[AJan]

IMHO, this is where most warm IEMs fail. In acoustic and jazz music, one test I always use to see how detailed and clear a set of cans are, is being able to clearly discern how the metal brushes hit the snare drums (mostly in the background of quiet passages). With the W3, seems like this isn’t as clear as I want them to sound. Probably because of the way the midbass overpowers this timbre detail (?). Has anybody ever heard of a pair of IEMs that does well in this department? I’m guessing only the ER4s? Too bad the Ety is known to be quite constricted in soundstaging, has microphonics problems and lack visceral slam and decay in the bass.

The W3 is almost perfect. It handled the bass passages of Gladiator, The Battle track with ease and slam. It is fun to listen to when your music relies a lot on cello and bass. The bass decay is quite addictive. Despite some reports of mids not as forward as they would have wished, I don't have a problem on this department. Joni Mitchel and Diana Krall are just where I want them to sound: right in front of me. If details and clarity would have been tuned a little more 'airier' and discernable, it would have placed this IEM closer to how big cans sound.

 

[TheMarchingMule]

I'm going to memorize the finger positions for this question soon, but: have you thoroughly tried all the tips that came with the Westone 3?

 

[AJan]

Have. I'm one of the lucky ones to get good seal out of the included grey silicones and comply tips. I also bought the Shure Olives, more triple flanges to mod and the Jays clear silicones for the W3 to play with. I love the way the Jays present the trebles most.

Now listening to Elgar's Nimrod and loving every second. Glad a few classical passages aren't as picky with background nuances as Jazz and Acoustic music.

 

[wuwhere]

The ER4S is close but not that close. I seriously doubt that any IEM can closely reproduce a cymbal's brush stroke. The closest I've heard it was on a full range ribbon speakers. I use Miles Davis' 'Someday My Prince Will Come' to test this. At the beginning, the string bass is playing while the drummer is lightly tapping the cymbal.

 

[MarcusL]

Interesting. I find the W3 ok in SQ but sometimes the midbass is just too prominent that it steals the mind's perception towards it rather than the whole soundstage.

So the ER4S is as good as it gets for iems in sheer detail? I wonder if the high-end customs (like UE11, etc.) can match the Ety detail? I too love subtle steel brush strokes in the background.

 

[booboohihi]

im going to get a W3...

 

[AJan]

Today I noticed that on some recordings, the W3 seems to do fairly well with microdetails. But I'm still not too satisfied with most jazz pieces. It seems like there's a cloth over the background instruments.

Does anybody else have thoughts on this matter?

 

[Spyro]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AJan /img/forum/go_quote.gif Today I noticed that on some recordings, the W3 seems to do fairly well with microdetails. But I'm still not too satisfied with most jazz pieces. It seems like there's a cloth over the background instruments. Does anybody else have thoughts on this matter?

No and I listen to quite a bit of jazz. Coming from SE530's, I feel the W3 is like pealing away a few layers to expose more clarity and detail overall.

 

[Navyblue]

I mainly listen to jazz and acoustic stuffs. I enjoyed the W3, but whenever I go back to the ER-4P, I was reminded of those missing details, and not in in a subtle way. And IMO the W3 is quite obviously more detailed than SE530 if compared side by side.