That's what I thought from what few pictures I could find. A cold is putting a damper on A/Bing the iem's I have. I'm going to jot down what I've noticed and I think in the end, I'm wondering if I should keep the 4's or if there's another iem that will give me sort of the "best of both worlds." I'm not the OP but I'd rather not start a new thread. IMO, the W4's mids are forward but not nearly as much as the 425's.
Shure 425 likes: isolation, soundstage height in classical music, depth of bass - upright bass and bass guitars sound very accurate, vocals - especially female classical, instrument separation that more often than not gives a "wow" factor, all intruments sound pretty true. There are songs on the 425, especially classical, where I'm wow'd by instruments I'd never realized were there. I plug in the 4's expecting the same and feel a little let down or like I really have to look for them where as on the 425 they just pop.
dislikes: a little too bright at times, cables are heavy and a love/hate relationship with the memory wire, the mids are a little too forward - sometimes the singer is right in my face, everything has a wide soundstage so it's not quite as recorded (to me) especially in jazz, I fiddle a lot with the wire/earpieces, at times they are really engaging and at others flat.
Westone 4 likes: very comfortable, they do every genre pretty well, soundstage on classical.
dislikes: a little veiled/dark but not to the point of being annoying, sometimes a little flat, could be more detailed (or have more instrument separation) on classical,
could have a little more bass. I honestly can't tell if there are times when I get distortion or if it's the recording but it happens more often then I'd like. There are times/songs where the bass can seem a little off/fake to me - I can't explain it. I will do more listening - maybe it's the fluid in my ears.
I don't know where to go from here. I tend to grab the 4's because of the comfort and running with them was a breeze. I was still looking at the UM3X and fit alone leaves me a little leary of going to the 535's though I guess I could get a different cable. Are the stems the same between the UM3X and 4 or does the UM3X have a longer stem? Thoughts from those who have/have had the 3 or an alternate? Isolation is important. Thank you
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