SeeAudio Yume Ultra Review: Techs at at Cost

Introduction: SeeAudio is a brand that I think fondly of. When I entered the hobby a couple years ago, the SeeAudio x Crinacle Yume:Midnight was just released and it was one of the first IEMs I purchased to replace a 12 year old Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 Pro. I enjoyed the tonality of the Midnight quite a bit, but as I progressed in the hobby and tried new things, it was eventually left behind and it really just couldn't keep up in the technicalities department. The fact that the Midnight also had a vacuum seal issue for me didn't help. Fast forward a couple years to 2023 and the hobby seemed to enter the year of the "Ultra." Beginning with the Dunu SA6 Ultra, one Ultra version of a preexisting IEM came after another. Ultra was everywhere. When it was announced that there would be an Ultra version of the Yume through a collaboration with Angelears (I believe this is a subsidiary of Hifigo), I was immediately interested. Could this be the more technical Yume that we've all been waiting for? Disclaimer: Many thanks to Hifigo for sending out a review sample in exchange for my honest thoughts! Where to Buy: Hifigo Amazon PROS: Very tactile sound Stage is on the wider side Beautiful shell and great fit/ergonomics Modular cable is comfortable, light, and well behaved CONS: Lacks a bit of clarity Thin sounding - lacks body A bit congested Artificial and almost digital sounding timbre Imaging is just okay - mostly left to right Build, Fit, Accessories: What's in the box: The SeeAudio Yume Ultra comes in a box that is fully adorned in a waifu illustration. Inside you will find: large plaque/IEM stand of the SeeAudio Yume mascot a standard puck case with the SeeAudio bunny ears logo a large selection of eartips modular cable - light and manageable - probably the highlight of the kit for me Build and fit: The build quality of the Yume Ultra is quite nice and the shells are a very aesthetic. The resin shells are compact and molded in a way that make for a very comfortable fit and the sparkly finish on the faceplates are quite tasteful. I'm actually quite pleased with how well these IEMs are built and how comfortable they are in my ears! Overall Sound: The SeeAudio Yume Ultra leans heavily into the tuning philosophy that leaner and brighter signatures are more technical. I can see what SeeAudio was going for (see what I did there?), but the end result might not be much of an improvement. Some people will definitely enjoy this IEM, just not me. Where the original Yume was known to be a mids and vocal specialist and where the Midnight slightly improved on this formula, adding a nice subbass boost, the Yume Ultra takes a completely different approach, shearing out a good amount of mid bass and lower mid regions. This has the effect of cleaning up the sound a bit as too much elevation in these regions can cause a transducer to sound muddy. But they may have gone a bit too far with this and the upper mids and lower treble come forward a bit too much, leading to an almost artificially bright and digital sounding presentation. I recognize that some (many) may like this quite a bit, but as someone who enjoys a nice note weight, it just wasn't for me. Bass: Surprisingly the quality of the bass is pretty good here. Bass notes are impactful and punchy with good resolution. Whatever DD they used here is a good one. Bass quality isn't at issue here, however. With the upper mid and lower treble tuning on this set, I find myself wanting just a bit more bass elevation on this set to balance out the brightness. Without that, this set is brighter and thinner than I'd personally like. A bit of EQ to raise the shelf a bit and maybe to add a touch more midbass emphasis would do this set wonders. Mids: The midrange is what I was most excited to hear. Unfortunately, it is also where I was let down the most. Having come from the Yume:Midnight, which had really great mids albeit a bit lower resolution and overly smoothed, I was excited by the prospect that the same quality mids would be retained with more technicality introduced. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Vocals and instruments in the mid to upper mid registers can sometimes sound compressed and almost digital/artificial. You do get a lot more detail than you would on the Yume and Yume:Midnight, but that comes with a step back in timbre and tonality. Treble: Treble on the Yume Ultra is pretty good. It extends pretty well with no super apparent peaks to be aware of. Nothing too offensive here. But as with all things in life, balance is is important and I find myself wishing there was just a bit more low end to balance out this IEM. Without a bit more low end, this IEM is brighter and leaner. Technicalities: Did SeeAudio succeed in creating a more technical Yume/Yume:Midnight? Kind of. The Yume Ultra is undoubtedly more technical than the Yume and Yume:Midnight. Stage is decently wide but imaging is relatively 2 dimensional - more left to right, not much depth. Overall it performs commendably in the techs department but it loses the magic that made the Yume line special, the lush and beautiful mids are nowhere to be found and timbre can be hit or miss depending on how your ears expect instruments and voices to sound. Conclusion: This is an IEM that I truly wanted to love, truly. SeeAudio set out on the task to create a technical Yume and they achieved the technical part. The overall sound signature adds quite a bit of crispness and punch that some previous SeeAudio IEMs lacked, but this is a tonally flawed IEM.