[johnsoft349]

i2ehan, I can't thank you enough, that's really helpful. Here are a few very different choices from my music collection...
 
Ion Dissonance - Kneel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ewNx2kg3J8
This is a very, very harsh song, and a very acquired taste, so please excuse that, but it's a well recorded track, and the bass drum in particular is noteworthy. the space from 25-35 or so includes solo bass drum hits, as well as sub-bass frequencies (bass drops) that would both be excellent tests of a speakers low-end capabilities.
 
Animals as Leaders - Point to Point
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFsw3oZz2wQ
The snare in this song is a bit too "poppy" so if it sounds harsh, that's normal. The guitar should be deep and rich, though, with excellent, pronounced treble (the guitar tone in this track is great) and the bass drum and toms should punch a bit.
 
August Burns Red - Crusades
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CJQcSp21GI
One of my favorite mixes, should be fun to listen to on phones with good soundscape (um3x!). Everything should be fairly even (not pumped like the first two tracks). Bass drum should be punchy but not boomy, snare should be full and impactful. The mids should SING and the cymbals should sound very natural, accurate, and detailed. There's also a pretty neat clean guitar section around 3:25-3:30 that probably sounds cool.
 
Sorry for all the metal! I find it to be one of the most demanding genres as far as sound (both recording and reproducing through speakers) goes, so these tracks are good, challenging tests for a pair of IEMs. Please don't feel obligated to listen to all three; I'll be anxiously awaiting your report! Thanks again, I really appreciate it.

 

[i2ehan]

I'll try to be as true to your music preference as possible, without implementing my own bias.
 
Ion Dissonance - Kneel: If you've never broken a glass botle over someone's head, give this track a listen. Trust me, you won't hesitate any longer!

 On a serious note, I needed something to compare with, and I sure as hell am not going to use my W4's here, as personally I feel it's signature is too flat for this very harsh track. So I listened with both the SM3 and UM3X. We'll start with the UM3X. From the first second in, the drums sound amazing! The level of detail required for this track is nothing short of immense, and the UM3X practically leaves nothing out! The lows are deep and detailed but pack little punch, the mids are perfectly at level with the highs, and the vocals (

) present with clarity all around. The soundstage is nothing short of brilliant; very wide, yet surprisingly maintains balance with respect to where the instruments should be heard IMO. Now for the SM3's; my attention was immediately directed towards how much narrower the soundstage here is compared to the UM3X. IMO, it takes a lot of life OUT of the track! Who'd have thought, since this is literally the opposite of the effect it has on my ears with EDM! The mids are definitely predominant here, and the vocals carry more clarity than the UM3X's without a doubt. The instrument seperation is nowhere near as good as that of the UM3X, and as I said earlier, IMO it kills the energy altogether. The lows are just about the same as the UM3X's, with regards to the punch; I wouldn't really complain about either. All in all, the UM3X is levels above the SM3 with this track IMO; the SM3 just doesn't do it justice.
 
Animals as Leaders - Point to Point: Going from the previous track to this one is like attending a child's birthday party after a gun brawl.

 The UM3X here yet again stretches reality for my ears, though it may not be the case for yours. The cymbals for instance are heard at the extreme sides of your head, and the soundstage is once again nothing short of ginormous! Nevertheless, from the very beginning, the mids surprisingly jump out at you and the treble is a tab bit bright. The drums give off more of a pop than a boom. For me, it feels as though there's just too much going on, and leaves me little time to appreciate one aspect over another. So what then of the SM3's? In my opinion, the level of detail and rough nature of the previous track was overkill for the SM3. With this track, however, from the soundstage to the presence of the instruments felt from the very first strum of the guitar, the SM3 shines! The cymbals feel in place, respective to where they should be, and the treble is slightly gentler than that of the UM3X. The track doesn't jump out as much (ie. isn't as forward) as it had with the UM3X, but here with the SM3, I'm able to easily appreciate one aspect over another, particularly the guitar strumming. The soundstage, while clearly narrower than the UM3X's, doesn't at all fail to satisfy my ears, and it's the forward nature of the mids here (opposed to the full spectrum with the UM3X) that are more natural to my ears, and steal the show altogether; though the choice here isn't quite as easily distinguishable as it had been with the previous track, and is based entirely on preference.
 
August Burns Red - Crusades: Ah! There we are! Quite similar to the first track here, yet not nearly as harsh! With the UM3X, everything sounds in proportion, with no one area of the spectrum predominating the other. From the lows to the highs, they all catch your attention equally. To my ears, I couldn't possibly ask for more, while the lows, yet again, don't really pack much of a punch, but sound great nonetheless. The sound signature is overall very forward, with respect to all the frequencies. The wide soundstage definitely helps with this track, and is a necessity IMO for a track with so much going on. I'm not able to appreciate such a track unless everything is spaced out, allowing for the spectrum to expand and provide greater clarity and detail with respect to the instruments. Now for the SM3; to no surprise, the mids definitely come to life, and the detail all around is surprisingly good, yet not nearly at the level of the UM3X! The soundstage is too narrow however (strictly in direct comparison to the UM3X of course), and I undoubtedly preferred the UM3X! Though the clean guitar bit sounds a bit more lively with the SM3's midrange dominance, the UM3X doesn't fall short here IMO and with all that's going on in the track, it manages everything quite naturally, accurately, and with great detail!
 
For me, it seems like you'd be very satisfied with the UM3X, with little left to be desired. While the lows could definitely use a bit more punch and feel, I think you'd be willing to voerlook that when you hear just how brilliant and forward the soundstage is! Good luck my friend, and I hope I was of some help here! It quite different from my taste of music, but I enjoyed it nonetheless!

 

[i2ehan]

To anyone with the UM3X, give this track a listen and you'll know exactly what I mean by the UM3X completely surrounding you vs. the W4! It's just one example, but I've encountered one too many throughout my listening within the last few days. This is the absolute perfect track to display just how the UM3X, IMO, skews reality and sounds extremely widened beyond exaggeration, which will put soundstage lovers in heaven! To my ears, the difference between the W4 & UM3X soundstage is virtually at the 150% mark I was referring to earlier, and there's no better track in my entire collection to demonstrate this! It's simply too exagerrated for my taste, but as always, YMMV!

 

[johnsoft349]

Thanks so much i2ehan for doing all that for me, it was very helpful. I ordered UM3x's earlier, i'll be sure to let you know how i like them!

 

[i2ehan]

Glad to hear that my friend! I'm sure you'll come to love them, and be sure to give their unique soung signature some time to setle in.

 

[Shaverz]

Quote:

Can't really answer that until more reviews and comparisons of the E11 come out.  Still though, they're in different leagues...the Arrow costs a lot more than the E11 does, and has many more features.  Just depends on what you need.

Well i like how he described the bass since im sorta a basshead. I have songs where it doesnt need alot of bass but then there are songs where bass is needed. I need an amp that can make the bass of the w4 better.
Quote:

Aren't you still deciding on an IEM?

Not anymore i decided to stay with my W4.
 

 

[i2ehan]

 
Quote:

Not anymore i decided to stay with my W4.

 
A wise decision my friend.

 

[i2ehan]

I'm beginning to filter out the competition, mainly the ones I simply won't look back at, including the Westone 3's, which don't offer me much over my W4/SM3/UM3X. Check my signature. This will hopefully help me fund future potential contenders; you know who you are!

 

[i2ehan]

The Miles Davis' I received just yesterday were unfortunately counterfeit (go figure), so to recuperate, I finally managed to acquire the MTPC! Round 3 has a really good lineup thus far: EX1000, DBA-02, MTPC, and the SE535; this outta be entertaining for many!

 

[DaBomb77766]

Quote:

The Miles Davis' I received just yesterday were unfortunately counterfeit (go figure), so to recuperate, I finally managed to acquire the MTPC! Round 3 has a really good lineup thus far: EX1000, DBA-02, MTPC, and the SE535; this outta be entertaining for many!

So have you tried out your fake Miles Davises yet?  How do they sound?

 

[i2ehan]

 
Quote:

So have you tried out your fake Miles Davises yet?  How do they sound?

 
Looks like I found myself a potential buyer.

 

 
Nightly update: been listening on end to the Trance In Motion (Loved Ones We've Lost) album, and the W4 is just SO natural sounding; all the while my SM3 was staring me in the face but I just couldn't put the W4 down! It's every so slightly still my preferred choice.

 

[BrianMB]

Well i2ehan, my wallet took a hit, and my W4s should be here tomorrow... or later today that is. If FedEx is alright with shipping them to my office, I'll be listening to them on my way home, maybe even at work... I really can't wait to put them side by side with my other IEMs that I've been listening so far. Since I know of no other people addicted to headphones like I am here where I live, I just have to buy and try, lol. Once I get the W4s in my ears and have had a bit of a chance to play around with them, I'll be sure to put my thoughts out there as to how I think they compare with the Klipsch Custom 3s and the HF3s from Etymotic which are my other 2 current IEMs.
Thanks again for taking the time and journaling your thoughts here for everyone, although my wallet is despising both you and Joker and MVW2 and ClieOS right now with your great reviews.

 

[i2ehan]

 Think of it this way my friend, it's money well spent, as there's really nothing like the feeling you get from a great pair of phones! Not to mention, once you settle for one that best fits your taste, you're bound to hang on to it for quite some time! 

 
I couldn't possibly compare my experience to those you mentioned, but I appreciate your kind words nonetheless!

 I'd love to hear your feedback as well, be it even the farthest thing from my own impressions or quite similar, share it regardless! The W4 is a very safe buy; it's an all rounder, and you really can't go wrong with it IMO. Thus far, whenever I encounter an IEM that I feel is able to hold it's own against the W4, I'd never go as high as to say I've found an  "upgrade". I've frequently read that you really can't do better than the  numerous top-tiers without going customs; each is more of a side-grade, opposed to a real upgrade, and ultimately falls down to preference. I haven't enough experience to say, but based on what I've encountered so far, I'd say that holds to be quite true.

 

[goodvibes]

Quote:

To anyone with the UM3X, give this track a listen and you'll know exactly what I mean by the UM3X completely surrounding you vs. the W4! It's just one example, but I've encountered one too many throughout my listening within the last few days. This is the absolute perfect track to display just how the UM3X, IMO, skews reality and sounds extremely widened beyond exaggeration, which will put soundstage lovers in heaven! To my ears, the difference between the W4 & UM3X soundstage is virtually at the 150% mark I was referring to earlier, and there's no better track in my entire collection to demonstrate this! It's simply too exagerrated for my taste, but as always, YMMV!

I'm not dissing your description or the use of a track like this in an overall music mix but what does an electronic synth track with distortion effects have to do with reality. You can prefer a sound but not possibly know what that is supposed to sound like.
 
 

 

[i2ehan]

No worries my friend; I'm sorry for my lack of experience in this. As I had mentioned earlier, I'm still a novice at best at expressing my listening experience. I don't hear distortion effects with the above track, so I may be misunderstanding what exactly is meant by that. If it's meant that the track is busy, I don't find many top tiers lacking in detail with busy tracks; though there are subtle differences between each top tier of course, some slightly more/less detailed than others. I suppose the reality I'm trying to describe here is the music being channeled inside your head (what headphones are meant to do IMO), apposed to the sometimes airy feel I hear with the UM3X, strictly speaking in direct comparison to the W4 and SM3 of course. While it's true that it's yet again all too subjective what ones "reality" is, pertaining to what they feel the music should sound like, the UM3X is on the extreme end IMO, and as I always try not to leave out to the reader, YMMV. Hence why I ended the above statement off with just that, because that's all based on the listeners ears; they may or may not hear anything close to what I hear, but if they do, that specific tracks demonstrates the UM3X's soundstage properties that I'm referring to. Be it an electronic synth or not, to my ears, the soundstage is just too spanned out, and channels the music to either extreme sides of your head and slightly towards the back. It's as though I took the balanced and centered signature of the W4, skewed/stretched the soundstage way out, and pushed all the frequencies slightly forward. For exclusive EDM listeners, the above song is what many other EDM tracks sound like, and they will most probably better relate to the airy feel of the UM3X than listeners of other genres. For some, this will put you in a very pleasant state, as each trance listeners ears listen for different things; some solely for the bass punch, some solely for the vocals, while others in between, etc. Nevertheless, you're absolutely right, and thank you for the correction. It's more a preferred sound than it is knowing what the music should sound like. I stand corrected.