I am considering these iems (well that's pretty much all of them ) to upgrade from my C551. I listen mostly to rock so I am looking for an iem that is the best at reproducing this specific genre. I listen mainly to alternative (Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Shinedown etc), atmospheric (porcupine tree, anathema etc) and some metal (Nevermore, System of a Down etc) & Doom Metal only with clean vocals (Katatonia, My dying bride, lost paradise etc).

I have already read this thread where the majority of the opinions seemed to favour the Shure over the W3 (but that was before the UM3X was released).

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f103/b...530-w3-392483/

So please feel free to share your opinions but I rather that you do only if you owned at least two of the above IEM's.

Having heard every IEM you've listed, I'd be inclined to go with the IE8 considering the music you listen to. They sounded very engaging with rock, metal, etc. UM3X would be a close second.

westone 3

If you want to feel the bass, the IE8 is your only choice among those listed.

Definitely the IE8. If you're coming from the C551, you'll think you've died and gone to heaven

I would have to agree with the posters above who advocated for the IE8. I didn't upgrade from the C551 but from the C700. The improvement isn't subtle. Its very noticeable. I also listened to all the above mentioned IEMs. To my ears when things got "busy" the IE8 perhaps by virtue of its larger Headstage/Soundstage didn't fall apart as "easily" as the others. So for rock I'd give the nod to the IE8 as I was more physically engaged with the higher energy music with it as compared to the others.

I enjoy rock with my Triple.Fis (actually most music with my Triple.fis) if that helps. Other than a mid-range suckout that is most apparent when switching IEMs, these are very very good. That said, I enjoy Grados for their presentation of rock, and the only IEM I have found with a similar signature (especially being able to reproduce distorted electric guitar) are the Monster Turbines, which sound super and are a great bargain for the sound-per-dollar ratio.

If you limit the choices to your stated options, even though I haven't heard them personally, I would recommend the IE8 given the quality of the new generation of dynamic drivers used by Senn, Monster, Nuforce, and others. Great bass, super soundstage, good with a range of musical styles.

Thanks everybody, but I would rather get something with less bass than the C551. Does the IE 8 have less bass at the lowest knob than the denon (I heard that it does, somewhere)? Anything with more bass than the C551 I think is too much...

Anyone?

I have the C751's and the IE8's. The IE8 has much more bass than the C751's. You probably should scratch the IE8 off your list if bass is a concern. Go for the Westone 3.

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Go UM3x - I love this IEM and it seems like we have similar taste in sound signatures. I don't really like tons of bass so when I tried the IE7's, I was totally turned off and sold them off right away... big muddy bass, recessed vocals (maybe all mids...), and poor fit/isolation.
(Edit - assuming the IE8 is similar to the IE7, I would not count on it having less bass than your current set... probably will be much more)

While I have not personally heard the Shure 530, from what I read on this forum, it should also be a good choice and can probably be had for much less than the UM3X. ($220 ish compared to $350+) The only complaints I hear are about rolled off highs and "weak" bass. Also, I will note that the Shure Se420 (i think was the model number... now called the SCL4) had the best fit + comfort + isolation of any IEM I have heard so far... the only one with better sound was the Westone UM2 (which had quite comparable fit and comfort...)

psst: if you do decide to get the um3x, shoot me a pm and I can put you in contact with a reseller that I have worked with who offers the um3x at a significant discount!

My first choice is IE8, and then UM3x if you like rock

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I suppose he should have said bass would be a concern from the outset.
In that regard I'd also be hesitant to recommend the Se530 and W3 for that matter. Both of them as well as the C551 still has more bass quantity than the C700/C751. This still leaves me uncertain as to whether or not their bass quantity surpasses that of the C551.
My nod now goes to the UM3X though.

The IE8’s bass are a little bit overwhelmed at first but they get better controlled after a period of time, and I aint own the UM3x but heard them days before, my first impression is that they got a hyper-forward vocal presentation. Voted for Westone 3 personally.

I've owned the SE 530s, Denon 551 and Denon 751. The Shures kill the Denons. Not on bass quantity but on not having messed up mids or peaky highs. The Shures are the best balanced of the bunch, but cost a bunch.

Have not heard the Westone 3s but will at CanJam. the Shures do not have enough treble detail for me. I am not an analytical type but appreciate a bit more natural balance. Now if your recordings have hot treble as most CDs these days the Shures my be fine. But you listen to Porcupine Tree and system of a Down and they are not bad recordings.

Hope this helps, but remember it is only one persons opinion.