Ultimate Ears

Ultimate Ears is an American in-ear monitor and earplug manufacturer based in Irvine, California. The company was founded in 1995 by then Van Halen sound engineer Jerry Harvey.

Consumer in-ear monitors

Ultimate Ears' mainstream offering is the Super.Fi family of in-ear monitors, with prices ranging from $30-$450 USD as follows:

*The Loud.Enough, designed for children 6 and up, with a 10mm mylar driver and limits sound pressure levels to 60%.
*The Metro.Fi 100 with a 10mm mylar driver.
*The Metro.Fi 100v, designed for the iPhone, with a 10mm mylar driver and inline microphone.
*The Metro.Fi 150 with a small, high-energy dynamic driver.
*The Metro.Fi 150v, designed for the iPhone, with a small, high-energy dynamic driver and inline microphone.
*The Metro.Fi 200 with a small, high-energy, high-performance dynamic driver.
*The Metro.Fi 200v, designed for the iPhone, with a small, high-energy, high-performance dynamic driver and inline microphone.
*The Super.Fi 3 Studio with one balanced armature driver.
*The Super.Fi 4 with a proprietary balanced armature speaker.
*The Super.Fi 4vi designed for the iPhone, with a proprietary balanced armature speaker with an inline microphone.
*The Super.Fi 5 with one Proprietary balanced armature driver.
*The Super.Fi 5 EB with one balanced armature and one 13.5mm diaphragm driver.
*The Super.Fi 5 Pro with two balanced armature drivers with pre-emptive inline crossover.
*The Triple.Fi 10 Pro with three balanced armature in-ear monitor with pre-emptive inline crossover.
*The Triple.Fi 10vi Pro, designed for the iPhone, with three balanced armature in-ear monitor with pre-emptive inline crossover and inline microphone.

Like all in-ear monitors, the Ultimate Ears consumer monitors require a certain fitting pattern for low-profile, environmentally-friendly noise isolation, and it may be uncomfortable for some users.

Reference in-ear monitors

Ultimate Ears also offers a family of reference quality in-ear monitors called the Custom family. The Custom line of monitors have price ranges of between $550-$1,150, and are custom-molded to fit the ears of the buyer. Each monitor from the Custom line is suited for different types of music and/or recording.

*The UE-11 PRO with Quadruple Balanced Armature Driver Technology, Single High-end Frequencies Driver, Single Mid Frequencies Driver, and Dual Low-End Woofers Frequencies with Three-way integrated Passive Crossover
*The UE-10 Pro with Triple Balanced Armature Driver Technology, Single High-End Frequencies Driver, Dual Mid-Low Frequencies Drivers with Integrated Passive Crossover Circuit Board.
*The UE-7 Pro with Triple Balanced Armature Driver Technology, Single High-End Frequencies Driver, Dual Mid-Low Frequencies Drivers with Intergrated Passive Crossover.
*The UE-5 Pro With Dual Balanced Armature Drivers, Single High-End Frequencies Driver, Single Mid-Low Frequencies Driver with integrated Passive Crossover
*The UE-5 Ambient with two full range balanced armatures.
*The UE-Hybrid with one balanced armature driver for High-End Frequencies and one high-energy Dynamic diaphragm for Mid-Low Frequencies.

The only drawback about the Custom models is that those who want to purchase these kind of monitors must visit an audiologist to have ear impressions made, for truer noise isolation and an accurate fit. A visit to an audiologist is a high expense to consider, and tight-budget individuals sometimes criticize the Custom family of monitors not only for the cost of the monitor alone, but also the added cost of having to visit an audiologist.

Musician's earplugs

Ultimate Ears also offers earplugs for professional musicians. The earplugs are aptly marketed in the amount of background noise dB value an earplug can reduce. These earplugs attenuate all frequency ranges equally, allowing a musician to protect his or her hearing while maintaining the ability to accurately hear their music.

Logitech, Inc.

Ultimate Ears was acquired by Logitech on August 14, 2008. The $34 million deal gave Logitech its first in-canal earphones product line. Logitech is expected to promote the line for both portable media players used by consumers as well as for professional audio monitors. The move is more specifically intended by Logitech to expand its iPhone and iPod third-party accessories beyond their current line of portable speaker systems.

Logitech reports that the deal should be approved and take full effect by the end of August 2008. No future products were announced as part of the buyout, which pits Logitech against Etymotic Research, Shure, and other audio equipment makers.

References

*Sauer, Patrick J. [http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070601/features-more-volume.html More Volume!] , "Inc. Magazine", June 2007.

External links

* [http://www.ultimateears.com Ultimate Ears Official Site]
* [http://homerecording.about.com/od/interviewstipstricks/a/ultimateears1.htm Article on Ultimate Ears' History, with Product Reviews]
* [http://www.ultimateears.com/_ultimateears/buzz/news_detail.php?id=23]