[stefanus]

Hi guys,
I want to buy IEM and interest in Westone UM3 or Shure e500/530. I have and use Grado SR125, Alessandro MS1, Sony EX71, Mylar X3. I prefer alessandro MS1 sounds (musical sounds, deep bass with good PRAT, and i don't care about soundstage) and I listen mostly 80-90s rock, jazz and acoustic music.
I will use it unamped with ipod video 5.5G 80gb.

Could you guys give me some advice and which one would you choose between those twos. Any other IEMs are also welcome.
Tx.

 

[mrdeadfolx]

You would get far more responses to this thread if you repeat the question around the end of summer.

 

[Mors]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrdeadfolx /img/forum/go_quote.gif You would get far more responses to this thread if you repeat the question around the end of summer.

Translated:

"Wait untill the Westone 3's are released and we'll tell ya"

 

[jinx20001]

im sure everyone here at head fi would agree or give in to the fact the shures are amazing,no1 knows yet how the westone um3 will hold out but a guess of mine would be that they would be great but just considering the fact they have a dedicated tweeter,that screams harsh highs to me but time will tell and when they out you can bet they are going to be a hit,westone have pulled it off so far,will it be third time unlucky,to me trying to go one better could be a downfall,tweeters are harsh full stop,that close to your ears at 122spl could be downright dangerous,ill hold onto my shures se530 until i hear how they go down with you folks

 

[antonyfirst]

I honestly think that the E500 are way overpriced (even at 300$), but I can't say it too loud.

I have expectations for the Westone 3 to outperform the E500, at least from a good source.

 

[tbonner1]

The E500 delineates notes better than the Mylar 3. The Mylar 3 has full sounding bass and is hard to beat, but the MS1's sound closer to the cleaner, sharp sound of the E500.

 

[eternality.pl]

I am too eagerly awaiting the wesstone 3 to come out and be put against e500s

 

[Spyro]

I don't think it will be able to to beat the Shures. Even dual driver UM-2's sound muddy to many people so I would doubt that Westone 3's are going to have highs that sparkle any more than an E530 would. We'll see.....

 

[ADD]

Yes, the UM2 is not for everyone. Personally I think they are fantastic for classical music. I love mine and the only thing I think I could ever swap them for would be a better Westone model! They are very warm so probably are not well suited to warm amplification.

On the subject of the Westone 3, looking at the specs, it's interesting to note a very low sensitivity (this is in relative terms to other Westone products and some of the more efficient IEMs). Their spec sheet states 107 dB /mW - contrast that with the 119 dB / mW of the UM2.

As far as I am concerned, this could certainly help address the relatively large number of complaints people have about hissing IEMs. Westone probably come near the top in terms of hissing complaints because they are so sensitive, but with this new model the noise floor should be much lower. But then again, your amplifier is going to need to put out about 20 times the power to get the same SPL (the impedance is a tad higher as well).

It is certainly something to think about when comparing it to other IEMs, as I would think that hissing is the number one complaint amongst IEM users.

 

[jayehs]

Tried Westone 3 vs shure e500 at the Toronto meet. As soon as I put it on I said "wow" almost instantly and Sam from marcopolo.ca sitting beside me just laughed haha.

Westone 3 for me, no questions asked. I think it's as close to a full sized can a universal IEM can get.

 

[robm321]

Also, keep in mind at this point you can regularly get used or discontinued E500s for under $300. The W3s will be $400, with maybe a slight discount. And that's when they do eventually come out.

 

[gilency]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif im sure everyone here at head fi would agree or give in to the fact the shures are amazing,no1 knows yet how the westone um3 will hold out but a guess of mine would be that they would be great but just considering the fact they have a dedicated tweeter,that screams harsh highs to me but time will tell and when they out you can bet they are going to be a hit,westone have pulled it off so far,will it be third time unlucky,to me trying to go one better could be a downfall,tweeters are harsh full stop,that close to your ears at 122spl could be downright dangerous,ill hold onto my shures se530 until i hear how they go down with you folks

A dedicated tweeter may be a better design than the Shure 500/530. Your oppinions seems to be a preconceived notion based on you preference for the Shures, not a real fact. When Shure introduced their IEM's, they also had several delays. I do agree with you however, to wait for reviews on the Westone 3's. Anything else is pure speculation. And like any other phone, you'll have people who love them and people who don't.

 

[SONGsanmanwah]

Comments on Westone 3 so far are very positive. I myself won't buy any top of the line IEM before trying it.

 

[catscratch]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jinx20001 /img/forum/go_quote.gif im sure everyone here at head fi would agree or give in to the fact the shures are amazing...

Not really. I'm less than impressed with the E500. It sounds pretty good for a universal-fit IEM, but in the absolute sense it's not that great at all, unless amped with something synergistic. The sad part is, no other universal-fit IEM is all that great either. The E500, together with the UM2, are the best that we've been able to do... thus far. I'm hoping the Westone 3 can change that.

I think that a dedicated supertweeter is a very good idea. Balanced armatures have problems replicating high-frequency sounds; the best they can do is a claimed 19kHz for the E500, which I don't really buy, an 18kHz for the ES2/UM2, which I'm still hesitant to buy, and a 16kHz for the UE10, which I think is basically on the money. The first canalphone that can reliably break the 20kHz barrier will have a distinct edge in reproducing harmonics, and will sound much more textured and refined for that.

You don't need two bass drivers for bass either - the ES2 manages just fine with one bass driver, and it beats the E500 in bass quantity and quality, with more audible sub-bass information than any other headphone I've ever heard.