Review: Ultimate Buds
The current selection of iPhone compatible headphones is rather sparse. One company has come up with an interesting solution: splice in a pair of Etymotic ER-6i earphones into a standard set of iPhone cables. The company is Ultimate Buds and I’ve been using their earphones for the past few weeks.
The key to getting the most out of your Ultimate Buds is to get a good seal within your ear canal. Without it, the bass is almost non-existent. So with a little experimentation, I found the large, two-flange eartips offered the best fit.
With a good seal, I experienced a nice, neutral bass. I’m used to the exaggerated bass from the Sony earphones so this took some getting used to. More importantly, the highs and midrange sounded more detailed. Compared to the standard iPhone earphones, this is a huge improvement. I think of the Apple earphones as a Ford Escort and the Ultimate Ears to be somewhere within the range of low to middle-end BMW.
The mic and multi-purpose button on the cable are fully functional. I was able to pause songs, skip tracks, and answer calls. People on the other end of calls had no complaints regarding voice quality.
The build quality is excellent. It looks like it came straight from the Etymotic assembly line. In no way does it look like something someone slapped together in their basement.
One problem I had was with the nature of the Etymotic earphones during phone calls. Because the eartips offer an airtight seal, talking during a phone call feels weird. My head feels like it’s in a hermetically sealed chamber and I can hear my own voice ricocheting around skull. I had to remove one of the earphones so I can get something resembling a normal phone call.
The Ultimate Buds are currently priced at $149.99. You can get a discount if you send in your own set iPhone headphones for modification. It should also be noted that a set of Etymotic ER-6i earbuds can be found online for less than $100. Here is one example
Overall, I strongly recommend the Ultimate Buds. They retain the simplicity of the iPhone earphones while giving the audio quality a significant boost. If you feel comfortable talking with cotton stuck in your ears, then you’ll enjoy the handsfree phone aspect of the Ultimate Buds. For me, I’m just happy to have something that seals out the exterior noise and presents the music in a much more detailed fashion.
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Do not deal with Ultimate Buds. They claim to offer “free labor and discounted parts” in their warranty, but attempted to charge me labor when my buds quit working. Then, when I sent them in for service, they stole my original Apple cable and replaced it with a cheap copy after telling me nothing was wrong with the cable. They are a nightmare to deal with; avoid!