One of the most important qualities in a pair of true wireless earbuds is fit. Without a great fit there is no seal and the audio won’t live up to expectations. Bass in particular will be thin-sounding. There will be a natural tendency to boost the volume in an attempt to make music sound better — resulting in lower battery life. Ambient noise will slip through. And without a good fit, the earbuds themselves can easily pop out. This isn’t just annoying, it can result in damage to a dropped earbud. Ultimate Ears thinks it has the answer to poorly fitting earbuds in the UE FITS.
The standard approach has always been to include a handful of different sized ear tips and wings in an attempt to make earbuds fit everyone. That doesn’t always work. I have a terrible time with earbuds. In nearly 15 years of testing them (first wired, then wireless) and well over 100 different sets at this point, I have had maybe a half dozen earbuds that fit properly — comfortably, securely, and with a good seal for optimal sound.
My first experience with custom-molded earbuds was with the incredible UE 18+ CSX earbuds. You can read my review here, but the bottom line is these are truly incredible earbuds with six drivers delivering beautifully nuanced audio, and a custom-molded fit to ensure you hear every note of that detail. The downside? They’re not true wireless (there’s a cable with a battery pack connecting the two buds), and the price was in mortgage payment territory.
The UE FITS take a more traditional earbud design, with 10mm dynamic drivers. However, Ultimate Ears has brought the custom-molding approach of the CSX series to the consumer market, with integrated Lightform technology. These custom-molded earbuds are priced at a very down-to-earth $249.
Lightform Custom Molding
The UE FITS arrive in a sealed package. Sealed because the included ear tips are light-sensitive. Once I had cracked them open, I waited a week before moving ahead, but kept them in the closed box to avoid light exposure and that had no impact on the process.
Download the UE FITS app, which walks you through the basics of connecting the earbuds. It’s pretty straightforward Bluetooth stuff. The FITS use Bluetooth 5.0 with SBC, AAC and APT-X support. Once connected the app will take you through the customization process step by step. It takes about 60 seconds. You are instructed in how how to position the earbuds for optimal audio performance, then built-in LED lights begin to warm up the malleable inner material so the buds conform to the shape of your ear canal. They get a little warm, but the app keeps you updated on progress.
When the molding is complete, the earbud contact surfaces still feel nice and soft, but they fit perfectly as the inner material hardened into the shape of your ear canal. No additional tips or wings needed. I could shake my head and jump around and the UE FITS would not pop out. They are also extremely comfortable to wear. Each bud weighed just 0.25 ounces on my scale.
Ultimate Ears says the included ear tips will fit 95% of users. They fit me perfectly, although for review purposes the company also sent larger and smaller versions. If the included tips are too large or too small for your ears, or if you’re not happy with the results, Ultimate Ears’ support says you have 30 days to request replacement tips. The molding is a one-time thing, so if you decide to gift the buds to someone else later on, they’ll need to purchase new tips (which UE says will be sold separately) to repeat the process.
Audio Performance
As happy as I was with having wireless earbuds that fit so perfectly, listening to music on the UE FITS took the experience to a new level.
The fit was so good that an impressive amount of ambient noise is passively blocked. Typing with my mechanical keyboard and music at a very low volume, the UE FITS eliminated the clacking of the keyboard as effectively as other buds that use active noise cancellation.
I wore them cutting the grass (not something I would do with those UE 18+ CSX earbuds) and I couldn’t believe it. The noise of the lawn mower was greatly reduced in the background and I could actually hear the music. I didn’t have to crank it up to maximum volume, and I heard details, not just a music-like drone in the background. This is a first for me.
Generally speaking, the audio performance reminds me of the sound you’ll get out of an Ultimate Ears portable speaker. There’s no attempt to be flat, but there is lots of energy on tap and it makes for entertaining listening. With a perfect seal all but guaranteed, there is plenty of low frequency bass thump, without overwhelming the mids and high end. It’s not an audiophile listening experience (if you want subtlety and extreme nuance there’s the CSX series), but it makes listening to music an enjoyable experience.
If you want to take customization further, the mobile app includes an EQ with presets as well as the ability to save your own audio settings.
Not everyone will see this extreme difference — if regular earbuds fit you well, then the custom-molded buds will be great, but not as dramatic — however if you are one of the many earbud owners who has suffered from imperfect fit, the difference is night and day.
Battery Life, Touch Controls, and Water Resistance
The big part of the UE FITS story is the custom-molded fit. However, they are capable wireless earbuds in general.
Battery life is very good, with a rating of up to eight hours of continuous listening per charge. With no ANC to drain the battery and the tight seal meaning you don’t need to have the volume as high as you might otherwise, that eight hours is easily achievable. In comparison Apple’s AirPods Pro (which cost $80 more) last up to five hours without ANC, and 4.5 hours with ANC on. 10 minutes of fast charge gets another hour of listening time, and total playing time including the charge case battery is 20 hours.
The charge case is slightly larger than most (to accommodate the unusual form factor), and charges using USB-C.
The UE FITS are equipped with dual mics for voice calls. They also support touch controls, with single-tap and double-tap touch options. Controls can be independently configured for each bud (using the app), for functions including play/pause, volume control and invoking Siri or Google Assistant.
Ultimate Ears says the FITS are sweatproof, but their IPX3 water resistance rating isn’t on the high end (the AirPods Pro have an IPX4 rating, for comparison).
UE FITS Recommendation
If you’ve had a tough time finding true wireless earbuds that fit properly, I highly recommend UE FITS — they’ll fit not just properly, but perfectly. The results will be revelatory and well worth the $249 price.
The only caution I have is if you are looking at them for heavy exercise or wearing in rough weather. As much as the secure fit makes them ideal for exercise, they have a relatively low IPX3 water resistance rating. They are designed to be “sweatproof” but if you sweat a lot or might be caught in the rain, earbuds with a higher water resistance rating would be the safer choice.
UE FITS are priced at $249, and available in Eclipse (Midnight Blue), Dawn (Lilac), or Cloud (Gray).
Disclosure: Ultimate Ears provided UE FITS earbuds for evaluation but had no input into this review.
