[mrsal]

hey guys, 
 
im looking to buy a new set of iems soon and have narrowed it down to the shure se 425 or the westone 3. right now i use the apple dual driver iem's and like them, but they are dying and are starting to shock me (literally shocking my ears) after 2 years of use, and i like the sound coming from them, but would like something a little more refined. i also have owned the ue700's and liked them, but they kept breaking on me so not again.
 
thanks in advance, 
 
sal

 

[takoyaki7]

W3 and SE425 are apples and oranges!!
 
W3 are v-shaped with strong bass, good highs, great for rock and hip-hop. Fit and BQ are pretty good.
 
SE425 are MUCH more flat and "accurate" sounding, though they have a strong emphasis on mids. Good for jazz, classical, anything with strong vocals. Fit and BQ are excellent, and cables are replacable.
 
 
Overall, for the price the W3 has more of a "wow" factor in sound, but it also depends what you listen to!

 

[mrsal]

thanks for the advice, i like the sound of my apple ddiem and would like something like it but more refined. i listen to mostly metal, all types of it, from symphonic to prog and death metal. some of my favorite bands are epica, dream theater, whitechapel, evanescence, bring me the horizon, tarja, paramore, close to home, a day to remember,  and between the buried and me. all of my files are in lossless on an ipod classic 2010 160 gb too. im also open to other headphones too, but would prefer something over the ear
 
 

 

[mrsal]

bump!
 
im hoping to get these tonight so im not to sure about it, maybe the westone umx 3 is better?
 

 

[takoyaki7]

I would pick UM3x over W3.  UM3x and SE425 are close. UM3x have more bass, amazing separation, SE425s have better mids and a bit more natural sound.

 

[TheGomdoRi]

I heard UM3X and 425. But my 425 bias is too strong lolol.
UM3X does have better bass for sure, it has more impact.
425 just has that speed and short decay which I love.

 

[mrsal]

thanks guys for the answers! i think ill go with the 425's, so ill order them later.they sound most like what i would want right now. just one more question. how hard is it really to get the tips off? i read all of these stories about how the stems break off very easily too... but it took a slam in the car door to remove one from my dads e5's, so im not sure what to believe.

 

[takoyaki7]

BE CAREFUL!!! My first set I snapped one of the stems, trying to remove the tips, the day I got them!!!! Luckily they were replaced under warranty. You need to put them in the freezer for about 10 min (but no more!) to help loosen up the tips to get them off the first time...after the first time it isn't as difficult.

 

[mrsal]

Ok thanks, ill keep that in mind. Is that somethig shure reccomends doing and it wont hurt the iems in any way right? I already ordered them from earphone solutions and got a great price on them too.

 

[takoyaki7]

I don't know if Shure recommends it officially, but if you call them I think they will recommend it as a way to remove the tips, and you can read about it if you search the forums. It definitely won't hurt them as I did it to my 530s too several times over the course of a few years and never had trouble.
  Just be careful that if you put them in the freezer too long the stems may get more brittle and easy to break, that was the mistake I made!!
 
But overall they are great IEMs, well built with an excellent warranty, so congrats! I think you will love them

 

[Brooko]

I've used the freezer trick on my 425's.  Make sure you put them in a plastic bag first.  I'd only recommend 2-3 minutes tops.  All you really want is to get the olives 'firm'.  Once they're firm - they remove really easily.
 
BTW - good buy.  The 425's are a very good iem.

 

[mrsal]

Ok ill keep that in mind, they should be here friday as i got the 2 day shipping from earphonesolutions, m just too impatient and my apples are dying so the sooner the better

 

[Yggdrassilious]

What kind of deal did you get on the se425s? Been looking for a good deal on some shures

 

[mrsal]

I got them for 255 using coupon code shure35, i just looked up some coupon codes for there and i found that, it gives you 15 % off

 

[mrsal]

ok i got them in the mail earlier today, good thing because i couldnt use the apples because they kept shocking me... but i do love these things, this is the sound signature i was looking for, i went into my not so heavy music, and the album goodbye yellow brick road by elton john sounds so good with these! thanks to everyone for your help!