[lucozade]

The westone 3 was the next iem i pulled the trigger on,as they say on here

and I think this was the iem i had the highest expectations for.The weststone 3 being a 3 armiture driver unit like the triple fi 10 but with a much better designed driver housing i was hopeing this would be the best universal iem out there. So did i get my wish?
This is thoughts on the westone 3, and i think this is prehapes the hardest iem to review.

This iem comes with a nice little carry case, extention cable ,in cable volume control extention, and a vast array of tips, silicon,compy,shure black olive,clear plastic pudding bason type (all in various sizes).
The earphones themselfs look very neat and have a thin cable that is braded to gives it a feeling of strengh, and it does seem very sturdy.
This iem is very easy to drive and is the loudest out of all the iems i have i think.

FIT AND ISOLATION

The westone 3 is a very comfortable iem to wear ,i could happily wear it all day if i wished, and with the large array of tips its very easy to find one that fits, and the isolation on these is superb.

BASS

The bass on these is BIG powerfull and very boomy, it has a certain amount of detail, but those details often get lost in the big thumping booming malstrome the bass driver delivers, unlike the big warm sounding bass of the ie8 that seems to my ears to have a mid bass hump the westone 3 seems to have a hump at the lower end of the bass making this a colder sounding bass.
Never the less the bass does not smother the other frequencies which is quite amazing really.
MIDS

The instrements are all cyrstal clear and its very easy to pick them out and place them in the soundstage. vocals are again cyrstal clear and dont sound as though there too far back or too far forward, i think they are exactly were they should be and the large boomy bass does not colour the vocals in eny way or over power the mids at all.

TREBBLE

The trebble to my ear seems like its exstended diffrently to that of the triple fi 10,it does not quite have the sparkle at the top end but sounds more sharp
which does result in a highly accurate trebble response with a clarity not matched by eny of my other iems, Most of my other iems have highly accurate trebble and you will hear all the details that you need to hear in your music and some you dont want to,but these take things to another level and they will pick out things that you didnt even know were in your music,even after using the other top universal iems (for good or bad).
But all that clarity and detail comes at some expence.

These are by far the most sibilent iems ive ever heard

listening to these for enymore than two hours can be absolate torture to my ears, ive tryed everything i can think off to get rid of it,ive been through all the supplyed tips, and every other tip i have that fits , i tryed decoring a sure olive and putting a single silicon tip over it , ive tryed all the eq settings on my ipod,ive tryed them on my home amp, nothing seems to make eny difference, PLEASE HELP.!

SOUNDSTAGE

The soundstage is quit large but not as big as the sennhiesers ie7/8 and that big boomy bass does seem to make it sound smaller than it really is at times,if that makes eny sence, the instrements are all well placed .

SOUND SIGNITURE
The westone 3 has the weirdest sound signiture that i have ever heard in a pair of phones or speakers for that matter.The way its presented just seams to be all a bit of a mess really to my ears.All the freqencies seem to precent themselfs seperate from each other,we have that big blowted 3 dimentonal bass then the rather cold, hard thinner sounding middle section highly detailed with that exstended more 3 dimentonal top end.
And the soundstage is weird as well , when i first started to listen to these it was like they had two seperate soundstages ,one centered around each ear piece and a smaller one in the middle of my head slightly out in front with the lead singer in it,

Ather a few days of listening either my ears got used to this and compensated melding the 3 soundstage bubbles together into one, or some kind of burn in effect has taken place as after a while i was hearing the more conventenal single soundstage. !

All in all these are an intresting sounding iem and one i will go back to rediscover as soon as i can summon up the energy to go into battle with that sibilance again. If enyone out there has had this problem with the sibilance on these and has found a way to over come it ? please let me know how you managed it as i really do want to injoy these ,they can be quite hypnotic to listen to with all the extra details these pick out.
As the first true 3 driver iem on the market westone have had a decent crack at it but I kind off get the feeling these were rushed into production before all the flaws were ironed out.They show a lot of promise and could be the best universal iem on the market if they had a bit more work done on them,but thats just my take on them,im sure there are many on here who will swear these are the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[ok1907]

So, At what genres do you think W3 and IE8 excel each other?

 

[evillamer]

Quote:

As the first true 3 driver iem on the market westone have had a decent crack at it but I kind off get the feeling these were rushed into production before all the flaws were ironed out.

Yes I agree with that.

To me it seems like the Um3x is the improved revision of the W3, irregardless of how Westone people may say, reason being that both the W3 and Um3x features 3-way crossover design, and also they share a similar shell shape.

I haven't heard any sibilance in the Um3x.

 

[lucozade]

The sure se-530 is my latest iem ,which ive had since christmas, i was a bit weiry of buying these as i know there has been problems with the cables failing in the past two yrs,but am hoping that has been solved now,or maybe that was only the older e500 model,but this site kept tempting me and in the end i caved in and got a pair

The se 530 comes in a lovely large squre brushed alluminium box,(very classy)
the iems themselfs look very smart ,bronzed metal colour and a well desinged shape and feel very sturdy,the cords are a little fin on the ear pieces them selfs but seam sturdy enough,then we have a exstension cable ,a short er bit of cable with a volume control and a large selection of tips and the standard shure carry case.

FIT & ISOLATION

Im finding these very comfortable, no problems there at all.its easy to get a good seal with the correct tip,there is plenty to choose from and they isolate really well, i really cant fort them in this erea at all.

so now to how they sound

BASS

I have to say i really like the bass on these,i was a bit worried about it as a lot of people find it a bit to much but i find it very nice.
The first thing i notice about it is there is alot more of it than on my se420 and its alot more forward in the mix, but i dont find it over powers the mids or colours them in eny way.The bass seams highly detailed as it should as the bass has its own driver.Im not hearing eny colouring of the vocals (like i do in the ie8)its again very easy to pick out the different bass instrements
its a very nice bass indeed, not quite as powerfull sounding as the klipsch custom 3,i ie8 or westone 3 but a bit more detailed than those three and more than enough to satisfy most people.

MIDS

The mids are proberly the nicest ive heard on an iem , vocals are out in front but not way out in front like the se420s, guitars just sound sweet,piano is lovely and lush sounding, drums are crisp ,flutes,and brass all sound crisp and lush sounding ,infact everything just sound lush and very detailed, accustic guitar is really nice on these.

TREBBLE

Im happy to report that the trebble on the se530 does not sound rolled off at all to me,it is infact very sweet sounding,its not extended as far as the triple fi 10 but its on apar with the ie8/ c3 and not at all like the se420 which really is rolled off. These are very detailed and accurate sounding iems , they do produce a little bit of sibilence from time to time ,but its nothing to worry about , and i dont find these to sound sharp,just very very sweet.

SOUNDSTAGE

Not as big as the sennhiesers but closer to custom 3 /triple fi 10 and a lot more natural sounding than se 420 ,all instrements are serperated nicely


so thats were im at ,this moment in time ,but no delt i will be getting more iems when funds allow, this hobby is quite addictive and a lot of fun but quite toxic to the wallet

So all that remains for me to do now is to reveil which is my favorate iem
I do find this part of a reveiw a bit piontless as it is only really rellivent to me,which ever iem i think sounds the best,the next person may think is the worst sounding iem ever invented , but i will give you my awnser enyways.

 

[tstarn06]

If you want to eliminate sibilance with the W3s, take the stock white tri-flanges and trim about 50 percent of the stalk. Use them this way, but also be prepared to EQ the treble a little to tease it back out. I could not even listen to the W3s for two minutes much less two hours until I tried this mod. I know it worked for me and a few other W3 owners.

 

[lucozade]

So once again ,these are the iems i have,
triple fi 10
senniheser ie7
senniheser ie8
shure se420
klipsh custom 3
westone 3
shure se 530

each of these iems have a place in my life and i dont see myself selling eny off them enytime soon,they all do things differently and no two sound the same, having different ways of hearing your music is part of the fun of this hobby and it brings something differrent to music you have heard hundreds of times before.

In 7th place i would put SHURE SE420
In 6th place i would put SENNIHESER IE7
In 5th place i would put WESTONE 3

THAT WAS THE EASY PART : IT GETS A LOT HARDER TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THE REST

In 4th place i would put TRIPLE FI 10
In 3rd place i would put SENNIHESER IE8

The reason the triples didnt make it into the final is the problem i have keeping them sealed into my ears, i really do love there sound and there trebble is really sweet.
And the ie8s are just to warm sounding for my tastes strate out of an ipod,they do sound a lot better when amped with a bit of equelizing.
and they are the best for watching films and music concerts with there huge soundstage, NOTHING CAN TOUCH THEM in that field.

So it comes down to CUSTOM 3 vs SHURE SE 530 and its a very close run thing in deed , they both sound very sweet to my ears ,They are both very musical sounding iems and do what they do very well ,They just present the music in slightly different ways.

I think the the KLIPSCH CUSTOM 3 sounds just a tiny bit more musical to me and presents the music in a slightly more pleasing way to my ears
so if it was down to sound quality alone i would choose them but it really is so close , the shure se530 really are right up there with them , i just slightly prefure the klipcsh sound to the sure.

They both fit perfectly good and feel very secure in my ears and both isolate very well.

But when it comes down to comfort and ease of fit the shures win that by a wide margine ,So when you take that into consideration i feel that with the shure se 530 sounding as good as they do they are the better all rounder so:

In 2nd place KLIPSCH CUSTOM 3
In 1st place SHURE SE 530

 

[lucozade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tstarn06 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you want to eliminate sibilance with the W3s, take the stock white tri-flanges and trim about 50 percent of the stalk. Use them this way, but also be prepared to EQ the treble a little to tease it back out. I could not even listen to the W3s for two minutes much less two hours until I tried this mod. I know it worked for me and a few other W3 owners.

Hi tstarn , i did try the tri-flanges before with the stalks uncut and cut down without eny luck ,it helped a little ,but they were still very sibilent , i found i had to serverly lower the treble eq to eleminate it while using the tri flanges, making them sound to dull. I may try cutting the tops of a set of tri flanges and see if that makes eny difference !

 

[lucozade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ok1907 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So, At what genres do you think W3 and IE8 excel each other?

hi ok1907 ,i think the ie8 s would excel at dance music , hip hop, that sort of thing ,thats not my sort of music but enything that need a lot of good bass,
I like using them best for music when playing live concerts, the sense of space and the vastness of the soundstage makes them perfect for this,also they are excellent for watching movie, and if you have the surround sound phones setting on your amp ,they just eat it up.

 

[mhdena]

Nice review, your post and comments should be a reference point for all to remember, that these type of reviews are good for a STARTING point of what to consider. After all it will come down to what fits the best that will give the final say.

As for me, I'm lucky in that the Triple Fi 10s fit me just fine with the medium silicone and the complys. I am so happy that my search is over, having got in on the deal of all time and the fact they are customizable and the cords can be replaced, what more can you ask for.

But if they don't fit

 

[lucozade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhdena /img/forum/go_quote.gif Nice review, your post and comments should be a reference point for all to remember, that these type of reviews are good for a STARTING point of what to consider. After all it will come down to what fits the best that will give the final say. As for me, I'm lucky in that the Triple Fi 10s fit me just fine with the medium silicone and the complys. I am so happy that my search is over, having got in on the deal of all time and the fact they are customizable and the cords can be replaced, what more can you ask for. But if they don't fit

thanks mhdena for your kind words, i also use the medium silicone ,these give me the best sound with the triples but they do keep slipping out ,i think the problem is the larger sound tubes just dont suite my ears, they do stay put with the complys but i think they ruin the soundstage and place a veil over the treble,

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucozade /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hi tstarn , i did try the tri-flanges before with the stalks uncut and cut down without eny luck ,it helped a little ,but they were still very sibilent , i found i had to serverly lower the treble eq to eleminate it while using the tri flanges, making them sound to dull. I may try cutting the tops of a set of tri flanges and see if that makes eny difference !

Doubt the bi-flange will do it if the tri didn't. I just found any short tips caused sibilance, but long ones did not (including the large Comply P Series included with the W3s). But the Comply sort of muffled the sound for me.

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lucozade /img/forum/go_quote.gif thanks mhdena for your kind words, i also use the medium silicone ,these give me the best sound with the triples but they do keep slipping out ,i think the problem is the larger sound tubes just dont suite my ears, they do stay put with the complys but i think they ruin the soundstage and place a veil over the treble,

Sony hybrid tips are softer and hold in place much better than the stock silicones. Just a suggestion. Others have also found the hybrids their favorite tip with the TF10s.

 

[daouda]

Quote:

These are by far the most sibilent iems ive ever heard listening to these for enymore than two hours can be absolate torture to my ears, ive tryed everything i can think off to get rid of it,ive been through all the supplyed tips, and every other tip i have that fits , i tryed decoring a sure olive and putting a single silicon tip over it , ive tryed all the eq settings on my ipod,ive tryed them on my home amp, nothing seems to make eny difference, PLEASE HELP.!

From my own (very limited, more so than yours) noob's experience, along with extensive reading through these forums, i think i have found out that sibilance is an issue that is VERY dependant of the listener. Some people are just much more sensitive to (and annoyed by) sibilance and treble harshness than others. I often hear sibilance without trying even on full sized speakers when most people dont really notice it unless they focus on it. I think i've determined that I'd even rather have a dark sound, with treble recessed or rolled off than emphasised brightness or the slightest hint of harshness in the highs. Now thanks to your review, i now know that the westone 3 are most likely not for me. Thank you for potentially saving me money and frustration!

 

[ZARIM]

It's great review and comparison between these IEMs and iam happy how you find top two IEMS the most enjoyable while criticle listening. The Custom 3 are one of my fav IEMs and they sound realy good even if compare to SE530.

 

[Jensen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daouda /img/forum/go_quote.gif From my own (very limited, more so than yours) noob's experience, along with extensive reading through these forums, i think i have found out that sibilance is an issue that is VERY dependant of the listener. Some people are just much more sensitive to (and annoyed by) sibilance and treble harshness than others. I often hear sibilance without trying even on full sized speakers when most people dont really notice it unless they focus on it. I think i've determined that I'd even rather have a dark sound, with treble recessed or rolled off than emphasised brightness or the slightest hint of harshness in the highs. Now thanks to your review, i now know that the westone 3 are most likely not for me. Thank you for potentially saving me money and frustration!

I can second the fact that I had serious sibilance issues with the Westone 3 as well. Had to sell them because of the issue.