Redcarmoose
Headphoneus Supremus
Westone 1 True-Fit Earphones :: Westone 9/4/09 Just gunna get em!
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you can afford the UM3X I would get those, or the W3 with a set of UM56 custom tips to balance them out more and make them more fun and enjoyable/less fatiguing. You get what you pay for, and the extra $250 will get you a lot. That's not to say the W1 aren't very good for the price. MINI-REVIEW: I have not tried them with a wide variety of amps or tips - only the grey silicone tips with 4G Nano, 2G Touch, iPhone 3GS and iBasso D10 (AD744/EL8201 opamps). The W1 are like a UM3X with less detail and a little less extension on both ends of the frequency spectrum. The W1 are a great IEM, being fairly neutral and transparent, somewhat more forward than the W3, with NO hint of any excess brightness, and a present but not pounding bass that has usable extension to 25Hz. There is no midbass hump like the W3 or Image X10, so there is nothing to encroach into the mids. They don't have the edge or brightness of the Phonak Audeo PFE either, so you don't need an amp to tone them down with an iPod such as a Nano or Touch. They could benefit from am amp with bass boost, but they don't demand it. Female vocals are engaging and transparent and Eva Cassidy "Live at Blues Alley" is about as enjoyable as anyone needs it to be. The sound is very open, treble is not sibilant (with medium silicone tips), acoustic instruments and especially cello and violin have great texture, and the bass is balanced with the rest of the spectrum and not bumped up. They could use another dB or two in the bass for impact, but it is still fine the way it is now. The deep bass in the Batman "The Dark Night" soundtrack seems to be all there. I did note that some of the deepest bass extension is lacking in Bella Sonus "Enamoured" where it contains some 20Hz notes in the begining. Like I said before, with test tones roll-off begins just a little by 25Hz which is still fairly present, but 20hz is pretty quiet vs my ES3X which let me hear down to 16Hz. This is about the same as the bass roll-off in my HD600, so that says something right there. The 16,000Hz notes are also a bit harder to hear too vs my ES3X without turning up the volume, but I also have 47 year old ears with high frequency hearing loss. I would not call the W1 a "fun colored earphone" like the W3, X10 or Nuforce NE-7M and Denon C700. But the W1 are not bland sounding like the Sleek SA6 were either. The W1 are good with most genre, but excel at my favorite genre like jazz and classical, new age, acoustic, folk and vocals. They are also good with electronic like Infected Mushroom, Dark Night Soundtrack, Nick Notis, Aaron Spectre, Karunesh, and more. With my favorite music I could listen to them all day and not always be thinking that I should grab better earphones. These are likely my favorite single driver BA universal IEM. Most of my alternative rock or hip hop is low bit rate stuff for the kids, but they still do okay with Boys Like Girls, Metro Station, All Time Low, Green Day, Good Charlotte, The Afters, Forever The Sickest Kids, Rihanna, Sean Kingston, Kanye West, etc although the low bit rate does hurt the sound and causes some additional bass and treble roll off. The W1 will certainly let you appreciate the improvements going from a 128K MP3 song to one at 256K. I have the Black Eyed Peas "THE End" in 256K and "Boom Boom Pow" is pretty powerful sounding. So, the one area I am least qualified to comment on due to lack of music is the genre you listen to the most. |
Originally Posted by ATTL /img/forum/go_quote.gif Can anyone confirm if the nozzle will still fit shure olives? Thanks |
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you can afford the UM3X I would get those, or the W3 with a set of UM56 custom tips to balance them out more and make them more fun and enjoyable/less fatiguing. You get what you pay for, and the extra $250 will get you a lot. That's not to say the W1 aren't very good for the price. MINI-REVIEW: I have not tried them with a wide variety of amps or tips - only the grey silicone tips with 4G Nano, 2G Touch, iPhone 3GS and iBasso D10 (AD744/EL8201 opamps). The W1 are like a UM3X with less detail and a little less extension on both ends of the frequency spectrum. The W1 are a great IEM, being fairly neutral and transparent, somewhat more forward than the W3, with NO hint of any excess brightness, and a present but not pounding bass that has usable extension to 25Hz. There is no midbass hump like the W3 or Image X10, so there is nothing to encroach into the mids. They don't have the edge or brightness of the Phonak Audeo PFE either, so you don't need an amp to tone them down with an iPod such as a Nano or Touch. They could benefit from am amp with bass boost, but they don't demand it. Female vocals are engaging and transparent and Eva Cassidy "Live at Blues Alley" is about as enjoyable as anyone needs it to be. The sound is very open, treble is not sibilant (with medium silicone tips), acoustic instruments and especially cello and violin have great texture, and the bass is balanced with the rest of the spectrum and not bumped up. They could use another dB or two in the bass for impact, but it is still fine the way it is now. The deep bass in the Batman "The Dark Night" soundtrack seems to be all there. I did note that some of the deepest bass extension is lacking in Bella Sonus "Enamoured" where it contains some 20Hz notes in the begining. Like I said before, with test tones roll-off begins just a little by 25Hz which is still fairly present, but 20hz is pretty quiet vs my ES3X which let me hear down to 16Hz. This is about the same as the bass roll-off in my HD600, so that says something right there. The 16,000Hz notes are also a bit harder to hear too vs my ES3X without turning up the volume, but I also have 47 year old ears with high frequency hearing loss. I would not call the W1 a "fun colored earphone" like the W3, X10 or Nuforce NE-7M and Denon C700. But the W1 are not bland sounding like the Sleek SA6 were either. The W1 are good with most genre, but excel at my favorite genre like jazz and classical, new age, acoustic, folk and vocals. They are also good with electronic like Infected Mushroom, Dark Night Soundtrack, Nick Notis, Aaron Spectre, Karunesh, and more. With my favorite music I could listen to them all day and not always be thinking that I should grab better earphones. These are likely my favorite single driver BA universal IEM. Most of my alternative rock or hip hop is low bit rate stuff for the kids, but they still do okay with Boys Like Girls, Metro Station, All Time Low, Green Day, Good Charlotte, The Afters, Forever The Sickest Kids, Rihanna, Sean Kingston, Kanye West, etc although the low bit rate does hurt the sound and causes some additional bass and treble roll off. The W1 will certainly let you appreciate the improvements going from a 128K MP3 song to one at 256K. I have the Black Eyed Peas "THE End" in 256K and "Boom Boom Pow" is pretty powerful sounding. So, the one area I am least qualified to comment on due to lack of music is the genre you listen to the most. |
Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif am i correct in noticing some new ear pieces? they are longer, thicker and sturdier than other ones I have used from Westone. |
Originally Posted by supern0va /img/forum/go_quote.gif You have briefly compared them to the PFEs. How do these 2 compare on clarity, lows/mids/highs, accuracy more specifically? You also seem to prefer them to the W3s, although you did mention up-front that the W3s are better with the UM56 (really much more expensive than the UM3X together!) How do these compare? Thanks. |
Originally Posted by music_4321 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Larry, once again, an excellent (mini) review! You pretty much covered everything there's to know about the W1. I won't be getting these but I'm very curious. Just one question, though, are the earpieces designed like the W3 or the UM3X? The latter, as you know, are extraordinarily comfortable. |
Originally Posted by p0wderh0und23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So what you're saying is you liked them? |
Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif am i correct in noticing some new ear pieces? they are longer, thicker and sturdier than other ones I have used from Westone. by the way, simply a phenomenal product. for build quality alone, it makes me wonder at many of the other products which are priced in the same category - it simply embarrasses them, but sound is also very good. |
Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif i am talking about the silicon flanges. they look like gumdrops: long and slender, but thick-walled and translucent. I assume they are westone tips, but then again, I was listening to an already opened pair which were part of a vendor's office! |
Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif The ear-pieces are designed like the W3 in shape but are noticeably smaller in depth and width. They have a reverse image of a one instead of a three, with green surrounding the black 1 instead of red - so it doesn't look as much like a black widow spider now. |