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UE Tripple.fi 10 and Westone ES cable question

post #1 of 32
3/24/08 at 8:13am
Thread Starter 
When I bought this cable from Wilson at Jaben he told me to make sure I reversed the plug on the one ear. Since then I've been searching for a reason why this would be important but have come up empty. With speakers I can see that the cable position is important for phase but as I understand it this never can come into play with headphones. Anybody know the reason for this advise ? Personally I don't think I can hear the difference but as the cable is very tight and somewhat hard to swap I'm not about to do much AB'ing on this.
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post #2 of 32
3/24/08 at 9:29am
I noticed the same with my SF5 when I did this mod, someone told me it needed to be plugged right for the phase etc, but when I AB'd it, I didnt notice much of a difference.
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post #3 of 32
3/24/08 at 9:39am
Well just speaking as the person who originally asked the 'does the westone ES cable fit into UE's earphones' question, at which point I drew a blank because nobody here knew and I had to take the risk and buy one direct from Westone for $19 - which included international shipping according to the receipt I have here - and once I had it I pretty soon realised it did and it was night and day way more comfortable than the iron girder UE created.... oh plus I was inundated with people PM'ing me asking to confirm it really did fit and really did work.

Of course I reported that back here in the thread I started (before the site crash) in which I originally asked that question and since then I've noticed that A) Westone have marked up the price of the cable to $40 just to post it in North America and B) the use of it with UE's earphones is now classed as a sacred black art demanding praying over the cable with a file and there is only one way you are allowed to shove it in and if you don't get it correct then your not a audiophile and your ears will drop off... and I'm sat here thinking but I thought everybody knew that with headphones and earphones phasing doesn't matter.

I'm afraid I agree with you NC8000, except I would say it sounds like a big stinking heap of BS.
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post #4 of 32
3/24/08 at 10:49am
Silly me. I didn't even know that it could be out of phase and I just plugged the Westone cable into the Triple-Fi's randomly (but symetrically) on each side. It seems fine.

Actually in retrospect that may explain why my nose fell off.
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post #5 of 32
3/24/08 at 11:49am
Interesting. I tried the configuration suggested at HeadphoneHaven (supposed to be in phase) and didn't want to unplug the cable, which fitted tightly, to test the out-of-phase sound. Interesting to see there are differing opinions about the matter.
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post #6 of 32
3/24/08 at 12:25pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by leqin View Post
..., except I would say it sounds like a big stinking heap of BS.
Do you mean that you find the sq of the cable itself stinks or just the suggestion that the way it gets plugged matters ?
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post #7 of 32
3/24/08 at 12:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leqin View Post
- and once I had it I pretty soon realised it did and it was night and day way more comfortable than the iron girder UE created....
I'm wondering what you're talking about. Mine aren't stiff or uncomfortable at all. Are you wrapping them behind your ear? (That part is stiff, but on purpose, to hold the IEM in place better).

Do the Westones sound better??? That's the only reason I'd switch. It's a cheap mod, but don't want to order a Westone unless there's an improvement in SQ.

Dave
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post #8 of 32
3/24/08 at 2:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by nc8000 View Post
Do you mean that you find the sq of the cable itself stinks or just the suggestion that the way it gets plugged matters ?
far from it - I'm still using it and I probably always will use it until and unless UE get their act together and come up with some thing that remains stable over a greater range of temperatures and environments and doesn't, like that great big chunk of plastic coated steel hawser they currently supply, leave my ears so sore because of its constant too'ing a throwing every movement you make.

The 'BS' that I refer to is the 'its got to be plugged in one particular ways around' idea, because with headphones and earphones its just doesn't matter and, in every double blind listening test that I've ever seen on this issue - ie, headphones and earphones and cables terminated one way or another - its been shown time after time that people and that grey matter between our ears cannot tell and don't really care.
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post #9 of 32
3/24/08 at 2:57pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by dcstep View Post
I'm wondering what you're talking about. Mine aren't stiff or uncomfortable at all. Are you wrapping them behind your ear? (That part is stiff, but on purpose, to hold the IEM in place better).

Do the Westones sound better??? That's the only reason I'd switch. It's a cheap mod, but don't want to order a Westone unless there's an improvement in SQ.

Dave
You know if I have to read another person from the USA telling me that they don't have a problem with UE's cable I'll scream.

Come and live in a environment like the UK and you'll soon reach an entirely different opinion about just how flexible this ghastly piece of wire is, because - before I bought the Westone ES cable - trying to live with UE's cable was a nightmare of sore ears and only being able to put up with them for a hour before they became unbearable, which for me was a shame because I really really liked the sound that the UE's created by comparison with any other IEM's.

With the Westone ES cable fitted on my UE's they became earphones that literally disappeared, in fact I could wear and have worn them for 24 hours without the least sign of any discomfort whatsoever and when I take them out there is absolutely no sign of soreness I know would have remained if the cable UE supply had been used instead.

The change in sound quality is trivial. The difference in comfort is a bloody revelation only a idiot would ignore
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post #10 of 32
3/24/08 at 3:07pm
im proper confused,

is this replacing the UE cable, (shiney, memory wire) with a westone cable?

and are you saying it gives better sound or just comfort, and does it lck the memory wire?
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post #11 of 32
3/24/08 at 3:12pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leqin View Post
You know if I have to read another person from the USA telling me that they don't have a problem with UE's cable I'll scream.

Come and live in a environment like the UK and you'll soon reach an entirely different opinion about just how flexible this ghastly piece of wire is, because - before I bought the Westone ES cable - trying to live with UE's cable was a nightmare of sore ears and only being able to put up with them for a hour before they became unbearable, which for me was a shame because I really really liked the sound that the UE's created by comparison with any other IEM's.

With the Westone ES cable fitted on my UE's they became earphones that literally disappeared, in fact I could wear and have worn them for 24 hours without the least sign of any discomfort whatsoever and when I take them out there is absolutely no sign of soreness I know would have remained if the cable UE supply had been used instead.

The change in sound quality is trivial. The difference in comfort is a bloody revelation only a idiot would ignore
I have had the same experience as you. I hated the stock cable so much that I sold the Triple fi in two weeks. Receiving a Westone cable at the time was out of discussion, because it would have taken more than a month to be released by Italian customs, and I couldn't live a day more with stock Triple.fi.
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post #12 of 32
3/24/08 at 4:29pm
I'll chime in a bit too. I was one of the first back with legin. It was his thread that started me thinking about it.

I was already using the S adapter to eliminate the harshness from my 3 Studio's so I combined both. That combo has slightly more resolution than either the Triple.fi or ER4S and I could detect it being out of phase. I had it before most so I just had to try both ways and the correct way has tighter more precise bass resolution while the other has a bit of bloom on the bass.

I can certainly see some people not being able to notice. Without the S adapter the UE is still not tight enough in the bass and there is some bloom already so it may pass unnoticed. And you have to take source differences into account.

As for comfort, it was an improvement. Still, I ended up cutting of the memory wire portion and will never buy a phone with it again as I grew so tired of it. The UM2/Westone 3 will still be more comfy as they have no memory cable.
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post #13 of 32
3/24/08 at 4:36pm
with no memory wire the westone 3 will be a no for me then

at least i wont have to wait anymore lol
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post #14 of 32
3/24/08 at 4:55pm
The ES cable has a plastic memory wire. What everyone is saying is that Triple.fi cable is stiff for all its length. The ES cable, instead, is braided and extremely flexible. It still has the memory wire on the top.
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post #15 of 32
3/24/08 at 5:12pm
If we were to rate them...

UE stock clear cable - worst cable in existence. stiffest and oxidizes.

UE stock black cable - slightly better but will still drive most away

ES cable - big improvement in all aspects over UE stock

Westone universal cable - the best. The reason why they are rated as most comfortable
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