[bixby]

Anyone Deaf in their right ear?
 
I'm serious, I have a pair of captive cord UM 3X that I have had repaired a few times for cordage issues that has lost the mid and treble driver in the right side.  And no high volumes were being used.  So I would be glad to sell these to the right person for a great price.
 
PM me if interested.

 

[Fungus]

  Anyone Deaf in their right ear?
 
I'm serious, I have a pair of captive cord UM 3X that I have had repaired a few times for cordage issues that has lost the mid and treble driver in the right side.  And no high volumes were being used.  So I would be glad to sell these to the right person for a great price.
 
PM me if interested.

captive cord UM 3X? You mean the issue you're having is with the cord that is causing the drivers on the right side to malfunction? 

 

[bixby]

No by captive I mean non-detachable EDIT:  UN-like the newer Westone cords.  The signal gets to the right side; it is just that the drivers for mids and highs do not work on that side, just the bass driver.
 
Clear as mud?  Hope not.

 

[Fungus]

  No by captive I mean non-detachable like the newer Westone cords.  The signal gets to the right side; it is just that the drivers for mids and highs do not work on that side, just the bass driver.
 
Clear as mud?  Hope not.

The newer Westone cords are detachable though. That's strange. Usually when a cable stops working, either you get no sound from one or either side or the sound cuts in and out and eventually stops working altogether. It may well be the drivers. 

 

[bixby]

I guess I was clear as mud 

  I meant to say "I mean non-detachable UNLIKE the newer Westone cords"
 
Sorry about that.  I'll go and edit the original post.

 

[blindbox]

Source is more prone to sibilance variation than tips. Try a different source, a few if you can, narrow down the problem, if not then it might be a fault of the IEM.

I have a lot of potentially sibilant sources though, some because it's just how it is recorded, and some due to bad re-encoding. It's quite important that they work with bad re-encoding since I play rhythm games (particularly, Stepmania). What are the odds of both drivers being sibilant? Because they're both are. I'm getting used to it, but I wouldn't be too comfortable for long hours with sibilance.
 
Are your (as in everyone's) UM3Xes sibilant in these songs?
 
This one's the worst offender
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZShgJ95xAE
 
Here's a few other, sibilant but not as sibilant as the above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJvfedZn78
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHsbkOEa7kc

 

[H20Fidelity]

  I have a lot of potentially sibilant sources though, some because it's just how it is recorded, and some due to bad re-encoding. It's quite important that they work with bad re-encoding since I play rhythm games (particularly, Stepmania). What are the odds of both drivers being sibilant? Because they're both are. I'm getting used to it, but I wouldn't be too comfortable for long hours with sibilance.
 
Are your (as in everyone's) UM3Xes sibilant in these songs?
 
This one's the worst offender
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZShgJ95xAE
 
Here's a few other, sibilant but not as sibilant as the above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJvfedZn78
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHsbkOEa7kc

 
What I mean by source is your player, for example if you're using a laptop headphone out with high output impedance then this could be the cause of sibilance. Having tried a few audio players I've noticed it can vary quite a lot.

If you're really needing the standard tips then why not purchase some?
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Earbuds-Tips-for-Westone-1-2-3-4-4R-UM1-UM2-UM2-RC-UM3-UM3-RC-UM3X-UM3x-RC-/221206666769?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3380f1de11
 
Or Star tips.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Westone-STAR-Silicone-Tips-Combo-Pack-Premium-silicone-eartips-10-pack-/330924110459?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item4d0c9d327b
 
 
What you need to do is narrow down the problem.
 
1) Try different tips, which is what you assume atm the problem.
2) Try different MP3 players (Source)
3) if both the above fail to solve the problem then it may be the IEM.

 

[blindbox]

   
What I mean by source is your player, for example if you're using a laptop headphone out with high output impedance then this could be the cause of sibilance. Having tried a few audio players I've noticed it can vary quite a lot.

If you're really needing the standard tips then why not purchase some?
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Earbuds-Tips-for-Westone-1-2-3-4-4R-UM1-UM2-UM2-RC-UM3-UM3-RC-UM3X-UM3x-RC-/221206666769?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3380f1de11
 
Or Star tips.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Westone-STAR-Silicone-Tips-Combo-Pack-Premium-silicone-eartips-10-pack-/330924110459?pt=US_Headphones&hash=item4d0c9d327b
 
 
What you need to do is narrow down the problem.
 
1) Try different tips, which is what you assume atm the problem.
2) Try different MP3 players (Source)
3) if both the above fail to solve the problem then it may be the IEM.

 
I'm using foobar (and youtube in the example I gave). My amp/DAC is FiiO E10 and FiiO E07k. I agree with your statement on laptop outputs, and to add, computer motherboard outputs as well. They're generally terrible. For non-colouring amp/DACs, I find that the FiiO E10, E07k, and Essence STX (retired) all sound the same.
 
Did you try the song that I linked? Using Chrome is good enough. Before I start to assume the IEM, the source or whatever is broken, I want to see if everyone's hearing the sibilance that I hear. Then only will I know whether I really have a problem or not.
 
Thanks for the links. I guess I'll have to bruteforce my way and find the one with the best fit if nobody knows of a tip with the same size as the Sony Hybrid's M tips. I plan to get new tips regardless of whether they fix things or not. The Hybrid isn't the right size, after all.

 

[Fungus]

  I have a lot of potentially sibilant sources though, some because it's just how it is recorded, and some due to bad re-encoding. It's quite important that they work with bad re-encoding since I play rhythm games (particularly, Stepmania). What are the odds of both drivers being sibilant? Because they're both are. I'm getting used to it, but I wouldn't be too comfortable for long hours with sibilance.
 
Are your (as in everyone's) UM3Xes sibilant in these songs?
 
This one's the worst offender
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZShgJ95xAE
 
Here's a few other, sibilant but not as sibilant as the above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJvfedZn78
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHsbkOEa7kc

I listened to the three youtube videos straight out of my sony xperia s phone using dolphin browser (desktop mode) and did not hear the slightest trace of sibilance. I'm using the standard shure olive medium size tips.
Maybe try converting the above youtube video into mp3s so that you can copy onto difference sources that doesn't support video streaming. 

 

[blindbox]

  I have a lot of potentially sibilant sources though, some because it's just how it is recorded, and some due to bad re-encoding. It's quite important that they work with bad re-encoding since I play rhythm games (particularly, Stepmania). What are the odds of both drivers being sibilant? Because they're both are. I'm getting used to it, but I wouldn't be too comfortable for long hours with sibilance.
 
Are your (as in everyone's) UM3Xes sibilant in these songs?
 
This one's the worst offender
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZShgJ95xAE
 
Here's a few other, sibilant but not as sibilant as the above.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrJvfedZn78
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHsbkOEa7kc

  1) Try different tips, which is what you assume atm the problem.
2) Try different MP3 players (Source)
3) if both the above fail to solve the problem then it may be the IEM.

 
Finally got the Westone STAR tips. They're awesome!
 
With the new tips, I can test the UM3X properly. It seems like the left driver is sibilant on my UM3X, and the right driver is fine. I was wrong with my previous findings. I'm still keeping these since I can live with it. The woes of buying second hand. Two of my headphones are second hand and I thought I would get lucky with the UM3X too. Apparently not!
 
Another finding is that the tips does affect the sibilance, but yes, in my case, the driver is slightly damaged.

 

[Spyro]

blindbox:  Yes, Star tips is the only way I could listen to UM3X to brighten things up.  It is a terrific combo.  Also, don't be afraid to use 2 different sized tips.  My right ear canal is slightly wider than my left and with certain IEM and tips they offer, I have used different sizes to get the most balanced sound.

 

[Fungus]

How tight should the sockets of the UM3X be be? Should I be able to remove the pins by pulling it straight out without the need to wriggle it back and forth? I recently remove the fiio wt1 cable and the sockets seem to be less tight than before. What tightness is considered acceptable? 

 

[elfary]

The thighter the better. The more loose the socket becomes the more chances that malfunctions can arise. At least that was the case with my first set of UM3x


Fear the man wearing velcro strapped sandals, for he has nothing left to lose.

 

[Fungus]

The thighter the better. The more loose the socket becomes the more chances that malfunctions can arise. At least that was the case with my first set of UM3x


Fear the man wearing velcro strapped sandals, for he has nothing left to lose.

So you've own a few sets and all have difference tightness? Yes I know that tighter is better, however, I want to know if it's common for the cable to be pulled without wriggling the pins back and forth. If the sockets are a bit loose now, are the any precautions I can take to ensure the sockets don't expand ever more in the future? I don't want the sockets to be so loose to the point that it the iems will falls out by itself as well as develop loose connection. 

 

[Mooses9]

  So you've own a few sets and all have difference tightness? Yes I know that tighter is better, however, I want to know if it's common for the cable to be pulled without wriggling the pins back and forth. If the sockets are a bit loose now, are the any precautions I can take to ensure the sockets don't expand ever more in the future? I don't want the sockets to be so loose to the point that it the iems will falls out by itself as well as develop loose connection. 

i think this is the thing to ask yourself, when before you changed out the cable think back to when you removed the epic cable, was it easy to remove? if the answer was no then the answer was the pin holes were tight, if the answer was yes it was easy to remove the the answer is yes the pin holes were larger and easier to remove.
 
but i am honestly going to go with your pin holes were tight.