[Pianist]

Hey guys. Have any of you heard the two IEMs? I am thinking of picking up one of them. My main requirements are: 1. Tight, neutral and detailed bass with good depth even when driven unamped. My RE0 is great, but certainly lacking in the bass department unless I amp it. But my MiniBox E+ adds some unwanted harshness to the treble and my AMP3 makes RE0 sound too cold in the mids unfortunately.; 2. Good imaging and some decent depth to the soundstage. Width doesn't have to be great, but depth is important for me to really enjoy music. Again, my RE0 is a bit lacking in this area. 3. Well extended and present treble, especially low treble, which has to be clear and well defined. Like on RE0 or close. As much as I love my Ortofon e-Q7, I wish it extended a bit further in the treble. It rolls off a bit too early, beginning at 14.5 kHz. 4. Full bodied accurate, neutral midrange that's neither too forward nor laid back, not too warm and not too cold, just neutral (ok, a bit of warmth is acceptable, BUT the timbre has to remain accurate.) I find my Ortofon e-q7 do sound a bit shouty at times on some vocals, which I don't like, although I must admit that their accuracy in reproducing timbre is superb. 5. dynamic range has to good even when driven by weak sources if possible. RE0 is OK, but a bit lacking, even when amped too. Ortofon e-Q7 has beautiful dynamics if the source is good. But shows weakness when source quality isn't that great. For example, with my Samsung U2 and Sony NWZ-A816 dynamics on e-Q7 are definitely a bit lacking, but with my Clip and Samsung T9, they sound sufficiently dynamic.

Thanks!

 

[daouda]

Subscribing to this thread as this sounds pretty much exactly like what i'm looking for too (although i might enjoy a little hint of warmth in the mids). In a much lower category, it looks like those thinksound IEMs should somehow correpond to what you are looking for based on what has been said about them so far. But the westone and AT should be a league or two above (which is to be hoped considering the price difference)

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daouda /img/forum/go_quote.gif Subscribing to this thread as this sounds pretty much exactly like what i'm looking for too (although i might enjoy a little hint of warmth in the mids). In a much lower category, it looks like those thinksound IEMs should somehow correpond to what you are looking for based on what has been said about them so far. But the westone and AT should be a league or two above (which is to be hoped considering the price difference)

What are those? Never heard of that company.

 

[xlc210]

I know you probably aren't looking to jump into the price range of the UM3X, but this is a great sounding IEM. I have heard that there is quite a big difference between the 2 and 3 driver IEMs, but as far as the Westone product goes I couldn't be more satisfied.

On a side note, this thing fits perfectly in my ear. Once I put them on I never feel them again. Seal is also top notch.

Bass is deep and ultra detailed. Treble seems to be about right. They would probably benefit from the custom tips, but out of the box they sound great. Mids are spot on.

Best $350 I ever spent.

 

[Pianist]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xlc210 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I know you probably aren't looking to jump into the price range of the UM3X, but this is a great sounding IEM. I have heard that there is quite a big difference between the 2 and 3 driver IEMs, but as far as the Westone product goes I couldn't be more satisfied. On a side note, this thing fits perfectly in my ear. Once I put them on I never feel them again. Seal is also top notch. Bass is deep and ultra detailed. Treble seems to be about right. They would probably benefit from the custom tips, but out of the box they sound great. Mids are spot on. Best $350 I ever spent.

I heard UM3X before. It's nice, but... I just didn't enjoy them. I found the low treble lacking definition and the mid/upper treble just a little recessed for my liking. I prefer more energy at the top. That is I prefer a neutral treble response or a little bit bright (but not very bright and also I can't stand sibilance and harshness in the treble). The mids and bass on UM3X are great for sure though and it sound dynamic. But the treble just wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe with custom tips it would be better, but I doubt it because I owned ES3X customs and found the same issues (recessed, somewhat blurry treble) with them as with UM3X, except that ES3X extended better in the highs.

And BTW, yes I could afford UM3X, because I will have to sell my Ortofon e-Q7 anyways to get a new IEM and those retail at $300+ USD. Like I said, I just don't like UM3X much. I also heard and/or owned Triple.fi (recessed blurry mids, sloppy midbass), SE530 (treble roll off, fit issues), IE8 (too much upper bass, recessed treble), UM2 (recessed and poorly extended treble - not enough air), Westone 3 (too much upper bass, recessed mids, fit issues). In other words, I found all of the top universal IEMs I've heard so far, except for my Ortofon e-Q7 to be pretty seriousily lacking in certian areas of sound quality. Ortofon e-Q7 is the only top-tier universal I've heard so far that I would consider truly well balanced (although like I said, I wish midrange with just a tad less pronounced and uppermost treble had better extension - then they would've been perfect IMO). Hifiman RE0 is another one, if it can be considered top-tier that is. I also really liked mid-level IEMs, like Q-jays and Sleek SA6, which I both owned for some time, but I found serious flaws with those too. Q-jays lacked upper midrange presence while SA6 had a seriously compressed dynamic range, which proved to be a big turn off for me, even though I found them very musical sounding.

 

[daouda]

Wow you seem to have some really specific and precise demands.... Im far from being able to determine precisely what i need like that yet, and i havent heard them, but have you looked at those panasonic hje900 reviews?
All your needs look really hard to combine together at a reasonable price, maybe you should start saving up for a jh13?

EDIT: i'm a total noob and totally out of my place trying to give you any advice (i'm new here and have never heard any high-end earphone), but could it be possible that what you are looking for is located somewhere under where you are looking? I'm just wondering...

 

[tstarn06]

@pianist....Well, you might want to look into the ThinkSound phones. I had the Thunder (bass version) but sold it, and the Rain are coming today. Check the ThinkSound threads, and the company is at thinksound.com.

As for the Westone phones. I feel pretty much the same way you do about the UM3X, and recently sold them to finance the Westone 2 purchase. I have the benefit of UM56 custom sleeves, which I didn't have for the W3s I owned, but they didn't help all that much with the UM3X (found them uncomfortable with the custom sleeves for some weird reason).

However, the small W2 body and the UM56 is a perfect match. Plus, the sound sig on the W2s sounds like what you seek, although I also have the TF10s and don't find the mids muddy at all. In fact, I had the TF10s reshelled and with the ES cable, they sound spectacular to me. But the W2s, albeit different, sound equally as good.

Again, my experience is with the custom sleeves, and I think they add another dimension to the W2s, but even with the universal tips, the W2s were very good.

 

[jowens]

I'll echo a lot of Tstarn's thoughts on moving from the UM3X to the 2s.
I prefer the sound signature of the 2s in the mid and treble range.
The mids are nice and full, but still quite detailed. I thought the mids on the 3X were just a bit too rich, crowding out room for enough "air" and sparkle in the upper range.
The soundstage on the 2 is a good bit wider, but I am sure many phones are wider still.

The 2s have superb balance from low to high. They seem a bit more lively or energetic than the UM3X if that makes sense, but sacrifice a touch of bass impact and ultimate extension. Westone is on the money when they describe the 3X as a stage monitor, and the 2 as designed for personal music listening.

I find the 2s size, comfort and fit outstanding but you will need to experiment with tips.
Like Tstarn has said, short tips like the short complys, olives or single flange silcones may not work for many to get a good seal. I thought I had a good seal with the silicones,
but the bass was not up to the full potential. I have settled on the biflange tips for now.

Very tempted to get the UM56 when I can scrape together the funds.

 

[cn11]

Pianist-
Have you read shigzeo's comments about the CK10's? He sure seems to hold them in high regard among universal IEM's. You may want to PM him to pick his brain about the specifics of their sound. I'm tempted to keep my eyes out for a pair of them used myself...

 

[Spyro]

Pianist - The W2's match what you are looking for. It is overall brighter and a bit more open than UM3X. A pinch less bess but very neutral and balanced. Think of the W3 with that massive bass hump fixed and more forward mids...but not quite forward like SE530 which is a bit too forward for my tastes. While I rarely have problems since I use complys, W2 is the best fitting IEM I have ever worn.

Haven't heard the CK10's.

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pianist /img/forum/go_quote.gif I heard UM3X before. It's nice, but... I just didn't enjoy them. I found the low treble lacking definition and the mid/upper treble just a little recessed for my liking. I prefer more energy at the top. That is I prefer a neutral treble response or a little bit bright (but not very bright and also I can't stand sibilance and harshness in the treble). The mids and bass on UM3X are great for sure though and it sound dynamic. But the treble just wasn't my cup of tea. Maybe with custom tips it would be better, but I doubt it because I owned ES3X customs and found the same issues (recessed, somewhat blurry treble) with them as with UM3X, except that ES3X extended better in the highs. And BTW, yes I could afford UM3X, because I will have to sell my Ortofon e-Q7 anyways to get a new IEM and those retail at $300+ USD. Like I said, I just don't like UM3X much. I also heard and/or owned Triple.fi (recessed blurry mids, sloppy midbass), SE530 (treble roll off, fit issues), IE8 (too much upper bass, recessed treble), UM2 (recessed and poorly extended treble - not enough air), Westone 3 (too much upper bass, recessed mids, fit issues). In other words, I found all of the top universal IEMs I've heard so far, except for my Ortofon e-Q7 to be pretty seriousily lacking in certian areas of sound quality. Ortofon e-Q7 is the only top-tier universal I've heard so far that I would consider truly well balanced (although like I said, I wish midrange with just a tad less pronounced and uppermost treble had better extension - then they would've been perfect IMO). Hifiman RE0 is another one, if it can be considered top-tier that is. I also really liked mid-level IEMs, like Q-jays and Sleek SA6, which I both owned for some time, but I found serious flaws with those too. Q-jays lacked upper midrange presence while SA6 had a seriously compressed dynamic range, which proved to be a big turn off for me, even though I found them very musical sounding.

The CK10s do sound very interesting, at a little less cost than the W2s. But I am exhausted spending money on IEMs, so I will stick with the W2s and custom TF10s for now. But it sounds like either the CK10 or the W2 would deliver the goods. Just not sure which one you would prefer.

 

[Rip N' Burn]

Get both! Keep the one you like better and sell/return the other one. This way you can extensively listen to both iems and make a decision from what you hear instead of guessing which one you might prefer.

 

[cn11]

^^ Sage advice.

 

[ben4345]

Pianist, you seem to be just like me. I am looking at the W2's as will.

Anyways, we should have coffee and discuss how hard it is to find some decent cans.

 

[Hsiu]

W2 is sonically up-shifted compared to UM3X. infact I like it better in term of sound quality, I sold mine purely because of the fit issue. other wise it is the perfectly balanced phone that should fit your criteria. give it a try.