[Sgt_Strider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dfkt /img/forum/go_quote.gif The SE530 and q-Jays have a two-piece modular cable.

Despite the modular design of the SE530, there were a bit of criticism towards the length of the cable.

In terms of the W3, how many of you use it to workout or travel? How do you deal with the long cable?

 

[Yikes]

I blame all of you so and so's! I just pulled the trigger on a set of Westone 3's from Earphone Solutions. I am a long time user of both Ety ER4S and P's (Depending on application), and I love the Ety's but I am ready for a change. I almost decided in favor of a set of UE11's, but the money and more importantly the wait ultimately dissuaded me.

So this time next week I'll be breaking in a new set of W3's. I hope that they don't suck

 

[barleyguy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaloS /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ya, precisely. Look up the formula for calculating dB, they actually are computed using a reference intensity.

That graph is a little weird IMO. Speaker graphs are usually created by choosing a reference frequency (usually 1Khz), of which the amplitude becomes 0 DB, and then graph the rest of the range in reference to that amplitude. That's where the "+/- 3db, reference 1Khz" on speaker specs comes from.

 

[Yikes]

First of all I'm very pleased with Earphone Solutions service, they shipped the same day. The W3's came so quickly I was actually caught by surprise.

My W3's are still breaking in, but I do have a couple of quick observations.

The distance from the Y to the actual ear-piece is a little short. It is difficult for me to loop the cable up over my ear. I have to hold the junction of the Y at my nose to be able to loop both of the cables over my ears. Granted I am known for my massive cranial capacity but the leads should be at least 2-3" longer.

Since my favorite with my ER4's was the tri-flange I went right to the tri-flange with the W3's as well. Comfort and fit is excellent and I seem to be getting a good seal. They fit in my ears well, so for me they are even more comfortable that the Ety's, meaning very.

Brand new out of the box they were unimpressive. They were dull and bloated. Now with about 50 hours on them they are sounding much better. On the surface they seem to be no more transparent than my Ety ER-4S's or the P's, which was one characteristic that I was absolutely hoping to improve. But that's on the surface, usually transparency comes with better (Usually more also) high frequency performance but with the W3's I'm getting better detail retrieval everywhere, with little or no high frequency emphasis. They're still not AKG K-701 transparent, but for IEM's they aren't bad. They're still sounding a little dull, but I'm hoping that improves with further break-in. When I first listened I was disappointed, now I am not, but I'm still expecting (Hoping) for more improvement over the next couple of hundred of hours.

Once thoroughly broken in I will do a in depth comparison with my Ety ER-4S and P's. So far this was just off the cuff.

Enjoy

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yikes /img/forum/go_quote.gif First of all I'm very pleased with Earphone Solutions service, they shipped the same day. The W3's came so quickly I was actually caught by surprise. My W3's are still breaking in, but I do have a couple of quick observations. The distance from the Y to the actual ear-piece is a little short. It is difficult for me to loop the cable up over my ear. I have to hold the junction of the Y at my nose to be able to loop both of the cables over my ears. Granted I am known for my massive cranial capacity but the leads should be at least 2-3" longer. Since my favorite with my ER4's was the tri-flange I went right to the tri-flange with the W3's as well. Comfort and fit is excellent and I seem to be getting a good seal. They fit in my ears well, so for me they are even more comfortable that the Ety's, meaning very. Brand new out of the box they were unimpressive. They were dull and bloated. Now with about 50 hours on them they are sounding much better. On the surface they seem to be no more transparent than my Ety ER-4S's or the P's, which was one characteristic that I was absolutely hoping to improve. But that's on the surface, usually transparency comes with better (Usually more also) high frequency performance but with the W3's I'm getting better detail retrieval everywhere, with little or no high frequency emphasis. They're still not AKG K-701 transparent, but for IEM's they aren't bad. They're still sounding a little dull, but I'm hoping that improves with further break-in. When I first listened I was disappointed, now I am not, but I'm still expecting (Hoping) for more improvement over the next couple of hundred of hours. Once thoroughly broken in I will do a in depth comparison with my Ety ER-4S and P's. So far this was just off the cuff. Enjoy

There is very little change with break-in on these, just some slight increase in micro-detail over the first 24 hours and that is it.

 

[Yikes]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif There is very little change with break-in on these, just some slight increase in micro-detail over the first 24 hours and that is it.

Hmmm.... That's pretty much exactly what I've experienced so far. Still you'll excuse me if I continue to run them in, I'm a big fan of trusting my own empirical evidence over all others. I've owned both Electrostatic and Dynamic headphones and speakers with radiating surfaces ranging from Titanium to Aluminum to Polypropylene to beryllium to mylar and they all benifited from extensive break-in. The W3's are my first foray into Balanced Armiture's so...

That being said I'll readily defer to your greater experience in the IEM arena. If they improve no further I'll go through all of the tips to see if any improvement can be obtained that way. If this is as good as they get I'm not sure how happy I'll be with the purchase, only time will tell.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yikes /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hmmm.... That's pretty much exactly what I've experienced so far. Still you'll excuse me if I continue to run them in, I'm a big fan of trusting my own empirical evidence over all others. I've owned both Electrostatic and Dynamic headphones and speakers with radiating surfaces ranging from Titanium to Aluminum to Polypropylene to beryllium to mylar and they all benifited from extensive break-in. The W3's are my first foray into Balanced Armiture's so... That being said I'll readily defer to your greater experience in the IEM arena. If they improve no further I'll go through all of the tips to see if any improvement can be obtained that way. If this is as good as they get I'm not sure how happy I'll be with the purchase, only time will tell.

You could still start experimenting with different tips now, and if you find something that works better now then hopefully if there is more burn-in needed it wont get worse. I found a MUCH bigger change in sound with a change in the tips and with a change in the position or depth in the ear canal.

 

[qusp]

x2 no burn-in with mine (and I believe in burn-in in other components) just the initial 24 hrs as HA said. but you may of course find your brain burns in and becomes accustomed to the SQ. I found the modded triflange and long comply t9 be the best tips for me.

 

[tstarn06]

X2 on the best tips for me as well, the modded tri-flange (which I use now) is the best for me, though I must EQ the highs a bit, since the flange seems to darken the overall sound sig for me.

 

[Yikes]

There are several aspects to the break-in of a set of HP/IEM. There's Electrical, there's mechanical, and then there is the Ear-Brain break-in. To be more precise it often take us time to acclimate to a new or different sound. In my experience electrical and mechanical break-in always results in better overall sound. It's the psychoacoustic (Ear/Brain) break-in that has more haphazard results. After time sometimes it gets better, and sometimes it just gets more annoying.

As a matter of course I don't listen for the entire break-in, I tend to check in periodically. This is usually a difficult proposition, staying away can be torture. Since I don't actually use my IEM much it's an easy thing to just plug them into my office amp and let them play while I'm not at my desk.

I will try the other tips to make sure, but I do know that I am getting a good seal. I do have a set of Custom molded tips for my ER4's and they do sound a little better than the tri-flanges but they are a pain in the ass to insert, so in the end I used the tri-flanges most of the time.

In any event, this time next week I'll have a handle on my opinions of the W3's.

Now that everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats, later.

 

[Ubijza]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Yikes /img/forum/go_quote.gif There are several aspects to the break-in of a set of HP/IEM. There's Electrical, there's mechanical, and then there is the Ear-Brain break-in. To be more precise it often take us time to acclimate to a new or different sound. In my experience electrical and mechanical break-in always results in better overall sound. It's the psychoacoustic (Ear/Brain) break-in that has more haphazard results. After time sometimes it gets better, and sometimes it just gets more annoying. As a matter of course I don't listen for the entire break-in, I tend to check in periodically. This is usually a difficult proposition, staying away can be torture. Since I don't actually use my IEM much it's an easy thing to just plug them into my office amp and let them play while I'm not at my desk. I will try the other tips to make sure, but I do know that I am getting a good seal. I do have a set of Custom molded tips for my ER4's and they do sound a little better than the tri-flanges but they are a pain in the ass to insert, so in the end I used the tri-flanges most of the time. In any event, this time next week I'll have a handle on my opinions of the W3's. Now that everyone is sitting on the edge of their seats, later.

Good seal or not- you still should try other sleeves as regardless of seal as they have drastically different sound sigs. I still havnt tried biflanges, but triflanges tame the trebble/airness/crispness somewhat (despite excellent seal/isolation). Try medium comply and you should hear a reduction in this "dullness" youre describing

 

[CooLy_oNE]

I just got my Westone 3 again...I used to have one, but I exchange it with UM3X..now I got a brand new one...I used it with ipod touch 1g>LOD>P51>westone 3...P51 give me more powerfull and refined bass...but why the high is somehow muddy and missing compared to via headphone jack..Is it because my P51 only has 50 hours burn in?

 

[ckhirnigs113]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CooLy_oNE /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got my Westone 3 again...I used to have one, but I exchange it with UM3X..now I got a brand new one...

So what made you switch back to the Westone 3 from the UM3X? I'd be interested to know if you still own the UM3X and which you have come to prefer.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by CooLy_oNE /img/forum/go_quote.gif I just got my Westone 3 again...I used to have one, but I exchange it with UM3X..now I got a brand new one...I used it with ipod touch 1g>LOD>P51>westone 3...P51 give me more powerfull and refined bass...but why the high is somehow muddy and missing compared to via headphone jack..Is it because my P51 only has 50 hours burn in?

The iPod Touch 1G headphone out wasn't my favorite, but the sound from the line out dock is much better to me. So, if it sounds better via headphone out than it does via P-51 on the line out dock, then the P-51 is the problem and it probably needs more burn-in.

I know I didn't like my Predator when I first got it, and it sounded a bit dull and muddy until after 350 hours. By 600 hours the Predator was my favorite portable amp, until I bought a used P-51 which is even better than my Predator which has over 2000 hours when I stopped counting. I just don't know how many hours are on the used P-51 but I am the 3rd owner, so I can't say how long it will take.

 

[CooLy_oNE]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ckhirnigs113 /img/forum/go_quote.gif So what made you switch back to the Westone 3 from the UM3X? I'd be interested to know if you still own the UM3X and which you have come to prefer.

1 thing I can say for sure is westone 3 is more musical, it has more beat and make the vocal more emotional...and westone 3 has brighter and more forward treble, which is my preference.. UM3X sounds flat in the high frequency and give more bass punch in the low...