[shigzeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by p0wderh0und23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just checked in with the lab and they are currently working on your earphones. Apparently a wire came loose on the left side. They are installing all new electronics just to be 100% sure. You should also be all good on the fit now. The right and left will look different in length and shape. Just like a fingerprint, no two ear canals are the same, even on the same person.

PowderHund: your constant monitoring of this thread is a credit to Westone. Thank you.

 

[p0wderh0und23]

Quote:

Originally Posted by roy_jones /img/forum/go_quote.gif I could be wrong, but I'm sure it was established that the UM3X and ES3X are technically identical, with the exception of the customization process.

Same drivers, same crossover point. What gives them a different sound is the "shell". The universal has all three drivers into one sound bore, the custom has the highs/mids in one sound bore and the bass in another. Frequency separation is a beautiful thing, when possible.

 

[roy_jones]

Thanks for the clarification- you rock!

 

[GreenLeo]

Anybody know if I can buy a cable for ES3X terminated with a 1/4" plug?

 

[klatzz]

i juz sent my set in, attention to Kyle, hope for the best i guess..

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

It has been said that the ES3X are so efficient that they sound good with most any amplifier. I think that is generally true. The DNA Sonett from Donald North arrived last week and I've been using it with my ES3X. (The Pico is currently acting as a DAC/buffer to great effect.) The difference between the Sonett and the Pico amp is--to these ears--startling! More to come, but the ES3X scales very well when paired with high-end amplification. The "gooder" the upstream components, the better the sound from the ES3X. In fact, the SQ is so much better, that you might just be happier with the ES3X than switching to that "other" IEM (if some of you were thinking about that option

). Since the DNA and the "other" IEM are roughly the same price, the bonus of the Sonett is that it drives other fine transducers too, like the Senn's, and AKG's, as well as that other IEM (should you decide to go that route later).

Here's some hints to pique your interest. Have you ever heard the Lamm M1.2 mono's? Are you itching for that "final frontier?"

More to come...

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenLeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anybody know if I can buy a cable for ES3X terminated with a 1/4" plug?

Why not just use a 1/8" to 1/4" adaptor?

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by klatzz /img/forum/go_quote.gif i juz sent my set in, attention to Kyle, hope for the best i guess..

Westone customer service is great. Kyle is great--he really helped get mine straightened out.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

I agree, the ES3X scale up very well with improved sources and amps, even desktop amps. For example, Jamato8 and I have both commented that our modded Woo WA6 amps work very well with the ES3X.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif I agree, the ES3X scale up very well with improved sources and amps, even desktop amps. For example, Jamato8 and I have both commented that our modded Woo WA6 amps work very well with the ES3X.

Excuse me... so I know that you use your custom IEM's as your portable rig, but do you often find yourself using them even while at home? If so, would you listen to them through the Apogee mini dac? Do you hear a "wow!" kind of improvement going from a lower grade dac, like say, the pico dac or ibasso dac to the apogee mini? Does the balanced output from the apogee mini sound better than its single output?

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tigon_ridge /img/forum/go_quote.gif Excuse me... so I know that you use your custom IEM's as your portable rig, but do you often find yourself using them even while at home? If so, would you listen to them through the Apogee mini dac? Do you hear a "wow!" kind of improvement going from a lower grade dac, like say, the pico dac or ibasso dac to the apogee mini? Does the balanced output from the apogee mini sound better than its single output?

On the Apogee mini-DAC I like the balanced out slightly more than the single ended out, and while other people think the SE output sounds bad I don't think so. I don't tend to listen to the headphone out with the Apogee, but instead feed my SP Square Wave XL, WA6 and GES with it.

The Apogee headphone out has a very slight low volume channel imbalance, and slightly forward mids. It works best with Grados but can do well with IEM like my Westone 3 too. I was not as happy with it driving my ES3X but it is useable. I never bothered with my JH13Pro or UE11Pro on the Apogee yet.

And, I don't often listen to the full size amps with IEM - because of the longer warm up times it is often more convenient to grab my Macbook with small amp to listen to music. Most of the time I find myself listening to all my custom IEM via Macbook Optical > iBasso D10 (with AD744OBCA opamp/EL8201 buffers), or via Pico DAC-only > ALO Amphora or P-51 Mustang.

The jump to when going from the portable to the desktop rig like Apogee > WA6 is not a "wow" moment with IEM like it can be with HD600 and HD800, but only because the D10 or Pico DAC/Amphora do such a good job with these easy to drive IEM. Still, I'm sure a Beta 22 would be an upgrade with them over the amps I am using. And I do plan to get a balanced cable for my ES3X because that was a big jump when trying them SE on an Apache and then switching to a balanced cable on the Apache (another head-fier brought it to CanJam).

 

[Rdr. Seraphim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif On the Apogee mini-DAC I like the balanced out slightly more than the single ended out, and while other people think the SE output sounds bad I don't think so. I don't tend to listen to the headphone out with the Apogee, but instead feed my SP Square Wave XL, WA6 and GES with it. The Apogee headphone out has a very slight low volume channel imbalance, and slightly forward mids. It works best with Grados but can do well with IEM like my Westone 3 too. I was not as happy with it driving my ES3X but it is useable. I never bothered with my JH13Pro or UE11Pro on the Apogee yet. And, I don't often listen to the full size amps with IEM - because of the longer warm up times it is often more convenient to grab my Macbook with small amp to listen to music. Most of the time I find myself listening to all my custom IEM via Macbook Optical > iBasso D10 (with AD744OBCA opamp/EL8201 buffers), or via Pico DAC-only > ALO Amphora or P-51 Mustang. The jump to when going from the portable to the desktop rig like Apogee > WA6 is not a "wow" moment with IEM like it can be with HD600 and HD800, but only because the D10 or Pico DAC/Amphora do such a good job with these easy to drive IEM. Still, I'm sure a Beta 22 would be an upgrade with them over the amps I am using. And I do plan to get a balanced cable for my ES3X because that was a big jump when trying them SE on an Apache and then switching to a balanced cable on the Apache (another head-fier brought it to CanJam).

Since I work from home, I plan to use the desktop system as my primary listening station, paired with my ES3X IEM. I get around the warm-up issue by turning on the system in the a.m. while I'm getting coffee, reviewing my meeting schedule, eating breakfast and reading email. And because I'm on the phone a good portion of the day, by that time the amps (Manley Stingray in the mid-rig, and the DNA Sonett at my desk) are pretty stable. The Manley needs about an hour to sound good, with improvement over the next two hours. I haven't had enough experience with the Sonett yet, but it has been seeing about 30 - 60 mins before I listen seriously. I leave all my audio equipment on (tube and SS). They get a break when I hit the hay. (Our computers stay on 24x7

.)

I'll discuss my impressions re the "Wow" factor later in my review of the DNA Sonett. I'm accelerating the burn-in via the XLO Reference Recordings - Test and Burn-in CD, tracks 7 - 9 on continuous loop. I'm noticing significant changes after about 60 hours. You can do this with music too, but my experience with the demagnetizing sweep, fade, and burn-in tracks seem to do the trick more quickly. The results are also more predictable.

 

[HeadphoneAddict]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdr. Seraphim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Since I work from home, I plan to use the desktop system as my primary listening station, paired with my ES3X IEM. I get around the warm-up issue by turning on the system in the a.m. while I'm getting coffee, reviewing my meeting schedule, eating breakfast and reading email. And because I'm on the phone a good portion of the day, by that time the amps (Manley Stingray in the mid-rig, and the DNA Sonett at my desk) are pretty stable. The Manley needs about an hour to sound good, with improvement over the next two hours. I haven't had enough experience with the Sonett yet, but it has been seeing about 30 - 60 mins before I listen seriously. I leave all my audio equipment on (tube and SS). They get a break when I hit the hay. (Our computers stay on 24x7 .) I'll discuss my impressions re the "Wow" factor later in my review of the DNA Sonett. I'm accelerating the burn-in via the XLO Reference Recordings - Test and Burn-in CD, tracks 7 - 9 on continuous loop. I'm noticing significant changes after about 60 hours. You can do this with music too, but my experience with the demagnetizing sweep, fade, and burn-in tracks seem to do the trick more quickly. The results are also more predictable.

I am usually at home most of the day too. But I don't like to wear out my tubes by running the amps when I am not listening. And I like to have a headphone plugged in during warm up of the tube amps (even though they are all either a transformer coupled output or a hybrid), but I also tend to keep my full size phones packed in flight cases since my wife doesn't like the mess of them laying around (or collecting dust). So, for me to switch from my laptop rig to main rig means unpacking and plugging in phones, turning the amps on, but then turning them off when I leave the house for errands or to pick up my kids (during the school year), then turning them back on when I return home. It's a shame I like tubes more than SS for my full size amps, or my life would be easier.

 

[GreenLeo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rdr. Seraphim /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why not just use a 1/8" to 1/4" adaptor?

I already have a 1/8" to 1/4" adaptor. But we always want to have the connection as direct as possible. Hence the questions.

 

[tigon_ridge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeadphoneAddict /img/forum/go_quote.gif And I do plan to get a balanced cable for my ES3X because that was a big jump when trying them SE on an Apache and then switching to a balanced cable on the Apache (another head-fier brought it to CanJam)..

Wow! That's really significant. Now we know that balanced out works wonders even for IEMs. That's great. It's too bad that balanced DACs and amps aren't built for portability and IEMs in mind; that way, they would be a lot more portable and affordable. By the way, that balanced cable that you found at CanJam... what's its name? I'd like to google it.