[FlatNine]

I'm ready to get one of these IEM's, and was hoping someone familiar with all three could provide some help. I listen to jazz almost exclusively - late 50's to late 60's. (Miles, Trane, Bill Evans, and all the great guitarists of the era - Wes, Benson, Kessel, Joe P, Burrell, Grant, etc.) I love a warm, lush, forward-mid sound. As far as full sized cans go, I am beyond happy with my Senn HD-650's. I'll be using an iPod Touch 64gb 3rd gen to drive the IEM's. They must be comfy and built well. Given this, can anyone help me choose one of the three? Thanks!

 

[Mooses9]

the westone 4 have more a neutral sound. also a darker signature verses the se535.
 
benifits of the shure se535 will be the removeable cable. to increase the sound with a aftermarket cable, or just replace it if anything goes wrong. also the build quality of the se535 is top notice, the cable it comes with is very sturdy and it seems shure learned from the se530, and made the se535 cable more robust. the nozzle of the se535 is longer than the se535 so they fit a little deeper in the canal thus creating a little bit better sound isolation. personally i feel the se535 fitment is amazing for me they fit very comfortably in the ear, and to me they feel like they arent even there.....now to be fair, some people dont get the best fit with the se535 and they complain of the fitment or the isolation which is atributed to the fitment basicly poor fitment= poor isolation. this can be sometimes fixed with trying different tips, but also could just be the persons ear creating the issues of fitment.
 
the westone 4 doesnt have a removeable cable. so if anything goes wrong they are basicly a throw away. the cable it does have is pretty good. again not removeable so you are kinda limited on that. the nozzle of the westone 4 is shorter so sound isolation or fitment issues could arise. the westone 4 has more of a neutral sound signature. also the sound is rather warm compared to the se535, also the W4 overall feels more veiled in sound.
 
the se535 have very forward mids, the vocals are also slightly forward, which i think is atributed to the forward mids, either way the vocals sound closer, they have amazing separation of instruments, so like you said you like jazz, you will be able to hear each individual instrument, from trumpet to horn to saxophone to drums, everything will be separate apart from eachother which is very nice. the highs sparkle and have good extension with slight roll off with the bronze or clear se535, the lows are not overpowering, or overemphasized or synthetic sounding. the bass is ''how its meant to be heard'' type bass. if the recording has very low extension in the bass region you will hear it. if the recording has more mid bass but not accentuating low low extension you will hear what you are meant to hear. like i said not over emphasized bass not synthetic bass, but natural bass to each individual recording.
 
overall the se535 is a very detailed iem, some say it sounds bright, but imo it has alot of detail going on which may be interp as a bright sound. the se535 isnt a universal sounding iem, the westone 4 has more of a neutral universal sound signature. personally im not a fan of neutral the se535 sounds fun compared to the W4.
 
both iem's are good, but imo the 535 is slightly better due to the removeable cable which i feel iem's are a investment and nothing is worse than having to throw money down the train on something as trivial as a cable.
 
now if you are looking to the westone 4r, then look to the se535-ltd-j in comparison in price. still the se535 takes the lead imo in sound. with the ltd-j they are better than the se535 bronze or clear..
 
again all my opinion on those 2 iem's

 

[Kurdt-bada]

never heard w4 but the sony ex1000 are much better soumding than the 535 and um3x ,also the sm3v2 are superior in my opinion both are warm and lush check them they sound really good with jazz but if you dont care about super isolation id go for the ex1000 i have all of them

 

[xinghui0711]

sony ex1000 could be a good option but it is expensive in original price.

  UM3X is good enough. I haven't heard the W4 and SE530 yet.  

 

[proton007]

SE425 is a good option for mid forward music, neutral, not very bright.

 

[Mooses9]

it does'nt seem like ex1000 has the best ergonomics hence the ''not super sound isolation''

 

[FlatNine]

At this point I seem have narrowed it down to the Westone UM3X or the Westone 4R. Westone customer service was sooo helpful (which goes a long way) and said I could try them for 30 days and return them if I don't like them. The things that weighed in favor of Westone are the ergonomics, the sound sig, and the service. Since a huge portion of the usage for me is a 2 1/2 hour train commute, each way, isolation is key. Apparently the Sony's lack a bit there. The SE535's high end sig may not be for me either. I sold my Grado 325's after a couple of months because I found the high end grated on my nerves after a while. As I mentioned, I love the sonic curve of my Senn 650's, and if the Westone's are like that, I'll be happy. I just need to decide if the 4R's are $100 better then the UM3X's. Decisions!

 

[Jeremypsp]

Why not take a look at the Miles Davis Tributes? They do perform very well with jazz and has a warm sound which you stated. For the list, the Westone 4 will be the most neutral, meaning it will be able to play most genres well, although the SE535 will perform better at jazz. The UM3x didn't really appeal to me however. 

 

[Kurdt-bada]

you could get this too, earsonics sm3 v2 + this cable http://www.ebay.com/itm/5N-OCC-Upgrade-Cable-Westone-W4-W4R-AWG24-/220998715421?pt=Other_MP3_Player_Accessories&hash=item33748cc81d  +  sensorcom double flange tips  it's what im using right now and i couldn't believe how good it sounds, isolation is as good as westone or shure headphones

 

[Mooses9]

westone 4r then

 

[HK-47]

I have both the HD650 and UM3X ( the RC version), but haven't heard the W4/W4R. I don't really think the UM3X has a similar sound sig to the HD650, but like the Senn it's not fatiguing at all. It's very neutral with a forward midrange, but the bass is actually pretty strong. I also use the UM3X for long commutes, and I think the it's pretty much the ideal IEM for that. It's very well-built, very comfortable, has excellent isolation, and a non-fatiguing sound. The isolation combined with the strong bass and forward midrange means you won't have trouble hearing your music over road/train noises without having to turn the volume up too much.

 

[Kurdt-bada]

um3x are pretty good iems

 

[tienbasse]

Quote:

 
I'm ready to get one of these IEM's, and was hoping someone familiar with all three could provide some help. I listen to jazz almost exclusively - late 50's to late 60's. (Miles, Trane, Bill Evans, and all the great guitarists of the era - Wes, Benson, Kessel, Joe P, Burrell, Grant, etc.) I love a warm, lush, forward-mid sound. As far as full sized cans go, I am beyond happy with my Senn HD-650's. I'll be using an iPod Touch 64gb 3rd gen to drive the IEM's. They must be comfy and built well. Given this, can anyone help me choose one of the three? Thanks!

The bold text is leading you directly towards SE535 or even better SE535Ltd. Warm, lush mids with amazing separation are their main forte.
 
W4 are more on the neutral side overall (you could also say more universal), and UM3X are somewhere in between, with nice forward mids and good separation, but not as warm/lush as SE535.
 
Build-wise, SE535 is the best, followed by W4 and UM3X would be last. But all 3 are solid IEMs.
Comfort-wise, it really depends on your ears, our opinions are not relevant, I found SE535 to be the best for me, other people prefer UM3X...
 

 

[olear]

Would the smaller sound stage of the um3x compared to the w4 and se535 play a role in your decision?
 
Before I decided on the ex1000, I was led to believe the se535 bass quantity is the least of the three, but has the best mids.
 
I haven't heard w4 or se535 but the ex1000 is the best sounding phone I have heard.

 

[Mooses9]

 
Quote:

The bold text is leading you directly towards SE535 or even better SE535Ltd. Warm, lush mids with amazing separation are their main forte.
 
W4 are more on the neutral side overall (you could also say more universal), and UM3X are somewhere in between, with nice forward mids and good separation, but not as warm/lush as SE535.
 
Build-wise, SE535 is the best, followed by W4 and UM3X would be last. But all 3 are solid IEMs.
Comfort-wise, it really depends on your ears, our opinions are not relevant, I found SE535 to be the best for me, other people prefer UM3X...
 

i completely agree.
 


Quote:

Would the smaller sound stage of the um3x compared to the w4 and se535 play a role in your decision?
 
Before I decided on the ex1000, I was led to believe the se535 bass quantity is the least of the three, but has the best mids.
 
I haven't heard w4 or se535 but the ex1000 is the best sounding phone I have heard.

imo the ex1000 are good iem's but the ergonomics would make me shy away from them, i love isolation so the sony's wouldnt be the best for that.
 
i own the se535-ltd-j and find the bass to be more than enough quantity and quality. the se535 bass is very tight,controlled, and gets really low without distortion or anything of the likes even at high high volumes. its not a ''bass head'' iem by any means, but it has some really great quality bass. more of a natural bass sounds.
 
for instance in some songs i listen to the bass is thumping loud and emphasized, then on other songs it seems like the bass is more refined and reserved, its just the recordings, the bass will present itsself how the engineer/producer intended it to sound.