Anaheim, CA (April 26, 2023)—Ultimate Ears Pro launched its new UE Premier in-ear monitors at this year’s NAMM Show, immediately grabbing the pro-audio industry’s attention thanks to the jaw-dropping 21 drivers loaded into each IEM. Naturally, we crammed a pair into our ears at the earliest opportunity to get an early hot take on them.
As might be gathered from the name, UE Premier is a premium monitor, and while it is equally meant for live sound, in-studio and audiophile use, the new model is now UE Pro’s flagship product. Sporting a five-way passive crossover, the UE Premier IEMs feature a frequency range of 5 Hz-40 kHz; breaking down those 21 drivers, there’s four Dual Diaphragm Mid-Lows in parallel to two Dual Sub-Lows; a Quad Mid driver provides detail; and Knowles’ proprietary Quad High Super Tweeter and UE Pro’s proprietary True Tone handle the high-end.
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Heard briefly on the NAMM show floor, the new IEMs made a great first impression (no pun intended) when worn with standard/non-custom tips; presumably, they will offer additional nuance with custom-molded models. Despite the less-than-ideal, noisy surroundings, it was clear that the UE Premiers were serving up crisp sound; a broad, detailed soundstage; and an unusually solid presentation of low end when tried with this writer’s go-to test music (The Gary Katz-produced “Jocelyn Square” by Love & Money). While the UE Premier models seemed slightly larger than, say, UE 11s—presumably to accommodate the many drivers—they didn’t appear to be heavier and had a pleasantly tight, comfortable fit.
Watch Mix for an upcoming full review of UE Premier in-ear monitors soon. In the meantime, the IEMs are available starting May 15, 2023 with a 25-day turn-around window, and will run $2,999.
