Ultimate Ears TripleFi 10 earphones - $99

Some folks on head-fi are reporting success as early as 45 minutes ago. Keep trying!!

Head-Fi thread...
Today, 12:56 AM
DSlayerZX
"well...... in my case... i was messaging my friend about how i missed the deal
then the 150 -50 deal pop up,
I clicked.. gone....
complain to my friend more...twenty minutes later, checked price on e-bay... then it was there. Instantly purchased one by simply clicking next next next and next"
 
Urgh, now kinda regret not jumping on the deal. Anyone got an extra they want to flip? Will pay something between what you got it for and what scalpers on eBay are charging, shoot me a PM please!
 
If I had the budget for it, I would have bought a bunch for you guys. :(

Check the thread on Head-Fi. Before I found the rebate deal, I tried pming guys. One of them almost hooked it up, so it's worth a shot.
 
Mine shipped out yesterday too... debating if I should resell them or just keep them... got SE-310's right now. If I plan to resell them I obviously wouldn't want to open them.

Decisions... these would go well with a ZuneHD I'm planning to get soon.
 
excellsior said:
damnit! i was looking for some earbuds too!

any other deals you guys know like this.. such a great find!
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I was going to say you could find these from 3rd party sellers on Amazon and ebay for under 150, but all of those deals are gone. Prices are closer to 200 now.

In all fairness, that's still a good price for these.....especially since you can get up to 15% Bing cash back on the ebay purchase ($153 shipped).

If that's in your range (or you just want 15% CB on ebay):
go to bing
search for nintendo wii
click on link that says 15% cash back.

I got it for $99.00, but I would have jumped on it for 150, in a heart beat.
 
Blazestorm said:
Mine shipped out yesterday too... debating if I should resell them or just keep them... got SE-310's right now. If I plan to resell them I obviously wouldn't want to open them.

Decisions... these would go well with a ZuneHD I'm planning to get soon.
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Even if you open them, you can resell them for more than you paid. Personally, I'm looking forward to having some IEMs again.....can once again completely tune out everyone else at work without cranking up the sound.

You could also buy some extra ear cushions and leave the originals unused, until you were certain you want to keep these.

For $100.00, these are the deal of the year, though the Beatles Box set for $99 on BF (which I missed) was pretty damn nice too.
 
Unless you're going to be watching tons of movies on that Zune, you might consider the Sony X. I found it to be in an entirely different league for pure audio fidelity.
 
Finally wondered why I never received an email from logitech, turns out they canceled my order. :mad:

Way to go, now I have to find new christmas gifts. :(
 
Jodiuh said:
Unless you're going to be watching tons of movies on that Zune, you might consider the Sony X. I found it to be in an entirely different league for pure audio fidelity.
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Yea, I was interested in the browser/games/HD radio more than HD movies to be honest...

I almost want to hold out for a 64GB version though as my music collection is hitting 40GB now...
 
Jodiuh said:
Unless you're going to be watching tons of movies on that Zune, you might consider the Sony X. I found it to be in an entirely different league for pure audio fidelity.
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Cowon>Sony if you're talking about actual Audio quality.

For the best all around package, Zune HD.
 
Blazestorm said:
Yea, I was interested in the browser/games/HD radio more than HD movies to be honest...

I almost want to hold out for a 64GB version though as my music collection is hitting 40GB now...
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Do you really need to play that much music tho? Just swap it out. If I ever buy the Zune Pass I'll be doing that frequently :D
 
Blazestorm said:
Yea, I was interested in the browser/games/HD radio more than HD movies to be honest...
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I hear it's gotten an update, but the browsing experience was garbage when I had it. Sites took too long to load, device got too warm, wifi kicks off to save battery, no tabs, no resizing txt, means forums are a no no. The Project Gotham and Audiosurf games look fun and the HD Radio was pretty cool. That said, if you're interested in a browser, there's really only one choice. :D

TechieSooner said:
Cowon>Sony if you're talking about actual Audio quality.

For the best all around package, Zune HD.
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After owning both devices, the Sony S Master amp sounded MUCH BETTER than the Cowon IMO. This was through HD580's and some Ety's w/ rock, trance, classical, and pop. The Sony's smoother w/ a more refined low end. Instrument separation also won out on the Sony. No matter what I did to the EQ of the Cowon, I could not get it to come close to the Sony, which BTW, I never had to EQ.

For the best all around package, the new 32 or 64 GB touch blow them all away due to the browser and app store. For music, go w/ the Sony. For music, browsing, apps, go w/ the iPod. For the best screen I've ever seen, go w/ the Zune HD. For a clunky interface, cheap plasticy feel, go w/ the Cowon.
 
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I'm not going to be using the browser a lot, I just want there to be one, and as far as I know the Sony does not have a browser at all.

And yea I've heard it's improved as well, honestly I'll just find out I like the small size/slick interface compared to the iPod touch... there's 3-4 of them laying around and I've never been impressed, they just seem a little bit too big to be an MP3 player... ZuneHD brings it back down to "just the right size". in my opinion... Only time will tell

And I don't need to play that much music, but it's more annoying when I'm on trips and want to play a certain band that I happened not to load onto the Zune... that's whats happening with my current 30GB Zune... I'd rather just have space for all of it. Granted there are some bands that I really never listen to anymore but I had to drop 1000 songs for it to fit on my 30GB Zune and that included bands that I still listened to. And that had no movies or anything else on there... I don't have a lot of movies but I do have ~7-8 GB of stuff already rendered out for the Zune screens...
 
Jodiuh said:
After owning both devices, the Sony S Master amp sounded MUCH BETTER than the Cowon IMO. This was through HD580's and some Ety's w/ rock, trance, classical, and pop. The Sony's smoother w/ a more refined low end. Instrument separation also won out on the Sony. No matter what I did to the EQ of the Cowon, I could not get it to come close to the Sony, which BTW, I never had to EQ.
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Probably using crappy earphones or audio source as well, I'm sure...
You have a right to be wrong... If you go work on a professional level as an audio engineer you'll quickly find Cowon is second to none. That said, lots of folks want other features, so they'll settle for something else. The company puts a ton of effort into audio quality. And that, in my opinion, is why other areas of the device are lacking (UI, Casing materials, etc).
Audio quality is again, second to none.

ZuneHD is the best package you can buy right now, and totally negates anything the iPod offers (Only advantage there is folks that want an iPhone).

Sony is just trying to make a buck, that's all their model is down to anymore. Yea, they have some nice features, but they've totally lost touch with the consumer.

Edit- All right, reminded this is a thread about earphones here sooooooo... No more DAP convo here for me.
 
These earphones don't need to be amped right?

I used to have an iBasso but sold that. Hope I don't need a portable amp to make these sound good.

I'm pretty worried about the cables - I have a habit of throwing it into my backpack and I heard the cables on these are very fragile.
 
From what I've heard around the blocks, I decided to pick up a Sansa clip + to pair with these earbuds. The reason why I did this is because the Sansa is small, simple, and I'll probably figure out a way to semi-permanently attach my Fiio E5 headphone amp to it so I can have an all in one 'audio enthusiast' package. If you don't know about the Sansa Clip +, it's super cheap, yet still has a very high sound quality, along with support for Ogg and FLAC. It's got an OLED screen, but don't expect video playback because the screen is big enough to hold like 3 lines of text...lol. It holds 8Gb of music, but also has an SD card slot which you can either put more memory into, or you can put in this radio chip that streams music for you, which is pretty cool since it randomizes the songs by genre.

I sold my iPod touch 32gb since my Palm Pre essentially had the same functionality (albeit not as well executed in the interface design). But this Sansa I will be able to just keep in my backpack all the time and I won't have to drain my phone battery on long car rides.

Needless to say, I'm pumped for these IEMs, but it doesn't look like Logitech has a tracking number for me, and I have no idea whether they will come in weeks or days D:
 
Kayk said:
From what I've heard around the blocks, I decided to pick up a Sansa clip + to pair with these earbuds. The reason why I did this is because the Sansa is small, simple, and I'll probably figure out a way to semi-permanently attach my Fiio E5 headphone amp to it so I can have an all in one 'audio enthusiast' package. If you don't know about the Sansa Clip +, it's super cheap, yet still has a very high sound quality, along with support for Ogg and FLAC. It's got an OLED screen, but don't expect video playback because the screen is big enough to hold like 3 lines of text...lol. It holds 8Gb of music, but also has an SD card slot which you can either put more memory into, or you can put in this radio chip that streams music for you, which is pretty cool since it randomizes the songs by genre.

I sold my iPod touch 32gb since my Palm Pre essentially had the same functionality (albeit not as well executed in the interface design). But this Sansa I will be able to just keep in my backpack all the time and I won't have to drain my phone battery on long car rides.

Needless to say, I'm pumped for these IEMs, but it doesn't look like Logitech has a tracking number for me, and I have no idea whether they will come in weeks or days D:
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hopefully they'll fix the pitch bug in the next version
 
Armoured said:
These earphones don't need to be amped right?

I used to have an iBasso but sold that. Hope I don't need a portable amp to make these sound good.

I'm pretty worried about the cables - I have a habit of throwing it into my backpack and I heard the cables on these are very fragile.
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Never toss these in a backpack. If you break them and the warranty doesn't cover it, it'll take 200+ (maybe 300) to replace them (the prices on eBay will go up after all the resellers have sold their stock).

I'm the first to admit that UE's case is a pain to put the IEMs back in, but these are expensive IEMs. Take car of them and they'll take care of you.

As for the cables, I think it's something liek $20.00 to replace them, so that's really the least of your worries.
 
Blazestorm said:
...as far as I know the Sony does not have a browser at all...ZuneHD brings it back down to "just the right size". in my opinion...
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Technically, the Sony X does include a browser, but it's even worse than the Zune. Also, I find the Sony fits even better in the hand than the Zune as it's more compact and comes standard w/ volume up, volume down, next track, previous track, play, and pause buttons on the case! The inferface has everything you need on the main display as well, so there's no digging around for EQ options, of which the Zune only has presets. I've owned both and once the Sony X hits that magical $200 for the 16GB, I'll dive in. ($300 for 16GB is nuts)

I bring up the X only because the TripleFi's deserve to have their sonic fury uncaged in all it's awesomeness. :D

TechieSooner said:
Probably using crappy earphones or audio source as well, I'm sure...ZuneHD is the best package you can buy right now, and totally negates anything the iPod offers (Only advantage there is folks that want an iPhone)...Sony is just trying to make a buck, that's all their model is down to anymore. Yea, they have some nice features, but they've totally lost touch with the consumer.
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You know the sources, Zune HD and Sony X. In addition to Sennheiser HD580's and Etymotic ER6i's mentioned in my post, I used some Beyerdynamic DT770's, Headdirect RE0's, Ultrasone HFI-780's, and some Grado SR125's. I also mixed in 2 different amps, an altoid CMOY and a custom PIMETA. I realize this isn't crazy high end stuff, but they're enough to determine which of the players had better sound quality to my ears.

You really think the Zune negates anything the iPod offers? What about the consumer who wants a portable browser for home, couch, bed? What about someone who wants an online music library that doesn't think Lady Gaga should fall under Electronica? Zune marketplace even listed the top ten songs being from 2 rappers albums instead of say 7 or 8 different artists from multiple genres? Or the ridiculous amount of excellent apps available? They're both great devices and to my ears and out of the headphone jack, the Zune HD has the more spacious soundstage and an overall punchier SQ that really gets my head rollin. But to say the iPod's no longer useful...well, I think it's a bit much.

The most popular thread on an audiophile enthusiast's forum for the Cowon S9 has less than 150 posts and was abandoned nearly a year ago. But cleary Sony's "losing touch w/ the consumer," as can be seen from a 2,700 reply, 178,390 view
I have my hands ON the Sony X1000 Walkman - Impressions / Discussions


Back on topic...folks are STILL getting this deal to go through @ Amazon! So if you missed out earlier, jump in now!

Also, there's definitely been some folks w/ cable breaking issues on the triplefi. A friend of mine hasn't had his too long and his cable started shorting out too. Not sure if he was rough w/ it or not, but the replacement was only $20. However, there's a thread on head-fi w/ impressions on the The Enyo Silver Upgrade/Custom Cable for Ultimate Ears (Black) that can be had for $69. Just make sure to change the currency up top from Singapore to USD. I've never bought into the $$ cable upgrade, but considering the great cost we saved and the OP's comments on sound quality, it might not be a bad option.

Finally, here's a cool blowup of the internals that'd make a good poster on my wall. :D

Triplefi_Expsmall.jpg
 
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Jodiuh said:
Also, there's definitely been some folks w/ cable breaking issues on the triplefi. A friend of mine hasn't had his too long and his cable started shorting out too. Not sure if he was rough w/ it or not, but the replacement was only $20. However, there's a thread on head-fi w/ impressions on the The Enyo Silver Upgrade/Custom Cable for Ultimate Ears (Black) that can be had for $69. Just make sure to change the currency up top from Singapore to USD. I've never bought into the $$ cable upgrade, but considering the great cost we saved and the OP's comments on sound quality, it might not be a bad option.

Finally, here's a cool blowup of the internals that'd make a good poster on my wall. :D
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I seem to recall the whole cable-craze getting debunked on head-fi, though I could be wrong. I'd never spend that much on a cable.
 
Those are more interconnects(between amp and source). Headphone cable mods are a different story, and worth it to some people on certain models of headphones.
 
DyNe__ said:
I'd never spend that much on a cable.
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Yeah, I'm afraid this purchase will consist of me going completely over to the other side. But, if it does what's claimed in the post and fits as comfortably as it looks...well, I just might. Especially given that I'm getting $300 off the headphones. :D

Speaking of, I actually came to this thread and the head-fi one w/ news of the $149.99 price being here, but it's already down! I did see another poster get in on the deal just a few hours ago, so it might be worth using Opera, the Firefox extension reload every, or tab mix plus. Thankfully, for those that miss out, the market should be flooded w/ cheap Triple.Fi's. No one is going to be paying anywhere close to retail for quite awhile.
 
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DyNe__ said:
I seem to recall the whole cable-craze getting debunked on head-fi, though I could be wrong. I'd never spend that much on a cable.
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Well, there is the whole "Monster" thing that applies.

That said, audio is a different world than video. In today's digital video world, it's just 1's and 0's. Either the 1's and 0's get there or they don't. There's no difference between a "high quality" 1 and a "high quality" 0. As we all know, Monster cables are an absolute gimmick.
That said, we all also know that interference can kill those 1's and 0's, and that comes down to common sense of not running a cable over a light or something (Even if it was a Monster cable, you'd still get interference off that stuff).

Again that said, audio is a different deal. Granted we're only talking 2-3 feet of cable it really isn't that big of deal but theoretically you can get better sound the better the cable. That said, on almost all higher-end earphones like these, the cable isn't the same junk that Apple packages up with their iPods. So: I've yet to find any real-world advantage in the arena by replacing them. Advantages would be more along the lines of something more sturdy, or thicker...
 
I will say that cable can make a difference.

I'm no pro, but I had a pair of DT770-Pro's that had a damaged cable, I replaced it with a much thicker mic cable + 3.5mm jack and I think it sounds significantly better than it did before. But then again I bought the cheapest cables I could (like $10) and a $1 plug... I re-cabled an HD280 and felt the results were also much better. After looking at how thin and cheap the stock wirin was I could see why.

If anything I'd make my own cables :D
 
Blazestorm said:
I will say that cable can make a difference.

I'm no pro, but I had a pair of DT770-Pro's that had a damaged cable, I replaced it with a much thicker mic cable + 3.5mm jack and I think it sounds significantly better than it did before. But then again I bought the cheapest cables I could (like $10) and a $1 plug... I re-cabled an HD280 and felt the results were also much better. After looking at how thin and cheap the stock wirin was I could see why.

If anything I'd make my own cables :D
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Yep. But like I said, higher quality earphones generally come with decent cable in the first place. So what you get in the box would work fine.

Going from iPhone or iPod POS cable to a third party cable will obviously net you significant gains.
 
Yea, well the DT 770 Pro's are a higher-end headphone... which is why I was surprised it made a difference.

It'll work fine, but you can see improvements by upgrading the cable I'd think... But for these IEM's I think I'll just leave them how they are...
 
TechieSooner said:
Well, there is the whole "Monster" thing that applies.

That said, audio is a different world than video. In today's digital video world, it's just 1's and 0's. Either the 1's and 0's get there or they don't. There's no difference between a "high quality" 1 and a "high quality" 0. As we all know, Monster cables are an absolute gimmick.
That said, we all also know that interference can kill those 1's and 0's, and that comes down to common sense of not running a cable over a light or something (Even if it was a Monster cable, you'd still get interference off that stuff).

Again that said, audio is a different deal. Granted we're only talking 2-3 feet of cable it really isn't that big of deal but theoretically you can get better sound the better the cable. That said, on almost all higher-end earphones like these, the cable isn't the same junk that Apple packages up with their iPods. So: I've yet to find any real-world advantage in the arena by replacing them. Advantages would be more along the lines of something more sturdy, or thicker...
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Until there are double blind studies proving the validity of the claims, i assume it's all BS.

On a similar note, I'd like to see some blind studies of speakers and headphones that have and have not been broken in. I always like how people say, "they didn't sound good until they were broken in," which all too often seems to mean they got used to the sound of the speakers/headphones.

It may all be true, but until I see something quantifiable that supports it, I'll remain a skeptic.

With respect to IEMS, the best cable upgrade is one that would silence the sound of the cable rubbing against my shirt.
 
to be perfectly fair, its impossible to quantify the loosening/settlement of a speaker diaphragm by anything other than ones ears when its only the sound that changes, not the operation of the parts.
 
If anyone here bought 2-3 pairs of these earphones, break one in for a day or two, then compare the two and let us know of any differences.
 
__hollywood|meow said:
to be perfectly fair, its impossible to quantify the loosening/settlement of a speaker diaphragm by anything other than ones ears when its only the sound that changes, not the operation of the parts.
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But you can do a double blind where the listener listens to speakers that are fresh from the box and a pair that's been broken in for whatever is supposedly required. They have no idea which pair is which. Ideally, the person running the test doesn't know either.
 
Kayk said:
If anyone here bought 2-3 pairs of these earphones, break one in for a day or two, then compare the two and let us know of any differences.
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Even then, it'd have to be a blind study. The person breaking them in shouldn't be the person that runs the test or among those that's judging them.
If i did that, I might have a predisposition to disprove it, while someone else may have a desire to prove their belief that it matters.
Ideally have listeners who don't care, people who believe that breaking in matters and those that believe it doesn't. I'd think that you'd want them to listen to several tracks with each set (probably pulling out the headphones after listening to track A, then giving htem the other pair (or perhaps giving them the same pair)).

Alternatively, you could have 2 other groups where you tell them which is broken in....or better still, tell them the broken in one is new and the new one is broken in.....my guess is most that believe in breaking them in will pick the one you say is broken in.
 
nilepez said:
But you can do a double blind where the listener listens to speakers that are fresh from the box and a pair that's been broken in for whatever is supposedly required. They have no idea which pair is which. Ideally, the person running the test doesn't know either.
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Do you even know what the hell a double blind study is?
What you're describing is not a double blind study.
 
I'm pretty sure he's right about a double blind study - participants and observer does not know anything.
 
The triple.fi can't "burn-in" like dynamic earphones/speakers. It uses a triple-armature design - hence the triple.fi. Armature headphones is a completely different technology with no diaphragm to break in.
 
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