[average_joe]

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You couldn't pay me enough to endorse a $500 earphone made from such materials.

 
???  Have you seen the Shure SE846 or Westone UM3XRC at $575?  It is about price/performance in comparison with similarly priced competition and the SM64 competes well.

 

[music_4321]

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???  Have you seen the Shure SE846 or Westone UM3XRC at $575?  It is about price/performance in comparison with similarly priced competition and the SM64 competes well.

 
The UM3X-RC is NOT (and has never been) $575, it's $399 and can be had for (a lot) less, even, if one looks around.

 

[Gilly87]

The westones are also built MUCH better, and don't distort at high volume, hiss out of every source known to man, have a stupidly short cable, or fall apart at random.

???  Have you seen the Shure SE846 or Westone UM3XRC at $575?  It is about price/performance in comparison with similarly priced competition and the SM64 competes well.

The UM3X-RC is NOT (and has never been) $575, it's $399 and can be had for (a lot) less, even, if one looks around.

 

[Gilly87]

Oh, not to mention the Westones are made in the US and come with a better warranty, which means no paying for repairs and no $60 shipping to France for US buyers. And their customer service people don't try to rip you off by denying you warranty coverage.

Seriously, if Earsonics was an American company, I would have rustled up a class action lawsuit against them by now, given how inconsistently they honor their "warranty" and how completely lax they are about quality control and repairs.

I'll admit that Earsonics makes some pretty cool sounding stuff, but I just can't possibly recommend their products at over $200 given the consistent problems with durability and customer service.

 

[Darkbeat]

Sorry you feel that way Gilly87. Like most people though, I prefer the superior sound quality of the SM3 over the UM3X.
 
I've never had any hiss with any sources with the SM3. Such hyperbolic statements do nothing to help your legitimate arguments about Earsonics QC and warranty issues.

 

[Gilly87]

It's not hyperbolic at all. The only source my SM3 v2 didn't hiss out of was my ELE DAC. The HiFiMeDIY Sabre DAC, 4 Android phones (G2X and Samsung Infuse both with Voodoo sound, HTC Inspire, and Nexus 4), FiiO E5, FiiO E11, and SMSL Fort all made them hiss like crazy.
 
It's easy to say "superior sound quality" but I think each does some things better than the other. The UM3X has more neutral tonality overall, more detailed mids by a good margin I'd say, and also better separation, while the SM3 has a bigger soundstage, better treble extension, and more detailed bass.
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Sorry you feel that way Gilly87. Like most people though, I prefer the superior sound quality of the SM3 over the UM3X.
 
I've never had any hiss with any sources with the SM3. Such hyperbolic statements do nothing to help your legitimate arguments about Earsonics QC and warranty issues.

 

[Darkbeat]

It's hyperbolic to say they hiss out of every source known to man, as they have yet to hiss in any source I have used and plenty of other people have no experience with hissing at all.
 
It's also easy for me to say superior sound quality because they sound better to me and others too.

 

[Gilly87]

Ok, it was hyperbolic. They hiss more readily than any other IEM I've tried.
 
And the UM3X sound better to some, too. Personally I think it's more productive to talk about the actual differences.
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It's hyperbolic to say they hiss out of every source known to man, as they have yet to hiss in any source I have used and plenty of other people have no experience with hissing at all.
 
It's also easy for me to say superior sound quality because they sound better to me and others too.

 

[Darkbeat]

That's fine, different strokes etc. Your complaints are valid and are only made more disappointing by how good the SM3s really are. Hopefully Earsonics have got their act together on QC with their newer IEMs.

 

[Gilly87]

I certainly hope so. I had a love-hate relationship with the SM3; the sound was almost confusing sometimes, and the drivers didn't really hold their ground at the volumes I like to listen at (soundstage would compress and sound distorted at higher volumes), but I have to say, it is an almost magical sound. I like my UM3X a lot, but there are things I miss about the SM3, mostly speed and imaging.
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That's fine, different strokes etc. Your complaints are valid and are only made more disappointing by how good the SM3s really are. Hopefully Earsonics have got their act together on QC with their newer IEMs.

 

[TheMarkRemains]

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I certainly hope so. I had a love-hate relationship with the SM3; the sound was almost confusing sometimes, and the drivers didn't really hold their ground at the volumes I like to listen at (soundstage would compress and sound distorted at higher volumes), but I have to say, it is an almost magical sound. I like my UM3X a lot, but there are things I miss about the SM3, mostly speed and imaging.

You don't say....
 
Seriously though, UM series by Westone US made, W series Chinese. There appears to be a lot of issues with the Chinese made Westone, driver failure etc. I agree on service aspect for both, cheaper at Westone and they usually cover most stuff, Earsonics puts all fault on owner. That's enough to piss off a lot of people, plus the $50 return shipping. I at least like that they are serviceable, even if the fees are a bit high due to exchange. Try that with HiFiman.Or Shure for that matter.
 
That said on a day to day listening experience I prefer the soundstage of the SM3 to the UM3x. Westone a great IEM ad Earsonics so OBVIOUSLY copied their design, but used an inferior bonding agent. I think your complaint on cable length has more to do with the y split. JH audio etc all use the same cable.
 
Funny how this thread is reviving. And BTW the SM64 does blow it out of the water. BIG improvement. 

 

[music_4321]

Quote:

Sorry you feel that way Gilly87. Like most people though, I prefer the superior sound quality of the SM3 over the UM3X.
 
I've never had any hiss with any sources with the SM3. Such hyperbolic statements do nothing to help your legitimate arguments about Earsonics QC and warranty issues.

 
"Like most people"? Really? Really?? I think you really need to check your facts.
 
While some people do prefer the SM3's SQ over the UM3Xs, after the SM3 unprecedented hype came to a very sudden stop, gradually there were more and more people, in fact, who started saying they preferred the UM3X's sonics over the SM3s — at least those people posting on Head-fi. Interesting, too, that several of the people who were seriously hyping the SM3s in the early days later came to admit that either they thought the SM3 wasn't really that good or that it was downright wrong-sounding. By contrast, most (not all) people who have owned the UM3X, even after moving on to other phones, still acknowledged the UM3X was a very good / excellent phone.
 
The endless attempts by people to modify the stock SM3 sound via different tips, tip mods—or even going as far as removing the filters (!!)—was certainly very telling.

 

[Gilly87]

How are the materials on the SM64? Still same cheap ass plastic? I'm boycotting Earsonics on principle until they make them solid and stop charging people out the ass for repairs that should be covered under warranty.
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You don't say....
 
Seriously though, UM series by Westone US made, W series Chinese. There appears to be a lot of issues with the Chinese made Westone, driver failure etc. I agree on service aspect for both, cheaper at Westone and they usually cover most stuff, Earsonics puts all fault on owner. That's enough to piss off a lot of people, plus the $50 return shipping. I at least like that they are serviceable, even if the fees are a bit high due to exchange. Try that with HiFiman.Or Shure for that matter.
 
That said on a day to day listening experience I prefer the soundstage of the SM3 to the UM3x. Westone a great IEM ad Earsonics so OBVIOUSLY copied their design, but used an inferior bonding agent. I think your complaint on cable length has more to do with the y split. JH audio etc all use the same cable.
 
Funny how this thread is reviving. And BTW the SM64 does blow it out of the water. BIG improvement. 

 
So true. The UM3X doesn't need any tweaking, but I always felt like something was weird about the SM3. It's sound signature and tonal balance were great, still perhaps my favorite to date, and it has some of my favorite bass to date, but the presentation was so damn weird that I was constantly checking to make sure cables were in right, tips were sealing, etc. just to be sure it wasn't "just me." But it wasn't me; it was the SM3.
 
None of that with the UM3X. Always sounds the same, never distorts, very natural and neutral. I'm coming to enjoy its tonality more. It's like a good relationship: there might not be huge sparks at the beginning, but over time you begin to see how everything just fits and feels right. 
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The endless attempts by people to modify the stock SM3 sound via different tips, tip mods—or even going as far as removing the filters (!!)—was certainly very telling.

 

[Gilly87]

Seriously...
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"Like most people"? Really? Really?? I think you really need to check your facts.

 

[average_joe]

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The UM3X-RC is NOT (and has never been) $575, it's $399 and can be had for (a lot) less, even, if one looks around.

 
Welcome back music.  
 
The UM3X-RC is NOT (and has never been) $575, except on the Westone website I guess: http://www.westone.com/music/index.php/products/universal-fit/um3x-rc.html