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For console, Variphone (the only official Westone seller in Europe) said UM3 and Westone 1, 2 could be in preparation for soon. The Westone 3 will be the high-end model of the new audiophile range, and the UM3 will complete the actual range for musicians.
I received that too, see you (this thread) next spring!
Funny thing is, actually it's not so funny, I bit on the MiniBox-D + Westone 3 promotion, and by the time the 3's come out the D won't be worth the shiny box it comes in, there will be a MiniBox-G.
i think the reason people are rather perturbed by the whole situation is because (atleast in my case) the optimistic release date ended up delaying the purchase (for others may still be delaying) of other fine IEMs. I know i for one was sitting around just living with the bad sound of the headphones that came with my portable, thinking it would be worth it to just deal with it and save up for the W3 since at the time the estimated release was within a month. Instead I ended up trusting in westone and waited till i finally just went out and bought the SE530's a month ago, which I think sound great.
i know its our own choice to not upgrade while waiting for a release, but its also the companies responsibility not to mislead its customers (i.e. the manufacturing problem is small.....oh nevermind it'll take us two years). Usually a company would have readied the mass manufacturing process before releasing a solid date and just needed process, lease and/or buy factories. other companies are much more vague with statements like quarterly estimates if they haven't readied the manufacturing process so that people don't waste time waiting on something that may yet be available.
it's also quite a bad experience for resellers who've missed out on the possible income and probably have to deal with a lot of complaints/cancellations from people who've preordered. all in all I don't think the whole situation is as bad as some people make it to be, and I don't think westone owes anyone anything except the retailers, but it is still quite annoying and frustrating to all people involved.
Shame on Westone, advertising the 3's and letting them slip further and further without a single word to the community. Terrible service.
I have taken up Earphone Solutions offer on the SE530's, not the outcome I wanted but I've had enough waiting. To those who wait, good luck with your patience!
Considering the product will not be available until 2009, and considering how long it has been...how does anyone even know if the product will be any good? Sounds like a lot more than a minor manufacturing or packaging issue. It seems this could be an entirely different product than what everyone has expected, and for all we know...may sound far worse and not be what the hype built it up as when it does finally get released. Couple that with Westone's terrible approach to customer service and lack of simple honesty on this issue, I can't imagine why this product would be worth waiting for, or even giving them the business. In fact, I would have thought Westone's major competitors (like Shure) would have taken this opportunity to rush a superior product to market. I think at this point I'd really have to think twice even if it was released tomorrow! Just a thought...
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