[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cecala /img/forum/go_quote.gif In Australia or when sent here, the W3 will end up costing way over $600Aus. I have found a place here that is selling the Sennheiser IE8 for $370Aus. Is the W3 worth the extra money over the Senns and if so, how? The above quote states a deficiency in isolation as a negative, although I have read otherwise with the right tips being used. Soundstage is also much wider in the Senns. Any people with first hand experience please elaborate.

thats a great deal just grab'em. if you dont like them you'll be able to make that much back by selling them here ojn head-fi. and the reason I say 'they isolate like crap' as if it was a negative is because IMO it is a HUGE negative when you are talking about IEM's. One of the main reasons I like IEM's so much is because they isolate so well. if I wanted something that didn't isolate...... i'd buy a pair of fullsize headphones.... oh wait.. ive already got a pair. To me the whole point of IEM's is being anble to block out the crap you have to deal with in daily life; on public transport, walking through the city.. whatever. I like them because even though all this is going on around me I can still hear all the detail in the music. take away this benefit and IMO its near useless. if you have to listen to your IEM's in isolation to hear how great they are its pointless, because you are probably in a situation where you could just use fullsize headphones. like I said they probably sound amazing; but use them under normal circumstances and... meh. if they've solved this problem then cool. but it seems like you are just going off peoples opinions on both of them. just buy them and find out; you cant go wrong at that price.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnightwalker /img/forum/go_quote.gif LOL I'm from Vietnam but still gladly send you my yuin pk1, so....$160 cash back, deal? By the way, just buy one, I think it's worth as 1 of top line earbuds

Earbuds don't sit well in my ears, always loose or falling out, even with foam covers, sorry nope, not for me.

 

[davidw89]

I wonder if i should sell the Shure SE530 for this..

 

[raelamb]

Well I took the plunge and my one word review is "wow'. I've owned the SE530's for over a year and although I never felt I was an IEM guy after listening to them exclusively for a couple of days I would find myself enjoying them. I liked the rolled off highs because my early experience with ety's back in the day left me deaf in the high end and although the Shures had no great bass presence they were fairly precise. Imagine my surprise when donning the W3's for the first time with the complys

Pronounced yet warm highs, plenty of mids and the bass....just like I was listening to my ATH-ESW9's

I think my hunger may temporarily be satiated. Maybe I'll actually be able to go a little while without reading Head-Fi 10 times a day

 

[SierraHotel01]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidw89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder if i should sell the Shure SE530 for this..

If you've got a great portable amp - YES.
(in a heartbeat)

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidw89 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I wonder if i should sell the Shure SE530 for this..

well put it this way I was torn as you are about getting rid of my SE530 so I could afford to get the W3, but luckily I managed to come up with the money so I could keep the SE530 while I decided. I still have the shures, but I havent listened to them in days. i'm still considering keeping them anyway, because I really love how they sound with live recordings and certain rock music. but the W3 is superior in almost every way. almost. but If I had to take one or the other, it would most certainly be the W3. I hole that helps. I love them so much that I was driven to get the UM56 within days of getting the W3. not because i'm not getting a good seal/fit; but because I want to squeeze every last bit of aurtal goodness out of them. I had been toying with the idea for ages with the shures, but never driven to do it over other purchases. for me W3 with custom fit is likely to be better than any of the mid level full custom IEM's plus they still retain some resale value. whereas something like livewires or HY C3 would really have just been a crossgrade rather than an upgrade. only the higher end like UE10, UE11, possibly ES2 and sensephonics high end are likely to be an upgrade over this set-up.

edit: YAY!!!!!!!! just while i've been typing this response I have heard from the lab and my UM56 are ready for me to come and pick up

 

[Jogiya]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qusp /img/forum/go_quote.gif edit: YAY!!!!!!!! just while i've been typing this response I have heard from the lab and my UM56 are ready for me to come and pick up

I'm very very interested in hearing your impressions about the Custom UM56!
please let me know about their "type" (so that i can find in on their website) and please post their pictures with/without W3's if you can..
Thanks!

 

[ZoNtO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jogiya /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm very very interested in hearing your impressions about the Custom UM56! please let me know about their "type" (so that i can find in on their website) and please post their pictures with/without W3's if you can.. Thanks!

Me too, update is necessary! NOW!

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jogiya /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm very very interested in hearing your impressions about the Custom UM56! please let me know about their "type" (so that i can find in on their website) and please post their pictures with/without W3's if you can.. Thanks!

Quote:

Me too, update is necessary! NOW!

OK alright alright settle down boys

well I've had the chance to listen to W3 and SE530 with custom tips over the last few days. the first time I put them on was actually quite uncomfortable and I have top say I wsnt impressed with the SQ much at all. I thought I had a good seal because the isolation seemed good and mids and highs were there in good quality/quantity. but the bass and immediacy just wasnt there. it was like the band had taken a few steps back and the landlord had told them to keep it down

.

before I go on; how about some eye candy. I got the silicone type (soft ones) and to identify the left/right I got 2 different colours. while I was there , getting my impressions done; surrounded by all the rock and roll paraphernalia I changed my mind from getting all black or all clear and decided that since they wouldn't be visable at all really from the outside, that I would get two different colours for right/left black for left and clear with red glitter for the right (they didnt have clear red in the silicone) Gene Simmons eat your heart out

here they are by themselves, sorry about the pic its not so great

on the W3 the left is on the right and the right on the left in the pic here; not the tips just the placement of the IEM's I couldnt get them to sit still the other way.

and here's a couple with my full portable rig iphone 3G->1DIY 18AWg jena LOD->pico->W3/UM56->yours truly

now i've been A/B'ing with the SE530 also with the UM56 installed and as a result of this, I can say that I am definitely not getting rid of them any time soon.

after some more practice at getting these things into my ears the bass impact returned and the comfort improved a great deal; I hardly know I'm wearing them now. the sound you say. well these tips really help to bring the separation back. they settle the bass down and tighten it up so it doesn't encroach on the lower mids so much. As a result of this the soundstage is widened and better resolution is gained in the process. one of the best things about these is that the highs are great WITHOUT sibilance (not that I got any before) I never use the silicone tips at all normally; I dont like the comfort and I find that a good seal is often broken easily. so I use foams 100% of the time; until now that is, so I would always pay to a certain extent for the comfort vs SQ trade-off. no-longer. for the first 1/2 a day I had the same problem with the UM56; every time I would open my mouth to talk, smoke, eat; the seal would be broken and the bass would be sucked out. for a while I thought it must be the impressions because I was told to get the best results it is best to talk or do whatever you might do when using the IEM's but the next day after sleeping with them in, I took them out for a while then put them back in and pop there it was; instantly I could tell even before the music started, it just felt right.

now I had decided to give the SE530 a good fighting chance before deciding whether I would get rid of them to make way for some denon D2000- D5000 for a recable. and so I have been using them for the last day exclusively and I have to say..... these arent going anywhere. i'll just wait a little longer to get the denons. the liquid and addictive mids on the shures still edge out the W3 with rock (as some of you will have already heard me say) if someone had a gun to my head I would probably choose the W3, but otherwise there is just something about them that lends itself more to rockin out and just enjoying the music. W3 is technically brilliant and exciting, but can be a little enigmatic and moody. the SE530 on the other hand is reliable and oh so consistent. they sound great with everything and still wow me and they have a whole new lease on life with the Um56. anyhow here's some more pics of my iphone rig. I have left the DIYMOD VCAP{ out of this comparison as it isn't as accessible. I will be including that in a full fledged review I have started (I plan on posting it by mid week)

the shures also have an impedance adapter in the form of the jena extension pictured here. there are 2 75k dale vishay resistors in the mini connector.

 

[darkninja67]

qusp, those LODs are sweet. I have to get me one of those.

Glad to see you are not tossing the Shures just yet.

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkninja67 /img/forum/go_quote.gif qusp, those LODs are sweet. I have to get me one of those. Glad to see you are not tossing the Shures just yet.

yeah the set look pretty cool together. and nah the SE530 arent going anywhere. and you are right; its good to see they are gettin some good lovin of late here on head-fi. there is a whole new generation of SE530 owners. IMO they aren't quite as good as the W3, but some people would def prefer them. if anyone here is tossing up whether to sell their shures to get the W3. if you can afford it; I would recommend keeping both if you can; but definitely try and hang onto them long enough to compare for yourself.

 

[monsieurguzel]

Yeah, its a funny thing... originally I was planning on getting rid of my 530s once receiving my W3s, but for some odd reason I can't get rid of them. I like both IEMs very much and can't really decide which one is the absolute champ. The two IEMs definitely have VERY different sound signatures which is why I find them hard to compare directly, since each is better at different kinds of music. I find that faster and brighter rock albums are more well suited for the 530s but for people that like Jazz, Classical, and music that has more slow instrumentation/acoustics, the W3s impress a lot more!

 

[moseboy]

qusp, I think you were right on when you said the SE530 is very "consistent." No, the SE530 won't make you go "WOW" all the time. And this is where the Westone 3 seems to have the advantage: It does make you go "wow" more often than the SE530. But at the same time, it seems the Westone 3 will, at times, make you go "Huh?... that doesn't sound quite right...." or even, "Ouch.... *sibilance*." I find I can really relax when I listen to the SE530 simply because it doesn't spontaneously change from song to song or genre to genre. Yes, it seems like the Westone 3 is quite incredible (from what I've read: I personally have never heard it). But if you like the sound signature of the SE530, it might be the more consistent of the two earphones.

Both earphones seem to give two different listening experiences: the Westone 3 is more engaging, where the SE530 is more relaxing. It all comes down to user preference and how you like to listen to music.

(Disclaimer: Again, I have not heard the Westone 3, but I do own the SE530.)

 

[Jogiya]

nice short review qusp!
can't wait for the full review!

1 thing for sure, W3's look hotter in these UM56's than SE530!

 

[qusp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jogiya /img/forum/go_quote.gif nice short review qusp! can't wait for the full review! 1 thing for sure, W3's look hotter in these UM56's than SE530!

yes they do, but ironically the SE530 show more improvement and fit better in the UM56. this is stupid. the short tube with no flange of any sort to keep the UM56 (or any tip for that matter) on is dumb. WESTONE are you listening???!!! it was bad enough on the UM2 so bad that the technicians at westone endorsed service centres had to come up with ways to put a flange on the nozzle so they would stay in when pro musicians would play on stage. and then; with the chance to fix the problem with the W3 what did you do?? you made the problem worse.