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Ultimate Ears 700 for iPod
June 21, 2009 by Beatweek
When you consider that you can get yourself an iPod classic ($249), low-end iPod touch ($229), or high-end iPod nano ($199) for about the same cost as the new Ultimate Ears 700 earbuds, those earbuds had better be darn impressive. More than impressive – drool worthy, in fact – since there are plenty of iPod earbuds in the $100 range that adequately fill the “impressive” category. Fortunately for the folks at Ultimate Ears, the 700’s do turn out to be drool-worthy both in their audio quality and their ability to block out external noise.
At this price range you want earbuds to offer so much “how’d they do that?” expansiveness that using them to listen to music leaves you tricked into believing that you’re actually wearing full cup-style headphones. And the 700’s do just that, taking music that sounds great on $100 earbuds and expanding the sound so well that you find you no longer like your $100 earbuds as much once you try to go back to using them. And the 700’s isolate external noise in a manner that’s singularly impressive, more so than any other earbuds I’ve ever tested at any price point, and so much so that I’m tempted to begin using the 700’s on airplanes in place of my current (and comparatively giant) noise-cancelling cup headphones.
So should you really run out and pay $229 for these earbuds? That depends on your budget, I suppose. In rating the 700’s, I ultimately compared them to the best-in-class iPod earbuds at lower price points. Are the 700‘s really twice as good as Shure’s $119 SE115 earbuds? Not quite. Are they three times as good as Scosche’s $79 IDR600? Again, not quite. But if $229 is effectively the top of your earbud budget, then you’ll likely be glad you went for the 700’s instead of less expensive options, as the difference in quality is immediately noticeable. As a bonus, the 700’s come with not only four pairs of various-sized rubber buds, but also a pair of comply foam tips which make these great-sounding earbuds sound even better. Too bad the 700’s don’t come with an iPhone mic/button option, like some of the lesser Ultimate Ears products do.
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[...] Ultimate Ears 700 for iPodWhen you consider that you can get yourself an iPod classic ($249), low-end iPod touch ($229), or high-end iPod nano ($199) for about the same cost as the new Ultimate Ears 700 earbuds, those earbuds had better be darn impressive. More than impressive – drool worthy, in fact – since there are plenty of iPod earbuds in the $100 range that adequately fill the “impressive” category Fortunate… [...]
[...] Ultimate Ears 700 for iPodWhen you consider that you can get yourself an iPod classic ($249), low-end iPod touch ($229), or high-end iPod nano ($199) for about the same cost as the new Ultimate Ears 700 earbuds, those earbuds had better be darn impressive. More than impressive – drool worthy, in fact – since there are plenty of iPod earbuds in the $100 range that adequately fill the “impressive” category Fortunate… [...]
[...] Ultimate Ears 700 for iPodWhen you consider that you can get yourself an iPod classic ($249), low-end iPod touch ($229), or high-end iPod nano ($199) for about the same cost as the new Ultimate Ears 700 earbuds, those earbuds had better be darn impressive. More than impressive – drool worthy, in fact – since there are plenty of iPod earbuds in the $100 range that adequately fill the “impressive” category Fortunate… [...]
[...] Ultimate Ears 700 for iPodWhen you consider that you can get yourself an iPod classic ($249), low-end iPod touch ($229), or high-end iPod nano ($199) for about the same cost as the new Ultimate Ears 700 earbuds, those earbuds had better be darn impressive. More than impressive – drool worthy, in fact – since there are plenty of iPod earbuds in the $100 range that adequately fill the “impressive” category Fortunate… [...]
[...] Ultimate Ears 700 for iPodWhen you consider that you can get yourself an iPod classic ($249), low-end iPod touch ($229), or high-end iPod nano ($199) for about the same cost as the new Ultimate Ears 700 earbuds, those earbuds had better be darn impressive. More than impressive – drool worthy, in fact – since there are plenty of iPod earbuds in the $100 range that adequately fill the “impressive” category Fortunate… [...]