While UE's custom products offer the best comfort, isolation, and sound quality, they're still expensive for many users. Understanding this, and wanting to expand their market reach yet again, Ultimate Ears decided to enter the universal-fit earphone market.
Partnering with Innovative Partners of Irvine, CA, Ultimate Ears' team set their sights on trying to find a way to bring UE's legendary quality to a generic-fit consumer product. After much research and design, they introduced the Super.fi line to the public in 2005. The Super.fi line consists of three products: the super.fi 3 ($99), a universal-fit version of their now-discontinued single driver earpiece (the UE-3); the dual-driver super.fi 5 Pro ($249), based on the design of their UE-5 Series; and the super.fi 5 EB ($199), based on the design of the UE-Hybrid. Both iPod users and musicians on a budget have found it beneficial to have the signature Ultimate Ears quality in an inexpensive, universal-fit earpiece.
The Manufacturing Process
Crafting a completely custom product isn't easy, but the folks at Ultimate Ears have it down to a science.The first step to getting fully-custom monitors made, other than identifying which design best suits you, is a visit to an audiologist. You'll get a set of ear impressions made by remaining still for 10 minutes as your ears are filled with a silicone substance. The silicone cures into a hard reverse-cast of your ear. If you're unable to locate one of UE's preferred audiologists in your area, it shouldn't cost more than $50-75, and most times much less, to have impressions made (in St. Louis, for example, the Washington University CID Hearing Clinic which provides impressions for $30). UE has a partnership with Sonus audiologists to do impressions for a flat $50 fee as well. Make sure the audiologist understands that you just need impressions, not ear molds. Once these are sent to UE, there are other options from which to choose, custom artwork or color choices ranging from flesh tones to psychedelic mixed pastels.
Once accepted at UE's manufacturing facility in California, your monitors are manufactured by a process called VTM, or Virtual Translation Manufacturing. Your impressions are scanned in 3-D into a computer, which FTPs the files to a manufacturing facility in Minnesota. Then, a software program produces a virtual earmold using Ultimate Ears' specs. This allows UE to virtually check the fit of the earpiece before "printing" it, making sure you've got the best fit the first time around. In fact, assuming good-quality impressions, earpieces produced using traditional methods have an industry-wide refit rate of between 15 and 25%. Using VTM technology, the return rate is reportedly as low as 5%. Using this process allows Ultimate Ears to offer the best quality and best fit the first time around, without costing their clients valuable time, not to mention extra money to refit earpieces. It also allows for easy remakes in case of damage or loss. Your impression data is digitally stored, and can be reproduced on a moments' notice.
Once the earpiece design is perfected, it's printed and shipped back to Ultimate Ears for final manufacturing. Depending on the model you're purchasing, the appropriate components, custom-designed by UE and manufactured to their exact specifications by an electronics company that specializes in acoustic device engineering, are put into each earpiece, along with filters that shape the frequency response to the desired characteristics.
Once the electronics are added, the faceplate is attached, and the monitor starts to look complete. Then it goes into the hands of one of UE's technicians who, using a computer program and measurement microphone that mimics the response of the human ear, trims down the port tubes going into the ear canal to assure a custom frequency response that matches the specifications of the product. Once properly tuned, your monitors are polished, packaged in a stainless steel case engraved with your name, and shipped out. Standard turn-around time is about a week to 10 days, depending on how many orders are in-house; however, rush service is available for an extra charge if necessary.
And how do they sound? Read on.
