[R MaN]

To date, I love my UM1's

 

[pipp]

Damn you people, you just made me order a pair of westones

 

[R MaN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pipp Damn you people, you just made me order a pair of westones

Which ones?

 

[pipp]

Quote:

Originally Posted by R MaN Which ones?

I managed to restrain myself to the UM1's, however knowing myself. If I like them I'l probably end up with the UM2's in the end. So the cost efficent way would have been the UM2's, however strange that might sound

 

[Whorehay]

okay, i've done a little bit of experimenting in my time with the UM1s. people have said with good reason that any isolating IEM is dangerous to walk in town with. considering i like to walk with my iPod, which is the reason i got IEMs vs. big headphones, i wanted to find a way for it to be safer to walk.

might not be the most scientific answer, or even most correct, but it works for me. it is very simple: don't put the earphones all the way into your ear, aka, don't get a tight/any seal. let it work more like a regular earphone. i usually don't need to turn up the volume either (usually just the notch above the silence on the iPod).

you still get some isolation obviously, so don't stop looking around and being aware but you can hear much more. i can hear people talking, horns honking, cars whizzing by MUCH easier and i can still enjoy my music. sound quality will obviously be degraded, but i don't notice as much when i am walking around, and i'd rather be safer than concentrating on the muddy 4th note in the 256th measure in the string bass part of a symphonic orchestra piece.

 

[R MaN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Whorehay okay, i've done a little bit of experimenting in my time with the UM1s. people have said with good reason that any isolating IEM is dangerous to walk in town with. considering i like to walk with my iPod, which is the reason i got IEMs vs. big headphones, i wanted to find a way for it to be safer to walk. might not be the most scientific answer, or even most correct, but it works for me. it is very simple: don't put the earphones all the way into your ear, aka, don't get a tight/any seal. let it work more like a regular earphone. i usually don't need to turn up the volume either (usually just the notch above the silence on the iPod). you still get some isolation obviously, so don't stop looking around and being aware but you can hear much more. i can hear people talking, horns honking, cars whizzing by MUCH easier and i can still enjoy my music. sound quality will obviously be degraded, but i don't notice as much when i am walking around, and i'd rather be safer than concentrating on the muddy 4th note in the 256th measure in the string bass part of a symphonic orchestra piece.

I tryed the short complys yesterday and had them in so deep I needed a tweezers to get them out.... Talk about isolation.... I won't make that mistake again..

 

[harrydog]

I just ordered the UM1s. I had decided to buy the UM2s but the guy I talked to at earphone solutions talked me out of them, sort of.
He said the UM2s do sound better, and it would be obvious if you listened the them back to back with the UM1s. But if you listen to the UM2s one day and then listen to the UM1s a day or two later, you might not be able to tell the difference. I have no illusions that these phones are equal, but frankly, for portable use (which is all I'm using them for) I'm thinking the $190 difference may be wasted money. I may change my mind on that, who knows. At any rate, I'm really looking forward to receiving these.

 

[R MaN]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harrydog I just ordered the UM1s. I had decided to buy the UM2s but the guy I talked to at earphone solutions talked me out of them, sort of. He said the UM2s do sound better, and it would be obvious if you listened the them back to back with the UM1s. But if you listen to the UM2s one day and then listen to the UM1s a day or two later, you might not be able to tell the difference. I have no illusions that these phones are equal, but frankly, for portable use (which is all I'm using them for) I'm thinking the $190 difference may be wasted money. I may change my mind on that, who knows. At any rate, I'm really looking forward to receiving these.

When you get them post back and let us know how they sound... To me, at that price point, they are hard to beat.

 

[thestumper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by harrydog I'm thinking the $190 difference may be wasted money. I may change my mind on that, who knows. At any rate, I'm really looking forward to receiving these.

It might very well be. The thing to remember about all of this is that some people are WAY more into this than others. Thats not an insult - I spent tons of money years ago in the quest for home audio nirvana. I would spend hours listening too my collection through different condfigurations and analyzing every nuance. It was fun, and I learned a lot, but at this point in my life I don't have the time or money for it. The reality is that there are some people who just want to listen to their tunes on the bus or at the gym and would like decent sound quality to go with it.

The other thing I think about is how I would feel if I lost/trashed a really expensive set of buds. Not hard to do - I travel a lot and find myself in a hurry freqeuntly. I can stomach a $100 f-up. A $300 f-up is harder to rationalize away.

Honestly, anything over $100-150 is probably too much for me; I can't justify the value but hey, lots of people can and thats cool. We all have hobbies; I just have too many

I did bend my own rules and am awaiting a pair of SuperFi 5 Pro's because everyone seems to rave about them and at that price point ($150 at earphone solutions w/rebate) its close for me. They will have to be superb - leaps and bounds better than my UM1's - for me to keep them.

 

[scottieboy]

I recently purchased the UM1 after reading the many great, informative posts on this forum (thanks!).

I must say however, that I am a bit underwhelmed by the performance of the mid's and most notably the highs. At times, symbols are so muddled they are hardly audible. Bass sounds fine.

Don't get me wrong, they blow away the buds. Perhaps I don't have the ear for IPOD music, as my primary listening environment is my home system (Stereo, DVD-A, and SACD).

Any suggestions on what I can do to enhance my listening experience?

 

[harrydog]

Quote:

Originally Posted by thestumper The thing to remember about all of this is that some people are WAY more into this than others. Thats not an insult - I spent tons of money years ago in the quest for home audio nirvana. I would spend hours listening too my collection through different condfigurations and analyzing every nuance. It was fun, and I learned a lot, but at this point in my life I don't have the time or money for it. The reality is that there are some people who just want to listen to their tunes on the bus or at the gym and would like decent sound quality to go with it. The other thing I think about is how I would feel if I lost/trashed a really expensive set of buds. Not hard to do - I travel a lot and find myself in a hurry freqeuntly. I can stomach a $100 f-up. A $300 f-up is harder to rationalize away. Honestly, anything over $100-150 is probably too much for me; I can't justify the value but hey, lots of people can and thats cool. We all have hobbies; I just have too many I did bend my own rules and am awaiting a pair of SuperFi 5 Pro's because everyone seems to rave about them and at that price point ($150 at earphone solutions w/rebate) its close for me. They will have to be superb - leaps and bounds better than my UM1's - for me to keep them.

This sounds so familiar. I went through the quest for the perfect sounding home system, years ago. I never really enjoyed the music as much as I should have because I was always listening for flaws and thinking of how I could improve on the sound. It was an obsession.
These days I can't justify spending the money for the quest to reach perfection - I just want something that sounds good.
I have more interests/hobbies than just audio equipment, so there's always something to spend money on. I have to set limits, or I'd be broke.
I'd be very interested in hearing you opinion on the differences between the SuperFi's and the UM1 once you get the chance to compare them. I might want to take advantage of the 30-day return policy.

 

[R MaN]

Anyone use a portable amp with the UM1's and if so, what brand?

 

[Skylab]

Quote:

Originally Posted by R MaN Anyone use a portable amp with the UM1's and if so, what brand?

I use the Xin SuperMacro 3 V6 with my UM2's, and that is a great combo.

 

[pcmike]

I prefer IEMs over regular headphones, due to the fact that most of my listening is done on the go (I don't really use headphones while at home) and I prefer to be discrete about it (e.g. I tend to use music as filler to study in class and what not).

Anyhow, I've owned the Super.fi 5 Pros (took them back) and now I own the UM2s. Hands down, the UM2s are the most comfortable. They also sound a bit better then the SF4Ps to me (however the SF5Ps aren't really that bad). But like I said somewhere else, I'll take comfort and discreteness (e.g. UM2s) over the SF5Ps any day!

UM2s + Zen nano (512M) in the Westone case = ultimate in portability!!

 

[pipp]

Got my UM1's today. And sofar Im pleased with them. I where looking for some discrete low profile IEM's. And when I saw the pictures someone posted in this thread wearing them. I went right to the EPsolution site and ordered a pair. They are just as comfortable as everyone describe, and the low profile and discret look is just what I where looking for. As for sound I havent heard enough to grasp on that. Also thumbsup to earphonesolutions for quick turnaround and prompt delivery. Ordered 24 feb arrived here in Norway 3 mars