REVIEW: WESTONE 3, the ULTIMATE UNIVERSAL IEM vs everything else - AKA W3 Appreciation Thread - Page 23

Lol.... I really need to stop looking here for a while. My mind keeps doing flip flops. One second I'm being told the Westone 3 doesn't have as good of mids as the SE530 and it can at times be sibilant and fatiguing. Then the next second I'm being told that the Westone 3 is so much better than the earphones that I already really, really like.

So confusing.

You can't try them out yourself? Never mind what people think.

Where can I try them out, or get them to try without having a big fee if I return them?

Well, you can all have a good laugh... I don't care!! This is Head-Fi, and embarrassing audio stories belong here!

Briefly, the W3 was just too big for my ears. So I listed them, sold them, packed them, thought vaguely about the small tips, opened the package, tried the small silicons... and, ohhhh, hey presto... they fitted! Something about the size of them made the earpiece less intrusive in my ears. I didn't even think to try the small tips, since I nearly aways use mediums.

But I'd already sold them, so I took a loss (as I paid express shipping and customs etc) - and then just re-bought them again earlier this evening. It works out that one pair of W3 has cost me £392 ($572)

And yes, I could have waited till they were in stock in the UK in a couple of weeks, and saved about $100... but the truth is, once I really REALLY heard how they sounded, with the small tips (which I never use), I knew I had to get them again, and there was no way in hell I was waiting an extra few days to save money.

There are so many reviews already, that I'm not going to go over the same old stuff. But tomorrow, I'll just explain why I prefer them to my TF10 and the IE7/8. I always maintained I would never give up my TF10 unless something equally good was available in a smaller package.

And this is why my TF10 will be up for sale soon

Oh, and the moral of this story is... trying ALL the tips could save you a small fortune! And if anyone thinks to say, 'You should have tried all the tips...' - my response will be, yeah, hindsight is a wonderful thing

@ soozieq

I was sad to see you selling yours...I'm glad it worked out for you.

I'm still wanting...

Glad that you didn't give up on them...Very special IEM indeed.

soozieq, i hate u T_T

You scared my wallet...

Me too!

They certainly are.

Please, I'm in the UK, and I can still hear you laughing from here! And I also detected a little, 'I told you so'... ... kindly refer to my 'hindsight' comment

Hey, I hate you too! I don't even have a wallet, and tomorrow I have to go steal from underprivileged children to fund my sickness

Thanks for the great review HeadphoneAddict... My sentiments exactly. Now I have to go out and get some UM56's. T-Complies for now.

So real... I just can't stop listening to them. The main thing that first jumped at me is that the string was actually just plucked, right there in my head. Texture, soundstage, bass, treble, mids, all right there, perfectly.... I am short of words. Holy $#!^.

and for anyone who hasn't heard these yet.... lie cheat, steal, whatever you have to do, you gotta get these earphones! They are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO worth the $400 (relatively speaking), but you do need an amp to clean up the sound out of that nasty ipod headphone jack....

There are no audio stores near you which let you try them out before purchasing? Thats a shame.

overall not bad iems but am i the only one hearing too much sibilance on this thing? i'm on the medium grey tips btw

No, I hear it. And I hear something weird on 'T's too

But I found it was worse with some tips than with others. I've just ordered some other tips in the hope it might sort that out, or at least make it less obvious. Even with the slight sibilance I can hear, I still enjoy the rest of the sound signature a LOT. I see that some others aren't experiencing sibilance at all, but I can definitely hear it. No idea why some hear it and some don't, it's just one of those mysteries...