While I know I've been down this road before, I have finally heard the W3s living up to their potential - without owning the custom sleeves, that is. It's been two months, and there have been so many of these "false positive" reports from me, I run the risk of sounding like a broken record. However, for the past two days, I have devoted myself to trying even more combos of sleeves with the W3s, and now, finally, I think I have hit paydirt.
A few pages ago (or on another W3 thread, not sure) someone (thank you) posted that they had hit their paydirt by using the small black olives with their W3s, and that was after not being happy with the mediums. I tried some smalls I had sitting around, and thought, "Hey, that's it!" But still, I could not get a good seal in my right ear, which is smaller than my left, but still requires a larger tip for a good seal. Must be something about shape. What else could it be?
So, I left the small olive on the left, and tried a medium on the right. Still, didn't feel snug/right. I inverted the olive in my right ear, the medium, an old trick some of us used with the Atrio M5 a couple of years ago when they came out. I also do it with the PFEs sometimes. And bang, that was it!
Having made that discovery, it all came together. The robust, deep, clean bass (the mid-bass hump nowhere to be heard), the clear, clean mids, and the detailed and crisp highs. Finally, this is that the W3s are supposed to sound like, right? With all the other tips I tried, I either had dulled highs/mids, too much harshness, or a congestion that just made complex music sound, well, congested (which is why I favored the PFEs over the W3s during this tip trial).
I used a simple setup, my Zune80, no amp, no LOD, no EQ (not possible with the Zune). Of course, there is SQ variance based on some tracks, but on the higher quality masters (even at 192k), the W3s really sounded like the amazing IEM they were supposed to be when I got them.
Now, for the much-debated sibilance. It's not completely gone, but on the few tracks it rears its ugly head, I can live with it. I think some tracks are gonna have some harshness, no matter what. It may be dissipated, even eliminated, with dynamic phones (IE8s, Turbines), but it is there with the W3. As I noted a long time ago, I can eliminate the harshness completely with the modded tri-flanges, but they also veil the mids and highs to me, as well as make my head feel like a stuffed turkey.
The bi-flange mods sounded okay, but again, I feel pressure from them that doesn't exist with the olives. Also, about the same level of spotty harshness.
So, after two months (got them for Xmas), I can now say the W3s are doing what I hoped/thought they would do when stuck firmly in my ears. Can't wait to try them out with my Minibox and Touch LOD again.
As for the PFE/W3 comparisons, I still treasure the Phonaks, especially for specific types of music (female vocals, acoustic guitar, and other similar genres), and the two phones will co-exist in my collection for a long time to come. I will not pick a favorite, because they are so different. But all I can say is I am lucky to have them both, from my recent listening experiences.
Oh, I will say that unamped with the same DAP, no EQ, I do much prefer the Westones, which deliver excellent SQ without an amp. To me, the PFEs really need at least the E5 bass boost to start hitting their stride, in terms of meeting the type of SQ that my ears favor. Doesn't mean they can't sound very good without an amp, but for me, they only excel ampless with my Touch HP out. For some reason, I just can't get enough heft from them with the other DAPs I own, especially the Clips.
I realize this is not a very technical post, but it's the best I can do. I have never claimed to be one of the more tech-savvy Head-Fi'ers. I leave that to others.
