sorrick
500+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Dec 6, 2006
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I've had a bunch of IEMs, starting with the e3c's moving to the super.fi5pros, the ety er4-p's, then over to the shure se500s, then Triple.fi's, then Westone 3's and now I'm waiting on JH16s. I also bought my father the phonaks for a gift and tested them out pretty well so I have a feel for them too.
First off, I think that the Trips, the shures, and the westones are definitely a cut above the phonaks. The phonaks are very good, but they're just not as full sounding as the top triple driver universal IEMS IMHO. I actually still think that the ety's are just as detailed as anything out there in the universal IEM world, but they also do not have the big full sound you get out of the shures, westones, and the triple.fi's.
Now I got rid of the shures b/c the rolled off highs really bothered me. The mids were fantastic, and the bass was great, but the decay on cymbals didn't sound natural to me and you just felt like they the highs were dialed back.
Before I got the w3's I LOVED the triple.fi's. They had the highs that I felt like the shures were missing, and though the slightly recessed mids were noticed, it didn't bother me too much (in a previous review I likened it to having it sound like you were the mic in the center of the recording studio with the instruments around you and the singer just a few feet behind them).
I know I'll probably get some strong opinions the other way, but I do find that for my ears, the w3s are noticably better than the triple.fi's. The difference is really in how full the sound is. It just sounds much thicker, fuller and more lush on the w3s than on the triple.fi's. Now the westones are probably a bit colored than the trips, but it doesn't bother me at all. I know some people have had issues with sibilance on the w3's, and whiles on certain songs, I get some sibilance, it isn't much of a problem for my ears.
While I personally prefer the w3's, I probably would not recommend that you get them if you're looking for a significant upgrade because you probably will end up disappointed. They're in the same league as the trips, they're just a little fuller with more velvety, upfront mids (like the mids on the shure 500s).
There are some good tricks that you can try to improve the sound of the triple.fi's. Reshelling them, as a number of people here have already said is a great option. I got full shell earmolds done and got custom full shell tips for my triple.fi's which definitely improved the sound, but with the full shell tips, the tf10's looked even more like frankenstein pegs sticking out of my ears than they did before because they sit a few millimeters farther out from my ear due to the full shell tips. If I did it again, I'd probably go for the regular custom tips or just go all the way and get them reshelled.
The other trick that I think improves the sound and is not particularly expensive is to buy a set of replacement cables from westone and use them instead of the stock ue cables. I always thought the tf10 cable was too thick and was never a big fan and the westone cable improved the sound a bit (I thought) and also made the iems much more comfortable....its super lightweight, has no microphonics and was more comfortable around my ears than the stock cable. When I got the westone cable, I did have to push the terminals away from each other a bit (the ue pegs are just a hair farther apart than the westones apparently) but after some patience and gentle coaxing, the cables fit on and you wouldn't have even known they came from a different company.
There's my two cents. Probably the best thing for you if you're really itching for a significant jump is to go custom, but if budget is an issue, I would suggest trying some of the various tf mods out there, or even getting them reshelled.
Hope that was helpful, and sorry for the long post
First off, I think that the Trips, the shures, and the westones are definitely a cut above the phonaks. The phonaks are very good, but they're just not as full sounding as the top triple driver universal IEMS IMHO. I actually still think that the ety's are just as detailed as anything out there in the universal IEM world, but they also do not have the big full sound you get out of the shures, westones, and the triple.fi's.
Now I got rid of the shures b/c the rolled off highs really bothered me. The mids were fantastic, and the bass was great, but the decay on cymbals didn't sound natural to me and you just felt like they the highs were dialed back.
Before I got the w3's I LOVED the triple.fi's. They had the highs that I felt like the shures were missing, and though the slightly recessed mids were noticed, it didn't bother me too much (in a previous review I likened it to having it sound like you were the mic in the center of the recording studio with the instruments around you and the singer just a few feet behind them).
I know I'll probably get some strong opinions the other way, but I do find that for my ears, the w3s are noticably better than the triple.fi's. The difference is really in how full the sound is. It just sounds much thicker, fuller and more lush on the w3s than on the triple.fi's. Now the westones are probably a bit colored than the trips, but it doesn't bother me at all. I know some people have had issues with sibilance on the w3's, and whiles on certain songs, I get some sibilance, it isn't much of a problem for my ears.
While I personally prefer the w3's, I probably would not recommend that you get them if you're looking for a significant upgrade because you probably will end up disappointed. They're in the same league as the trips, they're just a little fuller with more velvety, upfront mids (like the mids on the shure 500s).
There are some good tricks that you can try to improve the sound of the triple.fi's. Reshelling them, as a number of people here have already said is a great option. I got full shell earmolds done and got custom full shell tips for my triple.fi's which definitely improved the sound, but with the full shell tips, the tf10's looked even more like frankenstein pegs sticking out of my ears than they did before because they sit a few millimeters farther out from my ear due to the full shell tips. If I did it again, I'd probably go for the regular custom tips or just go all the way and get them reshelled.
The other trick that I think improves the sound and is not particularly expensive is to buy a set of replacement cables from westone and use them instead of the stock ue cables. I always thought the tf10 cable was too thick and was never a big fan and the westone cable improved the sound a bit (I thought) and also made the iems much more comfortable....its super lightweight, has no microphonics and was more comfortable around my ears than the stock cable. When I got the westone cable, I did have to push the terminals away from each other a bit (the ue pegs are just a hair farther apart than the westones apparently) but after some patience and gentle coaxing, the cables fit on and you wouldn't have even known they came from a different company.
There's my two cents. Probably the best thing for you if you're really itching for a significant jump is to go custom, but if budget is an issue, I would suggest trying some of the various tf mods out there, or even getting them reshelled.
Hope that was helpful, and sorry for the long post
