Whether you’re running a marathon or watching Wandavision in bed, comfort is king when it comes to wireless earbuds. Not only is a well-fitting pair less annoying, but a proper seal also has a dramatic impact on the sound quality of the headphones.
Ultimate Ears’ engineers know a thing or two about great-fitting earbuds. For years the company has made custom headphones for world-famous musicians on the stage. The new Fits bring a taste of that bespoke life to everyone.
Pop the headphones in your ears, then run through a quick series of app-based prompts, and an ultraviolet light inside the earbuds activates, molding each side to your ear canals. It sounds too good to be true, but it isn’t. I’ve been using my self-molded pair for months, and they’re the most comfortable wireless earbuds I’ve ever tested.
Molding Buds
The Fits look like AirPods with the earbud portion shifted halfway down the stem. A tube on the outside of each bud holds the touch controls, mics, and other components, and the driver sits closer to the eartips lower down.
It might seem odd to put the eartips in the middle of the stem, but this attachment point makes them stay better balanced in my ears than Apple’s AirPods, which tend to slope toward the floor over time.
Ultimate Ears Fits.
Photograph: Ultimate EarsI should warn you about the smell. The tips themselves come wrapped (to prevent premature molding), but break open the seal and it’ll smell like the inside of a dentist’s office. The odor quickly dissipates after the molding process.
Getting the headphones to a custom fit is as easy as unsealing the tips, popping them in your ears, and opening the Ultimate Ears Fits app. In-app prompts will tell you what do to and when. The eartips will then light up—as the ultraviolet light reacts with the unmolded tips to harden them—and you’ll feel the buds get warm in your ears. Sixty seconds later, you’re done.
The oval-shaped charging case is equally ergonomic. It’s larger than some others (to accommodate the big, custom-molded eartips), but not so big that it won’t easily fit into a medium-size pocket or handbag.
Great Sound
A great, custom-fitted seal means you get pretty awesome passive noise reduction with the Fits. Plop the buds in your ears, and they reduce the sound of the outside world at least as well as the Jabra Elite 85t and other active noise-canceling competitors.
The seal also has another benefit: great bass response. The Fits sound like they go lower and have more authoritative low end than similarly priced competitors, which makes sense given just how well they fit. Even with the same drivers, a better seal nearly always means better sound.
