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Originally Posted by Feather225 /img/forum/go_quote.gif
My friend, The bass on westone 3 is amazing hey~it is definitely one of the best I have ever heard~(it beats Image x10 right there, I have been listening to x10 for a long time now and I believe I can make that comment)
the sound is very very detailed and clear, I prefer W3 even better than my ESW9~I am not a westone fan, this is the first westone I have ever owned, and I am definitely not bias because If I don't like it I can easily return it at no charge, but I just really loves it.
Your problem is very very strange as it never really happens to most of the westone 3 users~
But I think there are 3 possible reasons:
1. Most likely that you are not using the right tip, as for me, with the transparent silicon tip, W3 sound really weak~with grey silicon tip, it sound really balanced and smooth. with Comply, it produces a lot of bass, and is perfect for bass heavy musics and if you are a basshead, you gonna love it.
W3 is very very sensitive to tips...but sometimes, your ear canal just might not fit any of the ear tips...then that will be a problem...
2. You might gotten a defective earbud...but if thats the case, you are the first one Ive seen. From what I red, Westone 3 have much better quality they SE530, as most people are complaining about shure's cable...there is even a thread titled "how long did it take for your SE530 to break"...
yeah, that's one of the main reasons why I didn't purchase it...
3. you might switching from one sound signature to another so you are probably expecting a sound thats similar to the one you familiar with...it happens to me sometimes, but once I get used to the new sound signature, everything works perfects and sound amazing ^ ^
My very personal opinion.
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1. I use the comply tips and while certain bass frequencies are good, the ones that I need to hear in classical music are very weak and recessed. I'm also far from a newbie when it comes to iems and I have experimented with all of the tips except the triple flange which I already know are extremely uncomfortable for me. Only the standard comply tips work on my ears. The silicon tips (adapted from the shures) and the soft gray silicon tips (adapted from Ultimate Ears) aren't as isolating as the comply tips. It's the isolation that makes the bass sound stronger, not any engineering or particular quality of the foam. On the Shures, I use the new slim comply tips which I find fit me better than the black tips supplied by Shure. So, as you can see I do know about how fit and material affects the sound.
2. Westone's quality control is already suspect. Read the reviews at Cnet where someone has said that his broke the first week he had them. Westone packages an an inline volume control (attenuator) with the set and mine was definitely defective. Do they source those from a different factory and manufacturer than the iems? It's possible that they just buy them on the open market, but then why choose something that is so clearly inferior? What does that say about the company's dedication to quality control?
3. Here we come to the real problem with the Westones: the sound signature. As I said before, they are supposed to have a "bassy" sig. I find that they are not particularly bassy but instead are heavily weighted to the mid range which may fool some people into thinking that they are bassy. I find that their bass is much more restrained than the bass on truly bass heavy iems that I have tried -- those with the emphasized bass such as the Super-fi Extended Bass.
My problem is that because the mids are so emphasized, both the highs and the lows have become recessed and sound out of balance. That's a real problem for someone who needs very balanced sound. Westones are great for pop and for vocals. What they aren't great for is a full, Mahlerian orchestra or even a scaled back chamber sized ensemble.
They also have the same issues with note decay as Etymotics.
I also don't bother to compare my iems to each other to find my preferences. I compare them to my speakers in order to determine which ones convey the music as closely to the live experience as possible. Westones have a very pretty sound: warm and thick in the middle. It's great for pop music. It's not for a serious classical listener. They also do a good job on some solo instrumental recordings that are overly bright. That midrange emphasis tames the higher frequency brightness that is a particular problem with some recordings made in Eastern Europe before the fall of the Iron Curtain. Yamaha pianos also sound better with them than Steinway Ds, Faziolis, or Bösendorfers (I've spent a good deal of time with pianos). Then again, I don't know a single classical pianist who uses a Yamaha. Yamahas are only used by pop musicians and a very few jazz musicians. While the Yamaha action is a miracle of responsiveness (practically a patent infringement of the Steinway), the sound is BRIGHT!
For me a sound signature is like a pair of shoes: they have to fit perfectly or I don't wear them. I don't want to break my feet in to the shoes and I don't want iems that I have to adjust to. If they don't sound "right" then they aren't for me.
4. Westones are grossly overpriced for what they are. There are few vendors and they are never, ever priced to compete. They have that "take 'em at our price or leave 'em" attitude that may attract those who love spending money on luxury brands and being able to say I have Westones -- the priciest universal earbuds for sale today!!! I'm not poor, but I have more sense than dollars. The Westones are not quantifiably $100 to $200 superior to either the Super-fis or the Shures, or the Triple-fis which are also available from certain vendors for about $350.00 (including shipping).
