Reference Remastered (UERR)

I just got my UE Reference Remastered Plus (UE RR+) from UE, and I think it might be good to compare the custom monitors with my daily driver Etymotic ER4SR. This comparison would be nice because I'm sure anybody looking for a "reference" sound would want to know how the legendary Etymotic ER4SR stacks up against the "reference" custom monitors. If you've seen [my old post](https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/1on77uh/show_this_to_her_if_she_dont_believe_you_like/), you probably remembered me as the dude who likes flat and accurate sounds. Before we begin, let's clarify that my UE RR+ is a very new model, and is completely different from the legendary UE Reference Monitor model. In fact, let's list out this "Reference" family and each's measurement along with ER4SR: * [Etymotic ER4SR](https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/etymotic-er4sr/) (2014) * [UE Reference Monitor](https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/uerm/) (UE RM, UERM, original legend around 2010-ish, quite flat) * [UE Reference Remastered](https://crinacle.com/graphs/iems/uerr/) (UE RR, UERR, 2015, Capitol stuff. online people say its highs rolloff and not as flat as the original UERM) * UE Reference Remastered Plus (UE RR+, UERR+, mine, probably just released) You can find some ["marketing materials" about UERR here](https://audio-head.com/the-new-ultimate-ears-pro-reference-remastered/). I can't find any marketing materials or measurement for UERR+, but it should be pretty close to UERR. No one knows how the RR+ is different from RR. One comment on Head-Fi said it's about supply chain pressure, so UE needs to rework on the RR [to fit this new Knowles driver](https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/knowles/GV-32830-000/7035240?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20243136172&gbraid=0AAAAADrbLlgLmo3UWGJxUekOa5yyFlzrm&gclid=CjwKCAjwravBBhBjEiwAIr30VGGYaEnkwDPw_f1lzI7dc-xXnk0-prfQLwR-yufaMyoLP1w8KqeAIhoCAZwQAvD_BwE). # Experience with the order * Order took 6 weeks. Ordered Sep 7 in Bangkok, received Nov 7 in Bangkok * Fit great * Minor cosmetic issues (scratch) * Very, very bad customer support. They just don't reply emails and direct me to talk to my Thai dealer instead They also missed deadlines and failed to notice any parties of the delay. They excused themselves saying they're busy in the states as they're moving production back to US, which I then asked them "aren't customs US made anyway?" and got no response. One pattern I recognized is they'll reply if you show signs of frustration. # Sound This would be compared against my ER4SR or HD600, which is kind of reference already. If you just look at the frequency response on Crinacle or somewhere else, you can see that the **UE RR+ is indeed the flattest of the trio**, on proper paper even. >*But* the ER4SR is more flat at the eardrum. I'll explain why later. # Frequency response Let's start with FR: * Nice, accurate bass. * Okay mids (a bit muffled/laid-back) * Nice highs. Not sure what to say here. The bass is good, though feels much more volumious than the ER4SR. I personally do think ER4SR's bass response has a wee bit better resolutions but less energy. The mids is only "ok" because UE RR+ mids do really sound muffled. By muffled I mean quieter, not inaccurate. Combine this with accurate bass, and what you get is a warmer sound compared to ER4SR. I opened up Crinacle measurements and found out that the UERR+ lacks the boost in the 1-5kHz region that must be there to compensate for the amplification effect of our ear. If you put a totally flat speaker inside your ear canal, you'll think it sounds muffled because your brain is more accustomed to the normal pathway of sound: source >> reflections (including our own ear) >> ear canal >> eardrum Etymotic knows this (they're audiologists) and so they compensate for that. UE doesn't, and now I have a very flat drivers directly inside of the canal. The result is the muffled mids, but otherwise the UE RR+ is still a good "monitor". # Headroom and separation Having 3 drivers gives UE RR+ more headroom compared ER4SR (1BA). That is, I can crank the volume up and the drivers will still be producing low distortion output. With low to inaudible distortion at high volume, you'll get "better separation and imaging". Not sure if placebo or less fatigue but I definitely enjoy loud chaotic rock music better with the UERR+. # Listening fatigue I can listen to UE RR+ without fatigue for a lot longer than the ER4SR simply because its more laid-back in nature. I think UE might even have tuned it this way for the mixing engineers who'll have to mix at the console for days on end. Also, maybe the laid-back mids are to mimick how studio monitors speakers or consumer speakers sound? (I don't know, I'm a programmer) # Comfort >Note: UE instructed my dealer to make impression with "mouth closed" method. The UERR+ is my first custom and ofc it fits like a glove. I can wear this for hours and not feel a single pain from air pressure buildup. # Isolation On paper the UERR+ provides -26dB of isolation. ER4SR on the other hand is rated to -30-40dB with the correct tips. And yes, the Etys feels are quieter when no sound is playing. But once music plays in normal environments they are roughly equivalent in the noise isolation department. # Summary: UERR+ UERR+ is a good custom monitor with acceptable reference performance. Like any other customs, it fits really well and provides great comfort. Though I personally feel like the UERR+ is less "accurate" in the FR department, I still think it's a great product for intended audience, i.e. the real audio engineers. Soundwise, it's a good fit for any listeners who wants uncolored sounds but find the Etys too dry. The engineers might want some portable monitors that allow them to mix on the move for hours and hours, and be able to hear everything comfortably during that time, which with ER4SR would prove to be tiring/fatigued. # Etymotic ER4SR vs UE Reference Remastered Plus The Etys are the clear winner, unless you need maximum comfort. If your listening session lasts less than 40-50 minutes, the ER4SR can cut it. If you need to spend a lot of time mixing/listening or want something that'd sound more like speakers, I recommend the UERR+, though I'd still advice you to have other references around (maybe the Etys) just to have something to cross check with. The Etys are also cheap now ($200-300, albeit made it Vietnam, vs $999 for the custom) and comes with superb support, FR certificate, and tons of accessories. UE only included 1 hard case and a cleaner tool. You also don't have to deal with UE customer support. # What's next? I still want to find a more accurate customs. I'll appreciate any suggestions. I've demoed the JH Audio and 64Audio customs within my price range and boy are they even warmer than the UE. Now I'm looking into **Alclair Studio4**. I've been talking with Alclair on Instagram, and the support seems great. But they wouldn't provide me with the FR graphs, but assured me that their Studio4 "is flat" and does not have the bass boost seen in Crinacle's graph for Studio4. They once assured me that their monitors have those 1-5kHz peak, which would eliminate the problem. But still, after Etymotic experience, I feel bad about Alclair not giving me some measurements for their "referencest reference studio monitors" that would be used by progressionals. I think the reason Etymotic is one of the very few to publish its *production* FR and THD+N complete with test parameters for every box of ER4SR is because they're very confident that the graph looks very good and they have nothing to hide. They still do, even when they'd moved production to Vietnam. It's as if Etymotic thinks this is the only way to sell reference monitors, which I agree. Other story about me is that I stopped looking into audio gear after I got my ER4SR 7 years ago, until I broke its cable 6 weeks ago. That led me back into the audio world, where I ended up buying another ER4SR and the custom UE Reference Remastered Plus (UE RR+). This time I want to just buy and forget until it breaks.

I did the demo along with so many other present day IEMs that I barely know about. Most shells are too big for me to wear comfortably, but I could wear 70% of them. Out of the bunch Softears really caught my attention. I never knew about them before. I’m eyeing on Studio4 and RSV v2. The Studio4 is like multiple BA version of the Etys. And the RSV has a bit more bass and highs. Think I’m going with RSV, since I already have 2 Etys for the flat, boring sound. The UERR sounds “dark” in comparison to these 3 (Etys, Studio4, RSV), but imaging/layering is still superior in the UERR+. They offer me custom fit for additional ~$150 (5000THB) for both models, making custom RSV v2 around $999, the same price I paid for UERR+.

just because something cheap is good, doesnt mean something more expensive cant be better dollar for dollar you cannot beat the kz edx pro. and the as16 is a terrific beater iem neither come close to my uerr that i bought second hand, and would sell in a heartbeat if someone made something cheaper and as good. and the uerr doesnt come close to the summit fi set i have my eyes on(but cant financially justify right now, having tried over usd$200k worth of iems that said cost tells you nothing about quality. there are some kilobuck-summit fi iems that get beat by some $100 sets. dont talk about money. dont even talk about brands. talk about specific iems

The issue I have with the claim that frequency response is the end all be all, is that it should mean that eq can make everything sound the same. >I've EQed the AirPods Pro 2 to have significantly better "technicalities" than any IEM I've heard. In that case shouldn't you only rank post-eq and comfort scores? Why do any of the pre-eq sound scores matter? Why try iems? Why own anything but a $20 dollar pair of apple earpods that you dont have to be afraid of getting stolen or broken, when eq can make it sound like the Prisma Lumen that tops your list? Why does the Prisma Lumen top your list, if you can eq the Shure KSE1500 (that you rank 1.85 in sound) to equal that? After your eq, wouldn't the top-notch comfort of the Shure make it a better iem? I really do appreciate the quantity of iems with low sound scores, which many others arent willing to do. As for the list: fulgrim, alter ego, uerr, 622b, volur, camelot. 6/10 (might be missing some): u12t, trio, ve7, se5r, mest ii, moondrop solis, eminent ears emrald, inear pmx

if you’re willing to spend some money, custom iems are the way to go for sure. i have the ultimate ears reference remastered (which i love) those have a “flat” frequency response. they also have some models that are more geared for bass players, giving a little extra something in the low frequencies

for bass, there’s no replacement for custom molds. I use the ultimate ears reference remastered because i like the flat response. there cheapest model, the UE 5 is about $600 i think. they’re not cheap, but they’re totally worth it for the sound quality and ear protection. for universals, i like the shure 215 (which are $100), or any in that line

I have UE Reference Remastered custom IEMs and while they have been very pricey, I really love them. They sound fantastic and are comfortable 15+ hours (not that I have an actual use case for that). For anyone who can afford them (without compromising on other things), I would recommend CIEMs.

I ran a blind test of UE's lineup, which included 5, RR (3-driver bud you mentioned, afaik), 11 and 18. I was set on RR *before* the test, and I disregarded them immediately - their 'neutral' profile is just so bland for *playing,* in reference to the others. Fun fact, the best one sounding out of the box was 5 series, which I'd recommend at pretty much any price range - they outplay pretty much anything above out of the box, since they're tuned so damn good. hope this helps

Over the past few days, I did some auditioning of several earphones. As a reference, Mahler's Symphony No. 2 : to check the state where many instruments are sounding simultaneously from the lowest to the highest notes. (It is a scene where a choir of about 150 people and an orchestra of about 120 people, plus an organ playing the lowest notes and exploding metallic percussion, are sounding at ffff.) Robert Glasper : to check modern resolution and bass recording. Cornelius : to check sound images that are filled with fine, sparkly sounds like pointillism. (Where minute sounds are scattered in the space, flying around left, right, front, and back with panning and effects.) James Blake : for checking vocals and sub-bass. My orchestral studio recordings. This experience is completely my subjectivity and is a result suited to my ears and needs, so there are no specific claims. It would be helpful if you could keep that in mind. The earphones I tried were: Ultimate Ears / UE Reference Remastered Plus Pro, UE LIVE, UE Premiere 64 Audio / U18s, U18t, U12t ZiiGaat / Luna Etymotic / ER4SR And so on. Writing my impressions one by one would become too long, so I will omit that, but simply summarized, it was like this: UE Reference Remastered Plus Pro The volume difference between instruments, positioning of each instrument, localization, and layering are understood quite well. Especially with my self-made recordings, the materials of the recording itself and the not-good parts of the mix are easy to understand. However, a very big problem—which I suppose is a problem of having 3 drivers—is that there is no separation of instruments. The sound comes heard gathered together in highs, mids, and lows, and in parts where many instruments ring, it was saturated. I thought it might be quite good for mixing with a small number of instruments. UE LIVE, UE Premiere Information of many sounds comes in indiscriminately. The tuning is not neutral at all. A sensation that the sound is raging. And a "clumped" sensation (dumpling-like feeling). My own recordings somehow sound good. It was not for mixing purposes. 64 Audio / U18s, U18t, U12t U18t The resolution was amazing. It is transparency. And the airiness. It is an image where things like particles are visible. However, the sound changes quite a bit depending on the impedance and the environment of the playback device. And the bass is quite quiet, so I predicted that if I perform mixing with this, there is a possibility that the mix will become boomy. I thought that if it is a fixed, high-quality, stable playback environment where the characteristics are firmly understood, this would be the best. U18s Overall, the mids are lifted a little, and it was a sensation that the highs are rolled off. As a result, the resolution and transparency that were in the 18t were lost, and instead, it was a feeling of putting out a musical ringing and stable mids and lows. Also, the connection between sounds is mellow and—shall I say—silky... Because of that, it is very easy to listen to, but I felt that the separation of sound is lost. I felt it would be easy to use as a stage monitor. But not for mixing. U12t This one fit me the best. Not to the extent of the 18t, but I felt the balance of resolution, transparency, separation, localization, grasp of depth, etc., was very good. Also, even when I performed playback tests from several devices, there was no change in the sound the most. (I use earphones and headphones in diverse environments, from smartphones to laptops, studio earphone amps to DACs, and various types of audio interfaces.) Etymotic / ER4SR It was the flattest among what I heard. Flat to anywhere. However, the sound field was quite narrow, and the placement of the orchestra was hard to see. ZiiGaat / Luna It was quite good. It was a sensation like a lower-compatible version (lite version) of the U12t. A common point regarding the problems of the ER4SR and UE Reference Remastered Plus Pro was that I somehow understood that ones with few drivers do not match my use. Of course, there are probably many good things even for single drivers, but this is regarding my hearing. Also, the IE900 did not have the flatness I imagined; the bass and treble were lifted, and I felt it is for listening, not a monitor. Sony / IER-M9 Alclair / Electro Six Driver FiR Audio / Xenon 6 I wanted to try these, but I did not have the opportunity.

I recently made the investment to get UltimateEars RR+, so far they’re great for isolation and loud environments. I was recording on the sidelines of the Navy vs Air Force game a few weeks ago and could comfortably monitor at -26db on my 833.