Ultimate Ears super.fi 5Pro

We’re not strangers to the precision sound offered by Ultimate Ears. For over a decade this company has prided itself on being the choice of rock stars for in-ear monitors, and its custom-molded earbuds ($550 to $900) remain the gold standard for super high-end earbuds. When UE announced its entry into the universal earbud space, we were excited to see the results.

The 5Pro’s are crafted with the same behind-the-ear design that makes the custom models so comfortable. The earbuds come with a six-piece fit kit of small, medium, and large sizes of single-flange silicone, dual-flange silicone, and standard foam eartips. We couldn’t get a comfortable fit with either silicone option, so we used the foam eartips.

The cord measures 48 inches, which was more than enough length to stow our player safely in our bag to listen to tunes as we walked around Manhattan. The earbuds come in white or black, and we liked that the black pair appeared to stay cleaner than Shure’s white pair.

The package includes a standard 3.5mm connector and a 1/4-inch adapter plug for home audio use, as well as a crush-proof metallic travel case that includes a simple circular plastic coil cable management system to keep your earbuds untangled.

The package itself is a nice one, but we found the 5Pro lacking in the most important area: audio quality. Compared to the E4c headset, the playback was less crisp, and we felt the bass to be immensely lacking, often being drowned out by the other instruments. The sound of Hall & Oates, Prince, and other favorites weren’t as textured as when heard through the E4c set. We listened to Shuggie Otis, but the lack of the bass was disappointing. The 5Pro did a good job of blocking outside noise, but we couldn’t get past the less comfortable fit and mediocre sound quality at such a high price. The performance was especially surprising given the high standards set forth by the custom-fit U5c headset.