous times. I am going to reiterate that they do indeed sound incredible and the bass is pretty good for in ear headphones once you get a good fit. The headphones do not sound flat by any means, so you can really enjoy any type of music the way it was meant to be heard.
Everyone will enjoy the look and size of these headphones. They do not draw unnecessary attention to your ears because they are small and tuck right in. Sleeping with them in your ears is incredibly comfortable and they stay put the entire night (just make sure your alarm is loud enough to overcome the noise isolation by the morning!)
I have tried them back to back with other headphones in the same range and I must say they are as good or better than more expensive alternatives. It is my personal opinion that these are the best headphones that money can buy before you step into "professional" headphones made for studio listening or other demanding environments. If you are a casual user looking for good headphones, look no further, end your search right here.
There are some noticeable drawbacks in these headphones though.
My primary concern is the amount of cable noise they give off. My last pair was Shure's older generation e2g which had thick cables that barely moved. Back then, I didn't even know what 'cable noise' was, but I quickly learned after using the UE700's. The level of noise goes from 'ignorable' to 'pretty damn annoying' depending on the environment. For example, while sitting at work, if there is a quiet song playing, I am quickly reminded that I have them in because the most *minute* movements transfer noise and interfere with the music. Likewise, while running, the bouncing of the chord makes listening to music almost unbearable. If the cable is not secured with a clip you are better off not listening to music at all.
Another complaint of mine is how the silicon tips fit in my ears. They are incredibly comfortable and hold well, but the drawback is when the chord is snagged, they rip out of my ears and it is painful! I guess that is the price you pay for a good secure hold. I suggest going with the Comply tips for the comfort and noise isolation.
Lastly, the coating on the plug was so smooth when I first used them that the headphones would come out of my ipod whenever it was dropped or there was tension on the cable. After a month of use, though, the end has been rubbed from normal wear and tear so there is extra friction which keeps it in place. This was a bit annoying at first because my ipod nano (it's only an ounce or two) fell to the ground on a few occasions.
Ultimate Ears 700 vs Q-Jays May 12, 2010
Benjamin D. Heller (Brooklyn, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I love headphones - and as a daily New York commuter I love in ear monitors. The Ultimate Ears 700 are my seventh pair of in ear monitor headphones. My first were the Sony EX71, then Etymotic ER-6, then Sennheiser CX-300, then Q-Jays, then Beyerdynamic DTX 50, then Denon AH-C452K and now the UE 700. For reference home listening I use Beyerdynamic DT-880 which are amazing.
When I look to in-ear monitors, I am looking for a lot of things. Comfort, value, balanced sound, sound quality, imaging, durability, minimal cord microphonics, efficiency and size. I tend to like balanced headphones over bass boosting headphones. Because of my preference for small but great sounding IEMs, I purchased a pair of Q-Jays 2 years ago. They are fantastic headphones, lacking only a little in bass at low volumes. I had a cord issue several weeks ago and while waiting for them to be fixed by Jays in Sweden, I found a great deal on the UE700 that was too good to pass up.
The Ultimate Ears 700 are very similar to the Q-Jays being a super small dual driver balanced IEM. There are several comparisons out there on the internet that make the two models seem almost interchangeable. I wanted to post a review to point out the differences.
1. The Ultimate Ears have better bass at lower volumes. I have never been completely satisfied with the Q-Jays bass because I listen at lower volumes. When cranked up a bit, the Q-Jays perform really well. But overall, the UE700 handle bass at the volume I listen at better.
2. The Ultimate Ears have more treble at all volumes, but at high volumes, the treble can get out of control and grating. I genuinely do not like listening to the Ultimate Ears 700 at a higher volume. The treble just causes "listener fatigue" really quickly. If you are the type to really crank up the volume, I would advise you look elsewhere.
3. The Ultimate Ears have slightly better imaging and detail. I believe this is due to the additional treble.
4. The Ultimate Ears cord is a full 4ft length, softer, and has a less durable feel than the Q-Jays. Many people do not like the 2ft length of the Q-Jays cable. I guess I have grown to like it... the UE700 cable just feels too long and soft. I have durability concerns, though have had no issues.
5. The Ultimate Ears are more efficient than the Q-Jays... this isn't a good thing. Plugged into an iPod Shuffle or iPhone, you hear the hiss. An accessory provided with the UE700 is a resistor for use on planes to avoid having your eardrums blown out by the announcers, but you aren't going to use that with your iPod.
While when these came out, the prices between the Q-Jays and UE700 were similar, but recently the Q-Jays have gone up in price, and the UE700 have gone down in price. If the price were exactly the same, I think it would pretty much be a toss up depending on the user's preferences. With my preferences, I would lean slightly towards the Q-Jays. At the current pricing levels, I think the UE700 are a great choice for people want a small IEM that is balanced (slightly favoring the treble) who do not listen to their music at high volumes and would probably advise more people in this direction than toward the Q-Jays.
Very comfortable earphones with great sound April 18, 2010
Billrock (San Jose, CA USA)
This earphones are great. The sound quality is amazing, and they won't hurt your ears if you listen to your music playlist for hours. The price is worth it if you care abut comfort and amazing sound quality. I have tried multiple earphones. I have tried earphones made by etymotic research, shure, klipsch, and sony; and they do not compare to the Ultimate Ears 700.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 39
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