Westone UM Pro 30

I'll keep this very concise:
 
Bass: Punchy, extremely clear, good separation. On of the best iems I have heard for ass response (10/10)
 
Midrange: Full coloured, precise, dark, warm (8/10)
 
Treble: Sounded very muffled for this price point. This is where it lets itself down. I listen to a lot of acoustic guitar music, the lack of treble response, extension, and 'shimmer', really hides the details in this genre. This also translates to other genres as well. In Polish Girl - Neon Indian, the lack of treble response really detracts from this song, as the treble lines in the introduction form an integral part of this track (4/10). Very disappointing. (4/10)

Design/durability: The earpiece seems very durable, although there are some light finish issues. The braided cable is one of the best in the industry: there are barely any microphonics, it feels robust but is light and supple at the same time. Now the issue occurs with the MMCX connectors and their connection to what is inside the housing: the female part of the MMCX connector rapidly becomes loose, causing the male part of the connector (the one on the cable) to move into the socket, and all these "movements" will eventually cause the red wire that links the connector to the drivers to move. There is also a small clicking sound at the connector. It seems that many people have been through these issues which also occur with the UM Pro 50, which is ultimately based on the same design as its little brother. Although I am not experiencing any disruption of the sound right now, I hope this issue won't get any bigger and lead to the death of some flimsy internal cable or driver. So far I don't think it will, but I can see why people don't consider MMCX technology as reliable enough for earphones.
 
Fit/comfort: The UM Pro 30 reaches the ultimate level of comfort for an IEM, in my opinion. The light and supple cable along with the very ergonomic earpiece are determining factors to achieve such a great feel, and Westone obviously did their research. They are also very easy to put on and off, despite being around the ear IEMs. Overall it is a practical and hassle free design that is easily forgettable when in your ears.
 
Isolation: Good. Definitely on par with competing IEM, but below my ER-4, as expected.
 
Sound: Smooth and warm. The UM Pro 30 is one of the few IEMs with balanced armatures which make you feel the bass. Sub bass goes quite low, and there's a nice and tight midbass hump that will make you want to move your feet at every beat. Such beautiful, meaty and juicy low frequencies. The huge bass driver on the side is definitely doing its job! 
 
Mids are very lush and present, with body. However it could be heard on some tracks that they lacked coherence, depending on the singer or the instrument played. The timbre of the piano, for instance, does not always sound right. On some rare occasions, vocals seemed like they had "blended" with other instruments (good file, good source), making the presentation sound congested. Other than that, the smooth mids are a bliss for the ears, they are enveloping and immersive, perfect with jazz music, acoustic, soul, blues, most vocals, etc.
 
The treble is non agressive, a bit recessed, but nothing shocking, even for an Etyhead like me. It has average extension and is not particularly airy, but it doesn't sound muffled either. However don't expect strings and orchestral works to shine, as I found the UM Pro to sound pretty bad with most classical/soundtrack, and most tracks that require very articulate and lively highs.
 
Soundstage is rather intimate, very up-front and "in your face", but imaging is top notch. Detailing is great, very little of the music is left unheard, except in the high frequencies due to the slight roll-off. Last but not least, speed is excellent, punchy tracks are very well rendered. Live rock songs never sounded that realistic.
 
Bottom line: Excellent, smooth sounding IEM, with addicting bass and lovely mids. However I expected a slightly better build quality. Apart from that, the UM Pro 30 is a very convincing product.
 
 
 

 

I have my home listening station featuring a Hifiman 500 and the necessary economic infrastructure needed to make those shine. That's where I spend time deep listening, sipping hot tea, moving into a musical headspace with no distractions. Highly recommended use of free time, but has actually nothing to do with this review other than to acknowledge that I do not recommend the Westone UM Pro30 for only listening to music.
 
Instead, I've found that time commuting, walking, and performing the repetitive chores of being a high school English teacher have all jumped up a level of joy and in a way consciousness with these headphones. These headphones are for music as background, but moving throughout the foreground as well. As a person with too much anxiety/creativity/intellect at times, the bass emphasis without being basshead cans is grounding. Furthermore, there's just enough micro detail while walking through the woods and listening to Four Tet it's almost an intoxication. And yet, because the top end is present but the lesser of three, I find the music never supersedes what you're doing, a necessity for my use of IEM's.
 
Grading high school freshmen essays is a painful tedium that you could compare to your own work-use of headphones. Most of them have merit: kids try hard for the most part to be common core, but most also lack any originality, have so many mistakes that I'm essentially looking for the biggest fire, and many kids as freshmen simply don't have the cognitive ability yet to develop complex analysis. Not dumb, just not happening. So, I can spend two or three hours doing this, and each kid will get a little better if you do it right and return it promptly.
 
Enter Explosions in the Sky. Quality post rock can pull me through the final hurdles of essay grading. Never start there, but with the Westones, the power guitar soaring over the thundering bass keeps me from checking out while at the same time, the soaring highs don't pull me from what I'm attempting to finish. The kids never have any idea that their required revisions to finalize the grade happened because of this.
 
So that's my recommendation with these: Accessories to life when you want the actual life part to be in the lead.