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Binding: Electronics
Brand: Ultimate Ears
EAN: 0811965010948
Item Dimensions: 1301764320827
Label: Ultimate Ears
Manufacturer: Ultimate Ears
Model: IP-P1VSB0017-02
MPN: IP-P1VSB0017-02
Publisher: Ultimate Ears
Studio: Ultimate Ears
Features:- Pick your fit: Three different-sized ear cushions lets you choose the size that¿s right for your ears.
- Durable and long lasting to keep up with your busy life.
- Easily switch between making calls and enjoying music and video on your iPhone or BlackBerry (with a 3.5 mm jack).
- Hear your music, clearly and cleanly while blocking out ambient noise of the crowd.
- You¿re on the move. The pocket-sized case protects your earphones and doesn¿t add bulk or drag to your day
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
Three different-sized ear cushions lets you choose the size thats right for your ears.Durable and long lasting to keep up with your busy life
Average Rating: 
Rating: -
Ultimate Ears MetroFi 170vi Noise Isolating Earphones w/ Microphone
The MetroFi 170vi stereo earbuds by Ulimate Ears includes a hard, fliptop black carrying case and three sets of silicon ear cushions (S, M, L). To store the buds, wind them around your fingers and shove them into the case. It will snap shut with a reassuring click, and can't open by accident. Being about ½ the size of a pack of cigarettes, the case will easily slip into your pants pocket or purse.
The earbuds include a standard 3.5 mm jack, which is straight rather than the right angle variety. The jack sleeve is barely larger than the jack itself, which should mean that it would fit into the original iPhone without an adapter, even though I have not actually tried it, as I don't have that product.
The bud wires are black, with the right and left sides being of equal length. There are three hard plastic pieces; the uppermost piece is the microphone, which is on the right earbud wire. Further down is the junction piece, which brings the right and left sides together. Unlike some other buds, there is no `slide' piece, which allows you to adjust the point where the wires split apart. About three inches below the junction piece is your control button. It has a single round button, which clicks with a nice solid authority. With the iPhone 3G (my testing phone), it functions as a pause button, skip to next song, and skip back to previous song. It also functions to answer and disconnect phone calls.
The earbuds themselves are color-coded, with the right side having a dark red color, while the left is straight black. If you're going to rely on the colors to determine left and right, you'd better hold them up to a strong light source, as the red is very dark and hard to see. Don't plan to do this anywhere but in sunlight or a bright room. Fortunately, they are also marked with an `R' and `L' in white lettering.
I used the following products to judge the sound of the MetroFi earbuds:
* Sony MDR-7506 professional closed-cup headphones (my reference phones)
* Apple earbuds supplied with the iPhone 3G
* Sennheiser CX-300 earbuds
My source audio for comparison was Steely Dan's Aja. Some recording engineers have stated that this album was the best sounding album ever. This song has a clarity and wide dynamic range that is just right for testing phones.
None of the earbuds could compare with the sound quality of my Sony headphones, which is what I expected. Listening to the Sony's helped me determine what the music should sound like.
The Apple earbuds lack any kind of real openness or clarity. Not being of the `in-ear' variety, one wouldn't expect much bass response with these buds. Needless to say, there was no bass surprise here. If you want to do any serious musical listening, this product isn't going to cut it.
The Sennheisers produce a surprisingly good soundstage. I could hear all the instruments with good balance and clarity. However, these buds lack good bass response, and some might find their sound `tinty'. Still, at only about $20 on Amazon, these earbuds are a great value (although there are no mic or control features here).
Before I discuss the sound of the MetroFi's, I have a couple issues with this product. The right earbud refuses to stay put in my ear. I've tried all three sizes and also moistened the silicon before insertion, but it just keeps falling out after a few minutes. Maybe it's just my ear, but I've had better fitting success with other products.
Although the product is `iPhone compatible', don't expect to control any volume with these, as there are no volume controls on the buds at all. I suppose this was a concession to accommodate many music players and phones, including Blackberrys. If you want to put your player in your pocket, you'll have to fish around to adjust the volume, as you can't do it on the earbuds.
You can answer phone calls with the control button on the buds. However, you should keep in mind that talking on the phone with both earbuds in your ears is strange and unnatural. I'm sure this is true with any type of in-ear design. Your voice will sound like it's in a muffled box. My suggestion is to pull out the left earbud when using your phone.
The MetroFi's sound proved to be a disappointment to me. I found them to be heavily weighted to the bass side, resulting in the lows and mids being muddy to my ears. Although the higher frequency instruments did punch through, the bass emphasis just overwhelmed the sound.
If you like bass, you'll love these. If you want an accurate representation of the recording you're listening to, I'd suggest looking elsewhere.
Rating:  -
Altho the construction of these is pretty good, i just cant get past the bud fit.. i cant stand them.
I have another pair of "over the ear" head phones.. and they are soo much better.
buds usually fall out of my ears and always feel like i have an ear plug. PLUS, im more concerned about that much sound going DIRECTLY in my ear hole..
if u like buds- this is a good product.
Rating: -
This headset is tuned for voice clarity. Callers come in very clear, and it's fairly easy to listen to audio books or watch movies. I primarily use it to talk on the phone, and I occasionally use it to watch or listen to something if I don't want to carry any other headphones around. They don't do great with instrumental or music that requires any range though: the highs and lows sound muted and flat. I really prefer listening to music using my Shure E2C's or Etymotic ER-6i headphones.
I got these as a replacement after destroying two wired headsets (standard iphone, and standard blackberry), and I think they are a good value IF you can get a good fit ears.
Here's why it's a good value: The iphone headset is $30, the extra $20 brings you clarity/volume benefits of in-ear sound, a well-placed mic, and a thick durable cable design. The last feature I think is the most worthwhile feature of this headset. I don't think I'll be breaking these anytime soon, which easily makes them worth $50. I will take away two stars for earbud fit though, because they only offer 3 rubber sizes whereas Shure and Etyomotic offer more fit options.
In spite of it's great design features, I will consider returning these because the most important thing with these in-ear buds is FIT and COMFORT. Now because this fit issue is not something everyone will encounter, I don't think that this really warrants a truly negative review, but here is my experience and opinion: The round-tipped earbuds are not tapered enough for my ear canals, so they come out a lot. Very annoying. I am considering buying the Comply foam earbuds (third party). In comparison, I can comfortably use the small or medium Etyomotic triangular earbuds or the small silicone earbuds from Shure. I've also had trouble with a previous pair of UE headphones that I bought. If the Comply ones don't fit, then I'll probably simply stop buying UE products as a whole since their earbuds just don't fit :(
Rating: -
These earphones have fairly decent sound quality. Bass intensity isn't quite as strong as I expected when listening to music, but it's not horrible. The three different sized ear buds allowed me to pick a size that comfortably and tightly fit in my ears.
The built-in microphone is what really makes this product stand out. The sound quality of the microphone is excellent. One of my friends said that I sounded much clearer than I usually do when calling from my home phone with this product, so I had him call me while he was using this product so I can hear what it sounded like and I was impressed at the sound clarity.
The earphones also come with a small plastic carrying case, which I don't have much hope for lasting too much longer. The plastic is pretty thin, and the lid is attached with a very flimsy piece of plastic that will no doubt break soon, so don't count on the carrying case lasting more than a few months at best.
All-in-all, a decent quality product at a fair price point.
Rating:  -
I have been trying to find the right set of earphones for about a year now and thought I would give these a shot. For $60, I'm finding these to be pretty superb... but not perfect. They fit comfortably and don't fall out, which is a big plus for me because I will run or bike great distances and need to keep them plugged in the entire time. The sound and range is so-so and is really the only complaint I have about this product. The noise isolating design is nice when I want to listen to music or audio books while blocking out other sounds (like a lawn mower or vacuum if I listen while I work).
I found I needed to spend over $100 to get the benefits I was looking for, but when compared to other earphones in this price range... or even those that are cheaper... I would rate this very high. For the money, it gives you a lot of bang for the buck. But if you are looking for the perfect pair, then these are not it and I would recommend an entirely different class of earphones.
FYI: If you are interested, I have finally settled on the Bose® In-Ear Headphones and quite enjoy them.
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