Ultimate Ears 18 Pro headphones feature six drivers per ear

We've always had a soft spot for Ultimate Ears, but things are getting crazy now that it's flush with all that Logitech money: the headphone makers just introduced the Ultimate Ears 18 Pro custom monitors, which feature six drivers in each earbud. That's right, six drivers: two each for bass, mids, and treble, along with a four-way crossover and a three-channel design that keeps the low, mid, and high frequencies isolated until they reach your ears. Yeah, we want them -- too bad they cost $1,350. We'll stick with our Super.fi 5 Pros for now then, thanks.

[Chaosdivine Posted Jan 15th 2010 2:34AM]

@YpoCaramel

Wow...thanks, I have always wondered that & I appreciate your reply. I mean I think $1350 is a lot of coin for something like these and if they were not satisfying I'd probably want my money back...

[YpoCaramel Posted Jan 15th 2010 7:17AM]

@Chaosdivine For most users I doubt there will dissatisfaction - all custom IEMs are pretty good at being stage monitors, unless the fit is poor, which is usually sent back and adjusted. And by all accounts they'll blow away non-customs. The dissatisfaction is much more likely to arise from audiophiles listening comparatively between high-end headphones.

[hq Posted Jan 15th 2010 2:40AM]

Just woke up and at first glance thought those were Dyson vacuumers...

[ImDaIllest Posted Jan 15th 2010 2:56AM]

nah, im good with my UE10 pro, but id love to try these.

Also, back when they came out, the Klipsch image s4, i was pretty poor at the time and purchased um. Id have to say the best in-earphones under $100 to date! Tried the similarly priced Bose Tri-port something... and they sucked.

[linesandstripes Posted Jan 15th 2010 4:12AM]

I have a pair or customs. I ride the bus to work everyday and they are perfect! Sometimes I forget that I even have them on. I'd love these though!

[anupj Posted Jan 15th 2010 4:23AM]

don't they look like alien babies ?....

[YpoCaramel Posted Jan 15th 2010 7:11AM]

@anupj apparently, so do your ear canals.

[johnmayer Posted Jan 15th 2010 4:26AM]

well these are used for performing artists. true, you could get some serious can instead of these, but p diddy aint going to be using some big headphones when he could be using these. these arent meant for eveyone

[ipodman715 Posted Jan 15th 2010 4:56AM]

I think I'll stick with my Atrio M5s which sound great

[aaltomar Posted Jan 15th 2010 6:02AM]

You do realize that these custom monitors will probably not fit as tight as before after a few years. Your ears will continue growing so you're not set for life with these...

[silentrebel Posted Jan 15th 2010 6:33AM]

@aaltomar
Im pretty sure that your ears stop growing after puberty stops or 100 yr old ppl would have obscenely large ears.

[Philip Han Posted Jan 15th 2010 7:22AM]

WHAT THE F***?!?!

I thought I'd be happy with Sennheiser IE8's with one dynamic driver in each ear...

Oh well, I'll check out the reviews on Head-Fi.org and see if it's a winner.

[smallgene Posted Jan 15th 2010 10:58AM]

eargasm!

[sarno Posted Jan 15th 2010 3:13PM]

I own a pair of these http://sleek-audio.com/products/custom/ct6-custom

They sound great. Much cheaper than UE's. Plus you can get custom art added to them as well.

Check them out.

[modularlife Posted Jan 15th 2010 6:04PM]

Any true audiophile knows that introducing more crossover points and more drivers is actually a step backward. The purest sound comes from a single driver with no crossover. Granted, most often this isn't possible with loudspeakers, but headphones are the perfect platform for single-driver purity.

If you're a real headphone nut, try these:
http://www.stax.co.jp/index-E.html

[wingman1659 Posted Jan 16th 2010 1:32AM]

little late to the party....


http://www.jhaudio.com/promusic/