Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Noise Isolating Earphones
Review by whatever : Cable wears out quickly

I use these on my commute- <2 hours a day and treat them gingerly, like the expensive, easily breakable items they are.

I'm now going on my 2nd pair and 3rd cable set.

In about 3-4 months you'll notice that one of your channels has lost all or most of its volume.

Then when you continue to use it, you'll notice that the sound completely cuts out between steps as you're walking.

Eventually, nothing brings the sound back and you pay $20 for a new cord. Disconnecting and then reconnecting the cable to the buds will not do anything.

The problem is that the area where the jack transitions to the cord (the strain-releaf) is VERY WEAK and eventually the wire breaks inside. On my next cable (currently awaiting its arrival), I'll use some heat-shrink in that area to try and bolster it, but for $400, why am I engineering a fix?

I also have a coworker whose first pair broke where the bud meets the shapeable wire that goes over your ears. I'm sure this will eventually happen to me and then I'll no longer buy anything from this company.
My $100 Shures Shure E2c Sound Isolating Earphones are just about as good, isolate about the same and I can buy 4 of them for the cost of one of these.

Also- if you want a GOOD seal, you need to get the replacement (or 3rd party) foam tips. The foam tips that came with both of my pairs was not the same, and inferior to, the replacements.

Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Noise Isolating Earphones
Review by A. Kershaw "Electronic Guru" : Honest Product Review

The headphones are pretty decent. I don't usually listen to all the hype when it comes to headphones so don't expect this review to persuade you to buy or not buy these headphones. This is merely to help inform you as the purchaser what to look for and what to expect.

With that said...Let's Begin!

Pros:
1.) Construction ~ I have used better and worse
2.) Sound
3.) Accessories
4.) Design

Cons:
1.) Price
2.) Ease of use

Overall that is my bullet checklist of what I look for in headphones. Now to explain:

The headphones are decently assembled. I feel that they are not brittle by any means. But, by no cercumstances are these going to stand constant abuse. I am an Apple user and my recommendation is to treat these like you would your iPod, iPhone, or MacBook Pro. For the price you wouldn't go throwing these around and not use the case that came with them.

The sound response when listening to my TV, Computer or iPod is quite good. The three drivers hit the entire spectrum well. Electric & Acoustic guitars, vocals, and drums sound excellent. The capabilities of these headphones exceed those $20 Sony's, $60 Skull Candy's or $100 Sure's you can get at Best Buy or Fry's. Granted you can probably get a better value per dollar ratio from other headphones out there.

Now, if you are looking for big bass headphones these aren't the pair to buy. But, you DON'T BUY EAR BUD HEADPHONES FOR BIG BASS!!! Ear bud headphones are not constructed for huge bass. You want bass go to a club or buy big honken over the ear headphones. I get tired of reading reviews stating that these are horrible for bass, yatta yatta yatta, etc. I mean think of the physical size of the drivers or the air chamber inside, to expect some amazing bass is not realistic.

The accessories included and the design of these headphones have the music enthusiast in mind. The case keeps them well protected, the adapters and earpiece assortment is a nice variety to see. The actual size of the headphones aren't really obsene, but may be slightly big for some people's taste but compared to over the ear headphones these are great in size.

If you can get over the price tag on these puppies they are great headphones. But, don't buy them if all you listen to is rap & hip hop and expect some crazy bass. You won't get it and need to go find another product.

My recommendations:
1.) Get the Tx500 Comply ear pieces that protect against wax getting inside the headphones. I mean you paid this much for a set of headphones, spend a little extra to keep them clean. The ones on Amazon.com are only Medium. Go to Comply's website to get Small or Large or the Assortment.
2.) Shape the wire that is design to hang over and behind the ear. This helps them stay in place. You have to get used to using a set of headphones like these. Be patient.

The music I listen to that I use these for:
1.) Rock
2.) Alternative
3.) Jazz
4.) Blues

Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Noise Isolating Earphones
Review by Andrew Davidoff "super guy" : Picks up where the super.fi 5 pro leave off, awesome IEM

I purchased the triple.fi 10vi as replacements for my super.fi 5 pros which were stolen. I loved the super.fi 5 pros and didn't really have any complaints about them, but if I had to be critical, I'd say they were a little bit lacking in the low end. I figured that since the 10s have 3 drivers vs the 5s dual driver design, the 10s would pick up where the 5s left off.

That pretty much sums up my experience. The overall performance of the 10s is markedly better than the 5s in exactly the areas you'd expect given their technical differences. I don't have experience with IEMs other than ultimate ears, but generally speaking I would say these little ear buds amazing. The sound reproduction is full and accurate.

Unfortunately I am not really sure how to describe what good IEMs sound like without using a bunch of subjective terminology, but here's perhaps a practical example from my experience. My first step into a "higher quality" headphone was the sony mdr v700dj. The first time I used those I thought they sounded amazing. Of course, they are a very different product from an IEM, but they now sound like garbage to me. If you are moving up from your favorite pair of over the ear monitors to ear buds, maybe that'll be a valuable anecdote for you.

I use a set of the rubber tips that comes with the 10s and find the fit to be just fine. They are not uncomfortable and I don't feel a need to fiddle with them once they're in. I do not use the built in mic, so I have no comments regarding its quality.

If you want to spend about 1/2 the price and still be very happy with your IEMs, I would recommend the super.fi 5 pros. But if you have the money to spend or are looking to upgrade from your existing IEMs, I highly recommend the triple.fi 10.

Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Noise Isolating Earphones
Review by Travis Dockweiler "tdockweiler" : Best earphone i've ever owned

First, let me mention that i've tried earphones out in the past and found them to be extremely uncomfortable in most cases. The Bose earphones are comfortable, but they don't go very far in your ear. The Shure E3C didn't sound good and they hurt so much they were unusable. After that experience I skipped out on earphones for a long time.

For the past few years i've been trying and using many different headphones. My favorite of the last year has been the AKG 701. They're huge and really need a good headphone amp. Don't laugh, but my main source of audio is an ipod touch using a headphone amp and Lossless audio. WAV format or Apple Lossless. If it's MP3, it's 320kbps.

I wanted to downsize my setup a bit for some uses, so I needed something smaller that could work well without a headphone amp.

Did maybe two days of research and found these and was shocked at how many good reviews on Amazon there was for these (the old listing). That's not very common with earphones it seems. It was a hard decision to go with these over a similar Shure model. The size of these ALMOST made me not get them. Please don't let the size keep you from getting them. It's not a problem. The other Shure model also seemed to have more Bass (according to reviews). That's a negative for me. I don't like any extra bass usually. That's one reason I love the AKG 701's. They have a perfect balance of everything.

Ok, with that out of the way I bought these and immediately found that even the smallest ear piece was too large and hurt my ears after just a few minutes of use. I'm not really a small person, but I was surprised that the small ear piece was a tight fit. Sony earbuds come with a small sized one that would work perfect, but I didn't want to risk it.

I tried the (old, not Comply) foam piece and it was defective! The foam was not glued on properly to the plastic insert. Imagine if I did not notice this! I'd be prying that thing out with tweezers perhaps. UPDATE: Ultimate Ears now includes Comply Foam inserts. Those things are the best! ZERO pain at all EVER. Not once in a year. Previously they were a separate purchase.

Be sure that when you use these to make sure the wire goes on TOP and back around the ear! It's a bit different than other earphones. They have a video on their website of how to insert them properly. It actually helps! Bring them from back behind the ear FIRST.

The nice thing about these is that they feel like an earbud with the ear clip. The wire that goes above and around your ear is really stiff and kind of keeps the earbuds in your ear.

I'm not good at describing the sound, but with earphones or headphones it's best to pick something that sounds good to YOU. Many times i've picked up headphones based on suggestions and they just didn't have my preferred sound. They either had too much bass or were too bright or had too much coloration. To me the sound from these just sounds perfect. Not to sound corny, but the sound is pleasing to the ears and there's not too much of anything at all. Perfect everything. To me, the sound is almost similar to that of the AKG 701, which is probably around the same price. With these those you really feel like your right there in the studio. I can't say that about any other headphone/earphone. Not even Grado stuff.

If your wondering what else i've tried before getting these. I've owned Sennheiser HD-555's, 580s and 650's. Beyerdynamic DT-990s, Grado SR-60, Grado 325i, AKG 701 and lots of other's.

For portable use SR-60's are good for some types of music, but I don't like the design, although it was my preferred headphone for portable players maybe.

AKG 701 was without a doubt my favorite headphone. Some may not like them, but it's my preferred type of sound. Second favorite were the Beyers of course.

Purchased the Grado 325i two months before the Ultimate Ears and thought they were good on some music, but terrible on others. They stress my ears out too much and I can't wear them for more than an hour. I think there can be such a thing as too much detail!

So now these are my new current main earphone/headphone. Believe it or not they can be used on an Ipod or Sansa View without a headphone amp. Of course they will sound better with an amp, but it's not always needed. Thanks to these new earphones i've now converted some of my old CDs that were ripped to mp3 back to WAV or Lossless.

Is the price too high? I don't think so at all. Never once felt like they were too expensive after using them for a week. I've compared them to many other headphones/earphones and they sound just as good as any other similar priced model.

Had the foam insert defect and that isn't enough to knock off a point. I've used these since July of 2008 and the build quality has been perfect. Only a month ago did I realize that the cable is user replaceable. I did not even realize this until I pulled it apart myself and plugged it back in. I seriously think if these ever die, i'll just replace them with the exact same thing. I like them that much. All music sounds good with these, but i'd like to try a similar Shure model just to compare them. On my new Ipod Touch they sound fine without a headphone amp. Using an amp makes them sound ever better, but it's not needed. Just a note, if you use a headphone amp with these, don't use rechargeable batteries. It degrades the sound quality. No lie!

I'm sorry, but as much as i'd like to come up with some more negatives, I can't. These are very good! Best i've tried yet. After hearing these I doubt i'll ever go back to regular headphones.
UPDATE: After a year i've now finally come up with one extremely minor negative. They are a somewhat big. Maybe in a few years UE can do a redesign and find a way to make them smaller. It's not a big deal.

Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 Noise Isolating Earphones
Review by Shane O. Laake "camera nerd" : Phenomenal sound, but not perfect

My quest for the perfect set of headphones had me read endless reviews from consumers, audiophiles, gadget blogs, and anyone else who wanted to weigh in. In short I never found one set of headphones to rule them all. Since I was looking at an investment of several hundred dollars such ambiguity left me a bit unsettled. Sure there were some moments of clarity:

* multiple drivers had the potential for more accurate reproduction
* balance armature drivers are among the best for headphones
* multiple ear cushion options offer the best bet for a good fit

These factors led me to this set of headphones, and despite quite a few complaints of cord damage being too frequent (sadly it seems many competitors also suffer these issues), I took the plunge. Granted a Gold Box price of $99 made it more of an informed impulse buy.

When you first get the headphones, you'll get an immediate satisfaction that you've purchased something of supreme quality. Packaging is top notch, the included case is both attractive and functional, and there are numerous accommodations for fit. Once I tried out the headphones I was a bit underwhelmed however. First off getting the right fit was difficult, which was made a bit more awkward due to the fact I've never worn earbuds that want to wrap the cable over the ear. After multiple tries, I was able to focus on the music, which also was disappointing. Sure it sounded good, but it wasn't great. Not having fully addressed the fit, I was losing low end punch to a poor seal, and the mids and highs weren't much better than $35 headphones. Did I just blow $99? Not at all, as the mids and highs improved with use (I left my iPod running all evening at a moderate volume, and an significant improvement was evident). The lows also improved greatly due to finding a better fit, and now I'm enjoying high fidelity audio wherever I am.

Overall the sound quality is highly transparent and clean. Things just sound how they should. I can actually hear the difference between 192kps and 320kps MP3s, and I imagine I can finally appreciate lossless files enough to justify their storage demands. In short, you will hear things again for the first time. This is why I give these 5 stars despite some of my issues with fitting and numerous reports of cable failures. Sometimes greatness comes with a price that goes beyond the financial, and if you're willing to take that on, these may be the headphones for you.

Other observations:

* cable length is just about perfect for personal use
* not only do you get four types of silicone cushions and foam ones, you get a second set of foam ones
* replacement cushions seem readily available
* while I love my headphones, if someone offered me $300 for them, I'd probably go for it