Ultimate Buds UB3

[mittenman]

Got my UB5's today for review. Gonna beat 'em up for awhile plugged into my laptop before I really give them a good listen, but sounded nice initially. Construction seems of quality and uses the V-Moda casings as I suspected. Will be putting them to work this weekend, as I have far too much yard work to be done. Review to come!

[dbarron]

Got mine yesterday! First impressions:

Construction seems solid. Only one set of flanges provided, but fit me well enough.
Sound isolation is very good. Earphones definitely seem based on the v-moda Vibe shell. Very attractive, and color is solid black. At the other end, the jack connector is slightly different than the Vibe's, and we'll have to see how the strain relief in the jack holds up.

Been listing to a broad variety of music for several hours (everything from soundtracks, rock, classical, blues, folk, hip-hop).

Sound quality is definitely a step up from the stock headphones! Highs are much clearer and more nuanced. I'm finding layers in the mid-and high-end that I don't usually hear. Vocals are very crisp.

At first, I was going to describe the bass levels as 'not very punchy'. But I realized that it was really just that the bass is delivered very 'clear'. Even on some hip-hop tracks, the bass is pretty clean and not muddled. I would almost describe it as a pretty tight frequency response To me, this is good, as I don't like overbearing bass. Those whose tastes are more hip-hop might prefer some more thump. I'll also need to see how these headphones sound with movies.

Haven't testing the mic quality to asses the value of the integrated windscreen. The hidden button on the mic is ever so slightly less responsive than the stock phone, but I got used to it very quickly.

So overal, my first impression is very favorable. For the recommended price, they seem like a they will be a great value. I'll keep putting them through the paces and update with more info soon.

[mittenman]

Originally Posted by dbarron

Got mine yesterday! First impressions:

Construction seems solid. Only one set of flanges provided, but fit me well enough.
Sound isolation is very good. Earphones definitely seem based on the v-moda Vibe shell. Very attractive, and color is solid black. At the other end, the jack connector is slightly different than the Vibe's, and we'll have to see how the strain relief in the jack holds up.

Been listing to a broad variety of music for several hours (everything from soundtracks, rock, classical, blues, folk, hip-hop).

Sound quality is definitely a step up from the stock headphones! Highs are much clearer and more nuanced. I'm finding layers in the mid-and high-end that I don't usually hear. Vocals are very crisp.

At first, I was going to describe the bass levels as 'not very punchy'. But I realized that it was really just that the bass is delivered very 'clear'. Even on some hip-hop tracks, the bass is pretty clean and not muddled. I would almost describe it as a pretty tight frequency response To me, this is good, as I don't like overbearing bass. Those whose tastes are more hip-hop might prefer some more thump. I'll also need to see how these headphones sound with movies.

Haven't testing the mic quality to asses the value of the integrated windscreen. The hidden button on the mic is ever so slightly less responsive than the stock phone, but I got used to it very quickly.

So overal, my first impression is very favorable. For the recommended price, they seem like a they will be a great value. I'll keep putting them through the paces and update with more info soon.

My set came with 3, the ones that came on it are the med. size and seem to fit the best out of all though.

[climr]

Originally Posted by dbarron

Construction seems solid. Only one set of flanges provided, but fit me well enough.

Yep, 3 sets of flanges are provided. Sometimes these get "stuck" in the bottom of the box and people don't realize they are in there. If for some reason you didn't get them, please let us know and we'll send some out.

We've also recently been experimenting with the iPhone EQ settings. In the past, we've told people not to use it as it can easily cause distortion, but the UB5 seems to handle the bass boost EQ setting very well and stays clean. We expect this has to do with the slightly lower sensitivity of the UB5 drivers, but whatever the reason, it's a nice benefit for those that want even more of a bass punch. Give it a shot.

Thanks
Brad
Ultimate Buds

[mittenman]

Originally Posted by climr

Yep, 3 sets of flanges are provided. Sometimes these get "stuck" in the bottom of the box and people don't realize they are in there. If for some reason you didn't get them, please let us know and we'll send some out.

We've also recently been experimenting with the iPhone EQ settings. In the past, we've told people not to use it as it can easily cause distortion, but the UB5 seems to handle the bass boost EQ setting very well and stays clean. We expect this has to do with the slightly lower sensitivity of the UB5 drivers, but whatever the reason, it's a nice benefit for those that want even more of a bass punch. Give it a shot.

Thanks
Brad
Ultimate Buds

I've noticed some good results with different EQ settings also, "rock" seems to brighten everything up nicely.

[Bilal]

Just got the UB5s today. Really nice so far. The bass is MUCH better than the UB3s. Not muddy at all.

Ill have to listen more to really get a feel for them. I love the build, vmoda style and the jack seems tougher.

The mic is like the stock iphone one, very thin and unobtrusive.

And the EQ seems to work actually pretty good with this headset. Boosting bass doesn't distort the sound.

[enicholson]

Just ordered a pair last night... They haven't shipped yet, but I'm very excited.

We'll see!