Review: Ultimate Ears 18+PRO – Take my money

Disclaimer: I was sent the Ultimate Ears UE 18+PRO free of charge in exchange for this review, via Fischer Amps in Germany. Ultimate Ears and Fischer Amps are in no other way related to Headfonia and the sample doesn’t need to be returned

 

Ultimate Ears

Founded in 1995 Ultimate Ears Pro created a new market for custom in-ear monitors which are now used by most of the world’s top touring musicians. The first in-ear monitor was developed for Alex Van Halen by his monitor engineer to give him a way to protect his hearing while allowing him to perform better on stage. In 2008, UE Pro partnered with Logitech, a company as passionate about premium audio and connecting people through technology as UE are about changing the way you hear music. UE have since created over 100,000 sets of in-ear monitors in the last 20 years for musicians and music lovers.

For 20+ years the UE team is continuously challenging itself to innovate, improve quality, and advance delivery times. As part of our continuous drive to be better, UE Pro has combined artisan-handcrafted techniques with cutting-edge technology. UE have embraced the advantages of digital processes to advance time to customers and deliver an acoustic experience that is second-to-none. Each product is handcrafted, precision-tuned and custom tailored to fit the unique contours of the ear, isolating it from any external noise. This starts with a unique digital scan or physical impression of the ear. UE experts modify the shape to improve comfort and fit for all of the key audio and electronic components where each detail is meticulously developed. The custom ear shell is printed using the latest 3D printing techniques. UE have been 3D printing since 2015 to ensure they are producing a better fitting, more accurate product. UE have a team of lab technicians that work on multiple details to ensure your product matches your specific fit and design. This includes experts on 3D software and custom in-ear manufacturing who have been making products for more than 20 years, and also graphic artists who can reproduce your custom tailored design of choice.

It’s not the first time we look at UE gear on Headfonia.com. Previously we have reviewed the U900 and UE9000, but regarding this review, the Pro Reference Remastered is the most linked as it’s a CIEM. You can find the previous reviews here.

https://www.headfonia.com/thoughts-on-the-ultimate-ears-ue900/

https://www.headfonia.com/ultimate-ears-ultimate-the-ue9000/

https://www.headfonia.com/review-ultimate-ears-pro-reference-remastered-default-capital/

Fischer Amps

Based on 20 years of experience in pro audio and hi-fi, the Germany based Fischer Amps are one of the outstanding manufacturers of solutions for sound engineers, artists and audiophiles.

From year one, Fischer Amps have been striving to simplify the work for artists and their sound engineers, to enable them to focus on their show and joy for music during live performances. In collaboration with renowned sound engineers and artists, Fischer Amps are constantly developing new products which satisfy the requirements on stage and which show their reliability on stage.

Jochen Fischer took over the Europe-wide distribution for Ultimate Ears Pro in 1999, at a time when in-ear monitoring was still in its infancy! With passion and expertise, they train their dealers & acoustic partners, provide easy, fast support and help ensure that all UE feel that they are in good hands. 

18+PRO

In this article we’ll be looking at the UE 18+PRO. This actually was the UE flagship till a few months ago when UE released the LIVE monitor. You can find the dedicated 18+PRO page here:

http://pro.ultimateears.com/products/custom-monitors/ultimate-ears-pro-18-plus

The version we have in for review actually is a V2 version and not a V3 version. The V2-version only existed for a very short time and the difference with the V3 version is that the latter offers even more headroom than the V2. Not that the V2 lacks in that area though, but more on that later.

The third generation 18+ takes the excellence of the original award-winning UE 18 Pro and adds the new precision True Tone Plus drivers share with UE LIVE! Feel upper register harmonics, hear improved presence, and enjoy clear warm sound.

The UE 18+PRO features a 4-way mixed crossover designed to separate electrical load on each individual balanced armature. The patented triple bore sound channels keep the lows, mids and highs separate until they interact with your eardrum. It’s a really special design

The UE 18+PRO’s internal speaker configuration is as follows: 6 balanced armatures and 4 passive crossovers. The 6 proprietary balanced armatures are divided into 4 frequency bands, with 2 True Tone drivers dedicated to high frequency band.

True Tone

The True Tone technology is an Ultimate Ears technology. True Tone drivers are proprietary balanced armatures that focus on the overtones and harmonics, so that you can hear and feel the emotional qualities of the music.

With the UE True Tone Drivers – which extend the frequency range and deliver a flat response to 18KHz – you can now hear the harmonic structures and overtones that are usually missing from most headphones. As a result, the notes from hi-res audio recordings can be heard just the way it was captured in the studio.

The article continues on PAGE TWO after the CLICK HERE or by using the jump below.

4/5 - (84 votes)
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Lieven is living in Europe and he's the leader of the gang. He's running Headfonia as a side project next to his full time day job in Digital Marketing & Consultancy. He's a big fan of tube amps and custom inear monitors and has published hundreds of product reviews over the years.

8 Comments

  • Reply June 21, 2018

    Thomas Alessandro

    Great review as always. I have had the UE18 rps for 6 years the best thing about UE is the repair service its a flat fee of $99 US and no matter what’s wrong with your monitors they fix them for this price. I just loss my bass in both ears and UE came to the rescue and upgraded my monitors to the new UE 18 pro + free of charge. Hows that for customer service.

    Eagerly awaiting your Astell and Kern SP100 review as thats on my list to purchase! I also have the Campfire Vega which musically are brilliant, unfortunately i cant find any tips to make them comfortable for more than 30 minutes so i have them on the market and will probably get some Vision Ears to compliment my UE. Love the site and all the reviews are fantastic thanks Headfonia team keep up the great work.

  • Reply June 22, 2018

    JH

    Interesting, getting a $1500 product for free and not a single bad point. And the opening feels like a marketing blurb that UE/Logitech wrote. I’d believe it if you paid UE for real rather than scream take my money in the title

    • Reply June 22, 2018

      Lieven

      Reading, it’s not for everyone I know. But there are several negative points in the review, especially regarding build quality. And then there’s the IPX connector that we don’t know how will react in the long run.There’s the missing things in the online creator tool, etc etc.

      cfr the intro: If you look at the UE site, you’ll see its what they wrote, there’s no secret about that my dear reader, it’s also why that part is in Italic.

    • Reply July 1, 2018

      XiaXueYi

      You’ll just have to listen to you for yourself. There are no headphones or IEMs that cover everything and every taste, but it’s like what he’s written, and looking at /audiophile under Reddit you’ll see a lot of UE18+ love as well.

      I only wished they told existing UE18+ owners or those buying UE18+ within ~6months of buying that they would be rolling up the new cable system. Many other IEM companies like Noble do inform their customers about upcoming upgrades and it’s a bummer some of us bought the older UE18+ just months before the new Superbax came out. It’ll be a pain to send it back for an upgrade.

  • Reply June 30, 2018

    Thomas Alessandro

    i thing to add is if you are an existing UE CIEM customer pretty sure you will get a 30% discount which is substantial.

  • Reply July 1, 2018

    XiaXueYi

    Thank you for finally posting this review! In my opinion the UE18+ is one of the most well-received TOTL CIEMs and every CIEM lover should at least listen to it once, if not buy it.

    Some people would disagree with me but I would describe the UERR as the younger brother; similar sound signature with slightly lesser performance in the technicalities.

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