[Fungus]

  Get Westone 4 if thats in your budget.

Have you tried both? 

 

[Mooses9]

ive personally owned both, and imo i prefer the um3x its a more fun iem than the w4, w4 is kind of a drier clinical sound to me its not much fun, and one of the biggest problems with the w4 is that its at least in my opinion clinical yet warm, where if i were to prefer a clinical sounding iem i would prefer it to be on the colder side for the clarity. i owned the w4r for a while and i did like it, but ive since moved on and never looked back.
 
when i went to the um3x i was surprised at how much i like it, verses how with the w4 i owned it, with the um3x its fun, it has bass it has clarity, w4 is good dont get me wrong, but its kind of like the um3x is all the things the w4 should be but isnt. and when you boil it down the w4 doesnt have but a leg to stand on. IMO

 

[Spyro]

Mooses9 - I find it hilarious you have ER4 pic beside your profile yet still consider UM3X having great clarity.  Those 2 are at very far extremes.  Now ER4...THAT has great clarity!

 

[Mooses9]

  Mooses9 - I find it hilarious you have ER4 pic beside your profile yet still consider UM3X having great clarity.  Those 2 are at very far extremes.  Now ER4...THAT has great clarity!

im saying clarity between the w4 and the um3x......nothing imo beats out the er4.
 
but comparing the um3x and the w4 i found the w4 to be warmer almost on the darker side of warm really compared to the um3x. of course we have to take into consideration daps and dacs and amps ect that i was using that were giving me those sound signatures. 
 
but no, if you want clarity er4 or fitear f111, but in reality the er4 because the F111 dont deliver the same isolation. which sucked because i liked the f111, just didnt deliver on the isolation, sound quality yes, isolation...not so much

 

[Fungus]

Guy's, when you refer to the er4 as having great clarity, do you mean the treble is more revealing? 
I always consider clarity as have great instrument separation which we all know the um3x excels at. 

 

[Mooses9]

  Guy's, when you refer to the er4 as having great clarity, do you mean the treble is more revealing? 
I always consider clarity as have great instrument separation which we all know the um3x excels at. 

well my first question is have you ever heard the er4's? 
 
if i had to describe the er4's i would say when you say the er4's have clarity, to me its like tonal accuracy, if you are looking for a iem to listen to and critically listen to music, almost study the music thats kind of how i would say the er4's are per clarity, vocals are crisp, you can pick out parts of the music and listen to just that.
 
for instance i was listening to BANKS her track someone new, the guitar is like right there you can hear every string being strummed, vocals are up front, clean and clear.
 
now like everything else the source,amp,dac,cables ect you are listening to the music through is what really makes everything else, kind of like your only as strong as your weakest link.
 
when i was listening to the um3x and w4r i was using dap/dac/amp all balanced all silver cable ect so my perception is going to be greatly different from someone who is just using a dap to listen to the iems through.
 
one of the biggest things people say about the w4 is that they are veiled, if they are veiled, then its like the um3x is unveiled, and then the er4 takes it steps beyond that and unveils the unveiled strips everything down and delivers thew music in the most accurate way possible......and i mean thats just personally speaking i have owned some top tier iem's but still find the er4 to be the most, revealing and most resolving pretty much the best ive heard but thats just me.

 

[Fungus]

  well my first question is have you ever heard the er4's? 
 
if i had to describe the er4's i would say when you say the er4's have clarity, to me its like tonal accuracy, if you are looking for a iem to listen to and critically listen to music, almost study the music thats kind of how i would say the er4's are per clarity, vocals are crisp, you can pick out parts of the music and listen to just that.
 
for instance i was listening to BANKS her track someone new, the guitar is like right there you can hear every string being strummed, vocals are up front, clean and clear.
 
now like everything else the source,amp,dac,cables ect you are listening to the music through is what really makes everything else, kind of like your only as strong as your weakest link.
 
when i was listening to the um3x and w4r i was using dap/dac/amp all balanced all silver cable ect so my perception is going to be greatly different from someone who is just using a dap to listen to the iems through.
 
one of the biggest things people say about the w4 is that they are veiled, if they are veiled, then its like the um3x is unveiled, and then the er4 takes it steps beyond that and unveils the unveiled strips everything down and delivers thew music in the most accurate way possible......and i mean thats just personally speaking i have owned some top tier iem's but still find the er4 to be the most, revealing and most resolving pretty much the best ive heard but thats just me.

I've never heard of anyone complaining the w4/um3x to be veiled. Maybe slightly congested mainly due to the narrow sound stage.
If the er4s are so great at revealed every single micro detail, what's the main flaw tonic wise. Too cold?
Also do the er4 have ever more forwards mids than the um3x?  

 

[MuZo2]

  Have you tried both? 

Yes had um3x , now I have W4 and W3, I think you have um3x and would like to have another sound signature and w4 in my opinion is better. More neutral , good soundstage and instrument separation. Note all use twfk driver for highs. W3 is V shaped so big bass (mid bass) and sparkly treble, I you dont find right tips you can also have sibilance. I dont think w4 to be vieled. W3 yes bass can sneak into mids. Same as IE8

 

[Spyro]

I always thought there were 2 components at stake when talking about great clarity.  One is the level of overall smoothness, warmth and transparency....mainly in the middle part of the frequency range.  The other component being the treble extension.
 
IMHO, the W4/40 does have sort of a veil or cloudiness to it's midrange however I think the treble extends pretty high so they sort of offset each other to a certain degree making it tolerable for many.  I think the rolled off treble is more the issue with UM3X but some find that too revealing treble is fatiguing.
 
ER4 is very tight, crisp and clear top to bottom but bass is lean.
 
Again, these are all about personal preferences.
 
I find the IE800 like an ER4S but more natural sounding with a longer note decay, and also a deeper fuller sounding bass.  It's awesome, but pricey too.

 

[MuZo2]

  IMHO, the W4/40 does have sort of a veil or cloudiness to it's midrange however I think the treble extends pretty high so they sort of offset each other to a certain degree making it tolerable for many.  I think the rolled off treble is more the issue with UM3X but some find that too revealing treble is fatiguing.

They both have same treble extension, they use same drivers
http://rinchoi.blogspot.de/2012/11/westone-4.html
http://rinchoi.blogspot.de/2013/08/westone-um3x.html

 

[Fungus]

$145 AUD for a pair of used W3 isn't as much as a steal as I first thought. They were recently sold on amazon for $159 including FS!
Should I still get them knowing they have muddy bass, recessed midrange & sibilant/harsh treble. I already know they won't sound nearly as good as my um3x. I don't have high expectations, just want another pair of iem with a more fun sound sig with larger sound stage and more treble spark. I've been using my um3x as my only iem for over 3 years and want to try something different.  

 

[Mooses9]

Lol you named all these reasons not to get them. But then said you wanted a fun sound signature muddy bass and recessed mids doeent sound fun.

Have you thought of the ultimate ear triple fi 10 they sound like what you are looking for "fun" sound signature.

 

[Fungus]

Lol you named all these reasons not to get them. But then said you wanted a fun sound signature muddy bass and recessed mids doeent sound fun.

Have you thought of the ultimate ear triple fi 10 they sound like what you are looking for "fun" sound signature.

To me big bass hump and sound stage = fun
Yes I've tried the triple fi 10. I really enjoyed the sound but had to sell it off only after a short time due to financial reasons plus the built quality was crappy and prob wouldn't have lasted me very long anyway.  
I wouldn't mind repurchasing them but the price is so expensive now, way out of my price range.
Yes the W3s are in my opinion very flawed iem and not my ideal sound signature but for the price, it's good value. I can't think of any $145 iem that would out perform the W3 besides the triple for $100 if bought on Black Friday years back.   

 

[Fungus]

Lol you named all these reasons not to get them. But then said you wanted a fun sound signature muddy bass and recessed mids doeent sound fun.

Have you thought of the ultimate ear triple fi 10 they sound like what you are looking for "fun" sound signature.

I noticed you currently own a pair of triple10s. Would be like to sell it to me? If so list you price. 

 

[Spyro]

   
Yes the W3s are in my opinion very flawed iem and not my ideal sound signature but for the price, it's good value. I can't think of any $145 iem that would out perform the W3 besides the triple for $100 if bought on Black Friday years back.   

 
Just for clarification, W3 has been out of production for a couple years now and virtually unavailable anymore.  TF10 is very over priced and is now only sold as an antique.  I think it was $100 one time on black Friday about 5 years ago.