WESTONE 3 IMPRESSIONS AND APPRECIATION THREAD - Page 72

Can anybody get there hands on "Monster Beats by Dr. Dre Tour In-Ear Headphones" tips and check if they fit Westone 3's? (edit: just saw that they are only available for back order now... )
just saw the two versions of "Tri-flange type" tips included with these headphones and i gotta say.. they look sweet! ( they are black!!! )
If they are the softer and comfier brothers of the tri-flange tips then I'm gonna get them! (just the tips )


on the side note.. nice looking headphones...

Not yet, but on my short list. However, the W3 with large Complys is very, very good.

No, it's to hold the cable in place at the back of the neck.

Right, so I'm 24 hours into my W3s ownership. I don't want to judge them fully yet, just posting my impressions thus far. Am comparing them to my TF10s. Thought I ought to add that this post is just my opinion and is based on how I hear these IEMs. In terms of some of the music I've been listening to, in no particular order: Weezer, Tenacious D, Leona Lewis, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, Presidents of the USA, Barenaked Ladies, AC/DC, Blink 182, Boyz II Men (yes, i know, gay haha, but lots of rich voices to test the mids!), Daft Punk. All >=256k MP3 from a 5G ipod.

I've spent many hours playing with tips and fitting, and I've settled on the medium gray silicone and the medium long complys - they are the only ones I can get to actual comfortably fit me. The effect of the two tips on the W3 is quite similar to that on my TF10s - the complys settle both the treble and the bass down nicely whereas the silicones sound a little plasticky.

So far, my main impression lies with the bass and the treble. The low end is much stronger in impact compared to the TF10s and first impression is that it sounds great - but after a few hours I've decided it sounds a little bit bloated. There's certainly more quantity but I hear the TF10 bass as being of higher quality - because there's less "boom" in the triple.fi I feel I'm hearing more texture to bass guitars and drums which is more pleasing to my ear. That's not to say the W3s low end doesn't sound good - because its very easy to rock out to and is probably my favourite SQ element of the W3s, but it lacks the precision of the TF10s.

Next up is the treble. Obviously the TF10s are quite treble happy so I know my past couple of months of listening is tuned slightly more towards that bias. The W3s treble is definitely there - I don't feel I'm missing out much on treble *presence* compared to the TF10s. But, even though it is present it doesn't sound particularly great. Treble detail sounds flat and, more importantly, if there are several sources of treble it is very easily smeared and I loose definition, something which I've never experienced with the TF10s. My biggest gripe is with hi-hats which sound flat and at times very harsh.

In addition to that there are two other things I've noticed. 1. Sibilance and 2. Difficulty with complex sound composition.

Firstly, I hear a lot of sibilance with the W3s - at least compared to the TF10s. With the TF10s I sometimes notice some sibilance with the silicone tips but the complies completely rid them of that. This is not the case with the W3s. They are surprisingly bad in this area, actually, and the issue is probably the deal-breaker for me so far. No tip or position trick as sorted it out for me, although the complies do reduce it a small amount. I've even tried EQing out the highs a little, but interestingly although I definitely hear reduced treble the sibilance remains. I do have to say that it is an issue on many, but not all, recordings - but I never get it with the TF10s. Therefore the W3s are quite fatiguing in my ears, poosticks.

The second point is something which is backed up by TheMarchingMule's post here. A lot of the music I listen to is rock and that's where I first noticed it, but since then it has come up in several different genres. When there is a lot going on the W3s start loosing definition and the sound is smeared. Combined with the sibilance and the off-putting high hats a lot of busy sections of rock songs actually sound very poor (cringeworthy so, at times). This for me is the strongest point of the TF10s - no matter what happens they retain their clarity and instrument separation is never an issue.

One result of this is that I often get to the end of a song with the W3s and I'll notice I've just sort of listenened and bobbed my head away at the music - whereas with the TF10s I am often stopped in my tracks because the texture and clarity of the sound is distracting (in a good way!).

So far I think the mids has been the general complaint with the W3s on here but I think they are great - but then I am coming from the mid-recessed TF10s.

It is very annoying that I've got these SQ gripes because they are the most comfortable IEM i've had in my ear. I really like their construction, shape, weight and cable. The TF10s are quite simply uncomfortable.

To sum up:

Bass: Quite Good. Strong, punchy. But not as textured as the TF10s
Mids: Very good - more prominent than the TF10s.
Treble: Present (unlike when I heard a pair of SE530s) but poor. Sibilant, harsh and plastic sounding (no tip or position remedies this for me)
Sound stage: very good, slightly narrower than the TF10s I think but instrument separation, on the whole, better with the W3s.
Comfort: Awesome

On the whole my post has been negative - but I'll be listening to the W3s for the next week before I make my mind up. One thing to note is that I paid £170 for the TF10s and £300 for the W3s. The TF10s are, relatively speaking, incredibly value for money (or are the W3s just stupendously expensive?!).

EDIT: 23/12/2008

After a day of playing around with the triple-flange tips (I've not modded them yet) I've actually got a decent sound out of the W3s. Sibilance is no longer an issue for me (and that was the deal-breaker with any of the other tips), and the treble sounds much less plasticky - high hats especially now sound much better and less harsh. The sound is now much more like I expected the W3s to sound like - similar to my TF10s but with less emphasis on the treble and more on the bass.

My opinion has been swayed a little by the triple-flange tips, but I have not yet made up my mind as to which pair I keep. I need to look at modding the triple flanges as they are too uncomfortable in their stock state.

I had similar opinions about W3's last week..

Try a better source and you'll find that highs, Mids and bass will improve a lot!
the sound stage is also dependent on the source.. i know TF10's has the same source but W3's just love better source and if possible, lossless music

my current and only problem = harsh highs..... (but there are so many ways to adjust the SQ, i'm still experimenting..)
also, lossy source will be more harsh than lossless sometimes.. even the bass thump of lossless source has more texture than lossy source..
try different sources and ear tips..

good luck! (to me too)

x2, between the iPod Touch 1G and 2G, the difference is very obvious with the W3s.

I find this a problem too. I was so frustrated that I actually came very close to returning the W3. But I have figured out a workaround.

Here is a picture to illustrate the issue:



The UM2 clearly allows to tip to go quite a bit further into the ear. My solution is to cut off a small piece from an old Comply tip and use it as a spacer to push the tip slightly away from the body of the earpiece:



Here is the end result:



Now I get the same isolation I had with the UM2, and the sound quality is great. The only problem is that when I take the earpieces out, the tips tend to get left behind (not a huge deal as they are easy enough to pick out of my ears). I might try applying a few spots of glue to the outside of the sound tubes, so that the tips don't come off quite as easily.

how big improvement from w2 to w3?

Time for Westone to develop a new ear tip?

Westone... if you can hear us, please develop a tip that is both comfortable and goes deep in the ear... (with the choice of manually trimming it like Tri-flange tips)
Of course not talking about UM56's here.. the tips should be available to purchase just like foamies or silicone tips (5 pairs)
even some silicone tips with greater length will do! but Foamies are prefered!
You delivered one of the best sounding IEM's.. but if that is followed by one of the best tips (which is a MUST to enjoy Westone 3's).. that would be just great!

something like these tri-flange tips? (if these are comfy!)

I'm very close to selling my W3's..
Should i try UM56's with W3's or just sell them?
What to do.....?

I hope you can find a way to hear what I do here.

IPod Touch 2g at 70% volume or less + ALAC lossless + W3s + Standard Complys, inserted all the way in to the ear then pulled back out a nanometer () or so = no sibilance and very good tonal balance here. As mentioned elsewhere, I tested against the extremely well-recorded Patricia Barber album (Nightclub); blind listening to 320 AAC vs. ALAC. With AAC 320, mildly distorted esses and effs (digital-distortion sibilance) while the ALAC (same track) had near-pristine high end without sibilance on these same sounds. It was not (to me) subtle. It was less noticeable on the Nuforce 8s that had more trouble distinguishing. The W3s do resolve and hence reveal source issues.

I should also note that with any of the other tips on the W3s, the sound for any music and codec combo was tipped to the high end, especially when using any of the non-foamies, due to insufficient isolation in my ears. The standard Complys are, as the fairy tale says, "just right".

Ordered the P-51 and ALO 18G SXC to get cleanly to a bit higher levels and hopefully improve yet more the lower levels as well.

yeah ok guys, i read all your threads and decide to grab a pair of W3 ASAP.

So another couple of days since I started forming my first impression of the W3s.

Nothing has really changed. I go a few hours listening to the W3s and start thinking "ok ok, these sound pretty good." Then I get onto some punk or rock and the sound breaks down. I pop my TF10s back in and everything just sounds so clear and defined. As I type I'm listening to Norah Jones "The Prettiest Thing" which on the W3s sounds great - nice, warm and laid back. But everything is too laid back. Listening back on my TF10s the piano and voice sounds extremely good, and the light drums are so extraordinarily well defined I can hear the snares on the snare drum vibrate against the drum skin. On the W3s the snare hits come across much more simply.

I suppose I just prefer the TF10s brighter sound signature. But the sibilance and weak composure for rock with the W3s I still can't get my head around. I'm clearly not the only one who has formed this opinion.

Might try the IE8s as well just so I can have a third comparison.

X2

As another example I've just played "Killing in the Name" on both the W3s and TF10s. The TF10s are literally a step above in overall sound quality for me. With the W3s everything is there, so to speak. I can hear the song and the overall melody. But it gets muddy and the detail is lost. But with the TF10s not only do I hear that music, but the instruments are all incredibly well layered - even in the busiest of times everything is tooth-pick clear.

Thinking about it I'm not sure what is the more "realistic" portrayel of the song. The TF10 presentation, for me, is much more engaging. As a matter of fact I have seen Rage live but I was a little too drunk and rocking out a little to hard at the time to pay attention to the venue's SQ :P

Too bad they are uncomfortable!!