IE8 vs. Westone 3 (specifically for what I'm looking for, not overall)
Dec 9, 2008 at 12:48 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 13

i_don't_know

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State your reason and WHY. In other words, I don't want the W3 bandwagon overflowing into this thread.

Price is not an issue, since I might have found a way to get the IE8 at a lower price than $450 (not sure if it will work, but we'll see).

I want killer soundstage, a sound that's both detailed and fun to listen to (sort of a "full/fun/rich transparency", or very slightly warm to the point where it's basically still transparent. I hate the "completely transparent" sound of Ety's). It also cannot require an amp to sound anywhere near its potential (I don't own an amp), and I want to try to avoid any sibilance because my ears are pretty sensitive to it.

My source is a Sony S639F.


Here are some examples of my music.

YouTube - Jack Johnson - Sitting, Waiting, Wishing: Album Version (Edited), Closed Captioned
YouTube - Andrew Gorny - Rather Walk With You
YouTube - Matthew Santos - Shadows in a Shoebox - www.candyrat.com
YouTube - Audioslave - Like A Stone
YouTube - Rage Against The Machine - Sleep Now In The Fire
YouTube - Bush - Everything Zen
YouTube - Minus the Beaer - Monkey!!! Knife!!! Fight!!!!

Please help me find what's best for me!
 
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:02 AM Post #3 of 13
That thread is trying to find the best overall. I just want the best for my source, music taste, and sound preference. This is more of a "user specific" comparison.
 
Dec 9, 2008 at 1:19 AM Post #5 of 13
I realize that, but there has to be someone with a player that has a similar power for headphones and a similar music taste in terms of genres.

And they could at least tell me if the sound signature matches what I described, I'm pretty sure of that.
 
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:12 AM Post #6 of 13
Pretty much either headphone should run well on the Sony S639F, considering all the positive forum feedback. I really think you would be happy with either headphone, especially since the Sony has a pretty nice EQ. I ordered the IE8 just the other day from computeruniverse.net at 213.40 Euros shipped to me here in Texas. That's just under $280 USD. Though from what I heard from another HeadFier, he ordered his IE8 from the same site a month ago and just got them in the mail. That kinda sucks and I really hope I get them before Christmas time.

Besides the price, I ordered the IE8 over the W3 mainly for the aesthetically pleasing design and the well constructed and replaceable cable (though I hear the W3 cable is great for a nonreplaceable). I am looking forward to see how it compares to my Klipsch X10s and Yuin OK1s.
 
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:23 AM Post #7 of 13
Once Advanced MP3 Players gets the IE8 back in stock, I'm going to try to order them for $250 (excluding shipping) using the code I got with my S639F. Thanks.

I wasn't even aware the cable was replaceable. That pretty much did it for me.
 
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:36 AM Post #8 of 13
Here is a photo of the IE8 cable detached btw.

sennheiser_ie-8_4.jpg
 
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:42 AM Post #9 of 13
Looks like a solid attachment!
 
Dec 9, 2008 at 2:58 AM Post #10 of 13
So far, I am preferring the IE8 over the Westone 3 for songs where the vocals carry the main melody and are therefore the most important instrument of the song. This is the case with the entire Jack Johnson album. The Westone 3 places Jack slightly behind the other instruments, so the deep bass guitar notes present throughout the album along some other instruments tend to be distracting when trying to listen to Jack's singing. By comparison, the IE8 puts Jack slightly in front of the instruments, or at least the same distance, making him sound closer to you than with the Westones. It is easier to hear his singing among the other instruments. Both earphone reproduce Jack's voice very well, though.

Other points of comparison are that the Westone has a tighter sounding bass, while the IE8 gives more bass presence - you feel it more. Sometimes the IE8 bass may sound a bit overpowering.

The whole background/foreground vocals thing is what bothers me most, and is one of the three main reasons why I didn't like the Triple.Fi 10 with its far-away vocals (the other two being the comfort and a slight recession in the upper midrange resulting in nasally sounding voices) and slightly preferred the UM2, though I didn't think either were worth keeping.

If it matters, my source is an old Rio Volt SP90 MP3 CD player, no amp, playing variable bitrate MP3s.
 
Dec 9, 2008 at 3:11 AM Post #11 of 13
Quote:

Originally Posted by i_don't_know /img/forum/go_quote.gif
State your reason and WHY. In other words, I don't want the W3 bandwagon overflowing into this thread.

Price is not an issue, since I might have found a way to get the IE8 at a lower price than $450 (not sure if it will work, but we'll see).

I want killer soundstage, a sound that's both detailed and fun to listen to (sort of a "full/fun/rich transparency", or very slightly warm to the point where it's basically still transparent. I hate the "completely transparent" sound of Ety's). It also cannot require an amp to sound anywhere near its potential (I don't own an amp), and I want to try to avoid any sibilance because my ears are pretty sensitive to it.

My source is a Sony S639F.

Please help me find what's best for me!



Looking at what you listen i would say if ever you're going with the w3s the comply long tips would be the only tips you'd ever use. I'm pretty sensitive to sibilance myself and my source is a warm sounding zune 80.
 
Feb 19, 2009 at 12:47 AM Post #12 of 13
delete... sorry
 
Feb 19, 2009 at 6:51 AM Post #13 of 13
Quote:

Originally Posted by Possum /img/forum/go_quote.gif
So far, I am preferring the IE8 over the Westone 3 for songs where the vocals carry the main melody and are therefore the most important instrument of the song. This is the case with the entire Jack Johnson album. The Westone 3 places Jack slightly behind the other instruments, so the deep bass guitar notes present throughout the album along some other instruments tend to be distracting when trying to listen to Jack's singing. By comparison, the IE8 puts Jack slightly in front of the instruments, or at least the same distance, making him sound closer to you than with the Westones. It is easier to hear his singing among the other instruments. Both earphone reproduce Jack's voice very well, though.

Other points of comparison are that the Westone has a tighter sounding bass, while the IE8 gives more bass presence - you feel it more. Sometimes the IE8 bass may sound a bit overpowering.

The whole background/foreground vocals thing is what bothers me most, and is one of the three main reasons why I didn't like the Triple.Fi 10 with its far-away vocals (the other two being the comfort and a slight recession in the upper midrange resulting in nasally sounding voices) and slightly preferred the UM2, though I didn't think either were worth keeping.

If it matters, my source is an old Rio Volt SP90 MP3 CD player, no amp, playing variable bitrate MP3s.



oh wow looks like i totally said the opposite here but i agree on jacks album it is like that but obviously jacks voice is the instrument on his album so the mastering on that would have been recorded as such so no big surprise. other albums i do find instruments first before vocals but vocal centric albums eg norah jones or adele to be vocal first on the IE8's
 

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