Nuforce 7s or westone UM1?
Jan 10, 2009 at 8:01 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 9
Newbbb

Newbbb

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I want to pick up a pair of quality IEMs for my sister as she is a music fanatic. Initially I was going to pick up some Klipsch image X10s or even the westone 3s but she thought they were a bit pricey and do not want to risk breaking a set of 400 dollar earphones.

With that said, she listens to a wide variety of music, from pop, hiphop, to some alternative and rnb. I also have to add that she's got some small ears. Which of the of following would be best suited for her? Nuforce 7s or westone UM1? Any help would be much appreciated! thanks!
beerchug.gif
 
Jan 10, 2009 at 8:24 AM Post #2 of 9
Jan 10, 2009 at 9:43 AM Post #3 of 9
Quote:

Originally Posted by Newbbb /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I want to pick up a pair of quality IEMs for my sister as she is a music fanatic. Initially I was going to pick up some Klipsch image X10s or even the westone 3s but she thought they were a bit pricey and do not want to risk breaking a set of 400 dollar earphones.

With that said, she listens to a wide variety of music, from pop, hiphop, to some alternative and rnb. I also have to add that she's got some small ears. Which of the of following would be best suited for her? Nuforce 7s or westone UM1? Any help would be much appreciated! thanks!
beerchug.gif



The UM1 does not do pop or hip hop well at all due to the lack of bass. The mids can get a little muddy as well, some people even say the mids are always muffled. I'd go with the Nuforce
 
Jan 10, 2009 at 4:56 PM Post #6 of 9
NE-7M has the kind of bass quantity that works for hip-Hop and RnB. That does not mean they don't do other things well. They are pretty good overall especially for $50.

I liked the Apple dual driver IEM (ADDIEM) a lot. Very comfortable.

I have never heard the UM1 so can't comment on those.

The other option is the Zaggs Z.buds that are half off right now. $40. Reports are that the bass is much better on them.

That said the Shure SCL4 at $80 is much better option for a wider range of music. The white ones are at that price at guitarcenter and musiciansfriend websites. I have been listening to these all week and am really impressed.

I think for small ears the Shures would work, the ADDIEM would too. The NE-7M would work too with comply T400 tips.
 
Jan 10, 2009 at 6:41 PM Post #7 of 9
Quote:

Originally Posted by oarnura /img/forum/go_quote.gif
NE-7M has the kind of bass quantity that works for hip-Hop and RnB. That does not mean they don't do other things well. They are pretty good overall especially for $50.

I liked the Apple dual driver IEM (ADDIEM) a lot. Very comfortable.

I have never heard the UM1 so can't comment on those.

The other option is the Zaggs Z.buds that are half off right now. $40. Reports are that the bass is much better on them.

That said the Shure SCL4 at $80 is much better option for a wider range of music. The white ones are at that price at guitarcenter and musiciansfriend websites. I have been listening to these all week and am really impressed.

I think for small ears the Shures would work, the ADDIEM would too. The NE-7M would work too with comply T400 tips.


Not sure I agree with some of that - in the Z.buds impressions thread, I am finding at least with 10 hours of burn-in that the Z.buds bass quantity is a bit too much, bleeds into the lower mids and the quality is a bit too poor (and the mids and treble are tizzy/cupped hands cound). Even right out of the box the NE-7M had and still have a good balance between just enough bass and good quality bass, as well as clear detailed mids and highs with good neutrality and transparency, unlike my fairly fresh Z.buds. I am going to listen to the Z.buds again tonight after I have added 24 hours more burn-in to the 10 hours, and can't listen again till we get back from out of town. But so far I am not impressed, especially after they fell apart removing them from the packaging.
 
Jan 10, 2009 at 8:09 PM Post #8 of 9
Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Not sure I agree with some of that - in the Z.buds impressions thread, I am finding at least with 10 hours of burn-in that the Z.buds bass quantity is a bit too much, bleeds into the lower mids and the quality is a bit too poor (and the mids and treble are tizzy/cupped hands cound).


That's how the NE-7M sounded to me. The bass bled into the mids and colored them and there was too much emphasis on higher bass frequencies. The quantity was there but not the clarity. The highs were hot. Overall they lacked clarity. Clarity as defined as the presentation is just there and you don't have to strain to pick out stuff. At their price I wouldn't expect them to have that anyway. I can understand why people like them but they weren't for me. The stock tips made highs too hot and the comply tips smoothed things out but also made things muddy. I couldn't find a happy medium.

Things didn't improve with 40+ hours of burn-in. I did have the SCL4 to compare to, so in comparison the NE-7Ms lost out. To each their own I guess.

Quote:

Even right out of the box the NE-7M had and still have a good balance between just enough bass and good quality bass, as well as clear detailed mids and highs with good neutrality and transparency, unlike my fairly fresh Z.buds. I am going to listen to the Z.buds again tonight after I have added 24 hours more burn-in to the 10 hours, and can't listen again till we get back from out of town. But so far I am not impressed, especially after they fell apart removing them from the packaging.


I didn't think I would like the Z.buds so I didn't jump on the $40 deal.
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I did pick up the KSC75 for $5.47 to see what the fuss was about. Those are seriously impressive for the price. The highs have a little too much sparkle for my tastes but pretty good overall.
 
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