A wonderful review of the UE 18+ on Headfonia, The headline says it all. Here are some highlights:
On the Superbax Cabling system:
The Ultimate Ears IPX Connection System was designed to handle everything a musician deals with nightly — sweat, makeup, hairspray, humidity, set up, break down and travel. There have been some issues with the old T2 system regarding sweat and connection issues, so this should be solved with this new cable. The Ultimate Ears SuperBax is unparalleled in its quality and construction. It is a low impedance hi-fi audio cable.
...the SuperBax cable is an excellent cable in both sound and comfort. The SuperBax doesn’t tangle, is light, comfy and hardly noticeable. You can perfectly wear it above the ear and it won’t bother you a single bit as it’s light and soft. Cable-wise, UE from me gets a double thumbs up.
On the Sound:
When you start listening to the UE18+PRO, the clarity and precision are what will strike you first and most. From bass to treble the 18+PRO delivers a high level of clarity with a very clean back ground.The UE 18+PRO to me is an excellent sounding monitor of the first category, especially seeing how well it performs with only 6-drivers. It outperforms several monitors with a higher driver count, though driver count isn’t everything.
What’s not to love from a detailed, clean and precise bass with the right amount of presence to keep everything enjoyable and musical. Very well done bass, especially with high quality recordings.
The vocals perfectly fit in with all the rest and they don’t sound forward or laid back. They’re very clear and natural and when you close your eyes you could think someone singing right there in the same room with you.
Treble is clear and rich and come with great timbre. The TT drivers make treble very energetic and dynamic. I really like the precise, clean, rich presentation and the way it is layered. Like the bass the treble really gets to another level with high quality source files.
In Conclusion:
If you take into account the fact that it only has six drivers, than there’s no other choice than to put the UE18+PRO on our recommended CIEM list. Yes it’s that good and special, even for $1499.
