[bossnass15]

Starting of a poll to generally determine if this is a universal problem and what percentage of westone 3 owners actually have sibilance issues to an otherwise great IEM.

Vote only if you're a westone 3 owner (or ex) to keep this poll as accurate as it can be.

 

[bossnass15]

can i get more westone 3 owners to vote

 

[dvdonly]

Can I get a bit of clarification, since I'm interested in purchasing the W3 in a few days.

Sibilance =/ hiss, correct? I'm worried because my Superfi 5 Pros had hiss with my 5G video iPod, but with my new 120GB iPod Classic the hiss disappeared, owing to the new/different DACs and electronics inside the Classic. I don't want to buy the W3 if it's going to re-introduce the type of hiss I heard with the SF5Pro/5G iPod combo. To be clear, I mean hiss like in between songs, or when playback is paused, and not inherent hiss in say an old recording (Nick Drake's are notorious for this).

In this context, what you're polling for, sibilance does not equal hiss, right?

 

[tstarn06]

No, sibilance isn't hiss related to interplay betwen DAPs, phones and amps. It's when ssss sounds (voices mainly, but some instruments too) are harsh and fatiguing, giving off a hard ssssss sound, and has nothing to do with DAP/amp hiss.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

The sibilance (ssssso what ssssseems to be the problem) seems to be an issue with certain ear canal shapes, and I am fortunate to have never had the issue.

Many people find that if they don't insert the W3 deeply into the ear the sibilance is better; or if they use a tip with a longer sound tube like Complys P100/triple Flange/UM56 custom that the sibilance improves or goes away. A few have even found that cutting the triple flange tips shorter brings the sibilance back. To me the triple flange sound wrong stock, sound better with 3mm cut off the stalk, but sound worse again with it too short, but I am not hearing sibilance as much as a plasticky treble with the wrong length.

 

[Feather225]

No issue with sibilance...don't know what people are complaining about, I use long comply foam and everything is going perfect (for me).

 

[tstarn06]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif The sibilance (ssssso what ssssseems to be the problem) seems to be an issue with certain ear canal shapes, and I am fortunate to have never had the issue. Many people find that if they don't insert the W3 deeply into the ear the sibilance is better; or if they use a tip with a longer sound tube like Complys P100/triple Flange/UM56 custom that the sibilance improves or goes away. A few have even found that cutting the triple flange tips shorter brings the sibilance back. To me the triple flange sound wrong stock, sound better with 3mm cut off the stalk, but sound worse again with it too short, but I am not hearing sibilance as much as a plasticky treble with the wrong length.

I agree, not so much sibilance but plasticky treble with wrong tip. Also, with some tips (like the Westone stock hard silicone), no bass at all since they don't seal at all.

 

[PsiCore]

Sibilance here. Goes away only with the tri-flange.
Maybe it got something to do with the ear shape, but e500 has milder sibilance (and it goes different into the ear)

 

[soozieq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feather225 /img/forum/go_quote.gif No issue with sibilance... don't know what people are complaining about

Well then, you're lucky aren't you? Just because you don't hear it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It exists for plenty of people, as noted in several of the W3 threads.

bossnass - I voted 'yes'

 

[kaushama]

Yes almost 50% people voted. That is quite significant!

 

[Feather225]

Quote:

Originally Posted by soozieq /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well then, you're lucky aren't you? Just because you don't hear it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It exists for plenty of people, as noted in several of the W3 threads. bossnass - I voted 'yes'

Yup~Certainly I am lucky if thats what you I wana know, I really have nothing to complain about~theres nothing wrong with the earphone I believe, I think it has more to do with tips and people's ear canal as I certainly don't hear such thing as sibilance with long comply~ I don't really get the comfort and SQ I want with other tips so I didn't really bother using them, I suggest people to play around with their tips before making a conclusion.

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif The sibilance (ssssso what ssssseems to be the problem) seems to be an issue with certain ear canal shapes, and I am fortunate to have never had the issue. .

yeh i have sibilance issues now and then with the se530, i highly doubt its down to canal shapes tho, its just sooo unlikely. however it could be the DAP i reckon, remember the ohmage of the earphones never stays constant, as you go higher and lower in the frequency range the ohmage fluctuates a little and depending on the source it could have slight issues producing certain frequencies cleanly and perheps amplifies the extreme highs.

ofcourse i dont know this its just a poor guess at a possibility. but i think its much more likely hardware related than the canal shape because those with that canal shape would have the issue much much more often because lets face it, tips for most in ears are very close in size and shape most of the time.

im not saying your wrong by any means, but if i had to guess i probably would have to guess its an ohmage mismatch between phones and source...lets say for example your source is 16 ohm, if you had a 16 ohms set of phones you may find the frequency range is produced alot more faithfully. again i could be and most likely am very wrong but its just one theory nobody really thinks about.

 

[jinx20001]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Feather225 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yup~Certainly I am lucky if thats what you I wana know, I really have nothing to complain about~theres nothing wrong with the earphone I believe, I think it has more to do with tips and people's ear canal as I certainly don't hear such thing as sibilance with long comply~ I don't really get the comfort and SQ I want with other tips so I didn't really bother using them, I suggest people to play around with their tips before making a conclusion.

who has made a conclusion? everybody is telling us how they are hearing it. i really do think all earphones have a certain amount of sibilance, just may be more noticeable at higher volumes, this is not just the ssss, it numerous sharp sounds that tend to come through louder than the rest.

i even think it may be down to the recording artists equipment. it could be the mics the artist uses and the volume in which they record, or how close to the mic they are when singing, it really could be integrated into some music on purpose for effect and power. its difficult to really know for sure, but this may be why its only apparent on some music and not all music. i mean has anybody actually taken a set of cheaper phones and noticed that the ssssss and other sounds are still there but just quieter, maybe this is because those phones in particular cant pick up that depth of detail.

who knows, we need a scientist to come in and put us right.

 

[NeObliviscaris]

as much as i love them, yes. i will be trying to modify some tips 2nite to see if that helps.

 

[Feather225]

I know the difference between hass and sibilance...we are not talking about hass here I know and most high end IEM should not have hass problem at high volume given that the source is good and file or the original recording is not very compressed..it's very unusual.
But again I never heard sibilance on W3 even when I listen to Vitas, treble is smooth and balanced, not aggresive to me at all.. If you are talking about listening to bad recordings then any type of headphone will give you sibilance since it was oriinally recorded like that.


Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif who has made a conclusion? everybody is telling us how they are hearing it. i really do think all earphones have a certain amount of sibilance, just may be more noticeable at higher volumes, this is not just the ssss, it numerous sharp sounds that tend to come through louder than the rest. i even think it may be down to the recording artists equipment. it could be the mics the artist uses and the volume in which they record, or how close to the mic they are when singing, it really could be integrated into some music on purpose for effect and power. its difficult to really know for sure, but this may be why its only apparent on some music and not all music. i mean has anybody actually taken a set of cheaper phones and noticed that the ssssss and other sounds are still there but just quieter, maybe this is because those phones in particular cant pick up that depth of detail. who knows, we need a scientist to come in and put us right.