Westone 3 vs. UM3X vs. IE8 vs. RE0 - Page 2

Wow...

The W3 didn't have enough bass? While I agree that the IE8s have more, the W3s are not lacking in bass in anyway.

For sure. I haven't heard the IE8s, but the W3s have plenty of bass for me. In fact, I could do without a little bit of it, especially the midbass hump. I'm not a basshead, but I do like my bass. I'm somewhere between basshead and not, and I find the W3s bass to be just about right, but if anything, a little on the bassy/boomy side. To say the least, I'm very surprised to hear them described as lacking bass.

It should be noted that it is absolutely incredible how much the W3s change in sound with different tips. I felt like I was using different IEMs entirely when between the tips it comes with (settled on the medium grey silicon ones FWIW, but finally ordered some medium shure olives to try - should be here today or tomorrow). I think for this reason, it can be a little hard to compare one person's experience to the next.

Sorry but I have to say, they lack bass when you push them for more volume. If you listen to the eagles, hell freezes over- hotel california track, the kick of the bass drum would cause the driver to clip. I thought a couple of times that I might have ruptured the diaphram, (or whatever they use in the w3s) fortunately they were OK. In contrast, the ie8s have no problem with the deep driving thump of the bass drum. I think that ie8 has the best bass quality I have herd, with the exception of maybe the cks70, which has monster bass, but not enough mid and treble to take it to the level of the ie8 .I love the ie8 and after owning the klipsch image x10, x5, victor fx500, cks70 and Westone3s, I have sold all except the ie8s, which I will never sell. I will say though that I play drums, and have for about 30 years so I need deep driving bass that is balanced with, mids and treble, otherwise I would have kept the cks70's. Of course just MHO........

The only one of these three I don't own is the RE0. For me, the feature set of the W3s are the most balanced: spacious sound stage, good but not overbearing bass, good high end extension, good isolation, very low microphonics. The UM3X does have a more neutral frequency response, but their lack of ambiance and sound stage takes away from my enjoyment. The IE8 is a bass monster with too much bass for many of my favorite music genres (70 hours of use/burn-in), doesn't isolate as well as the other two, and generates a lot of wind turbulence during outdoor walks. With that said, all of these three are pretty good.

Ahhh, that's the exact same problem I've been having with the IE8s but I haven't known how to put it into words.

The lack of isolation is another issue, but if I go out for a walk and I'm nowhere near any noise but there's even the slightest hint of a breeze the wind goes right through the IE8s and makes them unlistenable. Even a breeze that's barely enough to make a leaf russle on a tree can be enough to make the IE8s sound likie you're in a wind-tunnel if the air manages to get into the bass nozzle.

I'm sorry, but if a portable earphone can't be used effectively while you're out and about it's failed one of it's major purposes.

That said, for home listening I quite enjoy the IE8s but I also have the UM3x and overall I prefer the more neutral (and to my ears, far more detailed) sound signature. Couple that with the fact that the UM3x is more comfortable, and the isolation and lack of wind turbulence is excellent, they have to be my favourite.

The IE8 has a lot of good qualities, but as an all-rounder it has to many faults for me to live with it exclusively. If I lost my IE8s I wouldn't replace them. If I lost my UM3x I'd replace them in a flash.

Sorry dude, they in no way lack bass at any volume. I am a huge Eagles fan and they are not deficient in any way. In fact they are considered (including myself) as overly bassy with regards to a more neutral bass. I would really play with the ear tips to get a better fit/seal.

Please note that the bass you like to hear is in no way how the music was intended to sound.

I really like my IE8s, but in terms of depth, they both go down pretty deep and are on par with each other. What bass setting do you have your IE8s on? 5? Most (including myself) have it on the minimum setting.

You must be a serious basshead....not that there is anything wrong with that (sorry for the shameless Seinfeld reference).

Yep, I love my bass! Don't get me wrong, i'm in no way saying that the w3 has no bass. I thought it had very good bass, but not enough of it. Overall I would put the w3 as one of the most balanced iems around, but for me I need that sub woofer, kick you in the head bass. That could come from all the PA's and monitors iv'e had blasting in my head over the years. I have my ie8's set at one notch below max on the bass scale, so I guess that shows how much I love to here the bass drum kick you in the head. I think you are absolutly right in that I need more bass than most people, but until I found the ie8 I just couldn't find an iem with enough mid and high range to balance out the overall sound. Sorry to keep going on about the ie8's, but I just love these things...... Peace out homies.......lol

oops

oops, I just looked again and the bass dial is all the way up. ***Caution don't try this at home*** Thats what i'm talkin bout.....Woo Hoo.....

See you admitted you're a basshead. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.

And if you are a basshead, NO IEM beats the IE8s turned up to 5! Enjoy!

Thanks for all of the posts guys. I just ordered a pair of UM3Xs so I hope I like them (And I know I will ).

For what it's worth, I've had the W3's twice now and prefer the UM3X.

ie8 all the way. sm3 powns all haha. um3x is more detailed and has better mids admitedly.