Ultimate Ears

...I really want the equalizer to work! that feature was a primary driver for my purchase and I'll be damned if I can make it function. Fix it, will ya?

From my first enquiry to some final fitting adjustments, this has been a wonderful experience. Erica and Lorden have been particularly helpful and pleasant over the two month decision/order process. And as for the results? Awesome kinda fits the bill. Best wishes Chris Thometz

My passion is great audio. I'm happiest when I can enjoy music the way the artist had intended. The UE 18+ CSX delivers on that superbly. The lows, mids and highs are crystal clear. You get to enjoy every little detail. I am happy to replace my Shure SE846 with these as my daily use headset. I saw a couple of reviews that suggested your best option is to have an audiologist take an impression of your ear, which I did. The fit is absolutely perfect. I also had to reach out to their customer service group a couple of times. Erica did an absolutely awesome job and delivered on every expectation that I had. Huge kudos to her!!! The only thing I'm struggling with a bit is the Bluetooth cable. It looks like they OEM it from Jaybird. The battery and controls are on the right side. I often take them out of my ears to lay them on my shoulders for a variety of reasons and the extra weight on the right side makes them pull down on the right. I find myself having to reposition them often, which was the same issue I had with the Jaybirds. Also, I have not had a chance to test the phone reception, but I'm thinking it may not be ideal since the microphone sits behind your ear. All-in-all a great investment that I expect to enjoy for several years.

TL;DR : Great noise isolation and fit especially if you get your ear impression from professional audiologist. High is controlled, no sparkles or ear hurting sibilance, Mid is nice and perfect, Low has just the right punch and roll but not for a big bass head. Sound stage is wide and instruments separation is three dimensional. I've been a mid tier audiophiles for a while now. Started at 2009 when I owned Cowon D2, Sennheiser IE8, Ultimate Ears Super Fi 3. Just recently I crave for an eargasm again. I love Ultimate Ears, since the day they weren't owned by Logitech. I was a bit sceptical about the sound quality but took a plunge to purchase UE 18+ CSX. Went to my audiologist to get my ear impression (please do this if you want the perfect fit the first time around, I heard the fit kit is a hit or miss most times) waited 10 days and my UE 18+ CSX arrived. When I put it on my ear for the first time, oh man.. it fits like a glove. It fills every nooks and cranny of my ears thus creating a very nice (near perfect) noise isolation. Then I tried to pair the Bluetooth with my Android phone AND my Sony NW-ZX300. It worked flawlessly. However, the volume is limited with Bluetooth connection, can't get it as loud as I liked it to be. If you want full potential (volume wise) from this CIEM, you need to use the cable fyi. Sound quality: I found that if you listen with UE18+ CSX. Hi-Res files is what you need to listen with. Daft Punk - Random Access Memories and Deadmau5 - Album Title Goes Here Hi Res sounds amazing. This is not a bass head IEM, but just enough punch in the bass to feel the thump and the roll of the bass indeed. When you listen to tracks such as Asian Kungfu Generation - Haruka Kanata, Rewrite, Mustang and Solanin or Foster the People (Torches) or Disturbed - Sound of Silence, Light. You can really feel the sound stage of it, it's very broad. Vocalist is nice and centered while you can almost look around in the soundspace and hear how separated the other instruments are. It's absolutely amazing. UE 18+ CSX covers and control all spectrums nicely, the high are controlled that provides a pleasant tone without worries that it sparkles or result in ear hurting sibilance. It's just right and pleasant. Mids was nice and balanced, the Low is controlled with enough punch in the bass but nothing too excessive. Last but not least, I suffer with road white noise that could make me sleepy while driving a car long distance. When I put on this UE 18+ CSX and listened to music on my commute, no longer I have that problem. This IEM isolate outside noise just enough that I didn't hear any while I listened to my music, heck, even when I roll my windows down while driving 75 MPH, The wind noise doesn't interfere with my music listening. This is not a luxury purchase. For me, it's an investment for a better quality of life. If you decide to get one for yourself, my only suggestion is to get your ear impression done at your audiologist so you can get the fit right the first time around.

I am no musician, but even I can perceive how much better these things sound than my LG's. .. Once I had used them, I didn't want anything else. But I messed something up with the FitKit and the acoustic isolation was severely wanting. UE had a process in place fir dealing with that but, rightly or wrongly, I judged it futile in my case. So I proposed that I get a set if moulds made and pay them to change over to that model. They agreed and said there will be no charge. What's not to like?