[MTBer]

Hello,
 
After six years, I believe the cable is starting to go on my SE310's.  Not wanting to be out another pair of $250+ IEM's for want of a cheap cable, I've decided that whatever I choose as a replacement must have a replaceable cable.
 
I'm sure this will be quite limiting, and so far I have these in mind: UE900, UM3x-RC, Westone 4R, and SE535, in no particular order.  Coming from a fairly midrange set of IEM's, I'm thinking any of these should be a noticeable upgrade.  Even after searching every relevant post, I'm still having trouble determining which one would be suit my preferences.
 
What I liked most about my SE310's was how what I believe are the "mids" were presented - opening guitar riff from Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever, piano and vocals from Billy Joel's And So It Goes.  My only complaint about them is that they were light on bass; they extended low enough (the very low notes from David Essex's Rock On were present), but never had much impact. For example, when the drums hit in John Mellencamp's Jack & Diane, they're just a short, hollow "thud" instead of a nice, deep, resonant "thump", if that makes any sense.  It's as thought the sound of the drum just dies and doesn't get a chance to reverberate.  I guess I'm looking for slightly more "boom".
 
I read every review and comparison thread regarding these IEM's I'm considering, and I understand that none of them are known to have overly abundant bass, which is ok.  I'm not looking for anything headshaking, just more impact than I have now.  Additionally, since all of the higher end IEM's are compared against each other for obvious reasons, it's difficult to interpret whether or not "light bass" for a triple or quad driver high end IEM would be the same as "light bass" for the single driver midrange IEM that I'm replacing.
 
I also considered the Westone 3 since I'm positive it has plenty of bass response, and I would probably jump on it if it had removable cables.  Disregarding this, I'm worried that the midrange that I appreciate so much from the Shures would be recessed in these.
 
Thanks for the help!

 

[TwinQY]

  - Not wanting to be out another pair of $250+ IEM's for want of a cheap cable, I've decided that whatever I choose as a replacement must have a replaceable cable.
 
- I'm sure this will be quite limiting, and so far I have these in mind: UE900, UM3x-RC, Westone 4R, and SE535, in no particular order.
 
- What I liked most about my SE310's was how what I believe are the "mids" were presented - opening guitar riff from Ted Nugent's Cat Scratch Fever, piano and vocals from Billy Joel's And So It Goes. 
 
- My only complaint about them is that they were light on bass; they extended low enough (the very low notes from David Essex's Rock On were present), but never had much impact. For example, when the drums hit in John Mellencamp's Jack & Diane, they're just a short, hollow "thud" instead of a nice, deep, resonant "thump", if that makes any sense.  It's as thought the sound of the drum just dies and doesn't get a chance to reverberate.  I guess I'm looking for slightly more "boom".
 
- I'm not looking for anything headshaking, just more impact than I have now.
 
- I also considered the Westone 3 since I'm positive it has plenty of bass response, and I would probably jump on it if it had removable cables.  Disregarding this, I'm worried that the midrange that I appreciate so much from the Shures would be recessed in these.

I've actually read your other thread regarding the W4, W3, etc. I'm going to have to go against the grain here and suggest the UM3X. Reason being, their mids are conventionally forward. That is to say - the placement is forward, the presentation has the various instruments placed, and layered, with vocals and the likes at the forefront. The W4 and the SE535 being balanced towards the midrange, but the UM3X really presents it. There's also the fact that while the W4 has that mid-bass bump, it has nice decay and feels more or less like a deep punch, while the visceral impact and body is more spread out, and overall a tad bit more quantitative if you take into account the bass as a whole. No, they are not bassy in the traditional manner. 
 
Another plus - I actually enjoy the ergonomics and build of the UM3X (they used to have weird shell problems where they'd come apart, at least for my very old UM3, but the newer units I've encountered in stores seem a bit more robust, and the plastic shells are a bit thicker)

 

[MTBer]

Of course I see your post AFTER I commit to purchasing the W4R last night....

What you've said about the UM3X really makes me wish I could try them concurrently, because it seems those, as well as the W3 and W4R, each do something that I like- W3 for bass impact, UM3X for clear mids, and W4R for overall presentation. Sadly, I can't even find a place that SELLS high end IEMS anywhere near me, let alone somewhere to audition them.

I'm really hoping the mid bass bump of the W4 is enough to satisfy what I feel is missing in the low end from my SE310, if not immediately, then once it's been run through an E11 amp and EQ'd for a little more bass. If I EQ the SE310, the bass does come out more, but seems to fall flat when extending down to the very low frequencies, as if the range is beyond what the single drivers can handle.

If the W4R can't do what I want, I'll return it and order both the W3 and the UM3X, returning one of them later.

Thanks for the input!!