[beraken]

Hi guys,
      one is made up of quaddrivers but the other one is limited edtion which has more beautiful packages.As for me, the sound quality matters most, and I mainly focus on pop music. any suggestion for my choice between 4 and 3 limited edtion? The price varies a little.

 

[calipilot227]

If you want a very smooth overall presentation that is very forgiving of a less-than-perfect seal, get the Westone 4. If you like bloated midbass and sibilant treble (which occurs if you can't get a perfect seal), then get the Westone 3 (regular). In terms of sound quality, there is no difference whatsoever between the standard Westone 3 and the limited edition.
 
However, if you mostly listen to pop music, you might want to look into the UM3X. When it comes to midrange, the UM3X is hard to beat.

 

[ZARIM]

I think Westone 4 willbe better pick for pop and it sound supperior than W3.

 

[ArrigoShred]

If its Sound Quality you want..
Then definitely the Westone 4

I've had the Westone 3s before but I ended up selling them to a friend and I got Um3xs instead.

Westone 3 is very very Fun to listen to. Its very dynamic but in a misleading way, somewhat inaccurate representation of the actual song

Personally you should ask yourself if you want a more dynamic approach or a analytical approach to listening to music
If u want a dynamic one, Westone 3 and 4 is for you.
If you want a analytical one, get Um3x

 

[MikeATL]

As someone that has heard both, and owns the W4's, it depends on what you want for sound signature. I listen to just about everything short of country and the W4's literally can do no wrong, and I really enjoy their sound a lot. While they're not lacking in bass, there are times that I miss the "fun" sound of the W3's- as others have described, a midbass hump (much more perceived bass than the W4's) with recessed mids and I didn't find the treble to be sibilant at all but the sound is nowhere near as full as the W4s. The W3's are great for short listening sessions, but I found them to wear on me a bit after an hour (fatigue) and they definitely are more "in your face" w/their sound signature. I can listen to the W4s for hours on end, enjoy nuances that I didn't even know existed in most songs, and they present a soundstage that is second to none based on the other IEMs I've heard.
 
Hope that helps,
Mike

 

[shotgunshane]

^Agreed with Mike

 

[MacedonianHero]

I've owned the W3s for 2 years and now own the W4s, here's my 2 cents:

If you like a fun presentation with boomy bass and sparkling treble....W3s.

If you like a balanced/neutral and true to recording, W4s.

I prefer the W4s FWIW.

 

[WisdomListens]

I own the W4's and they truly are great with every type of music.

 

[MacedonianHero]

I own the W4's and they truly are great with every type of music.

That's because they're neutral. That is the biggest advantage with neutral headphones, IEMs, DACs, amps, etc....

They just let the music through the way the artist intended. Colourations can be fun with certain genres of music, but they don't make for great all rounders.

 

[WisdomListens]

Quote:

Quote:

I own the W4's and they truly are great with every type of music.

That's because they're neutral. That is the biggest advantage with neutral headphones, IEMs, DACs, amps, etc....

They just let the music through the way the artist intended. Colourations can be fun with certain genres of music, but they don't make for great all rounders.

I have some questions about high end ear/headphones I hope you could answer:
 
What exactly is colouration? Is it because of the way the companies tune their earphones? Would the opposite of colouration be realistic-sounding and true to life? In a coloured earphone would some/all instruments not sound life-like and this would be considered fun?
 
Or is fun have more to do with the presentation, i.e, forward mids or v-shaped curve or emphasized bass?
 
So theoretically, if equalizers did not effect the sound quality at all, I could make the W4 sound exactly like the Shure 535 by upping the mids? Or is there something I'm missing?
 
 
I'd do my own comparison but I don't have any other high-end earphones to use so hopefully you can help.

 

[beraken]

what about earsonic sm3 V1 and V2?

 

[Cecala]

Quote:

what about earsonic sm3 V1 and V2?

Ditto.

 

[cyberspyder]

I like my UM3X. If you don't want to blow as much money on the W4's, the UM3X's are a splendid choice, and made in USA to boot.

 

[KaliKot]

If you are deciding among Westones they don't sound similar at all so I say forget them if you are deciding between W3 and W4 but add the UM3x into the choices
 
Quote:

what about earsonic sm3 V1 and V2?

 

 

[WisdomListens]

Quote:

Using EQu, you can do some nice things with the W4s, and since you have an iPhone 4 (I have one too), just get that app. Not sure why you would want the W4 to sound like the 535, but you can do some tweaks that can make the W4s sound different in a good way depending on the genre. I was about to sell my W4s, but listened again, and no longer for sale. They are fantastic IEMs in my view.
 


 

Ah yes I just discovered EQu a couple of days ago and it fixed the little things I didn't like about the W4. I like to have the mids forward for some music for a more intimate feel, with the voice of the artist being the focus. Other than that, the neutral sound of the W4 is fantastic with classical and anything else I throw at it.
 
To me, EQu sounds significantly different to the iPod app with the W4's and I'm not really sure why there is such a big difference. Do you know why this could be?