[solomon]

Please drop your quick answer here.

Westone um3x and Westone 3, which has stronger bass?

Answers appreciated.

 

[qusp]

lol I thought you had heard them?? ? W3 has more bass, more quantity yes, considerably, quality hmmm no, more slam yes. I see this being a fairly one sided afair

 

[solomon]

Of course I have heard both of them, but I am not certain everyone hears the same. Several factors decide what one hears. Canal shape, tighter or looser fit, tips used, burn-in status of IEM, etc. When I compare um3x and 3, I use the same Comply foam tips (short), and try to approximate the fit tightness, and what I hear is, um3x has a stronger bass. The most prominent difference is in the mids, where um3x is warmer and fuller, but I think the extra midrange energy also extends to the low register, giving um3x some more bass energy.

But I guess in the world of IEMs, people just hear differently, especally talking about bass. And then perception of bass shapes the whole spectrum. Bass produced by IEMs is greatly decided by fit, tips and canal shape. For some IEMs such as ER4, how deeply you put them into your canal will decide how much bass. So it can be very personal.

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

If the W3 has less bass then the UM3X, I'd say your fit of the W3 isn't quite right. Which is possible. Lots of people have fit problems with the W3. To be saying to the general public that the W3 has less bass than the UM3X is misleading though.

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by solomon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of course I have heard both of them, but I am not certain everyone hears the same. Several factors decide what one hears. Canal shape, tighter or looser fit, tips used, burn-in status of IEM, etc. When I compare um3x and 3, I use the same Comply foam tips (short), and try to approximate the fit tightness, and what I hear is, um3x has a stronger bass. The most prominent difference is in the mids, where um3x is warmer and fuller, but I think the extra midrange energy also extends to the low register, giving um3x some more bass energy. But I guess in the world of IEMs, people just hear differently, especally talking about bass. And then perception of bass shapes the whole spectrum. Bass produced by IEMs is greatly decided by fit, tips and canal shape. For some IEMs such as ER4, how deeply you put them into your canal will decide how much bass. So it can be very personal.

if you have heard both of them, I wonder what the point of this thread is??? could it be to try and vindicate your statement in the other thread?? if not then i'm confused. you have just said that everyone heres differently, so what will this prove??

thanks for the 'education' I realize people hear differently because of canal shape mainly and also people have different and personal definitions of audio terms. this is one of the reasons I decided to go full custom (JH13) after using UM56 on my SE530, W3 and UM3X. I still have SE530 and UM3X, with UM3x being my preferred universal because of it being more balanced and with more detail in the highs

I have never heard W3 described as bass light compared to UM3X. perhaps you just needed to go and read the UM3X appreciation thread to get your answers. W3 has a sometimes spiky treble, and without the right fit slightly recessed mids, but its a bass monster!! only IE8, FX500 have more bass out of the top tier universals IMO. having slightly forward mids does not increase the amount of bass. perhaps it could add to a feeling of one having a generaly warmer/darker sound quality, but that has zero bearing on how much bass something has

I too believe if this is your experience you did not have a correct fit on either IEM. although W3 bass is so strong that I fail to see how it could be perceived as having less than UM3X under any conditions. more than a few people have sold their UM3X because it didnt have enough bass for them and bought W3. never the other way around

anyway i'm done, your point of view totally confuses me, as does the purpose for this thread, but hey you are free to think what you want, all the same I doubt you are going to find a soulmate here if you are looking for someone to validate your opinion.

 

[solomon]

I am not trying to vindicate anything, but I am just confused, and need some clarification. I compared a um3x and a Westone 3, using exactly the same foam tips (took it off here and put it on there), the same source, and I wear them the same way, with same fit that I feel. But I can't understand why you guys are telling me Westone 3 should be the more bass-strong one.

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

I presume you have them the right way around? The westone 3s are the black ones with a red art on it. The UM3X is partially clear.

 

[soozieq]

I've had both. While I wouldn't describe the W3 as bass "monsters" (I reserve that for the JVC FX1000 and IE8)... the W3 definitely had more bass than the UM3X to my ears.

 

[qusp]

hissy fit over

, I apologize for my terse tone; crap day at home today (personal issues, work was great), I am still confused as to what the purpose of this is if not to try and find back up for your viewpoint, but I will admit to over-reacting, it was not professional of me. if you have replied since my post; I have not refreshed the page, I do not wish to be caught up with it again.

 

[qusp]

soozie maybe 'monsters' was overstating the point, but certainly well more than UM3X IMO and most other IEMs I have heard of the top tier universals. this difference is somewhat reduced when both are using UM56, but still apparent. anyway i've taken a deep breath now, still dont get it, but really what is it to me. I hope OP finds the source of the confusion or at least finds out what he wishes to know, but by the looks of it he's only in for more confusion as I figured

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif soozie maybe 'monsters' was overstating the point, but certainly well more than UM3X IMO and most other IEMs I have heard of the top tier universals. this difference is somewhat reduced when both are using UM56, but still apparent. anyway i've taken a deep breath now, still dont get it, but really what is it to me. I hope OP finds the source of the confusion or at least finds out what he wishes to know, but by the looks of it he's only in for more confusion as I figured

I think maybe he's just curious as to whether anyone else hears more bass with the UM3X, that's all. Since everyone (I think!), who's heard both, agrees that the W3 has more bass, I can see why he'd be confused. I would be too. In fact, I'd think the W3 was defective or that I hadn't got the right fit.

 

[qusp]

hmmm yeah well something's defective (JK OP really jk) ;P ooopps did I say that lol would confuse the hell out of me too, thing is from my experience and universally (no pun intended) this view is shared by anyone I have seen compare the 2 and that is a pretty big thing on here, as people will disagree about anything and this thing being so personal its not really that surprising. So far though this opinion seems to be a popular opinion with this being the first and only time i've seen it not only countered, but completely turned on its head. both myself and a few others posted in his other thread that he must be confused and have them mixed up, but he is adamant, so something is strange or perhaps faulty. the thing is, with W3, even with a not so good seal the bass is not really effected; the main issue with fit on W3 was sibilance, which he makes no mention of.

I had thought maybe OP was verbalizing this wrongly and because W3 has sometimes spiky highs (when fitted incorrectly); that perhaps he was describing the whole sound sig as being brighter and UM3X as being more bassy because it lacks this sometimes accentuated treble energy, despite W3 having more bass.

 

[supern0va]

i must say that at the same volume setting on my iphone, it seems like the bass on the w3 is slightly less than um3x. but when vocal volumes are flushed, the w3 has significantly "boomier". which i thought is because the um3x is more efficient.

 

[solomon]

Well I am just curious why I heard differently.

Maybe the source is the problem. Here is the source I used for the compare. A $1,000 CD player, RudiStor NX-03 headphone amp. This is a very decent amp for IEMs.

On this particular setup I think Westone 3 is more transparent, and better in highs (no sibilance though), and um3x leans towards mid and bass. Midrange is fuller and closer, and bass has more energy.

On iPods I generally think Westone 3 and um3x have similiar bass performance. Can't say whose bass is much more or much better.

 

[erwinrommel]

Westone 3 has more bass than UM3X. Quantity and depth wise, Westone 3 has more. But quality wise, I would say UM3X has tighter bass.