These days, the term audiophile is one that has the tendency to be overused, and therefore undervalued. Often, you’ll see a pair of high end TWS buds being described using the word, which would be confusing to the average folk when the come across proper audiophile-grade wired IEMs. One recent example is the UE Premier, sold by UE Pro, the audiophile subbrand of the already audio-centric Ultimate Ears.
As with many IEMs of this grade, the UE Premier is not something that you can find and pick up off a shelf. To get a pair, you’ll first need to either send a 3D scan of your ears to the company, or have it send you a custom fit kit to take an impression of your ear and then send it back. You then have to wait another month or so while the company builds the thing and ship it to you.
Now, the average consumer grade TWS buds, even the most premium among them, come with one driver per bud. These can range typically anywhere between 5mm and 9mm, with some going up to 13mm. But for the UE Premier size doesn’t quite matter compared to the sheer number of drivers, of which it has 21.
These are broken down in a less-than-straightforward manner, but in total there are two dual sub-low drivers, four dual diaphragm mid-low, a quad mid, a quad high super tweeter, and a proprietary True Tone driver. These are all in a single bud, so in a pair you’re dealing with 42 drivers. Beyond the sheer number of drivers, the UE Premier also pack a five-way passive crossover for a frequency response range of 5Hz to 40kHz.
As mentioned, the UE Premier is meant for proper audiophiles, or people who deal with sound as part of their work. Which is another way of saying that these come with a hefty premium associated with specialised work tools. A pair of these would cost US$2,999 (~RM13,993) at base. Adding on an additional US$199 (~RM929) would get prospective buyers swappable faceplates. Alternatively, adding US$50 (~RM233) gives them an ambient mode, though these two add-ons are incompatible with each other.
(Source: Ultimate Ears)
