This is my first review and I'm not an audiophile so bear with me. And due to my incredibly bad writing, this could be short. I had this earphone for about 2 weeks now. And during those 2 weeks, I've been listening to Jazz, Rock, Pop, Indie, Techno, and a little Dubstep via a ROTEL CD Player to a PIONEER A400AMP.
Design
Ok, the design is a love it or hate it thing (In my opinion). They were meant for the Studio use. Its a clear shell and with the driver exposed. I personally like it. Cause it looks very professional, low profile and not in-your-face like Beats. The Cable is a black made from plastic. They are removable. And they're supposed to go behind your back and into your source for instance your iPod. Overall I like the design of the Westone UM2 RC.
Build Quality
Now on to build quality. Dodgy. That is what I can say. Even though it can take a few punching but one strong hit like dropping it on the floor will destroy the IEM. Or that's my case. I dropped them when I was walking around town. And the left driver broke. The cable is good. Thin, soft and does not make much cable noise. The jack could be a problem for some people. I couldn't get the 3.5mm jack into my HTC One X with the case on. So, you have to be really careful about this pair of IEMs.
Comfort/ Isolation
Westone is very generous to provide a wide range of tips for maximum comfort and isolation. They provided 3 Pair of Rubber Tips, 3 Pair of Silicone Tips, 1 Pair of Triple Flange and 3 Pair of Comply Foam. I find the Rubber Tips were the best fitting for me cause whenever I insert the Comply tips, it tends to get itchy and sometimes hard to reinsert. Triple Flange was ok, it did its job. But wasn't too impressed. Silicone wasn't very good in anyway, could have been the worse. Couldn't get a seal and hard as rock. I recommend you go with the Rubber Tips. Now, Westone claim that these will block up to 25dB of ambient noise. And they do! I was on a flight, and during that flight, I was using the IEMs. When I inserted them into my ear, I could hear the plane's engine noise just slightly. When you start playing music, your in your own little bubble.
Sound Quality
Fantastic. They have 2 armature driver with passive crossover. The Mids were nice and bright with a little bit of colouring which I prefer. Wasn't much Soundstage as you were to expect with Studio Monitors but my god they have incredible instrument separation. Highs were nice crisp and plenty of detail. And sometimes when I'm listening to Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon Album, I often feel that they're singing right next to me. This shows how detailed they are. Finally, the Lows. Deep, punchy, rich and doesn't cover Highs and Mids. Listening to Rock with these headphones gives you an extra "Umph" to your listening experience. But this doesn't score in Techno/Dubstep region. You might prefer getting the Sony MDR-XB500 or get an AMP to boost.
Overall Impressions
Well I was quite impressed with the sound quality and wasn't too impressed with the build quality. In fact, I changed them twice and it still breaks. You get a balanced IEM with fantastic quality. Go for it, you couldn't go wrong with these. But if you prefer analytical listening, you would be better off with the Shure SE425. They have better soundstage but very light on the bass region.
PS: This is an honest review, some of you may agree and some will not. Leave a comment on what do you think about this review. THANKS FOR READING TILL THE END. YOU ARE AWSOME.