REVIEW: WESTONE 3, the ULTIMATE UNIVERSAL IEM vs everything else - AKA W3 Appreciation Thread - Page 9

I think the Comply tips slide on and off too easily (mine seemed to slide off the earpieces without me even noticing!) And the other ones need putting on and twisting quite a bit to get to the bottom of the stalk.

EDIT: I didn't answer your question! Yes, I think they're harder to fit on than other iems with fatter stalks

Thanks Mike.. ordered these from FreqCitySound on EBay and got them today.. Ohio to So Cal in just a couple of days, not bad and thats with free shipping...

Need to run more albums through, but all I have to say is wow.... its all there, the holes that the X-10 has the holes that the E530 has and the holes that the Etys have... all fillled and then some. I like the fact that the highs are tame but crisp, I was expecting them to be a tad more rolled off.. but its all there.. They are much smaller than I expected.. easily the size of the E530s with a killer fit, finish and the cable and connector are the best I have encountered to date of any IEM.

The range of these is really smooth across the bottom end about 50-60hz up to about 18K... every IEM I have heard to date has some hole that is obvious, but it will take some listening to find any in these, they are not obvious if there are any.

Nice work Westone!, this is truely a masterpiece, IMO worth the wait to get it right, cause obviously everyone else has had time to get it this good... but bottom line is you did. Taking nothing away from the E530s still a superb IEM and I have enjoyed them for the past two years, but there is clearly a new king of the universal fit hill.. Awesome!

I'm curious about the reported looseness of the Comply tips. When mounting the tips, are you screwing them on (as if they were threaded) all the way until they rest against the body of the earpiece?

I just got my pair 30 minutes ago.

I'm coming from Philips SHE9850. Here are my initial impressions: -
1) High is definitely better (but i was kind of expected more :P )
2) Bass is more defined.
3) The sound is also much cleaner
4) Sound stage is about the same as my previous Philips SHE9850 though.

I'm enjoying my W3 now :P

SilverB

where you got yours from? walabies? jaben?

I got my pair from Mike (Freq City)

SilverB

My guess is that they will not stock them, but can get them. That is just a guess. You would need to call them to be sure.
As for pricing on the ES1, again I'm guessing it's import fees and such. I have heard shipping to BR is not cheap from the States.

Are you using the URL that is printed on the Registration Card?

Well, they didn't seem to need much twisting, 'cos they kind of just collapsed to the bottom as soon as I pushed them on. But I'm pretty sure I gave them a twist before I put them in, and they were resting against the body of the earpiece. If they hadn't been, I think they'd have come off while I was compressing them. I didn't try the long Comply tips, just the short ones. But the silicon and the gel tips all needed to be twisted on to get the inner core right to the end of the nozzle. And the earpieces didn't drop off when I used them

@ p0wderh0und23. I PMed you about the registration card problem, because like britishbornazn, I didn't get the registration card...

Ahh.. Duh.. the Volume attenuator... why didn't I think of that..

Oh. My. God.. what a difference. The Darkvoice 336i is almost completly silent now.. and wow, I thought these 3's sounded good from the clip, unamped... they REALLY shine with the DV & Attenuator.. big grin here for sure

Picked 'em up from the Fedex depot a few hours ago, just before my evening martial arts class. I only got 30-40 mins listening to them so far, but here are the quickie initial impressions:

The stock tips are hands down the worst fitting tips I have ever tried on an IEM. Could not get any isolation, despite fiddling with them for 10-15 minutes.

Switching to the Comply short tips... wow. The mids are incredible, better than the Shure SE310 (which used to be my favorite phones for euphonic mids). The highs are comparable to my beloved Ety ER-4P phones. The bass goes low, and has some great definition...mostly. With the Comply tips, I did get some congestion in the midbass range, and it seemed just a little bloated. From experience, I've noticed that Comply foamies tend to enhance bass response, especially in the upper register, which I just don't think the W3 phones need.

I did switch briefly to the tri-flanges, but haven't had enough time to get used to them. I really liked the sound, and the bass sounded nice and tight, but the bodies seemed to stick out a little more from my ears than I like. I might get used to that, though.

To sum up -- I have to agree with the people who point out that these phones blow away almost anything else, even with the fit issues that I'm currently having. The only way they're not superior to the best of any IEMs that I've tried is the bass -- the original Atrios had better slam and a more natural sound than anything I've heard from the W3 yet. That is hugely tip-dependent, though, so it's entirely possible that the W3 can do it and I just haven't experienced it yet.