Consumer ratings: Altec Lansing UHP606
Ratings
Category: Electronics
Brand: Altec Lansing
Model: UHP606
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Altec Lansing UHP606 Consumer Report
Altec Lansing UHP606 Review by J. Long (Boston, MA, USA)
Current home headphones: Sennheiser HD 560II
Previous portable headphones: Sennheiser CX300, Sony MDR-EX51, before that dozens and dozens of Sony "vertical in-the-ear" types, and: JVC "Marshmallow" (because I accidentally severed my Sennheiser cable and needed a pair of headphones cheap and quick; they're not horrible for $15),
Playback: iPod Classic, library mostly ripped from CD using Apple Lossless
Content: rock, pop, dance, classical, etc.
These headphones aren't for everyone. If you want something that you can plug in and stop thinking about, look elsewhere. What these appear to strive for is more along the lines of true studio monitors that do not color the output of your device. Compared to my home Sennheisers, I see where they're going with that concept, but being tiny little relatively-inexpensive portables they miss the mark a bit.
That said, they are very good headphones. As another reviewer commented there is an articulation to the sound that was missing with every previous pair of portables I have owned. There is not the hair-trigger overloading that plagued the CX300s. Highs are nicely defined without being screechy. They have a very well-formed low-end, and no, they don't have SupaBaBoomyBass - if that's what you're after, there are plenty of other options. Yes, the midrange is pronounced. But thus far I haven't seen that as being a bad thing. For tracks that do warrant a pronounced low end, these actually do quite well - songs with busy bass lines sound clear and don't get lost in a quagmire of rumbles.
As an iPod-EQ fusser I will note that all my setting have had to change. Yes, I will agree with the displeased reviewer that these sounded awkward right out of the box with EQ that had been set up for headphones with a dramatically different purpose. But I do not agree that there is nothing that can be done to fit your preferences to what these headphones have to offer.
With all my old headphones tracks primarily sounded good with the Classical or R&B EQ, though other tracks were spread over Electronic or, in the case of a few dreadfully loud and compressed mastering jobs - no EQ at all. With these headphones I have taken the Loudness EQ setting as my starting point, which works for a lot of what I'm listening to (these tracks sounded great on my way to work this morning: Hüsker Dü, "Games"'; Fleetwood Mac, "Love In Store"; Front 242, "Masterhit"; Rod Stewart, "Every Picture Tells A Story"; Tears For Fears, "Sowing the Seeds of Love"; Shudder To Think, "Love Catastrophe"). Other bits - notably classical - will require different settings. More experimentation necessary, which is fine by me: any excuse to listen to more music is a bonus in my book.
The highlight is clearly the comfort. They feel very good in my ears, come with 4 different types (not just sizes) of tips to match your preferences, and the cord is not as prone to transmitting vibration as others (the severe drawback of the otherwise-OK "Marsmallows"). The default tips feel great to me and are much more effective as outside-sound-blocking than any of my previous purchases.
A good choice for me.
Altec Lansing UHP606 Review by Jim
My first impression was, "Where's the bass?" In an effort to find out, not only did I give the BackBeat Pro in-ear-monitors (IEM) a breaking in, I tried them with 3 of the 4 pairs of tips they come with (I didn't try them with the child-sized tips). I also tried them with different kinds of music (bass-heavy dance, rock, and instrumental classical as well as opera), from different sources (two different classical stations available via the web, music played via Windows Media Player, and music played on my Sony MP3 player). After a breaking in period of less than 8 hours I thought I detected a slight improvement, but so slight that I found myself on the verge of returning them.
It then occurred to me to try, as a last resort, the tips from IEM I own that fit me perfectly, those being the largest size tips that come with the JVC HAFX66 and the Sony MDR-EX082. I changed the tips, put on a bass-heavy song on my MP3 player from a live album by the German group Seabound, and finally BASS. I'd tested the IEM with the same song just a few minutes before changing the tips, and the difference was night and day. Having the just-right-for-me seal in my ears made all the difference between virtually no bass and the bass I would expect from IEM with a list price of a hundred bucks that are not marketed as being bass-heavy IEM. And I could not get that seal with any of the tips included with the BackBeat Pros. (Obviously this is subjective and has to do with my ears. Someone else might find one or more pairs of tips that come with the BBP's perfect for their ears, bass-wise and otherwise. I noticed that the tips that come with the BBPs lack the rubbery, "sticky" quality that the JVC tips as well as the tips on the Sony buds that I mention below have. That rubbery, "sticky" quality makes for a better, tighter, more lasting in-the-ear seal, in my experience. And I did try wetting the JVC tips before insertion after getting unsatisfactory results without wetting them, and it made no difference. Also, I've found that I get the absolute best sound when I use Comply T400 Foam Tips - size large for me - with the BackBeat Pros. Using the Comply tips brings both the listening experience and the noise isolation to a whole new level.)
I find the BackBeat Pros to be excellent with mids and highs and good enough with bass. They may not have bona fide "reference" quality sound, but they do have exceptionally clear sound and presence. I have also found that I can listen to them at much lower volume levels than required for the other IEM I own (the aforementioned JVCs and Sonys, and Sennheiser MX51 earbuds). Roughly, volume level 9 on my MP3 player with the Altec Lansings is as loud as volume 15 with the other buds (the maximum volume level that the MP3 player can go to is 30).
These IEM have balanced armature speakers or a balanced armature transducer design. Balanced armature transducers are typically found in better-than-entry-level to audiophile quality IEM. (One can read more about balanced armatures at the Wikipedia entry for headphones.) In Altec Lansing's BackBeat line, which consists of 4 models (Classic, Plus, Titanium, and Pro, in order of least to most expensive), only the BackBeat Pro model uses the balanced armature transducer type. The others use dynamic transducers, typical of entry level IEM. The balanced armature transducers in the BackBeat Pros deliver sound that, with a proper seal in the ear canal, I find remarkably clear and present. Altec Lansing suggests that the BackBeat Pros produce "reference" and "studio" quality sound, and while that is an exaggeration, I find their fidelity impressive, and exceptional for the price I paid [...].
Amazon is offering the BackBeat Pros for [...] until 2/22/10 as part of their "Our 10 Best Headphones Deals Right Now" offer. I may order another pair or maybe 2 at [...], to have handy for gifts (they come in a nice box and with the included soft, padded and zippered carrying case make an impressive presentation). At this price they are a steal (at a list price of [...] they are the most expensive earphones in Altec Lansing's current catalog, and while that may be an inflated list price, it's not ridiculously inflated in the way that JLabs list price of [...] is for two of their IEM). I would, however, tell gift recipients that in my experience, they sound radically better to me with different tips, and that if they find that they are getting virtually no bass, they should try them with tips other than those supplied with them (alternative tips can be purchased at Amazon, Radio Shack, etc., such as Comply T400 Foam Tips, which fit the BackBeat Pros perfectly).
Altec Lansing UHP606 Review by D. Hentze (United States)
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Altec Lansing UHP606:: Description
Music professionals know well designed earphones shouldn’t compete with outside noises. High listening volumes not only distort sound, they’re not healthy. A superior seal to block out ambient sound is critical. Once that’s achieved, only the highest definition micro-speakers will do. BackBeat Pro earphones deliver both. Super flexible SnugFit™ neoprene ear tips, plus dual flange technology, conform to your ear for superior noise isolation. The balanced armature speakers – essentially full-range miniaturized speakers with built-in amplifiers – are professionally tuned for musician-grade sound. The result is true high-definition, ultra-low distortion audio that rivals recording studio reference speakers. Carry case and eight-piece fit kit included.
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