Digital Trends

Ultimate Ears Super.fi 5 Pro February 20th, 2007 | by Brandon King

Features and Design

Go to the Ultimate Ears website and watch as a slideshow of musicians from every genre rave about the Super.fi 5 Pro canalphones. As a well-informed and skeptical consumer, you might think these idols have had their pockets padded by Professor Payoff for their “opinions.” You would be wrong. These headphones are just THAT good. We really strained to come up with something bad to say about them besides the fact that they’re expensive. At $250 (at the time of review), the Super.fi 5 Pros don’t come cheap, but it is a case of “you get what you pay for.”

The design is that of the familiar canalphone — an earbud-looking headphone that actually fits into the ear canal, sealing out ambient noise and projecting sound directly into the ear. As always, we warn that not everyone will find this design comfortable, and it does take some getting used to. But, once you’ve gotten over the fitting procedure and the sensation of an earphone actually in your ear, it’s hard to go back to traditional cans.

The Super.fi 5 Pros come with a full assortment of accessories and are available in white, black, and gray. Most retailers stock only the white model, with the other colors available for special order or online purchases only. The Super.fi 5 Pros are tethered to a 46” cord, terminating in a 1/8” plug. Inside the box you’ll find eight fitted silicone sleeves (for getting the perfect fit), a 1/4” adapter, a larger, hard plastic case, a smaller soft case, a level attenuator, and cleaning tool. These headphones come with a two-year warranty.

The driver housing is relatively large for canalphones due to the dual driver design, but part of the weight is offset by a semi-flexible plastic coating on the segment of cord coming from each ear piece. This coating can be bent around the back of the ear to stabilize the earpieces and reduce the transmission of sounds down the cord (bumping the cord or brushing against clothing can sometimes transmit thumping sounds, since even small vibrations are easily heard when the ear canal pressure is too precisely set). The cords themselves are very thin, and we worry about the longevity of them, especially in colder weather, when the rubberized coating is more prone to cracking and breaking.

Image Courtesy of Ultimate Ears