Ultimate ear music from mp3additions.co.uk

"In-ear" monitoring was developed for professional musicians. If you attend live concerts or watch live music on TV you can't help but have noticed the improvement in sound quality over the past ten years. Before in ear monitoring each musician in the band relied on their own personal mix in a wedge loudspeaker placed on the floor in front of them. However, as the gig rolled on the singer would ask for more volume, then the guitarist, bassist and on it went until the stage foldback sound was so loud it spilled into the audience making it difficult for the front of house sound engineer to get a nicely balanced sound for the paying audience.

Now, however, it's unusual to see a professional artist without the tell tale monitor cables going direct to their ears, giving them their own personal mix, which cleans up the stage sound, less volume, therefore less overspill and everybody wins!

Ultimate Ears have been at the forefront of developing in ear monitors for more than 12 years and carry endorsements from many popular artists such as The Killers, Oasis, Kaiser Chiefs, Robbie Williams and George Michael - the list goes on.

With the rise of the iPod and other mp3 players UE haven't been slow to develop quality in ear phones for music lovers as well as music professionals. I've recently taken delivery of the Super.Fi 5 Pro model and they are nothing short of sensational. I have to admit I'm a headphone junkie with everything from £30 Sony's to £1000 Grado's and pound for pound these Ultimates are great value for money, outperforming many 'phones at much higher price points.

The problem with many iPod "in ears" is comfort. The UE's come with a selection of buds in various sizes. The rigid cables sculpt around the ears giving a secure fit. Listening to Michael Buble's "Call Me Irresponsible" on iTunes is little short of a revelation. The subtlety of his voice is fully revealed and the percussive element of acoustic instruments is fully explored. The real beauty of these 'phones though is the clarity and full body right through the sound spectrum, from low bass to tinkling highs. Witness NeYo's "So Sick" pumping bass at the bridge.

mp3additions.co.uk has a full range of Ultimate Ears from £44.99 If you really want to get involved with your music and hear it at as the professionals do, get the Ultimate! But be warned, you'll want to use up that extra iPod disc space with higher sampling rates to match the quality of these in ear monitors.

Happy listening.