REVIEW: WESTONE 3, the ULTIMATE UNIVERSAL IEM vs everything else - AKA W3 Appreciation Thread - Page 7

The Livewires soundstage and transparency is very similar to the W3, something I have praised about the Livewires in the past. But the Livewires cannot match the body and presence, substance and bass of the W3 at all and are closer in sound to the Klipsch Image X10 in this regard.

No, I tried all the stock tips with TF10, and Complys T400 tips were the only ones that worked for me. My UM-56 fit the SE530 and W3, but the hole is too small for the UE earphones. I tried them with my IM716 once, but the IM716 stick out too far since they weren't meant to be used together.

Yes, from what I recall about the TF10 before I sold them out of disappointment, I would say the W3 are in a league of their own. The TF10 are more of a fun phone than a true audiophile phone - while the W3 are for people who like a resolving and true/accurate transparent headphone that replicates the performance rather than sounding like extremely nice headphones.

Thanks! I thought the history was critical for putting the W3 in their place among all the other hi-end IEM that I have owned but don't still have for direct comparison. It's not like I am using a faulty memory of the sound or issues that I had with the other earphones that I no longer have, because I have previously reported on most of these findings about the TF10Pro and SE530 in various places on head-fi, and those findings don't change.

Also, I didn't start my writeup until after all the turkey was gone

Yep - we three are in agreement so far about the sound.

I have not tried them on a desktop amp yet. Later I will try them on the Millett SSH, EF1, and WA6. I know my WA6 has always been a little quieter than my old DV336i was with very sensitive headphones. Then maybe I'll try the Headfive and Travagans Red and HR Micro Amp that I have at the bedside rig, and then the Single Power Square Wave XL and Apogee mini-DAC hp out. It all takes time, but it isn't likely that I will be using IEM with a tube amp.

The W3 are definitely more sensitive than my Image X10 or IM716, but they are not as sensitive or hissy as my Livewires, Freq Show and SE530 customs. Have you tried a volume attenuator to hush the noise, or changing tubes? I bet my Sylvania Bad Boy 6SN7 that I saved would be a good match for the W3

Thanks David. It's a good thing I was born and raised in Texas then! I moved to Colorado after I finished my pediatric residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where I grew up. And to top it all off, my brother David still lives in Houston with my mom and step-dad.

I have no clue where the complaints about treble would come from, unless it is due to poor fit problems, a problem with making them work with a certain persons anatomy, or using only the foam tips which I mentioned will cut down the treble some.

These have some of the best treble I have heard in an IEM, and clearly passed up the SE530 the first time I heard the W3 for a direct comparison (using the same tip first on the SE530 and then on the W3). The treble is at least as extended and present as my de-podded IM716 (at any impedance from 5 ohm - 102 ohm) and better than Klipsch Image X10 as well. If the UE11Pro have more treble those are likely not the IEM for me, and I am a person who actually likes SR-325i treble too.