GEAR REVIEW
ULTIMATE EARS UE COMM | Kent Morris
Anyone involved with live production learns the the bright minds at In-House Sound to bring In-House Sound took the beauty of inserted ear
drill after a few shows. Coffee comes off the about a real revolution in show communication. monitors from UE and paired them with a truly
truck first; never take another person’s Sharpie Here’s how it works: impressive mic system. The result is at once
completely foreign and thoroughly familiar. After
and intercom headsets are big and bulky.
But now, thanks to a collaboration between A Telex, Clear-Com or other “com” sits on the my first use, I pondered, “Why didn’t I think of
Ultimate Ears and In-House Sound, the rules ear and uses a small loudspeaker covered this?” The combination is so fluid and logical
have changed. While coffee is still essential and with cloth and wrapped around the outer ear it defies criticism, even from GOSM (Grumpy
Sharpies remain personal property, intercom on the listening side while a substantial old- Old Sound Men). It’s one thing to take some
headsets are now small and inconspicuous. school mic hangs out at the end of a boom great dual-driver UE5 monitors and call that a
for the talking portion. The issue is neither of listening station. It’s quite another to find a way
Ultimate Ears has been around for years and these approaches works well in a typically loud to attach a noise canceling electret condenser
their in-ear monitors are considered some of production environment. The only workable mic on a flexible, tiny boom and keep it from
the best available. For many performers and solution is to raise the listening level and be met pulling the UE5 out of the ear. The secret is
monitor engineers, the UE badge represents with mediocre sound quality blasting at your a combination of lightweight materials and
stellar audio quality, rugged design and reliable ear. The opposite ear is open and compensates a slick magnetic attachment scheme for the
components worthy of ownership. Intercom through temporal shift while the mic requires boom. There is a shroud over the magnet that
headsets, on the other hand, are just something strong signal to work decently, so you end up self-aligns the connection point and allows for
we tolerate in order to communicate during a shouting all night and simultaneously elevating clicking adjustment of the boom up or down
show. For most of us, the heavy headband, your hearing threshold at the worst time without a lateral pull on the ear piece. The three
bulky ear piece and obtrusive boom mic require possible: when you need to hear to work. braided cables then merge into a single whole
and terminate in a TA5F connector.
us to improvise, adapt and overcome. It took
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January 2020
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