[chicagojammer]

any truth to this? I will soley be using to listen to music, mostly rock. Just wanted opinions, the only other IEMS i have owend were Ety 6i, great treble but crap bass, and the Super 5 Fi pros, kept me happy for 2 years till stolen but hated the design, hard to keep seal.

 

[kayser]

Totally agree with the statement. Much more fun with Triple.fi and Westone 3.

 

[Gbjerke]

Each man for his own. I don't approve this statement at all. I love rocking out to the UM3X and that's coming from an IE8 owner. The thing about UM3X, atleast for me, is that there's nothing wrong with it. On other IEMs there's always something annoying me, the UM3X is nothing superior in terms of fun, but it makes listening fun because you, atleast I, don't get irritated by any flaws. The IE8 has some flaws, but still very smooth making it really listenable. The westone 3 has too many errors i can't live with. Things that irritate me make a headphone bad, like sibilance. I'd rather not have a really fun sound signature, than have a headphone with irritating aspects, like sibilance.

 

[derek8555]

I don't find them boring, IMHO they sound actually quite good for vocal/pop w/ the lush and thick midrange.

However for rock I'm not entire sure. I would imagine the V-shaped signatures fit better here (such as the TF10pro). Usually the transparency and soundstage perceived with such characteristics are better.

Once again, even with the same genre it is still up to personal preference.

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark2410 /img/forum/go_quote.gif yeah you get the idea about the 530 is for the um3 they just have this feeling of dark and too controlled an environment. they just dont feel natural, the sounds are just so then dead, nothing. they just dont feel alive no matter how bouncy the music is

as i said in the fx500 thread

 

[3X0]

I don't find the UM3X to be very involving. Of course, I only had a chance to audition them after I already had my 13s.. but I was still not very impressed with their presentation even given their price point and positioning. I did perceive one flaw of the UM3X to be its closed-in soundstage, although indeed its imaging was superb. I agree with mark2410, and I would one-up to add that I feel as if I am in a laboratory environment with the UM3X.

 

[A_Dying_Wren]

Depends on the song. While some songs sound really good with "fun" earphones, i find that other songs sound horrendous with those earphones. Its a problem when you severely skew frequencies. For example, the bass-heavy IE8s sound great with jazz, vocals and R&B but are absolute rubbish for rock or any bass-heavy genres IMO.

And thats the strength of the UM3X. Its relatively neutral and will let you listen nicely to any genre you want without damaging your hearing. Its slightly bass and mid oriented but not to the extent that some songs become unbearable. Its definitely not sterile. I personally like the UM3X for rock as the guitars don't sound like bloated mush as they do with conventional bass-heavy earphones.

 

[qusp]

well, if you are looking for a headphone to provide excitement that is lacking in your source and rest of the chain, forget it with UM3X, for them to be exciting, they must be supplied with excitement. feed them blah, they will give you bleh

 

[mark2410]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3X0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I don't find the UM3X to be very involving. Of course, I only had a chance to audition them after I already had my 13s.. but I was still not very impressed with their presentation even given their price point and positioning. I did perceive one flaw of the UM3X to be its closed-in soundstage, although indeed its imaging was superb. I agree with mark2410, and I would one-up to add that I feel as if I am in a laboratory environment with the UM3X.

lol yeah a couple posts before i described them like being in an acoustic chamber

 

[zentenk]

as 3X0 said it's not very involving, I'd have to agree, at normal listening volumes I can concentrate on other things like doing work or drift my mind to elsewhere completely. But when you put your mind on it, it sounds awesome

 

[HONEYBOY]

For me they're not the most exciting but they're not boring either. I honestly could've lived with them more than the W3. They made the W3 sound quite muddy to me, yet the W3s were more fun. Despite being very resolved I found them rather closed in and at least to my ears, too prominent of a midrange.

 

[jkozlow3]

Agree with most of the posts above. UM3x = not involving for me whatsoever with rock/pop/electronica. I much prefer the Westone 3.

Buy both and try them out. Sell the ones you like least here for a small loss. That's what I did. It really comes down to personal preference and differences in how we each hear things. Clearly some people get excitement out of the UM3x, but many do not. Many hear siblance with the W3, yet I do not. Everyone's ears are different.

 

[VicAjax]

i've been listening to a lot of funk and electronic since i got mine two weeks ago, and i find them damn fun.

Parliament and Curtis Mayfield both have really tight, punchy bass that gets to the heart of the groove without overwhelming the rest of the spectrum.

with Autechre, i get all of the dirty electronic details that makes me love them, and Shpongle sounds fantastic.

i think the problem might be two-fold: first of all, the sound of the UM3X changes drastically depending on tip and insertion. and secondly, i think a lot of people define "fun" as "colored frequency response."

 

[Spyro]

I guess I would be completely dumbfounded how anyone could find SE530 more exciting and involving than UM3X. I would think if a person found UM3X boring, they would find SE530 REALLY boring.

But then I find the W3 perhaps the most unrefined and inaccurate sounding IEM over $200.

To each his own....

 

[dj nellie]

I haven't heard the UM3x, but I'd like to point out that the sibilance problem is by no means a given with the Westone 3. Seems like everyone who has had the problem has posted on Head-fi, so the problem may seem more common than I think it really is; the problem is not mentioned in the professional reviews I've read and rarely in the customer reviews on sites like earphonesolutions.com. W3 does tend to have bright highs, but I never find them too harsh unless the volume is too high or the recording is terribly mastered.

If you liked the Super.fis, I'm guessing you want a bold, lively sound. W3s will give you that plus a much better fit and comfort.